Death to NASCAR

The energy crisis is here, if it hasn't been here for 100 years. Although our leaders are beginning to reluctantly admit this truth, they are asking the wrong questions in an attempt to fix the symptoms. The question should not be: "What energy source can we turn to next?" (That is, to keep living and consuming at the same or an increasing rate). Agricultural sources of energy will not prove to be sustainable. (Nutrients of the product are burned resulting in the need for fertilizers to grow more energy--a new source of pollution). Instead we must ask: "How can we live well and use less energy?" What are society's needs? How can those needs be met in a sustainable way? This will involve regionalization, reviving local economies and local utility. This could result in new regional identities, culture, and tradition.

We need to revise our need for energy and reconsider how our society operates. The problems facing us will not be solved by substituting solar, wind, hydro-, or geothermal power. We need to move toward restructuring our mode of living (i.e. stop sprawling development; turn to "revitalization" of urban centers; make existing neighborhoods walk/bike-friendly with corner groceries and locally produced goods). Lost jobs can be replaced with the creation of new services that benefit "quality of life" issues.

It is impossible for many to imagine a society in which they don't need a car on a daily basis. Have you ever tried walking or biking to a store from a typical suburban house? Chances are the route would involve travelling down a high-traffic road that doesn't have a sidewalk. In other words, suburban residences are clumped and isolated from commercial centers, and the only mode of access between neighborhoods and markets are via personal automobiles. Our society is so deeply engrained to cater to the personal automobile. [Take a moment to let the rage sink in.]

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These changes won't happen quickly, but we must soon start asking different questions and pursuing responsible solutions, not trying to move straight ahead, faster and faster, toward self-destruction.

Good Life, Go!