Fossil Fuels Are AWESOME

By Steve Trash - Illusionist, Eco-Educator, and Rockin' Eco Hero

This is not a joke.  I DO believe that Fossil fuels ARE awesome! Their use by humanity has allowed us to create giant cities, feed 7 billion people, travel into outer space, and, most important of all, make popcorn in under two minutes.  Our use of fossil fuels has even gotten us (I think you could reasonably argue) to the point that we're THE dominant creature on the planet Earth.  But there are serious consequences to the ways we use fossil fuels (energy and plastics for example). Burning fossil fuels for energy creates pollution. Fossil fuels are costly and difficult to get (most are deep deep beneath the Earths surface), they can be dangerous to store, and they are ultimately exhaustible.  It seems to me, that we (us humans) need to transition to more sustainable and less polluting source of energy. We need to "be" sustainable, just like the planet Earth. It sustains itself. For us to be truly sustainable (meaning... to use energy that does not pollute, and is practically inexhaustible) for all 7 billion of us, we must use the suns energy or other resources that can be renewed. The sun's energy is clean energy (when collected directly from the sun) and it's practically inexhaustible. If the sun were the size (for example) of a basketball, the Earth would be the size of a bb. That's a LOT of energy that we can capture and use. It's clean. It's green (meaning it works WITH nature not AGAINST nature). I look at our use of carbon based fuels, as if it were a, giant rocket ship taking off and traveling into outer space. Almost all the fuel a rocket uses (the vast majority) gets gets used up simply to get the rocket out of the Earth's orbit. Fossil Fuels have been amazing at getting humanity to a place where is can feed, cloth, and house everyone, but at some point the rocket starts to use its forward momentum to continue the journey. My idea is that we can now switch to renewable or inexhaustible and clean energy because we got the "rocket boost" from the amazing fossil fuels. I think that using small amounts of fossil fuels for high energy, non-repeated, human endeavors, kinda, actually, makes sense, but we destroy (burn) them, so they are never replaced... ever. So powering our cars, our homes, our food generation with power that doesn't need to be burned (and depleted) just makes more sense to me. Fossil Fuels are awesome, but sustainable sources of energy are awesomer!  

Your "Gut" Is Probably Wrong... No Really... by Steve Trash

The 800 lb. Gorilla can "trigger" the truth or half-truth or nothing at all

TRIGGERS. So, here's the thing.  Because I'm a professional illusionist, I think about perception a lot.  In fact, we illusionists USE your perception AGAINST you for entertainment.  Think about it.  It's WHY magic tricks work... because you mispercieve what's REALLY happening.  So recently I started thinking about the quality of thought that comes from your "gut". Your gut might be right or might be wrong... but remember... regardless of it's correctness with natural laws, mans' laws, spiritual laws... it ALWAYS tells you it's right. Surely your "gut" wouldn't lie to you? Well it can and it does. Your gut can be right or wrong but it "feels" right... and if you don't question it, you naturally THINK it's right. Seriously, it must be right because it "feels" right... right? Well not really... Your gut response is an expression of a lifetime of learning, experience, observation, and most of all... most of all... triggers. Triggers are your minds "shortcuts". Stimulus/Response. Everyone has tons of triggers. Everyone. Here's how it works... some stimulus in the environment happens; someone uses a bad word (triggered response), you see a person whom you should be afraid of (triggered response), the media has told you that person is good or evil (triggered response), someone nearby reaches for their cell phone and checks messages (triggered response). Triggers help you make decisions quickly that work for you... These are necessary in "clear and present danger" situations, but sometimes they don't work "for" you, because they don't represent any real "truth". They just take you to a place that "feels good". In our minds there is always a space between stimulus and response. Your triggered response to a stimulus may be filled with truth, justice, Jesus, the American way, or not. The point is to stop in the middle and ask... is it?

Why I think Oil Sands Mining is a Bad Idea for Northwest Alabama by Steve Trash

Please pardon me while I remove my educators' hat (something that I work assiduously to keep in tact at all times) and put on my advocates hat. 

I do this because, it's no longer theoretical... it's local (to me right here in Northwest Alabama) and it's personal. 

So here goes.

I don't know personally know Sheree Martin, but (in her blog post) she makes a very reasonable and passionate argument that mining the sands of north Alabama is a really really bad idea. I agree.

In a nutshell... here's the argument...

1. THE BENEFIT WILL GO TO CORPORATIONS NOT THE PEOPLE - The mining will benefit only a few people (a few employees and the companies that will be extracting the sand and oil). These companies are not accountable to the local people of Alabama. It is unlikely that any of our elected political figures will stand up to defend the people of Alabama because... lets face it... corporations have power... people do not.

2. LOCALS LOSE - It will harm the people who actually live on the land (the locals) and potentially harm their groundwater (what do you drink if your groundwater goes bad?). Your body is 65 to 70 percent water and that water is stored beneath the ground before it gets in your body. Because this is experimental technology... all assurances from the company doing the mining... that "they will do everything to protect groundwater... pretty much... means nothing". Experiments... by their very nature... are filled with unexpected outcomes. Aquifers and groundwater are very large complex (sand filled) filtering systems. They will be disturbed by the mining.

3. WRONG DIRECTION. We... as a country and planet... should be moving away from non-renewable fossil fuels whose use releases carbon dioxide, not moving towards it. I just heard Republican Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson (yeah Republican Treasury Guy for George W. Bush) on the news say... (paraphrased... cause I don't write quickly enough) "Global Warming is man-made and will have real economic negative effects on business. We've estimated the negative effects on business will be in the billions." Supporting this oil sands mining means we're moving even further in an unsustainable direction. America could be leading towards a clean energy future, but oil sands mining is not leading, it's actually going backwards.

