To hell with going green...

Since there really isn’t much to report on from Jordan, and there is really only so many times I can go into great detail about the blank stares and hardened creases of the eyes from the faces of cab drivers as they try to figure out which language I’m speaking because it’s obviously not Arabic, it’s time for me to sound off on some pressing issues of the day.
The massive outcry that we hear day in and day out about global warming has only reinforced one very basic idea: no matter what people say, they will continue to act in their own best self-interest. The world is dying? So what, I like having a good air-conditioning system. High oil prices will prove to be the single greatest lobby for defeating global warming because now, it is not about the circumstances thirty years from now. Now, it is becoming personal. Now, people can’t afford to buy that extra scoop of ice cream for their children. Now, people need a cheaper way to get to work, and that is affecting them in the here and the now.
Most people know how I feel about energy. I believe the best signal to send to OPEC is not to beg and plead for more production, but to show them that we simply don’t need their oil. This does not mean driving gaping wounds into landscapes of our country, but developing new, clean technologies to take the place of oil. I know, I know, same ole, same ole. But here’s the thing, how hard would it honestly be for America to transition to a greener world, break away from our reliance on foreign nations with vast reservoirs of oil – a relationship a psychiatrist would most likely call an unhealthy addiction that will eventually lead suicidal behaviors – and play the role that America has grown so accustomed to playing over the past century: that of a leader? How hard would it be to offer tax breaks and incentives to people who install solar panels or buy an electric car? How hard would it be for a small group of people to get together and say, we refuse to buy products from this producer because this producer has filthy centers of production? You want oil prices to drop, than let’s for a change try and listen to our horribly boring Intro to Economics professors and turn supply and demand upside down. The key to dropping oil prices is not to have the leader of the free world get on his knees and kiss the shoes of one of the most unjust kingdoms in the world, but to say, “Fine, prices are high, we’re going to try something else.” There is no reason, given the technologies and innovation of the day, that oil and gas cannot be as elastic as the decision to buy Coke or Pepsi when at the grocery store.
I certainly don’t want to give the impression that I am a morally-righteous human being. Despite being a believer in the existential threat of Global Warming, I don’t stay up at night, fretting over the impending doom of the planet. I do, however, worry how I’m going to afford the next tank of gas to drive home from Monterey to Walnut Creek to see my family. And for all intents and purposes, I certainly panic at the thought I might go to the store one day and find that Coke and Pepsi are priced the same and I have to make a conscious decision of what actually tastes better. The here and the now is all I am worried about. Amazingly enough, though, we are fortunate to live in a country where worrying about the here and the now allows us to utilize those concerns to focus on a better future for our children.
I suppose, as truly pathetic as this might sound, the ultimate problem comes down to the fact we either don’t want to concern ourselves with the real problems and just wish they will go away, or, and this certainly applies to me, I just don’t want to be part of “The Green Movement.” Hippies go green. Ralph Nader goes green. The woman yelling at you to recycle the can you just threw away goes green. Anything that makes people feel like they are being compared to Hippies, however good or bad that might be, is destined to fail. And alas, with rising corn prices, rising oil prices, an administration that is only concerned with getting more oil, and people sick of hearing about Global Warming, the Green Revolution is on life support (but certainly not from the American government). So now, with great humility and an even greater desire to see America continue to be the leader of the free world for another century, it’s time for a new revolution. For the sake of a better or more inspiring term, let’s just call it the New America Revolution, because America will only enjoy the fruits of the 21st century if it remakes itself, and that begins with new energy policies. It’s not going green; it’s not saving the world; and it’s certainly not about solving the sudden rise in hurricanes because honestly, who the hell cares about cleaner alternatives? The opportunity is ripe for America to look for cheaper alternatives to a problem that has been plaguing us for decades. Then, and only then, will Saudi Arabia and its lackeys suddenly feel the nostalgia of breaking free of the oil crisis of the 70s. Then, and only then, will we break free of oil.