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Just like pelicans, people can't avoid oil either

usnews.com -- .Louisiana’s brown pelicans have more of a chance of avoiding Big Oil than you do.

..sneakers and bike have petroleum products in them. Sure, you can shut off the AC, but the electric fans you switch to have plastic from oil and gas in them. And the insulation to keep your home cool also started as oil and gas. Without all that, you will sweat, and it’ll be all too noticeable because deodorant comes from oil and gas too.

..can’t even escape petroleum products with a nice cool fast-food milkshake – which probably has a petrochemical-based thickener.

Oil is everywhere..petrochemicals are in our blood.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested humans for environmental chemicals and metals, it recorded 212 different compounds. More than 180 of them..started out as..gas or oil

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Submitted Jul 31, 2010 By: teafortwo

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honda0105 Champion Author Tallahassee Posts:10,784 Points:632,375 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Aug 2, 2010 6:23:49 AM Ignore honda0105 Report Abuse otoh, if people thought just a smidgen more about the waste they generate w/ throw away plastics, we could save a lot of virgin petroleum for other uses (and making reserves last longer).
honda0105 Champion Author Tallahassee Posts:10,784 Points:632,375 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Aug 2, 2010 6:22:29 AM Ignore honda0105 Report Abuse oh yea, and when we all have headaches from the mess w/ the oil, don't take aspirin. After all, that's hydrocarbon / petroleum based too.
honda0105 Champion Author Tallahassee Posts:10,784 Points:632,375 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Aug 2, 2010 6:20:35 AM Ignore honda0105 Report Abuse HiGramma: isn't it amazing. Otoh, I'm always astounded how little the average American understands about petroleum and daily products. All they will say, petroleum is turned into gasoline. No one thinks of anything else.
Blue48 Champion Author Illinois Posts:2,655 Points:672,720 Joined:Feb 2007	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 8:59:06 AM Ignore Blue48 Report Abuse OK!
HiGramma Veteran Author Michigan Posts:317 Points:72,675 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 5:53:49 AM Ignore HiGramma Report Abuse I know this, and yet it's still overwhelming how much hydrocarbon products have permeated our lives. The only reason I even learned it is because I've talked with the chemical engineers who work for the petrochemical industry across the river from me. Most of the people around me don't have a clue, and they're not interested. They don't like Chemical Valley spoiling our view and our fishing, and they probably don't like Canadians (in the bigoted sense). As far as they're concerned, that's enough for them to complain about. Yet they'll take their fishing rod and tackle out onto the lake in their freshly painted fiberglass boats, wearing their slip-resistant deck shoes and their polyester or nylon or other hydrocarbon-based clothing, picking drinks from a 6pack joined by plastic rings stored in insulated coolers. Basically, "Fix the problem, but don't take away the materials that make my life easy and comfortable." I'd just be happy if people were the least bit curious about it. Going Amish is ideal, but I won't ask anything of anyone that I wouldn't be willing to do myself ... and not even a lot that I would be willing to do if they didn't want to.
NekoSJG Veteran Author San Jose Posts:284 Points:66,745 Joined:Jun 2010	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 5:29:36 AM Ignore NekoSJG Report Abuse Petro is useful for a lot of things. I wonder what happens to all the tire rubber that gets dispersed in the air from normal traffic?
TIGERPAW46 Champion Author Florida Posts:2,783 Points:525,315 Joined:Mar 2004	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 2:45:28 AM Ignore TIGERPAW46 Report Abuse We can't totally replace petroleum any time in the near future.
DellDude2 Champion Author Nashville Posts:4,001 Points:1,153,435 Joined:Aug 2005	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 2:05:55 AM Ignore DellDude2 Report Abuse Why would I want to avoid oil? Oil packs a greater energy per volume and higher cost efficiency than alternative fuels. Those products that come from oil make our lives easier. Oil is not Big nor Evil.
YLHandyman Champion Author Orange County Posts:4,599 Points:833,570 Joined:Feb 2008	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 2:05:31 AM Ignore YLHandyman Report Abuse No we can't.
ED6 Champion Author Riverside Posts:5,149 Points:1,000,710 Joined:Jul 2007	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 1:57:07 AM Ignore ED6 Report Abuse We can't avoid oil but pelicans do.
Bruno44 Champion Author Texas Posts:2,621 Points:852,770 Joined:Sep 2007	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 1:46:21 AM Ignore Bruno44 Report Abuse The pelicans are the lucky ones.
mvosevich Champion Author St. Louis Posts:4,325 Points:874,610 Joined:Aug 2004	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 1:35:30 AM Ignore mvosevich Report Abuse How did we ever survive without oil?
