Everyone loves oil.  Its true.  We love our fast cars, our SUVs and our plastic products.  Oil has become the center of our constricted, collective reality, it has become an addiction; a widespread, society-wide addiction.  The first step in beating any addiction is first admitting that you have a problem, and we do have a serious problem. We have a serious problem is so many ways that we’ve only just begun to understand them.

So much of our world economy relies on the production, refinement and consumption of oil.  The other enormously addictive aspect of oil is the sheer amount of wealth associated with this particular industry.  These oil companies are multi-billion dollor companies, making hand-over-fist amounts of money to stuff their already overflowing coffers.  And of course, there is nothing inherently wrong with the quest for wealth, there is something wrong with if this quest endangers our existence.  While there is much debate over the state of our environment and how it is affected by the emissions produced from fossil fuels, such as oil and coal, there is a much great underlying issue; we will run out of oil in the foreseeable future!

Many have tried to overlook the simple fact that he oil reserves are not renewable.  Though the disconnected masses [those who are not fully jacked-in to the power of information available on the net] are blissfully misled by the gas, Nascar and SUV commercials, we must begin to educate ourselves on these facts, and start to overcome this imposed addiction.  The fact remains that we do not need to be as addicted to oil as we’ve been.  We have the ability to start mass producing products which use alternative energy sources, such as the power of that great big battery in the sky, that won’t run out of energy for another 4 billion years, which is a pretty long time.

The gas prices will continue to rise, the days of 2 dollars a gallon are long gone now.  We and our global neighbors have pushed oil production, depending on those who hate us to feed our addition.  We cannot continue this madness, and it must begin with each and every person.  Again, we cannot blame the producers for this addiction, because companies only continue to make the things we ask for.  Supply and demand is the most explanation for all of this.  If we stop demanding, they’ll be forced to stop supplying. 

Now, I am not advocating that you take your Lexus SUV and drive it off a cliff, nor am I saying to run out and buy a bicycle.  Conserving energy and oil not only helps us overcome the addition, but it also can save you lots of cash.  Here are a few ideas on how to help the planet break that addition:

1. Conserve Electricity:  We still rely heavily on fossil fuel energy to light our households.  It only takes a moment to turn off a light when you’re not using it.  Or making sure you’re not raising penguins in your living room during the summer.
2. Vehicle Maintenance:  Make sure your car has had an oil change and a tune-up on a regular basis.  Another overlooked aspect to gas mileage is to keep your tires inflated to the proper levels.
3. Travel Smart:  You shouldn’t have to stay home to be energy efficient, but you should plan in advance.  From a time and energy conservation perspective, you should want to plan your trips, both daily errands and vacation.  Try to pick routes that let you conserve mileage and time.
4. Car Pool:  I know its a hassle, but you should really try to find people who keep the same work schedule as you.  Not only does it cut down on the energy, but isn’t it nice to have someone to talk to on the ride in and the ride home from work?
5. Home Improvement:  Isn’t it time you look into replacing those old, gaping windows?  Is your roof in disrepair?  Are you heating and cooling every room in your house whether you use it or not?  With the housing market so poor, not only can you save yourself some money in energy costs, but every improvement you do to your home is an investment in its worth.
6. Vote: We should never elect officials with a conflict on interest with respect to the greater good.  Regardless of the fact that George Bush has been a mediocre president, we should not have elected someone who clearly has opinions on the production of oil.  Were we really thinking we would have seen that we're primarily in war over oil.  We were misled, there is no denying it.  Fool me once, shame on you; Fool me twice, shame on me.
7. Entrepreneurial Ventures:  Got a good idea for new type of fuel?  Figured out how to make cold fusion work?  Have you been calculated the equation to allow superconductivity to occur at room temperature?  The Federal government gives away millions of dollars each year to research ventures.  Why not put that money to good use, rather than allow it to be waste on new types of weapons?

These are a few things to get you started.  Don't look at it as anything other than just being smart with your own money and your own life.  Too many people get hung up on the "you can't tell me what to do" mentality.  No, we shouldn't need more laws to govern our oil consumption, although California is going a great job with this.  We should be able to govern ourselves because it makes sense, not because we're being told to do it.

I apologize for the recent lapse in postings.  This has been an excellent week, the kind of week that you hope for, a memory burned into the mind for the rest of my life.  Tuesday we went to the Pearl Jam concert in Virginia Beach, Virginia.  It was definitely a concert worth 80 dollars, and 10 dollar cups of beer.  Despite the Gestapo at the front gate, relieving us of our $1 water bottles, we had a decent time getting in and getting situated in our seats.  We didn't have the best seats in the house, as you can see from the photo to the left, but we were close enough to see the concert and get out of there again without waiting all night.  I was sated because they played two of my favorite songs, "Jeremy" and "Evenflow", so I felt like I got my money's worth.  Eddie Vedder sounded great, the night was cool with a breeze and a full moon watching over the crowd silently.

After the concert, we went back to our hotel on the water, sitting on the balcony, listening to the languid lapping of waves against the shore, full of excitement and memories from when the first Pearl Jam album came out, spending time with good friends.  The next day was equally exciting because I had taken the day off. We woke to the dolphins playing just out shore of our hotel, about 10 or 12.  Unfortunately, you're not allowed out far enough to swim with the dolphins, but we could watch and wonder. We spent the first part of the day laying on the beach, a cool breeze coming off the water, the sun high in the sky, the water temperate and refreshing.  Because it was a weekday, we weren't crowded off the sands so we lay under the gradient blue sky, letting the stress drain away.

I have to say, it is really hard to go back to work after two days like that.  I realized that it is very easy to forget that these moments of perfection are few and far between, but when they come they have the ability to erase months of stress, doubt and unhappiness.  I spent the remainder of the week in an excellent mood, which no one could break.  Obviously, you can't spend your life lying on the beach, because there is so much to see, so much to do.  But it does make you wonder if you're doing the right things in your day to day life.  I see these types of days as time in the waiting room of life.  You're waiting for the next thing, for it to be your turn, and in that time you reflect on the things you've done, like you're preparing for some big test or inquisition.  What are you waiting for, really?  I see lots of people going away, spending the entire time drinking in a bar, or in search of carnal pleasure.  If you push all of that aside and just sit, listening to the waves hitting the fragile sands, you can see forever across the azure blue.  If you look hard enough, you can see where it is you should be, what you should be doing.

Ironically, the beach and Pearl Jam put some of my life into perspective.  I am a huge fan of the Seattle sound and bands. Grunge is still pertinent in my opinion.  What does it say about our society as a whole?  Grunge, in my mind, represents the decay of the old concepts that have held us down as a society.  By exposing the dirt and the grime that lies beneath it all, we can start to clean it up, find a new way to paint the world so that we can all be happy together.  For me, these two fleeting days charged my batteries and gave me some direction.

So, if you got to got to go to this concert, I'm sure you came away with your own thoughts and perspectives.  But with the sun shining bright, summer upon us, is it time for you to find your own special moment?  What would do it for you?