Getting by with less

I think we can all agree that it has been a tough year. Incomes are either flat or down while costs of stuff is up. Personally, I don't see things getting any better for quite a while. This is an election year, but the people we elect in November won't be able to begin doing anything until next year. Who knows how much time it will take for what they do to actually take affect. Optimistic is not a term I use to describe myself anymore.

Regardless of what else happenes or may happen, I have learned some valuable lessons this year. Perhaps many other Americans have learned this one as well: how to get by with less. I've had to drastically cut my spending just so I could pay my bills. If it's not an absolute essential, I'm not buying it any more. Sure, there are things I miss, but I've discovered that I can get by without them - that I really didn't need them. This is a lesson we all need to learn: how to separate what we need from what we want.

America has been a society of consumers for a long time. A billboard for one of the local "factory outlet" malls near where I live has the slogan: "Shop till you drop". Advertisers show us all the things we need to look good in, smell good wearing, all the stuff we've 'got to have' so that we'll be enticed to go out and buy it. While the money lasted, it was good. But did we really need all that junk?

Did you know that America is the largest consumer of a majority of the natural resources of this planet while not having the largest population? The American Association for the Advancement of Science has this to say: "For many resources, the United States of America is the world's largest consumer in absolute terms. For a list of 20 major traded commodities, it takes the greatest share of 11 of them: corn, coffee, copper, lead, zinc, tin, aluminum, rubber, oil seeds, oil and natural gas. For many more it is the largest per-capita consumer." When it comes to energy consumption we again are the biggest consumers. And when it comes to oil consumption, no one else is even close.

So it might not be such a bad idea for us all to try and get by with less. Sure, some jobs will go away because of this. However, if we were to start doing/building some of the things that we as a nation really need then new jobs will be created. Some ideas: research and develop alternative forms of energy, rebuild our highway infrastructure (remember that bridge that fell in Minneapolis?), and clean up the environment.

I'll end with a link to a post by Frances Ellen on 6 ways to beat the cost of groceries. She's got some excellent suggestions.

Will new oil drilling save us?

One way or another we are all feeling the pain because of high prices at the pump. Costs for goods are up, wages down, people aren’t able to buy all the stuff they could last year at this time, sales are down, jobs are being lost. So now that everyone is fixated on the price of gas, a “perfect” solution is being offered: drill everywhere for more oil. Sounds easy, right? Wrong.

Let’s look at a few facts that the oil companies don’t want you to hear about (after all, an informed public is NOT in their best interest):

• On average, of all the land currently under lease for oil production less than 1/3 of that land is being utilized.
• In 2007 there were 7,124 drilling permits approved on public lands, but only 5,343 wells were actually drilled. Did you know that Democrats in the House of Representatives tried to pass legislation to require oil companies to develop their existing leases? Guess what, the Republicans and our current administration (rife with oil men) prevented passage of the bill.
• Everyone has heard of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Have you ever heard of the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska (NPRA)? This land was originally set aside in 1923 as an oil reserve for the U.S. Navy. Congress transferred management of the land to the Department of the Interior in 1976. Why aren’t we drilling there?
• Still want to drill in ANWR like the oil companies do? After all, how much space could a few oil wells take up? Check out this site for some facts and a great map showing what the true impact on that fragile wilderness would be. Or check out this documentary about ANWR that won an international award.
  
• The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources produced a report in June, 2008, entitled: “The Truth About America’s Energy: Big Oil Stockpiles Supplies and Pockets Profits.” This report starts out by stating: “While the oil industry and some Members of Congress argue that opening more federal lands and waters would lead to lower gasoline prices, the facts prove otherwise. The fact is that the Nation simply cannot drill its way to lower prices at the pump. Other options, from greater energy efficiencies to the development of alternative fuels, are essential to reducing dependency on petroleum fuels and lowering fuel costs.” It is a ten page document in Adobe PDF format. It should be mandatory reading in my opinion. Read it, the facts there are not what you hear on the nightly news shows or read in the papers.

There is an organization called The Apollo Alliance which promotes clean energy, good jobs, and freedom from foreign oil. Here is what they have to say: “Every day, Americans pay more and more at the pump, while oil companies bring in record profits. Now, those same oil companies and their congressional allies are proposing more drilling - even though nearly every energy expert agrees this is one problem America can't drill its way out of. The oil companies say they're doing it to help lower the cost of gas. But scratch the surface, and you'll find it's the oil companies that truly benefit from new offshore drilling. America needs a real, comprehensive solution to America's energy crisis. Let's invest in clean, renewable energy and homegrown fuels, that will create millions of high-quality, green-collar jobs and reduce our dependence on oil.”

And it’s not just ‘green’ organizations like The Apollo Alliance that are promoting a change, even oil men are starting to come out in favor of a change. Have you seen T. Boone Pickens advertisement on TV? Check out his site. I even managed to find a newspaper article from August 2, 2008, in the Star Tribune in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota entitled “Drilling has only tenuous link to lower energy prices.”

During the Cold War the United States and Russia had a space race. That race brought about many advances in science that improved the lives of everyone. Lots of high-paying jobs were created and many new technologies were developed. We need a new race, a race for alternative forms of energy, to spur development, technology, and jobs. We need to get started working on a better future for our children and their children NOW!