Petroleum: Let the Dead Rest In Peace

When the dinosaurs passed, and sunk into the earth, and became a wonder to archaeologists, historians and catholics: it was a natural cycle of the earth. It was a respectful burial, designed to allow their age to pass, and a new age of man to rise from the ashes and inherit the earth.

For thousands of years, man has enacted the same right of passage on its own people at the time of their death. Returning the body to the earth and allowing it to be at peace in its final state of rest. The spiritual aside, there was another important reason why the dead should be buried below the earth. So that the natural process of reclamation, which is an ugly process, and disease ridden, would not affect the rest of the lives that were still living on the surface of the earth. It was a basic measure for maintaining the public health.

So when we decided to remove dead dinosaurs from the ground, burn them into the atmosphere and make food containers out of them, shouldn’t it have occurred to us that perhaps resurrecting the dead for our own ends might be a bad idea?

Just a thought?

The Touch … The Feel … Of Plastic

Does anyone remember watching TV on Sunday mornings seeing ads for plastics and how they are going to save man kind?

Well, apparently plastic is a new enemy. Environment California’s web site has an informative posting about the effects of #7 plastics on not only a child’s developmental process, but the increased risks of cancer in adults who use #7 plastics.

[ Read the Environment California Posting: Toxic Baby Bottles ]

So it makes me wonder… How long have we been using plastics? Think about it, plastic was the wonder material that would allow the world to be free from the confines of aluminum and steal. Remember your Star Wars action figures and your Barbie Dolls. It is a primary mechanism of the modern economy and its marketing.

It only makes sense that the incidents of ADD and the incidents of cancer in the populations are rising at alarming rates that correlate the uses of plastics in our everyday lives.

But hey, it’s new, its wonderful, its assumed to be great for us… right? Think about what its made of? petroleum by-products. Doesn’t this start to make you shiver when you see the kind of ill effects the petroleum industry has had on us, and how entrenched they are in our everyday lives.

But what do I know….?