Heather wanted to save the environment so she stopped using plastic straws, she went to a beach cleanup event, she signed a pledge to use less plastic and started using reusable grocery bags.Heather did all of the above and really felt like she was doing her part. She also drove 2o miles to work, flew to Asia or Europe for vacation, went recreational boating on weekends, kept her apartment at a comfortable temperature and had a dog.

You only need to know one fact to know that this is exactly backwards. More than 75% of the petrochemicals (oil, gas, and coal) we consume are used for transportation and heating. If you want to significantly effect the environment you have to reduce consumption in these areas.

If Heather really wants to help the environment she will live and work in the same neighborhood, she will stop leisure travel and she’ll wear another sweater when it is cold. I just put the dog in above to get you excited.

This is really not what Heather or you and I want. Not to worry. People are ingenious and as petroleum gets scarce they will find new ways to get us the resources we want to keep living the life that we want to live.  As I said in previous posts about plastic straws, to clean up the ocean and the environment we have to get everybody up to prosperity. We don’t have to beat everybody down to poverty.