On September 11, 2001, I, like millions, watched in horror as the worst terrorist bombing in the history of mankind transpired. As I watched, I felt a change come over me, and in the weeks to come, the world seemed to reflect that change. The world seemed like a smaller place, and for a fleeting moment, people begin to speak of the change this event meant.
However, in the months to follow, I saw our unity disappear. I saw the United States react exactly as it had always done. It was difficult to watch as the speech of change, devolved into speech of revenge. As the Bush war machine began to pick up steam, all sense of the great change the attacks on 9/11 had wrought were forgotten.
It made no sense to me, for I had changed. I had a new perspective on things, as well as new priorities in my life. I couldn’t understand how I had changed but the world hadn’t. In my confusion, I turned to God to ask for guidance. I asked for the knowledge to understand how everyone’s hearts seemed to have hardened, while mine seemed to cry out for peace, for love.
Now it may seem improbable, which I think is at the root of our discontent, but God spoke to me. He told me that if the world had promised that 9/11 changed everything, that they needed to be reminded of the change they had weeped for on September 12th. I played the humble servant and tried to remind the world, and, at least for me, my world did change. I became ostracized, feared, and shunned. Indeed, my life changed on 9/11 and eventually resulted in me becoming disabled by Crohn’s Disease, a ticking time bomb I had carried inside me since I was 25 yrs old.
Deepwater Horizon
Again on April 20, 2010, I watched as the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. At first it seemed like a minor catastrophe, but as the wellhead 5,000 feet below the ocean continued to gush oil into the gulf. I had that inescapable feeling once again. The world had changed. Only this time, no one else seemed to share my opinion. It wasn’t until two months of oil had spilled into the gulf, that I finally heard someone say: “The Gulf of Mexico will never be the same.”
Now a month later, we are still a month away from stopping the oil leak caused by the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion. I’ve watched in horror as the greatest environmental disaster in the history of mankind continues to transpire right before our very eyes, and yet, there are still very few who recognize the travesty that has taken place. It’s difficult to predict what the long term effects of this disaster will have on our ecosystem, but we’re witnessing the elimination of a major component of that ecosystem and very few seem to care.
Conclusion
Now forgive me for swinging for the low fruit hanging off of this rant, but it should be just as obvious to everyone else as it is to me. In July of 2008, crude oil hit a record high of $147 a barrel. Now the oil shortage is not factored into the economic collapse of 2007-2010, but I do believe it is relevant and contributed to the crisis.
So we have three crises within 10 years, which, for many, if not everyone, has changed the world indelibly. So I argue that they are are all linked to one root cause, our dependence on fossil fuel, especially crude oil. For me, the obvious change needed after 9/11 was a discrete change in the policies of the United States which extricated us from the Middle East, or rightfully, eliminated our need for oil supplied by the Middle East.
In 2008, the $147 per crude oil barrel should have caused us to form the same conclusion. During the duration of the shortage, there was frequent talk of developing clean energy, but by December of 2008, crude oil had dropped down to $32 a barrel. At that point, the crisis had ended. Except for the looming economic meltdown, everything was business as usual.
Now in 2010, we have yet another messy reminder that we are too dependent upon fossil fuel, yet very few people are recognizing the dire need for us to change. For me, when the Deep Water drilling rig exploded, our world changed, we’re just in denial that it means that we have to change as well.
