A Day In The Life Of America

By Ralph Avalone, President, National Green Energy Council

May 2, 2011 5:00A.M.

I woke up today from the alarm set on my blackberry. A mobile office that uses 300 watts of energy per day. Did you know that? I just learned it recently. Now multiply that energy use by all the Blackberrys in the World and boy are we using more energy than we ever did before.

I jumped in the shower and used more water in ten minutes than most third World families use all year. I brushed my teeth and made sure I shut the water off while I brushed. Every American uses 29 gallons of fresh water per year just brushing their teeth, let alone shaving.

I shaved with a razor that uses a battery to vibrate it to give me a closer shave..oops battery ran out. I replaced it. What do I do with the old battery? Oh that’s right…. don’t throw it in the garbage because 84,000 tons of batteries go to landfills here in America each year. Plus I shut off the water in between strokes. More water saved. Doing my part…..Hope everyone else is.

I walked in to the kitchen to thumb through yesterdays mail. Bills and junk mail. What do I do with all the junk mail? Hmm. Garbage? Oops.. nope. Every American throws away 40 pounds of junk mail in landfills each year. Put it in a pile to bring out to the recycle bin.

Time to go to work….First stop 7-11 for coffee… $1.67 for a cup of Joe?  I remember when my dad gave me 35 cents to get him a cup at the local donut shop. You know the one about 5 blocks from my house growing up that I never had a problem going for my dad because I didn’t have ninteno ds, video games or a phone at 9 years old to text my friends I was gonna see later on in the day.

My dad didn’t worry about asking me to go for him because back then we didn’t have to worry about people grabbing kids and doing evil things to them. When did it get to be so much to get a cup of coffee? Oh yeah Starbucks trained people to spend five bucks on a cup of crappy joe and everyone else raised prices or is it just that there are so many more people on the Planet that there is not enough crops to supply the coffee? Oh well , gotta spend the money because I cant start a day without my joe!

Oh no.. I forgot a water! I gotta run in and get a bottle of water. I have a lot of phone time today and I’m gonna get dry mouth…. need that water bottle!…. $1.60 for a bottle of water. So that’s about $10.00 per gallon right? And I’m complaining about $4.00 per gallon gasoline. What’s the real heist here? Gas or Water? Mental note: Research population increase and availability of water for a growing World population.

Looked at my watch… only 7:00am to early to start making calls. Bottle of water in place. One of over 350 million that will be bought this year in America. And most tossed into a land fill.

 Stopped a light I see a young woman who is at the corner holding a sign that says. Lost my job  11 months ago, lost my husband 8 months ago, lost my house 4 months ago. Please help I need an apartment for me and my unborn baby. I gave her $20. She was 7 months pregnant…Why am I so angry that I just experienced that? That’s right I know why. Because this is America and its supposed to be the greatest country on Earth and the only change I see is the balance of power shifted in the Congress. I see 24 million Americans without jobs, one out of every 10 houses in America has either been lost to foreclosure or is in foreclosure. Change! Give me a break. Still victims of OPEC, big oil and coal.

Speaking of Big Oil…….I should get gas. I have to get to the airport to get on a plane to go to another Tornado zone and see what can be done to use new green technologies to help in the disaster relief areas and I’m going to be too tired to get gas when I get back from the trip, better get it know.          $4.01 per gallon. I remember waiting in the odd and even gas lines in the 70’s with my dad. He had two license plates you see, he was in the car business and he could get gas whenever he wanted just not when the pumps ran dry. I remember helping him push the car toward home sometimes with my brother until some neighbors felt bad and helped the rest of the way. We lived three blocks from the gas station. Now hold on a minute!… the sign from the street said $4.01 per gallon and the pump says $4.10 per gallon. What gives? I squint at the road side sign….a little message under the $4.01 per gallon. Cash price only  Who carries cash? I carry a card made out of petroleum materials and so does everyone else. Another great plan by big oil…weave the product into everything so that we can never get off it!

Well I’m off. Now I’m going to be late!

Ok in the parking garage. Scrambling to get to the ticket counter…Ok slide my credit card so it can find me…WHAT! I have to pay for a carry on bag now? $25??? Oh well, I need the laptop. Gotta pay! Now the checked luggage $28 Waiting… processing….Ok chosoe a seat. Dear God now I have to pay for a seat? What the hell did I pay for a plane ticket for? How much is it gonna be to fly when the oil runs out? How are we gonna get around. Too deep.. Gotta concentrate. Get this done cause the line in security is gonna make you miss the flight. OK done.. Let’s go.

