Example #1 - The Bakken Tar Sands in North Dakota. A few years ago, this was just rangeland...quiet, windblown, life nurturing rangeland. Satellites orbiting overhead at night would see nothing but darkness in Central North Dakota. Now, it looks like a city spread out over a broad area, the combination of lights from drilling rigs and natural gas being flared off. Nearly 30% of the gas released from shale deposits by drilling in Bakken is wasted, flared off because they drilled for it before they had a way to collect all of it. Gas that is flared off is burned to no use, just to get rid of it. All the hydrocarbon pollutants produced by that wasted flare gas end up choking the atmosphere. Same thing has been going on for much longer in the tar sands of Northern Alberta, Canada. The oil and gas collected from these places is the most environmentally destructive energy source on Earth.
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| ?? is Bakken Tar Sands in North Dakota from space |
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| Tar Sand mining |
It's hard to imagine a more painfully destructive image of human exploitation than this.
Meanwhile the oil and gas industry lull consumers into complacency with their misleading public relations campaigns and TV commercials that promise cheap, clean energy. The sociopaths that run big oil, coal, and even nuclear energy don't care about the destructive impact of their products. They know very well what they are doing. They are only interested in continuing to be the most profitable businesses the world has ever seen.
Ultimately, it is us, the consumers of the toxic energy products they are selling that are responsible. If we weren't buying, the energy industry sociopaths would have to change their ways.
All over the Earth, our finite land and water resources are being rapaciously exploited to meet public demand for cheap consumable products. The course we are on is not sustainable. There are now seven billion plus of us humans, all demanding a piece of the pie. It doesn't compute. Unless we get our act together - I'm talking about all of humanity - unless we start to forcefully demand answers to our collective needs that are non-destructive and sustainable over the long term, our children and the generations that come after will suffer terribly because of our neglect. Many people are stepping up to be a part of the solution, but too many remain indifferent to this reality. Time is not on our side.
We are all responsible for the mess we are in. We will have only ourselves to blame for the consequences of our inaction. There is no room for indifference. Every one of us has an obligation to be part of the solution.
A substantial share of humanity has already stepped up, by recognizing the reality we face. They are already demanding change. For those still in denial, time is up. Stop being part of the problem and become part of the solution. How do I do that, you say? Cast off your fear and start using your brain; the rest will be self-evident.
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