This paper provides a blueprint for anyone who would join the effort to prevent future wars by choosing a less energy intensive lifestyle today

Alderman, Walt

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University of New HampshireUniversity of New Hampshire Scholars' RepositoryThe University Dialogue Discovery Program2006The power of oneWalt AldermanUniversity of New HampshireFollow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/discovery_udPart of the Energy Policy Commons, and the Peace and Conflict Studies CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Discovery Program at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has beenaccepted for inclusion in The University Dialogue by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For moreinformation, please contact nicole.hentz@unh.edu.Recommended CitationAlderman, Walt, "The power of one" (2006). The University Dialogue. 10.https://scholars.unh.edu/discovery_ud/10IntroductionFor 50 years, the United States has protected access to Persian Gulf oil with military interventions and war to support the energy intensive lifestyles of American in-dividuals. Considering that we must someday abandon this unsustainable resource, we have a choice: abandon it now and prevent more war, or ﬁght for ﬁfty more years and abandon it then. This paper elaborates on these themes and provides a blueprint for anyone who would join the effort to prevent future wars by choosing a less energy intensive lifestyle today.Is U.S. Energy Consumption Excessive?Imagine a party with twenty people and eight large pizzas. One guy gobbles down two whole pizzas while nineteen people stare in disbelief. That guy is the U.S. The world’s largest energy consumer, we account for 26 percent of global fossil fuel consumption.1 We have less than ﬁve percent of the world’s people.2  Over 85 percent of our energy comes from fossil fu-els.3 The biggest chunk goes to produce the products we consume. The U.S. Energy Information Administration categorizes energy consumption as follows:  Residential - 21 percent,  Commercial - 18 percent,  Industrial - 33 percent,  Transportation - 28 percent.4  But we only need one category: The Consumer—100 percent. Individual consumption drives it all.  The U.S. relies most heavily on imported oil.5,6 The largest source is the Persian Gulf,7 of which Saudi Ara-bia is 66 percent. Even so, the Persian Gulf represents only 17 percent of total imports. That 17 percent has been costly.Persian Gulf Oil: At What Cost?The U.S. has been in Iraq for three years. We invaded to prevent U.S. enemy Saddam Hussein from providing weapons of mass destruction (WMD) to the likes of U.S. enemy Osama bin Laden. There is no oil in that equa-tion. But let’s drill a little deeper. Saddam: He became an enemy after invading Kuwait in 1990. True to the long-standing 1945 “oil for protection” deal U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt made with the Saudi royal family,8 Bush senior responded by sending troops to Saudi Arabia to form a “Desert Shield.” 9,10 That and the “Desert Storm” that crushed Iraq were jus-tiﬁed because “Access to Persian Gulf oil ... [is] vital to U.S. national security.”11  WMD’s: We know Saddam had WMD’s because we pro-vided them,12 along with other aid,13 to help him defeat Iran in the 1980s. We were mad because the Iranian people revolted and threw out the U.S. friendly leader, the Shah.14 We worked hard in 1953 to bring the Shah to power by overthrowing Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister,15 who made the mistake of nationaliz-ing Iran’s oil industry.16 Bin Laden: At the same time, to keep the Soviets away from Persian Gulf oil,17 the CIA armed, trained, and funded the mujahideen, including Saudi-born Osama bin Laden, in Afghanistan.18 Capitalizing on his result-ing war hero status, bin Laden voiced popular opposi-tion to the Saudi government’s reliance on the U.S. for defense against Iraq in 1990.19 The continued presence of U.S. troops and military bases on Saudi holy land became the ﬁrst point in his 1998 fatwa—urging jihad against Americans.20 In 2001, terrorists ﬂew commercial jets into the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Fifteen of the nine-teen suicide bombers were Saudi Arabian.21 The attacks were masterminded by Osama bin Laden.22 In 2003, President Bush concluded that Saddam Hussein would provide WMDs to the likes of Osama Bin Laden, which brings us back to the beginning of this story.  