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los_boucek
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Name: los_boucek
Country: United States
Metro: La Crosse
Interests: :: languages
{spanish,
french,
the smallest amount of greek
...occasionally english}
:: cultures ::
:: missions ::
:: social justice ::
:: travel {thus far the Americas} ::
:: literature ::
:: photography ::
:: music ::
:: movies ::
:: people watching ::
:: drinking coffee in cool cafés ::
:: drinking mate anywhere ::
Expertise: :: translation ::
:: interpretation ::
:: counselling ::
Occupation: :: translator/interpreter/tr
Industry: :: furniture - human resources
Message: message me
AIM:  lanzador83
MSN: boucekk83@yahoo.com.ar
Member Since:
2/2/2006
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| Some people with whom I generally disgree on energy policy have mentioned that there are many other essential products made from petroleum. Of course this is true. Oil based fuel consumption keeps rising, while the actual supply of oil is not increasing as much. I've advocated research of other sources of energy, rather than spending our resources on more oil drilling and exploration. I'm not saying that we would not use any oil at all (which would rule out plastics entirely, not to mention other household products) but that we either reduce or maintain constant our use of fossil fuels (specifically oil in this case, but to a lesser degree coal) if we run out of oil or oil becomes very expensive, plastics could be a problem. by spending our time and money on clean energy, we're preserving the oil supply that there is for our plastics (and other derived products) as well as the cars which are currently on the road. we will still need oil for many decades to come,but when we are designing NEW cars and power plants, it is ridiculous to use a fuel supply that will either run out or become more expensive in the near future (50+ years?) and is causing harm to the enviroment (which used to be debatable, but now is a given for all but the most stubborn). i'm not in a financial position to buy a new car currently, so i'm stuck with gas for a few years, but if i did buy one, I'd want it to be a hybrid, or at least biodiesel. yes, we will need oil, but there will come a time when we need other things like wind (one of my favorites), solar, hydro, renewable vegetable based fuels (maybe cane ethanol).
While I'm on the topic, you should avoid petroleum based household products like dishwashing soap and regular soap. there are some really great biodegradable, vegetable based soaps (dr bronners is good for a body wash and hand soap, and ecover makes a really effective dish soap that is non toxic, if you should ever not rinse completely, though I wouldn't drink it.
a lot of the change will come from within. my basic rule is (and I'm not looking for anyone to call me a hypocrite) that to make a decision, you should ask what would happen if everyone did what you did. would the world be a nicer place if everyone rode their bikes to the farmers market? would it be better if everyone shopped at thrift stores? what about about eating real (maybe even organic) foods instead of super-processed and packaged "food"? (i use quotations, because i recently stopped at a gas station for a snack, -bad idea - and there was nothing that was lower in fat and sugar and not meat based.)
how does this relate to the golden rule, where jesus calls us to do to others as we would have them do to us? how does it relate to loving one's neighbor as oneself? | | |
| its been so long since i've written anything, that i'm not sure what i've told to whom. i think the most recent news, which was kind of a big deal to us, was our house search. several months ago,probably june or so, jen noticed a cute little brick house over on east 8th that she really liked. we called a realtor, and went to look, and really liked it, but agreed that we should definately look at other houses, to at least know what you get for different price ranges here in winona. we did, and there was one that really stuck out in our minds over the fourth of july weekend when my parents were out here. it was a little bigger, at 904 square feet. both of them were two bedrooms, a garage, and a garden...better than our one bedroom with no garage or garden. also, we'd have a washer and dryer in the houses. it's hard to tell if this is a good time to buy a house. are prices at bottom, or are we at the place where we'll lose our shirt if we live somewhere less than 15 years? can we really afford to own a house? would jen have to go back to work right away if we did? these are the kinds of things we've been thinking about. we wanted a place for our little one, but was it something we just wanted for our own selfish reasons? were we wanting more than we could reasonable afford? (we're commited to living below our means, not buying the nicest cars or house or clothes that we can afford. if you've seen our cars or been in our apartment , you'd agree.)
[break]
ok, so anyways, we had our hopes up about buying a house, getting a garden, garage, yard, laundry room, baby room, etc. we had been talking about it, and had basically decided to go for a low offer. jen called the realtor, and her mom to tell them we wanted to make an offer...then two nights ago, jen and i prayed about it and really felt like we were on the same page and everything. then the next day, there was a sold sign on it. god had other plans. we had to get to the point where we thought we wanted the house, for us to know that it wasn't god's will.
it's getting late, i'd write more, but I thought I'd just get that out there. we're ok with it. i think this is the only way we would have known for sure that it's the right thing.
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| "Most men, it appears to me, do not care for Nature, and would sell their share in all her beauty, for as long as they may live, for a stated and not very large sum...it is for the very reason that some do not care for these things that we need to combine to protect all from the vandalism of a few."
