The Ethanol Papers - Paperturn manuscript - Flipbook - Page 635
industry, it will be just another diversion like electric cars, and we will have
wasted valuable time and money that should be spent on getting rid of our dependence on fossil fuels.
Let me put it as succinctly as I can: No fracking way!
WRAP UP TO MY REVIEW OF “GUSHER OF LIES”
The 1800s was a milestone in human existence because it was the century of
freedom: social, national, and economic. All the social awakenings that were
triggered by European renaissance a couple of centuries earlier came to life
with American independence followed by the French struggles to find their own
brand of independence from autocratic rule, then the unification of disparate
Italian and German states into cohesive nations, and the abolition of slavery in
the western world. These factors combined with the burgeoning age of machines to allow common people to go forth on their own. Millions left the reasonable comfort of familiar surroundings to journey thousands of miles away in
search of a better life.
The invention of the automobile was the crowning achievement in the age of
machinery because individuals could range further and longer at a moment’s
notice. It personalized the spirit of freedom and independence.
The automobile wasn’t invented because of any particular liquid or solid fuel; it
was invented by the fuel of hope and imagination. Automobiles allowed people
to move out of crowded festering cities. It allowed people to travel every day to
work in locations that just a short time before were considered a week’s journey
away. It allowed every stratum of the public to shop, to play, to visit, to spend
money, which allowed others to earn money so that they can spend and buy,
too, which repeated the cycle over and over. The automobile engendered powered human flight and personal power boating; it was the great catalyst. The
automobile, not its fuel source, was the ultimate expression of freedom.
Then we lost our way. People don’t aspire to use a prettier fuel, or a faster fuel,
or a more luxurious fuel. The machine is the key; the fuel is just a minor element.
Sure, without fuel the automobile won’t run, but an automobile also won’t run
without a spark plug. However, we don’t fight wars over spark plugs. Spark plug
manufacturers aren’t paying terrorists to hijack airplanes.
