Possibilities

Possibilities are everywhere.  However, not everyone takes the opportunity to explore the possibilities that they come across daily.  This is unfortunate since some opportunities present themselves and we often are so busy to recognize them that the opportunity vanishes before it has a chance to materialize.

I've said it before in my ramblings to take time for yourself.  Seize an opportunity and make something out of it no matter how small it may be.  Just think what would have happened it people would have responded differently to the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico.  Did the oil rig violently explode or were there warning signs prior to the worst environmental disaster this country has ever seen?  No one knows for sure except for the souls that were lost.

As 200,000+ gallons of oil daily continue to pollute one of this countries greatest natural wonders we should all take a moment and pause to see what possibilities we see every day that can lesson our demand for oil.  I don't have any magic answers, but each of us see possibilities in their daily lives where they can effect their own usage of oil.  Every little bit helps.

Just think if each of us were to stop drinking bottled water?  Did you know that one machine can pump out over 10,000 plastic bottles an hour.  You may wonder how eliminating bottled water would reduce the need for oil.  Think of it this way.  In order to manufacture bottles the raw material (polyethylene) needs to be shipped by truck to the bottle manufacturing plant.  After the bottles are created, the bottles need to be shipped to the water bottling company where filled bottles now hop on a truck to a distribution center.  After waiting at the distribution center for a few hours or days the filled bottles are trucked to their final retail destination.  This isn't all.  The consumer "drives" to the retail outlet where we purchase these bottles and transport them to various events and dispose of them in a garbage or recycling bin.  At this point, another truck picks up the discarded bottle and ships it to a recycling center or a landfill.  

That one water bottle logs about 300 road miles and fuel to complete its journey.  Just think about the other 9,999 bottles per hour that one machine can manufacture and the amount of fuel it takes to move those bottles through their journey.

Just think of the possibilities and next time reach for the tap!