Commentary
Expand Oil Capacity With Awareness
- by Greg Menken , June 16, 2010
While scaled-up biofuels and wind power are far off, we do have the ability to immediately increase oil capacity -- through reduced consumption in our everyday lives. Time recently ranked the "American driver" among the Top 10 culprits in the gulf spill. I would add the "American consumer" as well.
Everyday choices made by American consumers impact our nation's oil demand. Over half of a 42-gallon barrel of oil is used to produce things other than gasoline. According to Ranken Energy Corporation, 6,600 products contain petroleum, from footballs to shampoo to plastic dry cleaning bags. I happen to have a huge pile of dry cleaning bags in my closet. Eliminating the use of dry cleaning bags should be an easy, low-tech approach toward expanding oil capacity. Yet, like driving, the greatest obstacle to eliminating the bags comes down to behavioral choices.
I put non-green consumers into two basic categories when it comes to eco-friendly behavioral economics -- "don't care" and "care, but don't know." The successful transition away from petroleum-based plastics like dry cleaning bags requires better awareness to realize a change in behavior for many of these consumers.
One reusable dry cleaning bag manufacturer, Green Garmento, notes that its success requires a change in thinking among both consumers and cleaners. Plastic bags have been unchallenged because both parties choose convenience over the environment. People just want to pop-in to get their clothes, and the cleaners don't want the extra labor of keeping track of all those reusable bags.
As with any green argument, it must focus on the earth and the pocketbook. Consumers and towns save money when they produce less waste, and dry cleaners save about five cents per plastic bag, helping keep costs down for consumers as well.
Those pushing away from oil must better inform their audiences to succeed. The impact of this simple shift toward reusable dry cleaning bags would be significant if made along with other oil-free choices. According to the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute, 1.4 billion pieces of clothing are professionally cleaned in the U.S. annually, adding up to about 700 million bags, or 131 million pounds of plastic.
The San Francisco Department of the Environment says it takes 430,000 gallons of oil to produce 100 million plastic shopping bags. So extrapolating for plastic dry cleaning bags, eliminating the bags would free up about three million gallons of oil.
Bioplastics Nation, a Facebook page I follow, is helping to educate consumers about these facts and the ubiquity of petroleum in our everyday lives, while challenging people to consider alternatives. In the context of the oil spill, I believe many in the "care, but don't know" category would be happy to pick up a reusable dry cleaning bag if they were better informed.
As our country tries to clean up the mess in the gulf, let's remember that we don't need expensive clean technologies to begin moving off oil -- we can start right now by convincing consumers and businesses that it is in their power, and interest, to do so today.
I'm all for conservation and efficiency, but the mentality represented by this article is troubling. Ultimately, the "use less" formula will shrink the economy and cost jobs.
Instead, I would advocate that we produce more oil, and concentrate our efforts on doing it safely and responsibly. That means loosening restrictions on shallow-water drilling which is safer and can be better regulated, rather than the eco-kook answer of deep-water drilling that has given us the mess in the gulf. ANWR could be safely drilled.
And nuclear power can be safely used, as it is in Europe.
The only thing stopping us is oil companies who cut sweetheart deals with the government so that they are compensated with tax dollars for not taking the risk of exploration . . . and eco-extremists in the government, including our President, who are all too happy to go along.
Excellent article Greg. It's simple things like this that can really bring about realistic changes in the short-term. Awareness of how we can modify our behavior as consumers is the quickest route to reducing our dependence on oil.
I respectfully disagree with Chris on his assessment of the issue. Regardless of whether we allow drilling in ANWR (which I am strongly against) and other such areas, we will never be able to produce enough domestically to cover our demand without drastic reductions in consumption. Oil is a scarce resource that will run out one day - no doubt about it. We have been lulled into complacency by those who stand to make record profits off our addiction, while the true costs of our addiction has been hidden (socialized, more accurately). Our addiction costs us in ways that we don't pay for at the pump, and until those costs are factored into the price we pay for gas and our beloved consumer products, alternatives cannot compete. But when you factor in the defense costs, environmental costs, health costs, social costs, etc., the price of oil becomes shockingly higher.
Investing in alternatives now is critical, and will pay off in the long run. The days of cheap, easy-to-find oil are over. It will continue to get harder and more expensive in the future. Also, regarding the deep water vs. shallow water drilling argument, all you have to do is look up Gulf Oil Spill 1979 to see that shallow water doesn't make it any easier to control spills of this type. That one went on for almost a year, despite being in less than 200 feet of water.
Can we stop using oil immediately, no. But if we ignore the imminent supply shortage by 'getting one more fix' (i.e. ANWR), aren't we essentially acting like drug addicts that say they will quit tomorrow, but tonight they are going to party just one more time?
We have to start somewhere. This must be made a national priority, or it will get brushed under the rug again.
Thanks for the article Greg!
Greg - I appreciate this this article. A great illustration of how oil impacts our everyday lives, more than most people would consider.
I'm going to also disagree with Chris, since I don't see this change in habit as a "use less" mentality. Using less in this case would mean to stop using dry cleaning altogether (or, even more drastic, cutting down on the number of clothes a person buys in the first place). Rather, new industries can be created to replace the ones that will go out of business ~ a company that manufacturers reusable bags to replace one that manufactures single-use plastic bags. It may not be apparent in the short term, but new ideas and technologies are what drive the economy forward, and are what will be most beneficial for everyone in the long term.