The truth hurts
People don't want to accept the realities of the world that go against their preconceived ideas.
This is exactly why so many people here in Utah are quick to dismiss evolution. Because the theory of evolution doesn't fall in line with the idea that the world and all of its creatures were created 6,000 years ago, some people believe that it must be an "evil doctrine" put forth by those "atheist scientists." Personally, I think that the "conflict" between science and religion is a self-fulfilling prophecy more than anything else; it only exists to the extent that people create it. Religion is about the perfection of the soul, and science is about measuring and observing the natural world. And I could go on, but this blog is about energy, not evolution.
Likewise, a lot of people don't want to believe the reality of peak oil production. Peak oil implies that the world could change very quickly and for the worse, and that's not easy to swallow. It also implies that our current lifestyles are problematic, seeing as how our culture of consumption contributes to the problem. So a lot of people are in denial. Instead of accepting that our entire world is built on cheap oil and that we need to do everything possible to change that, they cling desperately to the idea that we'd have plenty of oil indefinitely if it weren't for the environmentalists/OPEC/"Big Oil"/Democrats/Republicans/teamsters/Martians/[fill in the blank with whatever group you want to scapegoat].
Maybe Google_Peak_Oil and others will share some of their peak oil denial stories in the comments section.
This is exactly why so many people here in Utah are quick to dismiss evolution. Because the theory of evolution doesn't fall in line with the idea that the world and all of its creatures were created 6,000 years ago, some people believe that it must be an "evil doctrine" put forth by those "atheist scientists." Personally, I think that the "conflict" between science and religion is a self-fulfilling prophecy more than anything else; it only exists to the extent that people create it. Religion is about the perfection of the soul, and science is about measuring and observing the natural world. And I could go on, but this blog is about energy, not evolution.
Likewise, a lot of people don't want to believe the reality of peak oil production. Peak oil implies that the world could change very quickly and for the worse, and that's not easy to swallow. It also implies that our current lifestyles are problematic, seeing as how our culture of consumption contributes to the problem. So a lot of people are in denial. Instead of accepting that our entire world is built on cheap oil and that we need to do everything possible to change that, they cling desperately to the idea that we'd have plenty of oil indefinitely if it weren't for the environmentalists/OPEC/"Big Oil"/Democrats/Republicans/teamsters/Martians/[fill in the blank with whatever group you want to scapegoat].
Maybe Google_Peak_Oil and others will share some of their peak oil denial stories in the comments section.
posted by Utah Peaknik at 6:37 PM
1 Comments:
Peak oil isn't something you can expect people to accept right away. Energy has been cheap and abundant their whole lives. When something has been a certain way in your entire life experience, you think of it as the natural order of things.
Here's my personal story of denial: In January, 2004 I encountered a peak oil discussion by accident when I was researching a new mini-van on the internet. I spent the next couple days scouring the web for persuasive data and arguments that would assure me that peak oil was just so much hysteria. You can guess by the name I am posting under that I didn't find a lot to reassure me.
Peakoil.com has a list of links for local Peak Oil Sites. Maybe you could contact the administrator and get your blog listed.
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