Joyriding

1. Write a thoughtful response/summary of the reading.The first article, Oil, Food and the Coming Crisis in Agriculture touched base on a few topics concerning fossil fuels. Predicting where the peak oil point was attempted by Dr. King Hubbert, saying that it would peak in the 1970’s, and he was able to calculate this because of his experience in developing production curves. His estimate was correct, and it has been on the decline since. Finding reliable and available data is possible, like through Petroconsultants, but other organizations like USGS have not provided realistic data. Because we are at the peak production point, instead of finding locations abundant with oil, many smaller pockets have been tapped into to keep up with the demand. Unfortunately, demand has remained high, and the supply is being depleted. The use of natural gas is possible, being that it’s less costly, but the decline rate is much faster than that of oil, at “five to ten percent, compared to oil’s two or three percent” (36). Also, agriculture has had its own detrimental effects, but fossil fuels have only furthered the problem. Having available electricity to run machinery and irrigation, the upkeep of aging tractors and equipment while still trying to provide fuel to run them,
The second article, Joyride, described the various problems that stem from the use of cars. When streetcars were originally in use, corporations such as GM sought to eliminate public transportation and replace it with private. Mass transit wasn’t going to rake in the profit cars could by needing roads (from taxes) and such. This created a new market of personal cars, which then led to other markets, such as housing. Because public transportation was not receiving adequate funds to stay in business, Americans developed a goal set on having a car for every family or person. The result was convenient travel. Driving out of the city to the country side led to the ever growing suburbia. It allowed people to commute to the city, while returning to the comforts of their lovely home. Unfortunately, the mortgage system was faulty and allowed people to buy houses they couldn’t afford. Also, farming changed quite a bit because of the new availability of farm machinery. This increased production, but provided a supply far greater than the demand, dropping prices, and making it difficult for farms to continue in business.

2. Answer the following two questions:a. How did the car/tractor shape American culture and American’s lifestyle?
It cultivated this idea that everyone needed that personal space, a way to get somewhere at one’s own convenience. It settled in with this “American” dream of receiving rewards for going through a difficult time. However, after the depression and war, life’s difficulties weren’t as pronounced, yet people were still demanding material goods at escalating rates. A car jumped into production once again after the war, and from this suburbia was born. Cars have ultimately provided the beginning frameworks for class status and separations.

3. Three thoughtful questions.One of the quotes that really struck me as important, and is in line with what I’ve been struggling in my own thought life lately, is “Profit justifies existence”. Clearly, our country and society has utilized profitability as a means for continuing bad habits and decisions; can we envision and actually reshape our culture to where quality really does replace the push for quantity?

Could we, if we reached a point where implementing this was feasible, reduce the number of cars considering the number of suburban communities? Because the distance from homes and shops/groceries, etc. is pretty extensive, can we adjust our culture to fit bikes or walking, or have we already missed that opportunity?