More by: Bob

The way most of the world – especially those of us who live in wealthy countries like the United States – lives is unsustainable. We eat food that is shipped across the globe, genetically engineered, and processed to the point where few nutrients remain. We depend on resources violently extracted from the Earth – coal for electricity, natural gas for heat, and various metals for the parts in our cellphones and electronics. We use massive amounts of water for all manner of things ranging from industrial production to the manufacture of computer chips. Moreover, for those of us living in the U.S. most of the effects of our way of life – such as the pollution, violence, and destruction – is outsourced to other parts of the world as the system is largely structured in a way to keep as much distance as possible between us and the consequences of our choices.

There’s no doubt that our way of life can’t last. If you chose to look, the signs are everywhere: large scale species extinction, ecosystem collapse, and global warming – just to name a few of the most obvious. We are literally changing the way the planet works and millions of years of natural processes are being reversed so that we can drive across the country. It’s more or less inevitable that at some point in the near future, our way of life will end: there simply aren’t the resources to keep it going indefinitely.

You would think that in light of this, we might be talking about making changes to make this transition a little less catastrophic. But of course the system doesn’t work like that and for those with power in society – and the great majority of us who benefit from this way of life – that conversation isn’t going to happen. Sure, you might see some talk of increased “energy efficiency,” “alternative fuels,” or “green capitalism” in the news or from left/liberal groups, but that’s about it. And no amount of caulking, insulation, or solar panels are going to be able to “save” this way of life.

When confronted with the reality that there are a finite amount of resources that need to support a way of life that is built on the myth of infinite growth, those with the most in society have turned to increasingly insane ideas:

FRACKing: Across the United States, many folks depend on natural gas for heating. It’s often portrayed as a “clean” energy technology (after all, “natural” is in its name). But like all of the resources industrial civilization is built on, it exists in limited quantities. For years, geologists have known about natural gas resources trapped in rock formations (such as shale) but have been unable to extract it. In the past few years, energy companies have come up with a new process – hydraulic fracturing (also called “FRACKing”) – that makes it possible to extract the gas. The process involves pumping millions of gallons of water (withdrawn from water sources people and animals depend on for drinking), sand, and chemicals underground and blowing apart the rock to release the natural gas. Each time the rock is blasted, 4 to 9 million gallons of water are pumped into the well (with each well able to be blasted 10 to 12 times). This water is mixed with chemicals and the industry isn’t required to say specifically which are used, but many known to be used are carcinogenic (one study found 95% of the chemicals had adverse effects). The waste water used in the process frequently seeps into the ground water thereby threatening whole ecosystems and in other cases the waste is stored in giant pits above the ground. You can read more about FRACKing at  HYPERLINK “http://frackaction.com/”http://frackaction.com/ FRACKing is done in Michigan and you can read more about statewide efforts aimed at stopping it at  HYPERLINK “http://dontfrackmichigan.com/”http://dontfrackmichigan.com/

Mountaintop Removal Mining: Perhaps because pumping water and toxic chemicals into the ground isn’t immediately visible, manypeople can ignore it (at least until the toxins in their water give them cancer). Another highly destructive process that has begun is Mountaintop Removal Mining. The process is used to extract coal from mountains in Appalachia to fuel power plants that provide people with electricity. Mountaintop Removal Mining begins with the “clearing” of the mountaintops: clearcutting treess, removing vegetation, and removing topsoil. Next, millions of pounds of explosives are used to blow the tops off mountains (sometimes as much as 500 to 800 feet) to expose the coal seams. The coal is then removed using a massive machine called a dragline (it’s 22 stories high) that coal companies prefer because it eliminates the need to hire hundreds of workers. As the digging is completed, waste from the mining operations is dumped into adjacent valleys burying streams and contaminating water sources. The coal that is extracted from the mountains must be “washed” and cleaned, generating considerable amounts of wasterwater and sludge which is stored in flooded valleys behind earthen sludge dams. These dams have a tendency to leak and further pollute the water. Moreover, in areas where Mountaintop Removal Mining takes place, there is increased flooding. Not surprisingly, regulations and laws aimed at requiring coal companies to “reclaim” the mined area tend not to be enforced and companies are frequently given exemptions. You can find out more at  HYPERLINK “http://ilovemountains.org/”http://ilovemountains.org

The Tar Sands: The largest industrial project in human history is currently underway in Canada. In Alberta, oil companies are mining the Tar Sands to extract oil from sand and clay located beneath the boreal forest. The oil is bitumen – a substance that looks and smells like tar. Unlike traditional oil reserves, the oil doesn’t flow and it must be gouged and steamed out of the ground. Producing a barrel of Tar Sands oil generates between 2-3 times as many CO2 emissions as traditional oil refining. Moreover, it’s been estimated that for each barrel of oil invested in extracting Tar Sands oil, only 3 are generated (compare this to Iraq where for each barrel used, 100 are obtained). Additionally, as many as five barrels of water are used for each barrel of oil produced. Tar Sands oil extraction is driving the second highest rate of deforestation on the planet. Along with the destructive oil extraction process, Tar Sands oil is driving the expansion of a network of massive pipelines from Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico designed to transport the oil. The pipelines will (and in many cases already do) run across vast portions of the United States and put much of the country at risk for oil spills (witness the 2010 spill near Battle Creek, that was Tar Sands oil). Tar Sands oil is more corrosive than traditional oil and is mixed with natural gas and pumped at a higher temperature and pressure, increasing wear on the pipelines. For more information  HYPERLINK “http://oilsandstruth.org/”http://oilsandstruth.org/

Needless to say, none of these projects are going to stop themselves. While particularly stupid, they are logical within the context of this system. The system has needs (growth, resources, etc) and it will do whatever it has to satisfy those needs. No government, law, regulation, or environmental nonprofit is going to stop them. Instead, something much more is needed.

“Civilization is not redeemable. This culture will not undergo any sort of voluntary transformation to a sane and sustainable way of living. If we do not put a halt to it, civilization will continue to immiserate the vast majority of humans and to degrade the planet until it (civilization, and probably the planet) collapses. The effects of this degradation will continue to harm humans and nonhumans for a very long time.” – Derrick Jensen, Endgame