Are people spoiled by the comforts of affordable and abundant energy? (Article)

In his 2006 State of the Union speech George W. Bush proclaimed, “America is addicted to oil.” It was one of the dumbest things ever said by a U.S. President.

That statement was part of what inspired me to make the 2011 documentary film, “spOILed.” In that film I explained that while addictions destroy lives, oil provides the foundation of life in the modern world.

As gasoline, diesel, and electricity prices continue their upward climb I would like to offer a reframe. Yes, like every other person alive today I don’t like paying more for energy as well as everything else that uses energy (So, pretty much everything).

The loss of purchasing power sucks. However, there is a lesson in this economic pain. It is that we are spoiled by the comforts of affordable, abundant energy.

In the developed world we’ve been spoiled for so long that people have come to think that it’s somehow their birthright. Many of them have never known anything different. Like some of you, I have. And I survived.

Please indulge me while I give you the “old man” rant. I’ll be brief.

gasoline price

When I was a kid, I spent many summer nights sweating in my bed. My single mom turned off our swamp cooler at bedtime no matter how hot it was. We lived in a suburb a half hour from the city. We rarely went into town because gasoline was expensive.

It was common for me to not to ride in a car for months at a time. I flew in an airplane once when I was about 12 and didn’t fly again until I was 19. I tasted steak once or twice before the age of 15. Steak was “rich people food.” So was pizza from a restaurant. We made it from a box.

My pants were usually too short, and my shoes often had holes in them.

My siblings and I wore hand-me-downs and waited for birthdays or Christmas to get a new shirt, pants, or shoes. Or we bought clothes from the money we made working. I could go on, but you get the point.

By today’s first-world standards my minimalist childhood was bleak.By the standard of the time, it was good.In my neighborhood we played games and did all sorts of things that didn’t cost anything. Everyone knew each other and troublemakers got found out quickly.

Energy is valuable

We understood the value of money. We especially knew that gasoline and electricity were pricey, so we used them wisely.

This is the lesson we all should be learning now. Energy is extremely valuable. It’s much more valuable than most of the conveniences we have come to believe are necessities. They aren’t.

“Demand Destruction” happens when people start taking economic pain seriously so the demand for goods and services drops in a significant way.

When it happens, the cost of energy and products will drop, but that will be followed by higher levels of unemployment, which will lead to another set of problems.

Government services will be increasingly stressed. Some people will get disciplined and creative so they can stretch their dollar, euro, or whatever currency they use.

Others will demand charity. And many will turn to crime. I’m sorry to say, I think it’s going to get a lot uglier before it gets better.

People who have never had to deny themselves things that they believe are essential are going to become increasingly unhappy with their perceived depravation.

negative outlook

The reframe on this negative outlook is that we can find a lot of positives in activities that we have ignored for far too long. We can find ways to support those around us.

We don’t need to constantly entertain ourselves. We can be more careful with our money as we spend time engaged with other people, which is a lot more fun anyway. In America most people don’t know their neighbors.

Church attendance continues to drop. People get angry at the smallest imposition of their time or convenience. How does that make for a good, healthy, vibrant society?

We have good reason to be angry. Corrupt and incompetent politicians and their corporate cronies have wrecked the economic health of their nations.

vilifying the energy

In my view, aside from currency devaluations, the greatest damage has come from how these leaders talk about energy.

Instead of vilifying the energy resources that have lifted billions of people out of poverty, our leaders should be celebrating these resources while encouraging us to use them wisely because of their exceptional value.

Our anger should be directed at deeply cynical cultural elites positioning themselves to take more power, not at the people around us.

Demand destruction is coming, probably in a big way. We can choose to endure it and make many things better as we focus on those parts of our lives that are truly essential—brought to us by the most essential resources in the modern world—oil, natural gas, and coal.

* Mark Mathis, Author, “Feeding the Media Beast”& Filmmaker, “spOILed” and “Fractured” & Video Producer, Clear Energy Alliance

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