Declaring Independence from Oil on July Fourth

What did you do on Independence Day? In between bouts of dancing at festivals and shows, I celebrated our nation’s birthday by participating in a special “Declare Independence from Oil” critical mass bicycle ride.

As myself and the fifty other riders in colorful costumes wove our ways through the city, we sang songs of true independence from oil. We cycled past throngs of parade-goers bedecked in their aggressively patriotic primary colors, and exiting this nexus, we went on through inner-city neighborhoods where homemade street firework displays were the norm. Our two-wheeled group broke along through the socioeconomic levels of the city, shifting gears to climb the hills toward the higher and hard-life side of town, bringing our music with us. And the whole time we were mostly met with smiles, claps, and cheers. Yesterday, it seemed that our nation is ripe for an end to dependence on oil.

Oil is fighting a losing battle against conservation and alternative energy, for one crucial reason: It’s a limited resource. Some experts like Andrew Simms say we’re burning through it about a million times faster than Mother Nature put it in the earth. Most scientists agree that the party’s over: We’re at the end of our supply of easy access to the stuff. We’ve been leaning on the pedal, accelerating hard toward a cliff known as peak oil, beyond which we’re going to be weaning ourselves off the stuff hard and fast. And the whole time we’ve been emitting greenhouse gases worse than Rush Limbaugh off his meds after a Fourth of July chili-eating contest.

Life after the oil crash (www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net) will be smoother, easier, and sweeter. And it will just make more sense. Kids will get more fresh air. Communities will be safer. We will get our hands dirty by growing things and being around real animals. And each of us will find the artist within ourselves. Wondering how all of this will happen? Wait, read, plan, and see.

Yesterday I rode my bicycle through the city to remember these things and remind others, and fifty other free spirits rode with me, people who believe that a better world is not only possible, but is just around the corner – after we declare independence from oil. It was a wonderful day.

At least I had a better Independence Day than oil-man President Bush, who was enthusiastically heckled as he gave a speech. In this lame-duck year, the party’s over for him, too.

- Lacy MacAuley