Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Oil and the environment: what should we do?

Baraka_Guru · 04-23-2011, 10:27 AM

The BP disaster was quick and devastating, and its effects will linger for a long time.

BP oil spill: 1 year later - Technology & Science - CBC News

Some people call the Alberta tar sands a disaster in slow motion.

Environment Canada says tar sands pollution will get worse - Toronto Star

What do you think? Should we be shifting our focus regarding our energy demands to compensate for the impact it has on the environment?

I think we need to shift and shift hard. I think the average oil consumer has very little clue of the real damage that the oil industry has on the planet. I think that even if we shift now---and hard---that even that is too late. We should have been shifting over our energy policies to renewable clean energy with much more gusto than we have been. We should have done it "yesterday."

I don't think that Americans---or even Canadians---know well enough the specific damage the oil industry has (America is a big customer of Canadian oil). The companies working the Alberta tar sands have destroyed the environment of entire communities, and there isn't enough being done to prevent more damage from happening. This isn't just about flora and fauna---the human victims of oil are real. Either way, the damage being done to the environment alone has gone on for too long.

I realize this will likely result in the increase in energy cost, but I don't think we have a choice, unless we would rather choose flirting with widespread environmental (and, ironically, economic) disaster.

What do you think?

04-23-2011, 10:27 AM	#1 (permalink)
Baraka_Guru warrior bodhisattva Super Moderator Location: East-central Canada	Oil and the environment: what should we do? The BP disaster was quick and devastating, and its effects will linger for a long time. BP oil spill: 1 year later - Technology & Science - CBC News Some people call the Alberta tar sands a disaster in slow motion. Environment Canada says tar sands pollution will get worse - Toronto Star What do you think? Should we be shifting our focus regarding our energy demands to compensate for the impact it has on the environment? I think we need to shift and shift hard. I think the average oil consumer has very little clue of the real damage that the oil industry has on the planet. I think that even if we shift now---and hard---that even that is too late. We should have been shifting over our energy policies to renewable clean energy with much more gusto than we have been. We should have done it "yesterday." I don't think that Americans---or even Canadians---know well enough the specific damage the oil industry has (America is a big customer of Canadian oil). The companies working the Alberta tar sands have destroyed the environment of entire communities, and there isn't enough being done to prevent more damage from happening. This isn't just about flora and fauna---the human victims of oil are real. Either way, the damage being done to the environment alone has gone on for too long. I realize this will likely result in the increase in energy cost, but I don't think we have a choice, unless we would rather choose flirting with widespread environmental (and, ironically, economic) disaster. What do you think? __________________ Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing? —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot Last edited by Baraka_Guru; 05-01-2011 at 07:37 AM..