Friday, March 30, 2012

Steak and lattes

"Every pound of beef that is put on your plate cost Mother Nature 1,347 gallons of water to produce."
What if someone said that to you? Would you grimace as you look down at your plate or would you continue eating? Most people would send back the steak and order a salad. Would that change this consumer's lifestyle? Let's call him Mr. Moo. Five days pass and Mr. Moo is either going to be writing a blog about the environment and living a vegetarian lifestyle or ordering a steak to go so he don't have to talk to any creepy treehuggers who berate him with facts during his meal.
I get that this is a "dog eat dog world" or a "human love meat world" and that the free market is tough. A societal state has developed where people are becoming increasingly comfortable buying SUVs and mega homes. I am not saying comfort shouldn't be a priority. As they say, "YOLO" or You Only Live Once. But our lifespan, shouldn't define us. Our kids shouldn't have to worry about the 1,347 gallons of water that Mr. Moo took away. I don't think that Mr. Moo is totally to blame, either. He just wanted something that has been eaten by the generations before.
That is what makes this topic so controversial. What do we need to sacrifice? We are going to need to do something to fix this problem and if we keep waiting climate change is going to make us sacrifice our lifestyles.
In the past year, 7,447,960,000 barrels of oil have been pumped. It is not like oil is such a cheap commodity, either. No one knows when we are going to run out or when prices are going to be to high to even pay. At what point is enough enough? Is it when the last drop has been used and all the cars on the road stop. Will everyone pause and look up at the sky and say "what next"? Why don't we end this craziness now? Electric cars. Public transportation. Bicycles. It is not like gas guzzlers are our only option. How much oil is left has become a "trillion dollar question" according to Greenbang (a research network for corporations). Some companiesclaim that they have found large oil reserves that they say should satisfy the consumer. But, if you get Venti latte at Starbucks you might not finish that big bad boy. Yet, if you and the five other friends at your table drink from your cup, are you going to quench everybody's thirst? That is the point that Greenbang makes. Even if we had a lot of oil left in our reserves, with the increase in our demand, who knows how long that is going to last.
In my mind, there is two choices. You can either continue to consume or you can do something about it.

2 comments:

  1. Referring to the beginning of this post about eating meat. In a way, I agree and disagree with you. Honestly, I don't think eating meat is a bad thing because it's how we have survived throughout the years. However, I do disagree with the hormones and whatnot injected into the animals and the way they are treated.
    I know you didn't really touch on that subject, but I wanted to voice my opinion anyway.

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    1. Firstly, I don't see where we agree. I am not saying that we should all become vegans and raise cows in our backyard. I am saying that production is, for lack of a better word, broken. But, I don't think that meat is what is keeping us alive. There is a growing population who are maintaining a different diet and they are doing just fine. Animal abuse does exist and it is harsh and important issue but, if you read my blog you will notice that my blog isn't about animal abuse. It is about the environment.

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