All for a resource we must abandon anyway.The Power of OneWALT ALDER MANBUSINESS ADMINISTR ATIONUNH MANCHESTER POWER TO THE PEOPLEIs Abandonment of Fossil Fuels Inevitable?Fossil fuels start off as plants.23 If we planted a fossil fuel garden today, we could expect fresh coal, oil, and natu-ral gas in about 10 million years.24 With annual replant-ing, we could use 1/10,000,000th of the output each year on a sustainable basis. Let’s see if today’s global fossil fuel consumption is sustainable. There are 1.2 trillion barrels of proved oil reserves worldwide.25 The world’s population could sustainably use 1/10,000,000th of that, or 120,000 barrels of oil per year. How many barrels are we currently using per year? Nearly 30 billion.26 Some oil in the ground has yet to be found or accessed, but it would have to be 246 thousand times more than current known reserves to support our consumption on a sustainable basis. The proved reserves will only last another 40 years at current global consumption rates.27  It is the same story for coal (155 more years)28 and natural gas (67 more years).29 Remember, it took 10 mil-lion years to make this stuff. It doesn’t make sense to waste one more life over this unsustainable resource.What Can We Do?Since U.S. industry consumes more energy than any other sector, the ﬁrst priority is to buy less stuff. Here’s how:Watch less TV. TV is the medium through which the world’s top psychologists use cutting-edge knowledge and technology to get you to want things you don’t need. Buy used goods. Every time you purchase something new, the manufacturer makes another one. Buying used takes more planning, patience, and effort than buying new, but remember why we’re doing it. Here are some resources to get started: • How To Survive Without A Salary, by Charles Long. Practical tips from the king of buying used.• www.ebay.com. Worldwide online auction site. • www.craigslist.org. Online classiﬁeds by state and town. Eliminate disposables where possible. Nothing wastes resources like a product made to be thrown away. The U.S. generated 236 million tons of garbage in 2003,30 nearly one ton per person. Thirt-ﬁve percent was paper. A rag is as good as a paper towel. Reusable cloth can replace paper for napkins, diapers, menstrual pads, and grocery bags. Reusable containers can replace plastic wrap and tin foil. One straight razor replaces a lifetime of disposables. Use a permanent coffee ﬁlter. Carry your beverages in travel mugs or durable water bottles. One big disposable container is better than several smaller ones. Less packaging is better than more. Notice every-thing you throw away and try to reduce the waste. If we don’t buy it, they won’t make it. Think about food. Seventeen percent of U.S. fossil fuel consumption goes to food production.31 Why? Large industrial farms have depleted their soil of nutrients and must rely on inorganic fertilizer made from natu-ral gas and coal. Fertilizer is the largest component of agricultural energy consumption (31 percent).32 Also food constitutes 20 percent of total U.S. commodity transport.33 What can we do? Grow our own food. A great way to start thinking about it is to learn about “permaculture.” I recommend :• Permaculture One, by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, and • Permaculture: A Designers Manual, by Bill Mollison.In New Hampshire, you can visit a sustainable farm in Dorchester called D Acres (www.dacres.org). If you live in a city, check out “Urban Agriculture”: www.foodse-curity.org/PrimerCFSCUAC.pdf and www.cfap.org/afs_temp3.cfm?topicID=449. Another option is to buy food from local farms, directly or at farmers markets. Or you could join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm where members pre-buy shares in a local farm and share in the bounty and risks: www.sare.org/csa. Another option is to join a food co-operative with a focus on sustainable agriculture: www.localharvest.org/food-coops. Generate your own electricity. There are several resourc-es out there for anyone who wants to try. Here are some of the best:• www.otherpower.com “The cutting edge of low technology.” All kinds of DIY electricity projects, especially windmills.• www.utterpower.com: good source for learning about using low-speed diesel engines that can be run on vegetable oil to generate electricity.A UNIVERSITY DIALOGUE ON ENERGY – • http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_svo.html: how to use vegetable oil as fuel.• www.stirlingengine.com: these engines are being used to capture waste heat and convert it to electricity. Use passive solar to heat your home and water. Unlike solar panels, which can be energy-intensive to make, passive solar utilizes simple materials and intelligent design to capture the energy of the sun. • Water: You can get free hot water from the sun in the northeast for nine months out of the year. Build it yourself: www.motherearthnews.com/top_ar-ticles/1984_January_February/Build_an_Integral_Passive_Solar_Water_Heater.• Home: The idea behind a passive solar house is to face it south, use enough glass on the south side to let in the right amount of sun, and ﬁll the house with high-thermal density materials to absorb the heat. You can build one from scratch, or convert an existing house. Passive solar can heat a house in the winter and cool it in the summer: www.illinoissolar.org/fact_sheets.ConclusionLike women’s suffrage or the abolition of slavery, mas-sive cultural change is needed to end a practice that is harmful and wrong. Our current lifestyles have con-sequences. Make the connection. Make a change. One individual at a time. References1  “Fuel Consumption Stats.” National Energy Foundation. 14 Jun. 2006 www.nef1.org/ea/eastats.html2  “World Population Information.” U.S. Census Bureau. 8 Jun. 2006. 14 Jun. 2006 www.census.gov/ipc/www/world.html3  “Fossil Fuels.” Energy Sources. U.S. Department of Energy. 