4. I LOVE BUSINESS. Like Sheree... I'm totally PRO BUSINESS. I've been a business guy for 30 years. I make money and love it. I employ people. I live in Alabama and love it. I love business, but supporting business that grows the Alabama economy and jobs should not harm the environment or the people that live here makes the most sense to me. Oil Tar Sands mining does not seem to fit that bill.

5. SWEET HOME ALABAMA. Lastly... if you've ever been to northwest Alabama... it's stunningly beautiful place and mining will rip into its pristine beauty. It seems unlikely to me that Lynyrd Skynyrd would have sung "Sweet Home Tar Sands Mining".

I agree with Sheree. I'm just saying... the whole thing seems like a really bad idea to me.

Steve

http://shereemartin.com/why-i-am-fighting-oil-sands-mining/

Economic decisions we make (especially we Capitalist-Bidness Types) should always include environment in our balance sheet considerations.  Here's why.  We didn't "make" the air.  We didn't make the "water".  We didn't even "make" the natural resources we use for our profit.  We borrow them and make them into something new.  It's OUR responsibility to borrow them wisely.  Don't you think?  I do.

Jane Velez-Mitchell and Plastic Bottles

Jane Velez-Mitchel of CNN & Headline News asked me last week if I thought stopping the purchase of plastic bottles was the best idea to prevent them from getting into our oceans. I responded, "I think that making sure the bottles we purchase gets recycled AND that recycled content from those bottles is continually added into a closed loop of new products is actually the best idea.  If the recycled material is used over and over and over again (whether it's plastic, paper, aluminum, steel, cardboard, glass, or other) and not allowed to escape into the environment as pollution or waste - that seems to me to be our smartest natural resource use choice."  That's how the earth does it.  And... if it's good enough for Mother Nature... it's good enough for me.  By the way, Jane and her entire video/producer crew in New York City were really cool to work with.  Nice.  

Fossil Fuels are the Solid Rocket Booster of Humanity

FOSSIL FUELS

Here's my take on fossil fuels - as of March - 2014.  

They have served humanity very well for over 150 years.  Personally, I am very thankful for the maverick madmen who built, promoted, and shared the internal combustion engine – and its fuel – with us.  We have used its power to go and do some pretty amazing things: double the amount of food produced per hectacre, design and build homes that can control light and even temperature -  we’ve even used it to travel outside our own biosphere all the way to the moon and beyond.

In fact, there are very few places back here on planet Earth that we humans cannot go these days, and that’s pretty much all thanks to the power that fossil fuels have given us.   

But, just like the solid rocket fuel booster that’s abandoned after it pushes the rocket off its earthbound launch pad, it’s time to jettison fossil fuels and transition to sources of energy that are renewable and sustainable. 

Here are the facts.  1. Fossil fuels take millions of years to make, and, 2. when burned properly, they always pollute the environment.  

It seems unlikely to me that the global economy will succeed in the long run if we continue on this non-sustainable energy path, because there's lots of evidence that its use leads to catastrophic weather events, global resource scarcity, social unrest, water pollution, and other bad stuff.

 The great news is that fossil fuels birthed our ability to use many other forms of energy.  These other forms can now do the fueling of humanity’s insatiable desire to “go and do.”  

They include solar, hydro, wind, geothermal, and bio-fuels.  Each of these sources of power is renewable.

If something is “renewable,” it means we DO NOT use it in a way that prevents future generations from being able to use the same resource.   

Fossil fuels are always gonna be a net loss.  

Use them, and you’ve reduced the ability of future generations to use them.  Using renewables does not do this.  

It seems to me, that now is the perfect time to capitalize on the boost fossil fuels have given us and continue our amazing human journey forward, but continue forward, using sustainability as our guide.

We’ve made some dumb mistakes - slavery, the Spanish Inquisition, the Kardashians - but as the eco-architect William McDonough says,

“The Stone age didn’t come to an end because humanity ran out of stones.  It came to an end because humans found a better way to use natural resources.   They found a better way to perpetuate the species.”

That’s right; they found a better way to perpetuate the species, and so have we.   

The path forward for the 9 billion people of year 2050 is crystal clear:  business and consumers working together can get us onto the sustainable highway.  And that path can be powered by Adam Smith’s invisible hand (the market) because renewable and sustainable technologies and methods create jobs, lots of jobs... sustainably.

But first - we as a society - must point our compass toward sustainability.  

The market always works to provide energy, food, clothing, buildings, entertainment, and transportation.  We simply need to demand goods and services from that marketplace that are sustainably made.  

This includes the energy that will drive humanity into the 22 and 23 century.

NRDC and Broadway Green Alliance Team Up

Love the theatre?  On the board of your local theatre?  Know someone that works in theatre? Ever been to a theatre?

Two terrific organizations - The Broadway Green Alliance and the NRDC have teamed up to help theatre's be as green as possible.  This dynamic duo of organizations (BGA & NRDC) really know what they're talking about.
So you may ask.  Why should our theatre go green?
Good Question.  Here are three good answers.

1.  It's good for business.  Efficiency leads to cost savings.  Saving money is always good for the bottom line.
2.  It's good for the environment.  Less impact on the planet = better health for everyone.
3.  Brand Enhancement.  Everyone knows "green" is good.  Get that extra little bit of love from your patrons.  They'll know they're supporting "the arts" and doing the "right thing" for the planet.  It's win win.

Check out this simple list of tips for greening your theatre.
1. Establish an Organization-wide Environmental Policy
2. Have an Energy Audit Performed
3. Start Tracking Your Progress
4. Recycle More
5. Reduce Water Use
6. Use Less and Better Paper
7. Donate Food
8. Switch to Green Cleaning Products
9. Choose Green Energy
10. Involve Your Supply Chain

Want to learn more about how you can green your theatre?
Much more here.

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