I’ve been deeply troubled by the environmental disaster taking place in my beloved Gulf of Mexico and caused by the BP oil blowout. It’s been six weeks and still there is no end in sight to this nightmare. It might be August before BP can drill a relief well: apparently the only sure-fire way to stop the leak. In the meantime, a million gallons of crude oil will likely poison the gulf each day.
As much as this disaster upsets me it also made me examine what led to it. By drilling for oil, BP was fulfilling a need: the world’s insatiable need for oil. And that insatiable need is my insatiable need, too. If my car doesn’t get gasoline, it doesn’t go anywhere. That means I can’t get to work, which means I can’t provide for my family. Not a good scenario.
So what can I do about it? Well, already I am an advocate for clean energy, so I know the issues and I’m talking to others about them. That’s a step in the right direction. But what about my personal life? Can I reduce my reliance on oil? Could I possibly eliminate it?
That’s what I’m wrestling with now. Small steps such as carpooling and public transit would be good. An electric car might provide the best of both worlds. And we’re reducing our electricity use at home, too (outside of charging a car, if we do go electric). Is that enough, though? How can I cut my very own oil dependence on oil?
This spill’s damage to the Gulf is profound. It should rightly lead to some profound changes in my energy use. I desperately want to get out of the “part of the problem” category and fully embrace clean energy. It remains to be seen whether I will succeed.
There’s always the Tesla Model S – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Model_S
Of course, if you just switch to electricity, does that still burn oil, or more likely coal, which is still a limited resource. Solar or wind power would be best but they can’t handle a base load so the best bet at this point in time is likely to be nuclear since it doesn’t emit any carbon at all.