The Beautiful OilRig Blanket

Energy Tomorrow is When?

The good "People of America's Oil and Natural Gas Industry"(EnergyTomorrow.org) are having fun painting pretty pictures this summer of the drilling scenario in our coastal waters. The introductory sentence to their magazine ad claims there's enough oil underneath "fragile marine life" "to power more than 60 million cars". It's godsend news because these "undiscovered" mines of "tomorrow's energy" will provide security and economic stimulus for a strongerAmerica.
Of course, while casting the government as the evil leprechaun guarding this pot of gold, they cite a U.S. Department of Energy prediction that 15% more energy will be needed by 2030. Next, they remind the vigilant American consumer, that these two energy saviors (oil, especially) are used to manufacture, transport, store, and operate a majority of the products in your home, on your body, and in the trash heap. I'm no mathematician, but won't that alter their "60 for 60" claim? If these "plentiful domestic oil and natural gas resources" will be used to satisfy the "60 for 60" prediction, where will we derive resources which "make possible our unequaled quality oflife"?
I've overquoted the ad to highlight the language used by the oil industry to sell us this lemon of an energy solution. One which numerous readers of The Coast Star have advocated in writing to the editor, including August 28th's 650-word, spelling bee-caliber rant,"To drill or not to drill". If you're serious about Oil, prove to me that it's with the nation's future in mind, not yours.
Remember that cockamamie idea about installing coastal wind turbines? Remember Shore residents and Ted Kennedy saying they'd ruin the coast's aesthetic appeal? Apparently nobody's seen the dense oil rig layout blanketing the Gulf Coast during recent hurricane coverage(http://terraceadvocate.blogspot.com/). I'm no Martha Stewart, but you have to prove to me that rigging is more appealing than pinwheels, pinwheels spinning around.
We also have a different definition of "tomorrow". If you define "tomorrow" by days, not generations, then you have a point. If rigs were in place and ready to pump tomorrow, Friday, then offshore drilling holds some immediate promise. But they're not, and they'd require a huge investment into something we know is going to disappear. It's like giving a gift of Mets' tickets, for the 2015 season, which are only redeemable at Shea Stadium.
Claiming that oil is tomorrow's energy solution is completely preposterous. While investing in a vanishing resource likely will not be detrimental to anyone currently alive, years from now America will be run on something other than oil, and I doubt it'll be Dunkin. If we are, as we claim, society builders, then we have a huge responsibility.
How will the history books or Tom Brokaw of 2150 remember ourgeneration? Will we be ones who foretold the future and allowed it to transpire in favor of gluttony and selfishness? Or will we be ones who embraced the uncertainty associated with change and re-educated ourselves to a life of sustainability?
Cynicism says selfishness will conquer.

Accord of Blatant Courtesy

Where'd all the Good People Go?

The telltale sign of summer weekends used to be idiocy on usually-tepid roadways; if you were tailgated in a school zone or honked at for not flooring it at a green light, a Benny was surely the culprit. The nomenclature seemed less a classification of a northern visitor than a term describing someone who violated intimate Shorelife. Once Monday morning dawned, a collective sigh of relief from the locals provided a Parkway tailwind for homeward-bound Benny holdouts.

Now, that collective sigh is full of hot air. The cry of "Benny Go Home!" seems little more than a hypocritical, bumpersticker catchphrase which selfishly boasts Shore Status, not Shore Pride. While there was a time when we wished Monday morning would restore our family- and community-centric lifestyle, Monday's just another manic day.

Life, specifically travel, doesn't get easier when Benny leaves. Roads are less voluminous, but drivers are equally selfish and careless. The person in front of you can't drive fast enough, and you can't drive fast enough for the driver behind you. There's as great a chance of being sadistically tailed by a street-sweeper on Tuesday as a token, NY-plated Escalade on Saturday.

So why force Benny home? Are we the only ones allowed to drive maniacally, to disregard pedestrians, to toss cigarette butts curbward from our own downtown shops, or treat others like un-important obstacles in our, apparently, very important lives?

I don't expect to exterminate this self-absorption as easily as we have the deer population. But I want those old values prominently displayed again, and I want Shore purists – the ones who love this place for the beautiful, intimate mix of nature it is – to lead. There's no better example of this social disintegration then driving etiquette, and I offer this attempt at a solution. Sign my Accord of Blatant Courtesy and unite, locals, to save the Shore.

Repeat after me: "I, (state your name), a Jersey Shore lover, promise, to the best of my ability, to uphold the Shore principles of intimacy, courtesy, and family. I will do this while traveling through local hamlets by:

1. Abiding by the definition of "limit". I understand that a limit is a maximum, and around here, the faster I drive, the sooner I'll end up running into a traffic light or another's rearview mirror.
2. Applying my indicator before, not during, a turn. I understand that other drivers have eyes and can see my auto turning, but, unless they are Miss Cleo, are unable to read my mind and prepare accordingly.
3. Stopping, completely, at all indicated signs. I understand that gliding my auto's nose into an intersection not only endangers myself but also scares the pants off other drivers.
4. Granting right-of-way to left-turning drivers. I understand that, especially at intersections, I'm able to restrain an entire traffic pattern, and emancipate oncoming traffic, by this simple action.
5. Yielding to pedestrians. I understand that the absence of wheels beneath their feet doesn't make them less important.
6. Waving.

(---)

If you wish to sign this agreement, simply post a response to this blog post. If I were more internet-savvy, I'd find a place to start an online petition or something, but I'm not, so let's keep it simple. But who knows, maybe in the next two days I'll find one. Thanks.