I finished reading Oil on the Brain by Lisa Margonelli. Margonelli made a point in the epilogue that really stuck with me…that when she gets very pessimistic she recalls that that over 150 years ago, it was the environmentalists that were decrying the whale oil industry which was leading to whale extinction. And it was the discovery of oil underground that led to an entirely new industry that changed how the world operates and continues to operate  today, thus sparring the poor whales. If I recall correctly, one of my idols, Hetty Green (aka, the Witch of Wall Street) owed much of her family wealth to the whaling industry.

Today, environmentalists are decrying the fossil fuel industry and oil executives now aware of the end of oil (and possible deaths of polar bears) are now looking to invest in alternative fuels which is leading to rainforest deforestation and high food prices. I guess this will reduce biodiversity and get cars to leak out water instead of toxic fumes and probably result in fewer people suffering from lung infections. But…I shouldn’t try to predict anything.

This is all so…interesting. I don’t know what to make of all this. On one hand, I could argue that nothing has changed in the last 500 or so years. On the other, I like to believe as did people before me (I’m sure), that change is possible for the betterment (and happiness) of everyone. According to the life expectancy calculators found online, I am expected to live to the ripe old age of 95. I’d like to believe that I’ll see a lot of good before I die.