The Oil Derricks of Bakersfield

Yesterday, we spent time at the beaches of Carmel, which were spectacular. Then, we started an exhausting drive back to Koreatown, Los Angeles.

On our route, we passed the oil derricks of Bakersfield, and seeing these machines up close was quite stunning, as we drove along in our gasoline-powered car. I felt a cognitive dissonance, like I was in a performance of the theatre of the absurd, after our beautiful experience among the Redwoods and beaches of Carmel. So this is where your oil and gasoline are coming from? This is how the forests have been torn up and replaced by capitalistic machines which pollute and destroy?

Why haven’t we gotten rid of our conventional SUV and replaced it with an electric car, as many of our friends have done? Why haven’t we gotten rid of our oil boiler, and replaced it with electric Mitsubishi heat pumps, as others have done? And our gas water heater in our basement. And our gas stove in our kitchen? Where is our insulation? Where are our solar panels?

We have looked into each of these options, gotten quotes for electric cars and electric appliances, and considered it. But to date, inertia has been more powerful than change.

That’s the central issue with global warming. Billions of people around the world know that this is a crisis and we need action. But we haven’t come together and gotten organized and figured out ways to stop the drilling, the fracking, the burning, the environmental destruction.

President Joe Biden isn’t going to do it for us. The Republicans aren’t going to do it for us. It has to come from each one of us, deep inside our hearts. The Great Spirit can help us.

Thanks for reading my blog entry! If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to leave a reply below or share with others. And remember, my website is always free.