Saturn93 Champion Author Salt Lake City Posts:4,240 Points:1,014,765 Joined:Oct 2006	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 1:35:04 AM Ignore Saturn93 Report Abuse Most people don't have any idea just how dependent we have become on oil and the commercial products made from oil.
comprof Champion Author Houston Posts:1,789 Points:391,300 Joined:Jul 2009	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 1:34:53 AM Ignore comprof Report Abuse Good reminder.
grouch311 Champion Author Illinois Posts:4,044 Points:671,305 Joined:Jun 2007	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 1:28:38 AM Ignore grouch311 Report Abuse just like taxes, can't escape those either
djtdi Champion Author San Jose Posts:1,236 Points:296,005 Joined:Aug 2005	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 1:27:54 AM Ignore djtdi Report Abuse Sounds like a rerun of an old article,but still worth reading.
runout9 All-Star Author New Jersey Posts:563 Points:450,070 Joined:Dec 2008	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 1:21:57 AM Ignore runout9 Report Abuse As Lady Antebellum says: "Oh baby, I need you now!"
jadeusa Champion Author Dallas Posts:4,286 Points:875,410 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 1:17:05 AM Ignore jadeusa Report Abuse We do depend upon oil based products.
plastic Champion Author Virginia Posts:31,015 Points:1,868,390 Joined:May 2004	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 1:04:26 AM Ignore plastic Report Abuse oh now what would this world be like without plastic!
uptherefiners Champion Author Chicago Posts:1,167 Points:273,975 Joined:Jun 2006	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 1:03:41 AM Ignore uptherefiners Report Abuse WOW what an enlightening article /cough/
Quick68 Champion Author Columbus Posts:1,034 Points:249,375 Joined:Dec 2009	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 1:03:34 AM Ignore Quick68 Report Abuse Pelicans don't know that people like BP is out to kill them and don't care how many they kill.
judgemobile Champion Author Ohio Posts:2,761 Points:1,489,010 Joined:Nov 2005	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:59:38 AM Ignore judgemobile Report Abuse unlike the pelicans, the oil based (plastic)products which I use will not melt all over me and prevent me from moving around or obtaining necessary nourishment.
JettaKnight Champion Author Toronto Posts:1,048 Points:1,306,550 Joined:Nov 2005	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:55:24 AM Ignore JettaKnight Report Abuse GAWalv Oklahoma City "JettaKnight - DDT still works better that anything they have made to replace it." Nuclear weapons kill everything much more efficiently, including us. DDT just takes a little longer.
Rageagainsttm Champion Author Tampa Posts:3,676 Points:964,585 Joined:Jul 2007	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:55:12 AM Ignore Rageagainsttm Report Abuse Oil is gonna be needed for a long time.
aldog365 Champion Author Nashville Posts:1,046 Points:1,145,360 Joined:Aug 2005	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:53:12 AM Ignore aldog365 Report Abuse Good reminder of all the things we use in dailey life.
JettaKnight Champion Author Toronto Posts:1,048 Points:1,306,550 Joined:Nov 2005	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:52:55 AM Ignore JettaKnight Report Abuse GAWalv Oklahoma City "Like it or not thousands of daily products all of us use are from oil and gas. All the way from the antifreeze in our cars to the appliances in our kitchen and the shoes that we wear." The same plant oils that are used to make biofuels can be just as easily manipulated to manufacture various plastics. It's just a matter of which source is less expensive at the moment.
GAWalv Champion Author Oklahoma City Posts:5,832 Points:1,215,880 Joined:Feb 2007	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:50:06 AM Ignore GAWalv Report Abuse JettaKnight - DDT still works better that anything they have made to replace it.
JettaKnight Champion Author Toronto Posts:1,048 Points:1,306,550 Joined:Nov 2005	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:46:42 AM Ignore JettaKnight Report Abuse CPGas1815 Michigan "Well it looks like the human species may be evolving or is it devolving? Might the day come when one would need a medical remedy to rid our bodies of the petrochemicals that have infected us? We've poisoned our food with additives from Aluminum to Zinc, and we've fouled the air we breath with the tons of poisonous pollutants emitted into the atmosphere every second of every day. Humans are a very resilient species. We've adapted and evolved many times during the eons of time. But this modern day assault upon our bodies that is causing the quantity of oil to increase is a horror story with unknown consequences. Might humans evolve to excrete the oil in our bodies? One could justifiably argue that would harken a devolution of the human species." Resilient only to a point. Look how long it took to ban DDT in the western world... but not its' manufacture by US companies in third world countries.
GAWalv Champion Author Oklahoma City Posts:5,832 Points:1,215,880 Joined:Feb 2007	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:45:50 AM Ignore GAWalv Report Abuse Like it or not thousands of daily products all of us use are from oil and gas. All the way from the antifreeze in our cars to the appliances in our kitchen and the shoes that we wear. Also the plastic bags at the grocery store, the plastic bottles and jars that have our food and drink in them, including water bottles. Our computers PC/Mac have plastic parts. All from petroleum products. [Edited by: GAWalv at 8/1/2010 12:48:37 AM EST]
