Fossil fuels are everywhere, even in our food. As we learned in week 6, oil is used to power the heavy machinery used on industrialized farms, it is in the fertilizer in the form of petroleum, it is in the plastics that are used to neatly package our food, and it is used to power the planes, trains and automobiles used transport the food to our grocery stores. Given this fact, it is a wonder that any of us can eat a meal without the image of our food swimming in oil, and I don’t mean Canola.
But what can we do about such a huge problem that has yet to be met with a viable and renewable alternative? Fossil fuels are an energy rich substance that is very efficient, but it is also a non-renewable resource that has past its peak. We have come up with some alternatives such as wind and solar energy, but neither at this stage are set to replace petroleum. And while there are really smart people who live and breathe the reality of the issue and who spend every waking moment attempting to create a new technology to secure our energy future, a vast majority of people go about their day as if everything is right in the world. I will admit that this is an issue I have given a lot of thought about, but I am still able to eat a meal, and sip water from a plastic bottle without giving much thought about the energy resources that were needed to create every thing that I consume, which begs the question: Is denial our most valuable renewable resource? If there were a way to power the world with denial, you could be certain that we would have more than enough to go around.