But I did see a few spots which were well-reasoned and interesting. I wish I could remember the name of the lady I watched first, she talked a bit about the economics of the oil companies and related it to the anti-trust movement of 100 years ago, and how those same oil companies who were broken up back then basically remerged in the last few years.
Then I saw Scott Ritter talking before a group called "Veterans for Peace". Aside: now there's a way to steer the conversation! I mean, if I disagree with them doesn't make me a "veteran for war". Ahem.
Anyway Mr. Ritter also made some interesting points regarding our involvement in the Middle East in general and in Iran in particular. But that's not what this blog is about, despite the long introduction. Mr. Ritter mentioned that Americans have placed consumption before citizenship, both in the nation and in the world. And while I didn't completely agree with him I think he made some good points. That we Americans feel entitled to consume. And whatever we can't produce we take from others, either by coercion or by force.
Now, I've said for years to people who would listen that we Americans consume too much -- although I don't make force part of my argument. If we are consuming more than we produce, though, that's a bad thing. And that's not really a conservative principle, in my view.
So now to the meat of the matter: how much do I consume? I think it would be easier to make a list of what I don't consume but I'll try and stick to what I actually do.
I have a small house (970 sq. ft., 3 bedroom 1 bath) on a medium size (5000 sq. ft.) lot. No gas, all electric. It is heated by electric baseboard and ceiling heat. In the eight years we have lived here I have insulated the ceilings and installed triple-paned windows. There's more I can do there.
Almost all of the lights in the house are compact fluorescent.
I own two cars -- a 1988 Nissan Sentra and a 1996 Dodge Avenger. Not the most fuel-efficient vehicles, for sure. I don't remember the last time I owned a car with fewer than 100,000 miles. We probably don't walk enough.
I don't go out of my way to purchase sustainable stuff, or to not buy stuff made in China. But I don't go and buy a lot of expensive stuff all the time either. I buy clothes for myself maybe once or twice a year. Same with my wife. The kids probably a bit more because they're growing but we don't buy expensive designer stuff, and we make sure to hand down clothes as appropriate.
We do have a lot of electronic gadgets, but we don't go out and buy the latest fads when they come out. We're usually a year or two or three behind the current tech cycle.
So I dunno. How do you stack up?
