The Great Energy Shuffle

Don’t worry about coal,

we’ll replace it with oil.

This pivot is worth it.

Ditch that mountaintop particulate

for this steady pipeline oil slick.

We changed our minds about oil;

hydro's where we'll focus.

And hopefully, you won't notice

the loss of salmon steelhead

in the towback of that low head.

Maybe solar's the right way.

Forget the blood diamonds—

we're talking acid leaching, lithium wars,

make them trade painted school days

for promises of cobalt wage pays.

No, not solar; let's try wind.

Sea and sky journeys

lost to the spin.

Don't mind those turbine vibrations—

they're just humming away annual migrations.

We've added toxins to your taps

and combustion to your breath.

We're disconnected from the obvious,

too busy fueling those daily habits,

no matter what the risks.

This is a system in dire need.

Consumption, exhaustion—

no warnings we heed.

Swap this one for that one,

ignoring the signs we refuse to read.

But it's time to come to terms with reality,

or we're at risk of a mass fatality.

Call it six or half a dozen,

we can't fix one failed solution

with another preferred false absolution.

There's only one way to make this okay:

stop these mindless transactions,

exchange them for passions,

and think about these waterways,

for the life they contain is yours—it sustains.

We need to pause and ask:

how much, and what

are we willing to give up?

Convenience is bliss,

but existence is likely

something we'll miss.

—

I place far more responsibility on businesses than on individual consumer habits. It’s hard to expect consumers to make better choices when better choices are far and few in-between. When packaging waste is unavoidable, when products are built to break, when every item is designed to be replaced rather than repaired—how much of the blame can we really put on individuals?

Businesses must step up. It's not enough to shift responsibility to consumers as businesses keep pushing excess. True sustainability isn’t about offering a “green” version of the same broken system—it’s about rethinking how we produce, sell, and dispose of what we make. Let's get radical!