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An Open Letter to Citizens of Planet Earth
Mark A. Goldman                                                                                10/28/07

Dear Friends,

I would like to say something about oil and also make a few other comments:

It took nature probably 200 to 300 million years to create the entire supply of earth’s oil and we have, in approximately 150 years, already used up about half of it. To think that it is right and proper for us to continue to search for and extract more oil now is quite improper. The rest of the oil does not rightly belong to us (we have inadvertently already used much more than our fair share… the rest belongs to future generations).

It is unconscionable to continue to search out new sources of oil, or to deplete the sources we can already identify, in the face of what we now know.  Any unnecessary additional oil we use for powering automobiles from this point forward, no matter where it's located, is wanton theft from our own progeny.   

Even with our limited scientific knowledge, we know that oil can be converted into wonderful products and miracle-like compounds, such as medicines and plastics. We need to conserve the rest for these kinds of uses, some of which we might not even be able to imagine right now.  We should not continue to extract as much oil as we can find to burn up as fuel when other alternatives are available or could be made available if we had the political will.

Is there anything more selfish, covetous, and malicious than for us to continue to extract more oil for fuel, when our fervent hope is that our children and grandchildren and their progeny will continue to make Earth their home perhaps for as long as mankind has already been here. Whether estimates from experts conclude that the current amount of oil left in the ground will last another 50, 100, or 1,000 years is not the point. We should be preserving as much of the remaining supply as possible for future generations.

Fortunately, a little research can demonstrate quite clearly that there is no need whatsoever for us to be so dependent on oil. And there’s no need whatsoever for us to mismanage our land either, as we are now doing, having foolishly embarked on new projects to squander our rich soil to grow plants that we intend to convert into bio-fuel and burn for energy just like we did with oil. We and future generations will surely need that land for food. 

Managing our resources the way we do now is insane when you consider that other technologies are already available or nearly so, and better suited for the purpose.  Every day the sun sends us more energy than we will ever need.  We would be wise to focus our sights on learning how to use it.

What needs to be done…

  1. We need to restructure and repair our government so that our most capable, wise and responsible citizens are the ones who end up representing us.
  2. We need to insist that corporations do not and should not be treated as if they had human rights.  Only people should have human rights.  People who run corporations need to be held accountable and should not be able to hide behind a corporate veil in order to absolve themselves of culpability when they make decisions that result in corporate crime.
  3. We need to believe in the power of telling the truth and we need to make justice and peace our personal and national purpose and goal… not as rhetoric, but as true intention.

Please consider these thoughts and see how you might contribute to expanding and refining them as you participate in the various aspects of your life. 

Very truly yours,

Mark A. Goldman
http://www.gpln.com/citizen.htm

Listen to Enwin Black on Electric Cars and the Internal Combustion Engine
www.mkinghubbert.com/resources/interviews/edblack20070924

Added 5/1/08
http://digg.com/general_sciences/The_Most_IMPORTANT_Video_You_ll_Ever_See

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