Why Do You Bother?
April 14, 2008
Posted by CindyC in : Green Journal , trackback
Last week, I was watching a news show when the topic of energy conservation came up. The show took a question from a viewer who wanted to know if his new resolve to use public transportation and the current promotion of hybrids, biofuel and other alternatives will make a difference in oil consumption (in the foreseeable future). The short and unequivocal answer from the show’s analyst is NO.
Why? To put it simply, the analyst explained that the small amount of decrease in US oil consumption from conservation (and likely economic slowdown) is completely overshadowed by the sharp demand increase in countries like China and India. The analyst then put up some data. Oil consumption in the US (in 2008) is projected to decline by about 85,000 barrels of oil per day (bbl/d); adjusting for use of ethanol will bring that decline to 210,000 bbl/day. Not so bad until you see that overall global consumption is projected to increase by 1.2 million bbl/day and will likely continue to rise in future years. (1) The analyst ends his answer session by saying if you hope your efforts will make a difference, don’t bother!
I am fully aware of the global forces that are greater than a single person, group or country but to say “don’t bother – YOU don’t matter” is like saying death is inevitable so why bother living? Does the action of an individual make no difference at all? Unless technologies like solar panels hybrid engines magically appeared, their inception began in the mind of an individual and their advancement pushed forward by the voices of many individuals. And what about the individual who found another like-minded individual and another to form organizations like Sierra Club or the NRDC, groups that exert influence on local and national environmental legislations? You can argue that these groups can do more but you can’t ague that without the individual, there would be no groups.
Now if exerting influence over the global commodities market was my primary goal, then yeah, I shouldn’t bother. But that’s not why I try to preserve, conserve or recycle.
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–I bother because I want to lead a life with greater consciousness and not consumption.
–I bother because I want to set a good example for my child.
–I bother because I, along with millions of others, believe together, WE can make a difference.
And so I begin my week with this manifesto.
CindyC at Organicpicks
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source:
(1) Latest outlook update at the EIA
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Comments»
I couldn’t agree more. I used to pay some attention to the whole discussion of whether individuals can make a difference. Does it really matter? Can we live with ourselves if we do nothing? Can we look at our children in the eyes and say “I sat on the couch and watched American Idol eating Stouffers while this whole climate change thing went down?”
And what can one person do? I doubt Crunchy Chicken thought that when she set up the Goods 4 Girls organization. I use her as an example because any of us can do that.
I’m just completely shocked that anyone would suggest that individual efforts don’t matter. It’s the only thing that matters! Examples set change attitudes of others around us forever. Hasn’t this person read “The Tipping Point”?
GB and Joyce, you are right on! If everyone thought it would not matter, than nothing would ever happen. What a strange logic.
Also, I found people like this are very short-sighted. We have to keep reinvent ourselves technologically to be competitive in the world. Whether we have reached peak oil or not doesn’t even matter. The petroleum resource is finite and WILL run out at some point. The sooner we invest in new alternative energy options, the better off the US will be. The rest of the world will follow. Time and again, it has been shown the secret of American success is the innovative spirit. It’s narrow-minded to reject changes and rely on status quo.
Cindy, I started writing a long comment, deleted it, wrote another long comment, deleted it, and then finally ended up posting on my blog my response.