.JPG) About the author: Keith DuBay operates BlueCoast Media Group, a Centennial-based financial writing and media relations firm. The firm features EXPERTS, an article-writing campaign that establishes business people as thought leaders in their fields.
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New Media: This can't go on, can it? How broadband and technology are improving the fossil fuel problem by Keith DuBay La Canada, Calif. – It is a peaceful Sunday morning in this pretty little hamlet of Pasadena and Los Angeles. My friends and I head out for breakfast and pass near the local Starbucks location. Huge SUVs crowd the parking lot and the drive-through line. Large Mercedes and BMWs are there too, the ones that cost $70,000 and up. Oversized pick-up trucks too. My first thought was, “Are people too lazy to make their own coffee?” And my second thought was now I know where all the oil in the world is going; out the tailpipes of gas-guzzling SUVs and trucks in Southern California. But it’s not just SoCal that is consuming oil and the gasoline derived from it. Check out the Starbucks at Hampden Avenue and I-25 on any day. It’s nearly identical to the one in La Canada. Same huge vehicles, same line of cars waiting in the drive-through lane, burning up gas at 15 miles per gallon. About 250 million vehicles consume gasoline in the United States. Peak oil was reportedly reached in 2005, so we’re on the downswing now. I agree with the experts who have said that oil is far too valuable a commodity to waste on automobiles. The future will bring new electric power technology, better engines and more powerful hybrid automobiles, but nearly all the cars in force today are gas guzzlers. High-speed Internet access has made working from home a viable alternative. I’m not just saying that because I work from home and don’t have to endure the mind-numbing, soul-sapping aggravating daily commute to an office that doesn’t need to be as big and consume so much electricity and natural gas. As a writer, my profession is one that involves working largely alone, with a few conference calls thrown in for every assignment. The necessary tools are inexpensive, from the computer to the scanner to the cell phone with unlimited minutes and long distance service. Free conference calls are available on the Internet. My large work desk was a gift from a client who didn’t need it any more. My media database has some 500,000 names and 300,000 outlets. I can access it from any browser, just like any other important software tool people use these days. I’ve noticed that even people who work together in the same office would rather email each other than talk face-to-face. Much time in the office is wasted with small talk. I’ve also noticed that when my clients are on a heavy deadline, they work extra hours at night or on weekends in order to be alone to get things done. According to the American Electronics Association, as much as 1.35 billion gallons of gas could be saved annually if every U.S. worker who was able worked from home 1.6 days a week. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that this would account for a 26 billion pound reduction in the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. I’m all for team-building. It’s important to meet and get face time, but not every day. Almost all important news necessary to be a successful business person is accessible on the Internet. Give people measurable work with deadlines and let them go do their jobs. It’s up to the home office worker to control his or her environment, ship off the kids, close the door and concentrate. Some people can’t do that; I understand but the more who do can use fewer resources on this planet. Make offices smaller, with a focus on housing meeting places; the central computers and their intranets; and some flex offices. One recent survey estimated that out of 135 million Americans working, 45 million worked from home at least a day per year and 26 million a day per month. Surveys from 2001 estimated that about 10 million worked from home. So we’re making progress. It’s hard to say whether the trend is linked to more people out of work and doing consulting or contract work. There still are years of fossil fuels left to exploit; after all we’ve just reached the peak, but we should change our ways before we can’t use oil for more valuable purposes. The digital revolution has given us some tools to make things better. We should use them. We might even have to make our own coffee. |
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