OIL, The Common Man's Friend

by Chuck Ness

In the current political discussion we are having on the need to drill or not to drill for oil, often the discussion comes down the need for more fuel to drive the vehicles we use for transportation.

What the libs fail to see, is that oil is truly the common man's best friend. We must not forget that we live in a world that thrives upon synthetic products. That is products made from materials other then natural substances, like rubber from rubber trees or silk from cocoons made by silkworms, (the larvae of the Asian moth Bombyx mori) etc. etc.
However, it is often forgotten that there are many household and non household products made from oil these days. Many forget that during WWII the war effort was bolstered by the discovery that we could make synthetic rubber from oil, and the women of the world have since been the recipients of the synthetic silk made from oil.

Just ask your grandmother or great grandmother how much nylons used to cost before scientists discovered they could make nylon from oil. A glance around the common man, or woman's home, will show how pervasive the use of oil in the production of things we use is. Besides the fact that all plastic objects are a product of the oil we suck out of the ground.

As an aside I don't think we really suck the oil out, (I could be wrong, but I don't think I am) I believe it is already under such pressure all we do is tap into it like an artesian well. That's why it's so difficult to put out oil rig that has caught on fire, it is like trying to put out a blow torch, only at a much larger scale.

But I digress, my point is to give a short list of just some of the many products that may disappear or at least increase drastically in price if we curtail our ability to continue getting oil.

Air conditioners, ammonia, anti-histamines, antiseptics, artificial turf, asphalt, aspirin, balloons, bandages, boats, bottles, bras, bubble gum, butane, cameras, candles, car batteries, car bodies, carpet, cassette tapes, caulking, CDs, chewing gum, cold, combs/brushes, computers, contacts, cortisone, crayons, cream, denture adhesives, deodorant, detergents, dice, dishwashing liquid, dresses, dryers, electric blankets, electrician’s tape, fertilisers, fishing lures, fishing rods, floor wax, footballs, glues, glycerin, golf balls, guitar strings, hair, hair colouring, hair curlers, hearing aids, heart valves, heating oil, house paint, ice chests, ink, insect repellent, insulation, jet fuel, life jackets, linoleum, lip balm, lipstick, loudspeakers, medicines, mops, motor oil, motorcycle helmets, movie film, nail polish, oil filters, paddles, paint brushes, paints, parachutes, paraffin, pens, perfumes, petroleum jelly, plastic chairs, plastic cups, plastic forks, plastic wrap, plastics, plywood adhesives, refrigerators, roller-skate wheels, roofing paper, rubber bands, rubber boots, rubber cement, rubbish bags, running shoes, saccharine, seals, shirts (non-cotton), shoe polish, shoes, shower curtains, solvents, spectacles, stereos, sweaters, table tennis balls, tape recorders, telephones, tennis rackets, thermos, tights, toilet seats, toners, toothpaste, transparencies, transparent tape, TV cabinets, typewriter/computer ribbons, tyres, umbrellas, upholstery, vaporisers, vitamin capsules, volleyballs, water pipes, water skis, wax, wax paper.