Live Small and Prosper: Conserve oil, reduce carbon emissions - all for five bucks

Recently I was inspired to write a four-part series of posts that related to North America’s oil dependence by a book entitled The Complete Idiot’s Guide to The Politics of Oil (see Read This, side margin).

I called Part 1 ‘OUR INABILITY TO CONSERVE 1% PROVES SOMETHING’ because after reading a particular passage I thought, can we not conserve our spending or driving or overall energy use by a measly 1 per cent in order to preserve, for example, Alaska, one of the most pristine, natural, beautiful areas in the entire universe?


Part 2 was entitled ‘SAVE ALASKA WITHOUT HAVING A BRAIN TRANSPLANT.’ Think about it. The amount of oil saved by two conservation methods - easily within our grasp - dwarfs what Alaska has to offer energy-wise.


‘SMALL MINDEDNESS WILL FOREVER THWART BIG DEEDS’ came to mind as a title for Part 3 because, though two methods of conservation related to automobiles would save Alaska from oil exploration, drilling and large scale degradation, many North Americans would choose faster acceleration over conservation.

And after reading the three concluding statements of the book I entitled Part 4 ‘WE’LL PUT OUR HEAD IN THE SAND UNTIL THE NEXT CRISIS.’ Those words sum up my feelings about our willingness to reduce oil consumption (and subsequent carbon emissions that promote global warming and climate instability) in North America.

I encourage you to read all four posts and to buy the book if it can still be found in the bargain book section at Chapters.

I got my five dollars worth out of the deal. I hope you will too.

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