[name withheld]
Pers. 2450
Dr. Santas
19 September 2013
Response Assignment 2
Contemporary western society, and its many touted achievements, was/is principally
made possible only through the utilization of fossil fuels. With the use of these energy sources
came great economic prosperity and the advancement of the capitalist system. With the
advancement of the capitalist state came wealth accretion in the hands of a few, who then
monopolized national wealth and propagated the ideology of trickle-down economics (in its
many historical forms), among the populace. Accordingly, this system – characterized by the
interplay between monopoly capital, labor, the state and said groupings dependency on fossil
fuels – has remained largely unscathed since the industrial revolution, with all parties concerned
benefiting, although in highly inequitable fashions, in such ways that none have yet to fully
challenge the status quo. However, our society is now increasingly being forced to grapple with
the socio-environmental consequences of the system and how they will come to shape the future
world. An issue of paramount importance among these growing concerns is humanities
continued use of fossil fuels, which stand as the primary energy sources that perpetuate the
current socio-economic and political order.
As stated, the utilization of fossil fuels stands as the foundational bases for contemporary
society. It is our ability to exploit these energy resources that allows for mass agricultural
production that would otherwise be impossible. With this form of agricultural production comes
the ability to support massive populations, which in turn, consume more and more oil and gas. In
this way, a destructive cycle of production and consumption has largely come to define modern
human civilization. Yet, the negative consequences of this vicious cycle are increasingly
becoming lucid, a fact which is aggressively pursued in the documentary An Inconvenient Truth.
In this film, Al Gore passionately advocates for a formal deviation from the use of fossil
fuels and the pursuit of alternative/renewable energy sources - such as wind and solar. In doing
this he delineates a wide-range of scientific data that indicate dramatic shifts in atmospheric CO2
levels and their correlation to human activity and global climate change. For example, Gore
contends that over the last 650 thousand years CO2 levels have never supposed 300 parts per
million (ppm), but now stand at 600ppm; further, that these levels will continue to grow
exponentially without drastic changes in global patterns of fossil fuel consumption. In this way,
Gore posits that we have entered a “period of consequences,” which is most easily denoted by a
clash between human civilization and the planet. Through these assertions, Gore contends that
the matter of global climate change, and its correlation to the use of fossil fuels, has ultimately
transcended being a mere political concern and now must be considered as a moral issue.
While An Inconvenient Truth seeks to highlight the dire environmental costs associated
with current trends of fossil fuel consumption, the films Gasland and Trinkets and Beads bring
an additional social aspect to the discussion. For instance, Gasland addresses how continued
demand for gas and oil has led to an increase in the practice of hydraulic fracturing. This method
of gas and oil retrieval has proven to have profound negative effects on the local environments in
which it is conducted and on the people that live in them. In highlighting this topic, the
documentary is effective in bringing a human dimension to the subject of fossil fuel use and its
correlation to instances of environmental injustice on U.S. soil.
Similarly, the film Trinkets and Beads addresses oil extraction in the Amazon and the
many negative consequences experienced by indigenous communities as a result. In large part,
this documentary focuses on multinational corporate expansion into less developed countries
(LDCs), their modes of operation, methods of oil retrieval and how these practices are a primary
contributor to cultural and environmental degradation within the region. In short, this film shows
how the current system of production and consumption – a system that is sustained on fossil
fuels – leads to both national and international socio-economic and environmental policy
formation that allows for the rights and freedoms of indigenous communities to be stolen and
subordinated to the interest of energy consumption within more developed nations. As a result of
these events, the native lands of the Cofan and Huaoruni tribes – along with much of their
cultural heritage – have been decimated by corporate expansion into the region.
As previously stated, the current system – which is dependent on fossil fuels – has
historically provided sufficient benefits to all concerning parties and therefore has remained
largely unchallenged. However, as all three films point out, we are now entering a period of
consequences, in which some people are increasingly beginning to recognize that the rewards are
no longer adequate and in fact, that they never were in the first place. That said, it is my personal
view that the vast majority of people still perceive their personal interest, and general well-being,
to be inextricably associated with the current system and its uninhibited continuance. Therefore,
how does once actively pursue change?
To address this question, one should look to nations that have had similar experiences
and that have shown successes in deviated from full-fledged fossil fuel usage. For example, we
can look to many European countries that have made considerable advancements in the direction
of alternative/renewable forms of energy. It is my understanding that this transition in energy
consumption patterns was largely achieved through state policy formation. In other words,
European nations simply stopped subsidizing oil or at least seriously decreased subsidizes to this
industrial sector. In turn, this action led to a dramatic increase in the cost of fossil fuels, with the
price of gas jumping from between $7 to $8 per gallon in a relatively short period of time. Due to
this economic strain put on European populations, people began demanding more affordable
forms of energy. Thus, Europe has made commendable strides in the field’s alternative energy
and in technologies to more efficiently use them. Also noteworthy, is that the precautionary
principle is alive and well within many European nations. This principle guarantees that the
burden of proof falls on industry, thereby, ensuring that the public and environment are being
adequately protected from the potentially harmful effects of industrial extraction and production
of fossil fuels.
When comparing many European nations with the U.S. one is left to wonder why similar
policy changes and legal protections have not been implemented in the United States. To answer
this question, one should examine the role of an increasingly integrated state and economic
order, which through various mechanisms (mass media, political rhetoric, etc.) has proven to be
more than adequate in assuaging public anxieties toward our current ecological crises and its
correlation to fossil fuels. So when asked to consider “what we need to do” about our current
addiction to fossil fuels, the logical answer is that eventually the chickens will come home to
roost. In other words, that the social and environmental strains produced by the system and its
continued dependence on fossil fuels will begin to effect the U.S. citizenry at a personal level
and thus trigger change. However, given this nation’s relative affluence, it is safe to assume that
we will be the last to feel the inevitable distresses that have and will continue to arise from our
current socio-economic and political organization. And, unfortunately, the time we have left to
alter our current trajectory is short.