REKEY Champion Author South Carolina Posts:3,652 Points:731,425 Joined:May 2008	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:44:52 AM Ignore REKEY Report Abuse We know oil is a must. But we can at least cut back.
vulcan96 Champion Author Ohio Posts:17,943 Points:2,131,070 Joined:Aug 2004	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:44:21 AM Ignore vulcan96 Report Abuse so, even if everybody had an electric car we would still need oil
GasholeMI Champion Author Lansing Posts:5,299 Points:762,840 Joined:Jul 2008	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:40:21 AM Ignore GasholeMI Report Abuse Doing without oil is like doing without food.
Doosie All-Star Author Anchorage Posts:671 Points:464,705 Joined:Jul 2007	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:39:47 AM Ignore Doosie Report Abuse oh, the tangled web we've woven... and the greenies want electric vehicles... but that won't solve the dependancy issues!
TBONE3 Champion Author Pennsylvania Posts:3,900 Points:1,006,620 Joined:Mar 2005	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:33:34 AM Ignore TBONE3 Report Abuse Good information and an excellent reminder of how oil is an integral part of our lives.
TheSicilian Veteran Author Jacksonville Posts:449 Points:493,635 Joined:Feb 2009	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:30:22 AM Ignore TheSicilian Report Abuse true we use it for a lot of things
LocalSpyGuy Champion Author Tampa Posts:2,945 Points:615,320 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:29:17 AM Ignore LocalSpyGuy Report Abuse True, petroleum is used for many different items. However, fuel consumption is the great majority of the total usage.
CumminsFanOH Champion Author Columbus Posts:1,092 Points:485,970 Joined:Jan 2009	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:28:42 AM Ignore CumminsFanOH Report Abuse Interesting information.
panama303 Veteran Author Denver Posts:491 Points:198,990 Joined:Jan 2005	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:28:28 AM Ignore panama303 Report Abuse Drill baby drill!
Gary65 Champion Author Toronto Posts:1,498 Points:467,570 Joined:Jan 2009	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:28:24 AM Ignore Gary65 Report Abuse Nothing new there, sad to say.
joel27nc Champion Author Raleigh Posts:5,539 Points:889,745 Joined:Mar 2008	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:26:49 AM Ignore joel27nc Report Abuse I knew that.
altima2008 Champion Author Philadelphia Posts:3,254 Points:770,035 Joined:Apr 2008	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:26:38 AM Ignore altima2008 Report Abuse You may not be able to completely avoid oil but you can cut down your dependency on it though!
bobdec Champion Author Florida Posts:4,284 Points:839,625 Joined:May 2008	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:22:52 AM Ignore bobdec Report Abuse We will never be completely off oil usage
Buddy2264 Champion Author Tampa Posts:6,626 Points:1,384,240 Joined:Oct 2005	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:22:23 AM Ignore Buddy2264 Report Abuse Let's cut out plastic bottles and grocery bags first and see how much we save. Conservation keeps your money in your pocket.
Bonito Champion Author Dayton Posts:10,237 Points:2,043,270 Joined:Jun 2004	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:21:37 AM Ignore Bonito Report Abuse Scarry thought here for sure. Oh, my friends and I played with mercury all the time, but we live in a different world now!
Blue_Cruzer Champion Author Lexington Posts:3,013 Points:774,360 Joined:Mar 2007	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:21:13 AM Ignore Blue_Cruzer Report Abuse Oil is part of our everyday life, whether we like it or not.
tedjm1 Champion Author New York Posts:1,537 Points:167,480 Joined:Dec 2006	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:20:04 AM Ignore tedjm1 Report Abuse I did not know. Not something I would expect to be in my system,
marcGasMan Veteran Author Ottawa Posts:494 Points:105,850 Joined:Apr 2010	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:14:09 AM Ignore marcGasMan Report Abuse I did not know this
gj35 Rookie Author San Diego Posts:95 Points:118,105 Joined:Jun 2009	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:10:45 AM Ignore gj35 Report Abuse All that petro in our systems couldn't be good for us.
CobraLeader Champion Author New Jersey Posts:249,094 Points:1,137,650 Joined:Apr 2007	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:10:34 AM Ignore CobraLeader Report Abuse ... Do you mean that the humans have to look where they're walking? ... ... Strange, it will NEVER happen. ...
Jarod13 Champion Author Virginia Posts:2,885 Points:639,475 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2010 12:05:35 AM Ignore Jarod13 Report Abuse As many other have previously stated, oil is in or associated with just about every thing in our lives. Even with alternative/renewable fuels being developed, we'll still need to continue using oil in many facets of our lives. We'll need to develope a substitute to use in all the other items that currently utilize oil in their production.