From the moment we wake in the morning to the moment we go to sleep, oil controls our lives. Its influence reaches far into politics, international affairs, global economies, human rights and the environmental health of our planet.
The most obvious way that oil dominates us, of course, is transportation. Oil powers 97 percent of America’s transportation needs and over half the oil we consume daily goes to keeping our cars and trucks on the road. That’s one barrel out of every seven used in the world. Not surprisingly, the United States has more automobiles than any other country; in fact, it has more cars and trucks than it has people.
But oil is far more important to modern society than simply as fuel for our automobiles and airplanes. Oil provides heat in the winter for millions of American homes and it accounts for 40 percent of our total energy needs. Without oil there would be no plastics, nor many of the chemical-based medicines we take for granted. Perhaps most important, America would go hungry without oil: commercial agriculture would grind to a halt without oil to run farm and food processing machinery or to make fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.
To better understand oil’s impact on our lives, I devised a little experiment. I would spend a day without oil. How hard could that be? After all, I live in Brooklyn so I’d already won half the battle; I’d leave the car parked on the street and hope I didn’t pick up a parking ticket.
I began in the bathroom. I’d have to carry off the rough and ready look this morning as petroleum products play a role in my shampoo, shaving cream and deodorant. There was also going to be a lot of water to clear up – my shower-curtain is also an oil product.
Brushing my teeth became a far-less appealing experience without the benefit of toothpaste, whose ingredients include petrochemical-enhanced artificial coloring and mineral oils. (But at least I still had my own teeth. If I’d worn petroleum-based dentures, I’d be gumming my way through this particular day.)
As it was, I was going to have to make do with only limited vision as both my contact lenses and plastic lens eyeglasses came from petrochemicals. And I’d have to skip putting on lip balm; that’s petroleum oil. Worse still, I’d have to dress my six-month-old son in cloth diapers instead of the normal disposable ones. (What a day to have made the switch to solid food!)
Next came the problem of what to wear. Typically, I live in sneakers but not today – I had to search out an old pair of non-rubber soled leather shoes. It was raining outside but I had to forgo any waterproof outerwear. Goretex, it turns out, is yet another genius invention of the petrochemical industry.
I left my house and immediately encountered another problem. All New York streets are paved with asphalt, the sticky byproduct that remains after refining crude oil to extract its more lucrative properties, like gasoline and heating oil. Lacking powers of levitation, and with not an inch of grass in sight, I had to admit defeat on this point. I traipsed slightly forlorn to my neighborhood café for breakfast. Eggs and coffee came courtesy of a non-stick pan and a heat-resistant glass pot – products of the petrochemical industry. Defeated again. At least I could pay in cash. All credit and debit cards are oil products.
On my return home, I realized this wasn’t going to be the most productive day of my working life because I couldn’t use the computer or telephone, both of which depend on oil-based plastics to function. Neither could I kick back and listen to music or watch a movie - CDs and DVDs also contain oil. Perhaps then I could just go and play a round of golf? Stuck again: golf balls contain polybutadiene, another petrochemical.
The list of off-limit items continued. Bandages, blenders, garbage bags, glue, pacemakers and pantyhose (the latter two not being items I needed on this particular day) all got their start as oil. This whole day-without-oil thing was beginning to give me a headache. Perhaps I should just take a few aspirin and forget about the whole thing. You guessed it: Aspirin is another proud legacy of oil.