Sunday, June 8, 2008

"Why are we so blind," you ask?

"Why are we so blind," you ask?


Well, what are you spending your mental attention on? Britney? Kobe? Tiger?

I don't own a TV. I grew up as a kid watching Star Trek and I Love Lucy so I have spent the rest of my life un-brainwashing myself. Me and Da Boyz used to watch Kung Fu to get the "right vibration" going before the afternoon surf session. I thought that was a good use of TV, although I admit it squandered the educational potential of the medium itself. But that was when I was a kid, you know, the period when the parents make most of the big decisions. But I found that once I got unleashed, TV just didn't have the same allure as night surfing or riding a dirt bike across the moonlit desert, or whatever.

I sometimes catch some boob tube when I am staying at a hotel, but in general, I hardly ever choose to "zone out." There just is no substitute for reality.

Peak Oil begs the question. Why? Why are we so blind? How could we possibly be using 25% of the daily oil in the world? And what for? What are we accomplishing? A consumer economy? Consumerism is our de facto religion in the USA. Why don't we "see" more of the real world?

Have you been paying attention to the statistics that show that the high school or college graduates don't know their world geography? Don't be shocked. I see it in the business world every day. 

Do you know the capital of Tajikistan? What are the countries that border the Caspian Sea? What about the Persian Gulf? People often spout off their political "opinions" but in the next breath I discover that they don't even know their geography. Is that a valuable opinion then, the one pulled out of a "dittohead" philosophy or fashion mag? What kind of "worldview" is it without a good grasp of geography, much less history and culture? Seems like a cloudy day. Hmmm......maybe that is where the "view" in worldview comes from?

Check out the video below. I like the way Alisa Miller attempts to explain "Why we know less than ever about the world." I think this goes a long way to explaining why Peak Oil Awareness is so low in the USA. And make sure to give yourself a round of applause for having the courage to turn off the tube and explore some cyber news.

Please subscribe to this blog. Until we meet again....

Crossword Puzzle answers: (Dushanbe- Capital of Tajikistan; Kazahkstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia- countries bordering the Caspian; Iran, Oman, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq- countries bordering the Persian Gulf)

Extra Credit: OPEC members? Newest OPEC member? Which country is rumored to be considering dropping out of OPEC?



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