14 Jun. 2006 www.energy.gov/energysources/fossilfuels.htm4. “Energy Consumption by Sector.” Annual Energy Review 2004. Energy Information Administration. 14 Jun. 2006. www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/pdf/pages/sec2_4.pdf5  Oil = 40 percent, coal = 22 percent, natural gas = 22 percent, other = 16 percent “Energy Information by Source.” Annual Energy Review 2004. Energy Information Administration. 14 Jun. 2006. www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/pdf/pages/sec1_9.pdf 6  Sixty-nine percent of U.S. oil consumption is imported. “Energy Consumption by Source.” Annual Energy Review 2004. Energy Information Administration. 14 Jun. 2006. www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/pdf/pages/sec1_9.pdf7  “U.S. Imports by Country of Origin.” 12 Jun. 2006. Energy Information Administration. 14 Jun. 2006. http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_impcus_a2_nus_ep00_im0_mbbl_a.htm8  Klare, Michael. “Asking why leads to review of U.S. in-volvement in Saudi Arabia.” Express News. University of Alberta. 14 Jun. 2006. www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/article.cfm?id=11809  “Operation Desert Shield.” Military. GlobalSecurity.org. 14 Jun. 2006. www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/des-ert_shield.htm10  “Saudi Arabian National Guard.” Military. GlobalSecurity.org. 14 Jun. 2006. www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/gulf/sang.htm11  “National Security Directive 26.” 2 Oct. 1989. The White House. 14 Jun. 2006. www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/nsd/nsd26.pdf 12  “US role in Iraq’s chemical, biological weapons program comes under scrutiny.” Agence France Press. 1 Oct. 2002. GlobalSecurity.org. 14 Jun. 2006. www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2002/021001-iraq3.htm13  King, John. “Arming Iraq: A Chronology of U.S. Involvement.” History of Iran. March 2003. Iran Chamber Society. 14 Jun 2006. www.iranchamber.com/history/ar-ticles/arming_iraq.php14  “Iranian Revolution.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 13:16, 13 Jun. 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Iranian_Revolution&oldid=58385989POWER TO THE PEOPLE15  “Operation Ajax.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 22:30 6 Jun. 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Operation_Ajax&oldid=5725609716  “Statements on Iran Oil Record.” 6 Aug. 1954. International. The New York Times On the Web. 14 Jun. 2006. www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/080654iran-statements.html17  Carter, Jimmy. “State of the Union Address 1980”. 23 Jan. 1980. Jimmycarterlibrary.org. 14 Jun. 2006. www.jimmycart-erlibrary.org/documents/speeches/su80jec.phtml18  Harvey, Katherine. “Afghanistan, The United States, and the Legacy of Afghanistan’s Civil War.” Edge. 5 Jun. 2003. Stanford.edu. 14 Jun 2006. www.stanford.edu/class/e297a/Afghanistan,%20the%20United%20States.htm19  “Osama bin Laden” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 15:35 14 Jun. 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Osama_bin_Laden&oldid=5859176120  Sheikh Usamah Bin-Muhammad Bin-Ladin; Ayman al-Zawahiri; Abu- Yasir Rifa’i Ahmad Taha; Sheikh Mir Hamzah; Fazlul Rahman. “Fatwah Urging Jihad Against Americans”. Al-Quds al-’Arabi. 23 Feb. 1998. ICT.org. 14 Jun. 2006. www.ict.org.il/articles/fatwah.htm21  “Ofﬁcial: 15 of 19 Sept. 11 hijackers were Saudi.” 2 Jun. 2002. World. USA Today Online. 14 Jun. 2006. www.usato-day.com/news/world/2002/02/06/saudi.htm22  “Al-Qaeda.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 1.8 September 11 Attacks. 16:50 14 Jun. 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Al-Qaeda&oldid=5860356523  There is some debate about oil; some assert that it is inorganic, or abiotic: “Abiogenic petroleum origin”. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 22:46 8 Jun. 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abiogenic_petroleum_origin&oldid=5760610724  Most of the fossil fuels we use today were living plants in the Cretaceous, Jurassic, and Carboniferous periods span-ning 100-300 million years ago. “A Crude Story.” The Why Files. 1999. University of Wisconsin. 14 Jun. 2006. http://whyﬁles.org/100oil/2a.html25  “Total World Proved Oil Reserves 1980-2004.” Statistical Review Charting Tool. British Petroleum, Inc. 14 Jun. 2006. http://production.investis.com/bp2/ia/stat/#26  “Total World Oil Consumption 1965-2004.” Statistical Review Charting Tool. 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Lawrence, and Polly Walker. “How Sustainable Agriculture Can Address the Environmental and Human Health Harms of Industrial Agriculture.” Environmental Health Perspectives Vol 110, 5 May 2002.32  Pfeiffer, Dale Allen. “Eating Fossil Fuels.” From The Wilderness Publications. 2004. FromTheWilderness.com. 14 Jun 2006. www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/100303_eating_oil.html33  Norberg-Hodge, Helena , Todd Merriﬁeld, and Steven Gorelick. Bringing The Food Economy Home: Local Alternatives to Global Agribusiness. Bloomﬁeld , CT : Kumarian Press. 2002. p.18.

The power of one

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