License..check. no water bottle.check. ( just wasted $1.60) a little bags of my liquids. Check. Did I forget shaving cream? Ok here we go!  Im gonna make it! Shoes off, hat off, belt off, laptop out. Scanning bags…good…. walk through new contraption……..Ok, gotta get to my stuff. Why is my heart beating so hard. ” This your bag” says the TSA guard. “Yup” come with me. ” I have to remove all the items of your bags ok sir?” “yup” gotta love what the terrorists did to our travel experience!  I’m not complaining. Israels been dealing with it since some numskull decided to set them up surrounded by Muslims that hate their very existence. Would have liked to been in that room to hear how that plan unfolded…

Finally, on the plane. It took me an extra $100 for this flight with the bags, the seat and now my magazine and snack. Not even 8:00am and I just burned $100 on nothing. Unbelievable.

Oops gotta turn the phone off. It will make the plane crash somehow. OK stewardess message. No smoking! Really??? Remember when there was a smoking section on every flight? Now you cant even smoke outside in Disnelyland. What a different World….. Ok one last scan of the plane to try to see if I can identify a potential terrorist.. scanning….Is there an air marshal on this flight? Who might he be?

Why is my heart racing again. Wait a minute. That guy looks strange. Is he? Maybe? Wait a minute I can take him. Let me plan my reaction if he decides to take over the plane. Oh yeah got it. I just run up to him take as many bullets as I can to give another guy the chance to take him down? Really that’s the plan? I need a better one. I know, if my phone being on can make the plane crash somehow then maybe while its off I can crush him in the temple and take the plane back. Yeah that’s it! plan handled.

Uh oh! Too much coffee. Gotta go. Wow tiny in here. Wheres the button? Here we go? Wait a minute where does that blue water I just flushed go? Oh yeah it just falls out of the bottom of the plane. Another room I would have liked to be in when the government said ok you can do that!

Gotta get some sleep. Its gonna be a long day in the trenches. Why is this seat that cost me $15 so small? Am I getting fat? That’s it no more peanuts!

Landed in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Time to get in the trenches…….

It’s a war zone… Houses gone. Porches left behind. Debris in trees..Wait a minute… I have been here before….9-14-01 New York City?   No………..People running around.. No one knows who’s in charge.. The gulf coast .. Deep Horizon spill???? No…….Why does this all feel so familiar? Hurricane Gustav? No… people crying.. sorting through what’s left of their belongings…posted signs of the missing..radio playing  “this is the worst tornado season in the last 50 years”………. Worst season…..worst hurricane in 100 years. I’ve got it! HURRICANE KATRINA! Leaders who can’t lead, no one knows who’s in charge…people crying…. Americans without power, food, water and shelter. Again!!!!!!!!!!!!!! God damn it! Nothings changed! Its all the same.

The politicians fight over partisan garbage and my America bleeds….

Soldiers die on foreign lands for oil that doesn’t come back here or lower the price or lower our dependence.

Unemployed families who were already suffering now have lost everything…..

Green companies that could have deployed life saving technologies to this disaster zone still haven’t been funded…. Still haven’t scraped the money together to be a registered government contractor. Regulatory crap! Political red tape! Bureaucratic horseshit!

People in lines to get permits to go see if any of their belonging are salvageable. Dead loved ones in morgues that won’t let people in because they made a mistake in false identifying a body and now these people who lost everything including a loved one can’t get closure. I AM ANGRY!!!!

And where is our beloved catalyst for change. Oh that’s right he’s in Ireland speaking about the strong partnership between our countries. REALLY? Get back here president Obama! Come back and give us the CHANGE you promised! Because all I’m seeing is the same old heartache I saw in 2005 under another president. You know the one who you bashed for his administration! Well you got the job, now do the work or I can guarantee you that come next November every American will show you what change really means, when you change your address to someplace other than 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

And by the way, my offer to walk across the street so I can give you a few tips on how to help America get back on the path of prosperity and greatness again still stands. Only call me ahead of time because the price of coffee is ridiculous!

You’ll have to make an appointment though, because while you’re sitting in your shiny white house that the sweat of our forefathers built and was built brick by brick by the best workforce in the World, I’ll be the one in the trenches helping any way I can to make America great again. I’ve gotta go. There is an American crying and I need to give them a shoulder to cry on!

I may not be able to go in the battlefield in Iraq, Afghanistan or Libya, but I can make sure that someday soon our soldiers won’t be sent to foreign lands to fight for God Damn oil!

Nothings changed… Just the talking head.

Posted: May 30th, 2011 | Author: admin | Filed under: Energy, Global Warming | Tags: Green Energy Council, Ralph Avalone | 4 Comments »

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