- Henry David Thoreau, (Huckleberries, 1861)
I read the above quotation not long after having heard the idiotic debate about drilling for more oil. President Bush, (whom I feel comfortable openly calling an idiot) and John McCain (for whom the jury is still out) are both calling for Congress to open up the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge to drilling oil. To hell with the environment, we need more oil. Haven't we done enough to screw the world up without invading yet new places to destoy them and extract commodities? When will our leaders and the American people realize that this is the end of the line for oil. No matter how much we get out of the ground, it's not going to lower prices in the long term, and even the short term "benefits" would not be seen for several years, by the most conservative of estimates. Oil is dead. The future of this country depends on our ability to get over it. Right now I for one do not have the money to buy an electric car, nor would there be one suited to my commute. But I'm resigned to the fact that if I want to continue to drive a car that uses petroleum based fuel (in this case, gasoline) it will get continuously more expensive to do so. It's already $4,05 around here, so $5, $6, $7, $8 are the next few landmarks. The only way to not have to pay $8 a gallon in the semi near future (thinking 5 or 10 years out) is to get a vehicle that needs no oil, or come up with a way of biking, walking, or taking public transportation. Don't be deceived about it. There's no more $50 barrels of oil, nor are there any $2 gallons of gas. There will still be gas for a long time (at least as long as any of the cars currently on the road will last) but not at the prices to which we've become accustomed.
It's time to get over it, and move on. You do what you can, like walking or riding a bike when that's possible (believe me, it's not always possible in the middle of Minnesota winter) You drive slower. I got an all time high 35.7mpg in my Volkswagen Jetta this week. I drove 55 and shifted early. I don't think it took that much more time getting places, either. Oh, and that was only going to work and back. No driving around town whatsoever. I invested in a basket for my bike last weekend, and we were able to get a bunch of groceries in there, even heavy things like sugar, ice cream and soymilk. Then Sunday we went to Menards to get plants for the garden, and we picked up 15 plants and a 20 lb sack of manure, and it all fit in the baskets. I'm not trying to brag about my non-driving, but this is all to say that it's possible, and that I think everyone needs to think about the kinds of things like this that THEY can do.
Let's not put a bandaid on the splurting gash of a wound that is our dependence on oil. This is a problem that requires real solutions.
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america was once a paradise
of timberland and stream
but it is dying because of the greed
and money lust of a thousand little kings
who slashed the timber all to hell
and would not be controlled
and changed the climate
and stole the rainfall from posterity
and it wont be long now
till everything is desert
from the alleghenies to the rockies
the deserts are coming
the deserts are spreading
the springs and streams are drying up
one day the mississippi itself
will be a bed of sand
ants and scorpions and centipedes
shall inherit the earth
from "what the ants are saying" by Don Marquis, 1935.
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| Fox News tends to be a good source of news you can be mad about. The ridiculous super conservative right wing propaganda always poses questions from such an abnoxious slant that it couldn't possibly be classified as Fair or Balanced. Today there was a poll, saying that 84 percent of people opposed redistribution of wealth through higher taxes on the rich. When they desribed how the question was posed, it's obvious how they got such skewed results. What they found was that 16 percent of people supported raising taxes on the rich to redistribute wealth, whilst the other 84 included those that supported redistribution of wealth "by investigating other options." With this kind of either/or mentality they poll ends up not meaning anything. The moron anchorwoman also said that in 1993 in order to balance the budget, Bill Clinton raised taxes the highest rate in history. I'm not sure where they got that statistic, but a little bit of Wikipedia indicates that personal income tax is now (and has been for a while) almost as low as it has been since World War 2. The difference being, that during WW2 they at least had the brains to know that fighting a war required huge amounts of tax money. Imagine the increased outrage against the war in Iraq if taxation approached early 1940s levels. In addition, nominal taxation rates are among the lowest in the developed world, and VAT taxes and fuel taxes are much higher in Western Europe. All that to say that it would be reasonable to raise taxes on those who make more than a certain amount. That amount should be related to the poverty line. Basically, there's no reason a person should need 10 times more than the poorest people on the margins of society. What's poverty? 15 or 20 thousand dollars? If that's the case, no one needs more than 150 or 200. Anyone who makes more than that should get raked over the coals in terms of taxation. You don't want to pay half of your money in taxes? Give it away (tax deductible contributions would still apply) or make less money (and in so doing keep more of it). One of the goals of modern society should not be to foster an economic environment in which a few uber-rich make more money in a day than most of us will see in a lifetime, but one where there are no poor. The way I see it, taxing the hell out of the rich is one of the only ways to achieve this kind of economic equilization. It is shameful that "Christians" support economic policies that encourage taking advantage of the poor and creating even more inequality. Call it socialism if you like, call it social justice, but this is the direction we should go to be a truly advanced society. | | |
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