Regarding petroleum, be careful what you wish for
Without petroleum products, there would be no ambulance responding when you or your loved one has a first heart attack — no helicopter to fly you or your loved one to the hospital.
You will have to walk to work every day regardless of the weather. Your children will have to walk to school. Walking over the grade is going to be painful.
The police will be slower than a sloth.
Your home or business will be in ashes by the time Cal Fire responds.
We can’t defend ourselves without fuel for our weapons (planes, missiles, ships, tanks, etc.).
No more planes, trains, cars, boats or motorcycles.
When the nuclear plants go offline, they will not restart without fossil-fueled electrical plants.
Your air conditioner and heater will cease to function. You gas oven will not start because there will be no electricity to generate a spark. No more hot water, television, microwave oven or Internet. And say goodbye to the washer and dryer.
It will be really dark when we use up our last supply of candles, which are also products of petroleum. We must be careful what we wish for, but more importantly careful what we support.
Marcus Beal, Pismo Beach
This story was originally published March 13, 2016 at 12:18 PM with the headline "Regarding petroleum, be careful what you wish for."