Untapped Energy

While visiting my brother in California, I've seen some different commercials on TV, and this one in particular I thought was really cool. It's a Chevron commercial talking about the oil industry and alternative energy sources. There's actually two or three I have seen no--including one that proclaims that chevron is the worlds leading producer/developer of geothermal energy. I hadn't really considered this type of energy until during the commercial it was shared that one plant could provide power for 7 million people. Pretty cool stuff.

My brother works for chevron, so I think it is cool to see the company he works for launch out and engage culture with the desire to work for solutions and pursue alternatives. Often the oil industry gets a bad rap as gas prices increase and make our lives a little more difficult.

But, in the spirit of the commercial, I have to ask, what about us? Are we getting innovative about getting around from point A to point B? Yesterday I was on a freeway in LA and I noticed that the overwhelming majority of cars on the road were single passengers. One evening I actually took a picture of an exquisite sunset through the smog produced by these vehicles (perhaps a future blog entry?).

As energy prices increase and we are tempted to complain, maybe it is time to start asking ourselves some hard questions about our own consumption habits. Do we really need multiple vehicles? Could we walk or bike instead of drive where we are going? Could we carpool--I mean really--do we all have to drive by ourselves to a place where other people we know are going? I could generate many more questions, and as I write this, I realize I need to contemplate this as much as any other person.

As I watched the video and thought about the concepts of this video, I think it would be easy to take it a step further. What untapped energy and potential are you not using? As the week comes to an end, maybe the next couple of days could be times of evalation and change--Sunday is the beginning of a new week after all!

View from South Central

View from South Central, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

It's taken me a while to blog this, but last Friday, I took the metro from JR's in Hollywood to within 0.5 miles of my brother's Chevron refinery. It was a very eye opening trip. The metro brings people from all walks of life together, and also people from a multitude of nationalities. It only cost $3 for a day pass, and I think I may have been able to ride for much less. I'm surprised more people don't use this. While riding, I traveled right through one of the worst areas of LA. This photo was taken after traveling through San Pedro, Watts, Inglewood, and stopping just north of the Compton metro stop. The point I took this picture from seemed like it was in a straight line from where I came from in Hollywood. How different life can be for people living only a few miles apart?