A very smart man once told me that Oil (I capitalize it on purpose) is as important to modern society as the Buffalo was to the plains Indians. Like the Indians almost every single aspect of our lives involves oil, we use it to move, we make our homes out of it, we make everything we wear/touch/use out of it, it keeps us warm, it cools us down, it keeps our lights on, we even eat it (most crops are grown using a significant amount of oil). It is arguably THE most important part of our lives. The plains Indians treated the Buffalo like a friend, they have religious ceremonies to honor it, they thanked the gods for every one they killed, it was a revered and honored part of their lives. We on the other hand only think about oil when the price at the pump goes up.

Something so vital to the way we live and we hardly ever think about it. The one substance on this planet that we simply can not live without (at least for now), and we only pay it a second thought when we have to pay more for gas. Well it’s time for all that to end.

Oil is a necessary part of our lives, it’s an inescapable truth. Nothing else has the energy density that oil does, no other substance allows for the creation of of power so easily. And what do we do with it? We waste it in big inefficient SUV’s. We let it spill out onto our beaches, we make billions of plastic do-dads out of it and then throw them away after one use. It’s about time we start prioritizing our use.

Then:

We are long past the point of “easy” choices. We now much decide, do we continue to waste oil on water bottles, and one time use razors, and packaging that gets tossed after one use. Or are we going to save the last supplies of oil on this planet for things like medical breakthroughs, water filtration devices, emergency shelters, etc. Well we might not get that choice the market might make it for us.

The Dow Chemical Company announced today that on June 1 it will raise the price of all of its products by up to 20 percent – depending on their exposure to rising energy, feedstock and transportation costs – and will review all terms to all customers. 20%!

Andrew N. Liveris, Dow chairman and CEO, said the sweeping price increases and reviews are essential as the Company attempts to mitigate the extraordinary rise in energy and related raw material costs.

Now:

“Our first quarter feedstock and energy bill leapt a staggering 42 percent year over year, and that trajectory has continued, with the cost of oil and natural gas climbing ever higher,” Liveris said. “The new level of hydrocarbons and energy costs is putting a strain on the entire value chain and is forcing difficult discussions with customers about resetting the value proposition for our products.”

Dow spent $8 billion on energy and hydrocarbon-based feedstock costs in 2002. At the current rate, those costs would climb to $32 billion this year.

“In addition to these price increases,” Liveris said, “the Company is continuing its aggressive cost-control plan internally and is accelerating its existing top-down competitiveness review for all of its businesses and manufacturing facilities in the light of these new feedstock and energy prices.”

This is one company that makes products used in almost every other company in the world. If Dow raises prices 20% so does everyone else that uses their products. Dow is not the only one, all you have to do is walk (too expensive to fill up the car) to the grocery store and you will see the cost of Milk has rocketed, the cost of food is on the rise and the cost of everything else made far away is also going up.

Weather you like it or not, oil is no longer going to be providing the free ride it has for the last couple hundred years. We are going to have to start getting real stingy about how we use it, how we burn it, and how we move it around. When the white man came and decimated the Buffalo, the plains Indians way of life fell apart. Are we headed for a similar fate?