Everyone is buzzing about Sally Jewel and her nomination to the Secretary of Interior position. I read an article this morning describing how she does not fit the standard mold of her former appointees. Instead of wearing cowboy boots and a big felt cowboy hat, she'd rather be wearing Gore-Tex, polar fleece, and hiking boots.
Interesting...
So, it caused me to think a bit about sustainability and the choice of Sally Jewel. Let's just start with the clothes:
Which type of clothing is more sustainable and which set of gear belies a greater understanding of our natural resources.
Well, first of all, if I am the traditional nominee and selection, I'm wearing leather boots with a leather sole (sustainable, biodegradable, and environmentally friendly). I'm probably more comfortable in jeans and a cotton button up shirt with a leather belt (once again - sustainable). My headgear is a felt cowboy hat. It may or may not have a leather strip around it, but generally speaking, my get-up is pretty eco-friendly and generally biodegradable. The only true exceptions are my elastic underwear band, the metal from the pants zipper and belt buckle, and perhaps some polyester in my socks. If it's cold, I throw on my Carhart coat - cotton.
Now, if I am Sally, I'm generally described as wearing fleece, Gore-Tex, and hiking boots. So, here's the breakdown: My fleece hat is generated from polyester (oil), my performance wicking under-clothing is probably a polyester blend (not cotton - "cotton kills" - A common phrase spoken by many of the outdoor climbing community). If I'm in a fleece vest then I've drilled onto the ground for it. Lets assume that I am wearing traditional (outdoors) pants from REI. They are generally made from a polyester blend which comes from oil development. My socks are some knock-off performance material that is like wool, but better (nothing natural here). And finally, I'm in my hiking boots, which traditionally were mostly leather, but now are mostly Gore-Tex fabrics with a rubber sole. In the cold, I put on more layers of the same material with a poly Gore-Tex shell. In a nutshell, the whole get-up is derived from oil developmnt and is not bio-degradable, nor truly sustainable.
Maybe we have become so brainwashed by the media and the "green" movement that we have forgotten where we get things from. As long as it looks great and fashionable and has a green label, then it must be good. Well, it's not. Don't preach it if you're not willing to live it. Don't claim it if it's not really true. And don't do it unless you mean it. I'm not against the fleece or the polyester - I use em regularly. However, I also realize where they come from and what the true cost is. Does Sally? Do You? Is she thinking about how to manage the land for EVERYONE'S best interest? Contrary to popular belief, Big Oil is not the great satan here. They provide a resource that we ALL use and NEED. It's time to step back and look at the bigger picture here.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
In the interest of full disclosure, I need to clarify a few facts about myself. Firstly, this is not a rant against Chaco sandals. I love em. My wife loves em. We wear them constantly, and to be quite frank, I'm not sure what we'd do without them.
So, why the strange title? Well, there's a story behind it. I work as a consultant in the environmental industry. Our primary clients are oil and gas developers, mining companies, transportation developers, solar and wind developers, pipeline companies, and utility companies. My role is to oversee and conduct the environmental due diligence (NEPA studies, biological assessments, wetland studies, archaeological studies, etc.) that is often required by state and federal regulations to assist these companies with the permitting process. We count the shrubs and flowers, map the arrowheads, check the animal burrows, and mark the edges of streams and rivers so that they are not "impacted" by the various projects we work on. Some days, it's very fulfilling work, and other days just plain stinks - You know, the same with almost every job there is.
On one particular day, I was traveling through Vernal, Utah (a current hot-bed of oil and gas development) on my way from western Colorado to Salt Lake City, Utah. I stopped in at a whitewater rafting shop to check out the boats (a secret passion of mine). While there, I overheard two people having a conversation about the evils of oil and gas and how that industry was inexorably ruining theirs (rafting). I was admittedly eavesdropping as I browsed around the store, and to be quite honest, I was astounded at their conversation. To them, oil and gas (and the hill-billies who drill for it) were seemingly responsible for all the evils in the world - from Afghanistan, to the Chinese economy, the stock market collapse, to drugs in Mexico!
Here's the thing that blew me away. Both people were wearing Chaco sandals, nylon river shorts, polyester (running style) shirts, and fleece (one had a beanie and the other a vest). To top that off, one them was buying a drybag and the other was wearing plastic sunglasses while they looked at kayaks! EVERYTHING they were wearing, looking at, or buying was made from (you guessed it) oil. Not vegetables, but the black stuff that is pulled out of the ground through drilling.
Clearly their world view has been skewed by the kool-aid they have been drinking. Everything about their lives revolved around oil production and natural resources development, but they had no clue about it. All I'm suggesting is that we all open our eyes a bit and see what is around us. You can't have the elevated degree of living that we have without specific exploitation of our natural resources. While I do not advocate making the country look like swiss cheese through drilling, I am advocating that people wake up and realize that everything has a cost to get the benefit. Rather than look at oil and gas development from an "impact vs. no impact" standard, we should evaluate it on a cost-benefit basis. Everybody knows that you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs (over-used and often heard). Indeed, the same principle applies to oil and gas. If you want those fantastic Chaco sandals, you're going to have drill for oil to get them.
So, why the strange title? Well, there's a story behind it. I work as a consultant in the environmental industry. Our primary clients are oil and gas developers, mining companies, transportation developers, solar and wind developers, pipeline companies, and utility companies. My role is to oversee and conduct the environmental due diligence (NEPA studies, biological assessments, wetland studies, archaeological studies, etc.) that is often required by state and federal regulations to assist these companies with the permitting process. We count the shrubs and flowers, map the arrowheads, check the animal burrows, and mark the edges of streams and rivers so that they are not "impacted" by the various projects we work on. Some days, it's very fulfilling work, and other days just plain stinks - You know, the same with almost every job there is.
On one particular day, I was traveling through Vernal, Utah (a current hot-bed of oil and gas development) on my way from western Colorado to Salt Lake City, Utah. I stopped in at a whitewater rafting shop to check out the boats (a secret passion of mine). While there, I overheard two people having a conversation about the evils of oil and gas and how that industry was inexorably ruining theirs (rafting). I was admittedly eavesdropping as I browsed around the store, and to be quite honest, I was astounded at their conversation. To them, oil and gas (and the hill-billies who drill for it) were seemingly responsible for all the evils in the world - from Afghanistan, to the Chinese economy, the stock market collapse, to drugs in Mexico!
Here's the thing that blew me away. Both people were wearing Chaco sandals, nylon river shorts, polyester (running style) shirts, and fleece (one had a beanie and the other a vest). To top that off, one them was buying a drybag and the other was wearing plastic sunglasses while they looked at kayaks! EVERYTHING they were wearing, looking at, or buying was made from (you guessed it) oil. Not vegetables, but the black stuff that is pulled out of the ground through drilling.
Clearly their world view has been skewed by the kool-aid they have been drinking. Everything about their lives revolved around oil production and natural resources development, but they had no clue about it. All I'm suggesting is that we all open our eyes a bit and see what is around us. You can't have the elevated degree of living that we have without specific exploitation of our natural resources. While I do not advocate making the country look like swiss cheese through drilling, I am advocating that people wake up and realize that everything has a cost to get the benefit. Rather than look at oil and gas development from an "impact vs. no impact" standard, we should evaluate it on a cost-benefit basis. Everybody knows that you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs (over-used and often heard). Indeed, the same principle applies to oil and gas. If you want those fantastic Chaco sandals, you're going to have drill for oil to get them.
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