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Fossil Fuels and Renewable Resources | Pessimism, The Fashion of These Days

By Viola Woolcott

Pessimism is THE fashion these days, so they say. Scientists and environmentalists as well as climatologists claim that collapse is just around the corner and that civilisation is coming to an end.

There are countless books that tell us that we have passed the “tipping” point and that we have reached the point of no return. Haven’t we all realised that the skies are saturated with CO2 and that the atmosphere is filled with greenhouse gases? And than we are told again and again that whatever we do, we can’t take back the rise in temperature, neither prevent the sea from flooding London! What affected New Orleans will affect New York. Global warming is here to stay and the scenario of doom and gloom is expounded by experts and activists alike.

I have never underestimated the severity of the climate crisis and I respect the scientists who are predicting a catastrophic future for humanity. We are all hanging on the cliff edge, as we are all “dependent” on fossil fuel at our present way of life and if we were to move any further, we would fall into the abyss.

Wouldn’t it be nice to take a step back? To return to a way of life that is free from the dependence of fossil fuel, that in the end is damaging to all of us.

In this moment of time we burn billions of barrels of petroleum on a daily basis for food and clothes, heating and lighting, homes and transport and not to forget entertainment. Not only being dangerous, but this way of life is also wasteful and unsustainable.

And how about this?

You wouldn’t believe that to create the vast store of fossil energy that we have now, took nature 200 million years and we almost spent it in 200 years. The speed in which we are exhausting fossil energy is incredible. The fundamental shift in values and a radical return to a holistic worldview of all of us would make a huge difference.

In Sanskrit there is a word for the point of return, it is pratikraman. The opposite would be atikraman, which really means stepping “outside” our natural limits.

Atikraman happens when we separate from the universal law. Returning to the centre of your being or to the source of your inner wisdom is pratikraman. There is no doubt in my mind that these two Sanskrit words supply us with a useful approach to realise and understand the current human predicament and a possible way out. A deep self-examination is needed to study and understand the state of our psyche. We need to ask ourselves if we meeting our need or indulging our greed? Are we wounding Mother Earth or are we healing her?

Addiction to oil is atikraman. A return to the energy derived from air, water and sun is pratikraman. And this is only in the context of climate change and global warming. Of course, there is one way to begin pratikraman and this is to putting a cap on consumerism.

We need to meet obligations on motorways and runways. We must not have new homes without insulation. We need to put industrialised agriculture worldwide on hold. Once the use of fossil fuel has been put on hold, we can begin the reduction process and the return journey to renewable resources. If this return journey were thought out and conducted carefully it should be possible to avoid the projected meltdown. We managed to mend the hole in the ozone layer by reducing the use of CFCs (although some say this was all over-hyped anyway, and others say it started fixing itself, and also moved location). We should be able to ease the *supposed extreme consequences* of global warming, if we are able to immediately suspend the use of fossil fuel, and begin to use renewable sources instantly.

To help combat global warming, we must stop the current trend of consumerism. We have to find sanctuary in the arts and craft to stimulate our imagination and creativity, bringing us a sense of fulfilment. True prosperity and joyful living can is found in the simple things in life. Quality of life is far more important than quantities of possession.

FOOTNOTE: This may be wishful thinking as the big corporations would lose big money over the sale of fossil fuels, especially the USA, and the war on Iraq to gain control over oil would be even more pointless.

Also there was recently a documentary on TV that said global warming is totally over-hyped, as the world getting warmer is a natural progression. In the beginning the world snow and ice covered, gradually melting and getting warmer and then life began. Apparently the barren deserts, such as the Sahara, will once again be full of water once all the ice caps have melted, giving the arid land of these regions plenty of water and the whole earth will return to an Eden like state. Make your own mind up, but I am definitely NOT pessimistic about the future - never have been.

One thing I do agree with though is that there is way too much consumerism, and even amongst family members it is sad to see that the need for the newest models of laptop, mobile phone, clothes etc is more important than putting ones energy into much more productive things than always spending money on the latest gadget, which at the end of the day leave you feeling empty, wondering why you even wanted them. They are like quick fixes to happiness, almost like an excitotoxin such as sugar that lifts your mood than drops you faster than a brick leaving you empty and waiting for your next fix.

Filed under: Environment | Green Issues on November 30th, 2007