The Energy Crisis, Global Warming, and American Apathy

In the latest installment of the ongoing correspondence kept up between
my father-in-law and myself, I asked him what he thought of the current
energy problems facing the nation. He gave a rather pithy opine regarding
global warming and the fear that the hill upon which his Cape Cod home
sits will soon become an island. I jokingly suggested that he not put "The
Future Home of The High Point Island Yacht Club" sign up so soon.

I will admit however that even I am getting very worried about this
upcoming summer as well as future summers. The jury on global warming
is still out, but very near the end of deliberations I fear - and yet while the
verdict does not look good, it is just possible that global warming may
have to do with natural changes in the Earth's climate cycles as the
anti-global-warming camp suggests, and therefore, will not be as
devastating as it appears.

We can only hope.

Then again, if it turns out it is being caused by green house gases, don't
we get what we deserve? SUV's, excessive climate control, gratuitous
technology, and the numerous other unnecessary methods of energy
waste are all practically lionized as virtues in this country (being actually
IN the field as it were allows me a unique perspective on this issue). I am no radical green - I could not be more opposed to the self-serving feel-good drivel of the left - but give me break...a little bit of personal self restraint is not too much to ask for is it? It is they key argument for the support of personal liberties - that with rights come responsibilities and obligations.

The other side to this of course is a complete dismissal of any serious
alternative energy development. As an Ex-Navy Nuc, I have always
maintained that serious and dedicated R&D into this energy source and
the solutions of it's problems could have produced plentiful and
emissions-free energy for generations to come.

In addressing the above stated problems further however, we begin to see two very different, yet equally destructive attitudes working together.

The first set is a direct result of the rampant, selfish, screw-you-I-got-mine attitude on the part of the of Americans. I do not refer here to the post-modern liberal interpretation of "selfish" in where anyone who makes more than minimum wage and gives less than 90% of his income to the government is exploiting the "underclass" - I am an Ayn Rand capitalist. No, I refer to the a selfishness in which one becomes a creature of self indulgence to the exclusion of all other concerns. A selfishness born of a life of ease that was paid for by others, in a time long ago, and is lived without any semblance of gratitude or eye to the legacy which that freedom demands.

The second destructive attitude can be attributed to the uncompromising and obtuse stonewalling by eco-terrorist organizations in this country that see ecological disaster in all potential solutions and advocate a return to the cave.

On that last point, whether or not Dubya's energy policy will help, hurt, or have no effect on the environmental situation at all, I think it rather
disingenuous and also obviously politically biased that the radical greens,
who have remained so relatively silent for 8 years of Bubba and his
NO-ENERGY-POLICY policy, have chosen now to spew their vitriol and place blame.

Indeed, I will take that argument one step further. I believe that insofar as
any one administration can be blamed for our energy/environmental woes, it should be laid squarely at the feet of Clinton-Gore. The ideal time for the thoughtful exploration and development of new possibilities and alternatives is during a time of stability. The eight years of Clinton-Gore, when gasoline prices were low and stable, crude oil supplies plentiful, and energy requirements still manageable - this was the time to begin an organized effort to develop backup options. Put another way, you don't wait until AFTER you have jumped out of the plane to see if the spare parachute is in order. Times of social and economic alarm are generally bad environments for trial and error. It's hard to experiment when the lab is on fire.

But now I am wandering off of the point. That point is an idea that is terribly
elitist as well as cynical. It is perhaps even obvious and not very
earth-shattering. Yet, it is directly related to the causes of the "energy
crisis" and "global warming" as well as 100's of other problems facing this
country in 2001.

I believe that the key problem with the nation as a whole today is what I
call apathetic-sloth. Apathetic-sloth breeds two diseases that are fatal to a Republic - The death of civic responsibility and the atrophy of critical
thinking.

Americans, in 2001, are like two pissed off parrots. Each one mindlessly
cawing out sound bites at the other while their feathers get progressively
more ruffled.

This is not civically responsible. It is also not based on critical thinking. It
is a painless exercise of emotion that requires very little evaluation - in
fact, the louder your rhetoric and self righteous indignation, the better. That goes for everything from the energy crisis to the running of our public schools.

America has become lazy, yet reactionary. Why sit down and take the
time to learn about the issues (being civically responsible) and thoughtfully
evaluate the facts yourself (critical thinking)? It is far easier to simply
swallow nutritionally void but easily digestible sound bites (complete with a suggestion as to the proper opinion on the matter at no extra charge!).
How many registered voters cannot even name the branches of the U.S.
Government, never mind naming their representatives? How many people
who are zealous advocates of ESL or Head Start (or whatever other cause - pick one) have ever even once considered looking beyond the emotional politics of the issues to examine the data?

Then again, what do we expect? When basic skills like reading and
mathematics are squeezed to make room for "gender and lifestyle
sensitivity training" and "anger management" classes, what chance has a
lowly old basic civics class have? The current energy situation in America, as well as our contribution to the current state of the environment, are both symptom of a far larger problem - Americans have determined that being American takes just too much time…and energy.

I guess in that way we have learned to conserve. I guess if Patrick Henry
were alive today he would yell "Give me premium at $1.50 a gallon, or give me death".