Whats your opinion on global warming and oil/coal?

I know those questions always start some kind of war between the "friends of coal/oil" and the environmentalist.  It's always the same the environmentalist tend to bash the hell out of what the oil and coal companies are doing to the environment and the friends of coal/oil throw comments like "so do you drive a car?" do you enjoy those roads your riding on? Do you use plastic in your life? Like your house warm in the winter and cool in the summer?.  There are loaded questions of course most of us will undoubtedly answer yes to all or most of them.

In my opinion I lean toward the environmentalist but with common sense thoughts in mind.  Of course I use roads and yes I have a car but do I believe we can create less waste through higher fuel efficiency standards?  Hell yes!  Do we all need trucks and SUV's that get 15 miles to the gallon to take one person on most or all daily commutes? No!  Can't we take a stand against oil and coal companies and polices but still agree that most of us are stuck using their products until we can find a better solution in the near future?  But while we wait can't we reduce the amount of oil and coal we use in our everyday lives through common sense?  I believe the answer to this question is YES!

Whats the fastest way to reduce the amount of gas Americans use everyday?  Easy raise the price of gas!  Suddenly everyone's scrambling to dump their suv and old truck for a Honda or other eco friendly car.  People start talking about car pooling and making less trips to town and yes Riding a Bike!  The only way to break America's dependance on gas is to raise the price it creates a path of resistance and the majority will find a way to better live their lives without the excessive waste.  And of course you can make part of the people happy part of the time and some of the people happy some of the time but your never going to make all of the people happy all of the time.

Have you seen the license plates that say "friends of coal"?  What the fuck?  Is what I"m thinking.  Really so your friends with coal do you too hang out on dates?  Do you talk to your friend about the high concentration of mercury in the rivers, creaks, and streams that is created by burning coal?  How about the  Sulfer Oxide emissions or the Nitrogen Oxide emissions placed into the air we breath when we use your "friend" to create energy?  Is anyone saddened by the limit of fish that can be taken from the OH river due to the amount of mercury from the burning of coal?  We are poising the water we drink and the air we breath when a cleaner option is available Natural Gas.  It is 90% cleaner burning than coal 90% less pollution that our kids children will have to deal with in the future.  To me this sounds like a great idea but don't ask a "friends of coal" person they will run you out of town.  Of course they work in the coal industry and as long as they are making lots of money they will remain "friends of coal" forever.  Sad but true.  Shot term a cleaner burning  fuel source long term wind, sun, Geo thermal.  Small steps to obtain a cleaner tomorrow small enough we can all take them but lets keep heading in the path of sustainability. 


Pictures of coal.

 

Future energy source?

 

Peace
Pedal Strong