But you use oil too!

Regularly, I find myself on Twitter or online fora debating with people who, for a variety of reasons, are deeply protective of the oil industry, particularly that of the Alberta tar sands.  Almost invariably, they will start to attack my lifestyle, claiming that I use oil to drive my car or heat my house.  When I point out that I drive very little and cycle to work, they tell me my cycling clothing and helmet are made of oil.  One even called out the use of oil in my bicycle tires.

So, I'm here to come clean.  I do use oil.  Although I drive little (~5,000 kilometers annually for a family of 3), my minivan burns gas.  Although my house is heated with hydroelectricity, the water heater is natural gas; because that's what was there when we bought the house. There is certainly oil in the synthetic materials used in my bicycle clothing and my shoes.  Although I make an effort to buy locally, lots of things I use have been brought to my home by oil burning ships, trucks and trains. I've become aware they add plastics to t-shirts.  I understand that some corporate sociopath decided to add microplastics to the liquid soap we use but it has since mercifully been banned.  So, that's it.  A full confession.  I must be a raving hypocrite, right? 

Well, not exactly.  I try to live my life in a way that minimizes my usage of oil because I understand that scientists say that burning fossil fuels is the leading cause of climate change; and climate change will threaten civilization itself.  So, I choose to cycle when I'd rather drive.  And I take vacations close to home when airfare is so cheap it can literally be cheaper to fly across the planet. My next car will be smaller, possibly electric if I can afford it.  And when my water heater dies, it will be replaced by an electric model, perhaps tankless.  I would love to have solar panels, if I could afford them.  And a heat pump.

However, any amount of personal choice and sacrifice is insignificant in a world of rampant oil use.  That's why the most important choice I make has nothing to do with my lifestyle.  I vote for the Green Party, the only Canadian political party that would make any meaningful moves to correct climate change.  I  support carbon taxes and higher individual taxes, if that's what it takes to save the planet.   I even advocate online, debating with people who seem to be afraid of a world without oil. 

Transition will be difficult but it can be done if the right changes are made and everyone participates.  And it won't cost near as much as opponents fear.  It isn't necessary to eliminate all oil but it is necessary to stop burning hydrocarbons for fuel.