Imagine the world we would live in if we all agreed to minimize our use of petroleum products.

[Scrivener7]

I just watched a Netflix doc on how plastics (oil-based products) were reducing the fertility of ... well, everyone. They took a few couples who were trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant for anywhere from 2 years to 10 years, cut out as many oil-based products from their homes and clothing and work as they reasonably could, and showed how their health changed over a short period of time. By the end of the experiment, three of the couples were expecting or had a baby.

If we weren't oil dependent, would we go to war about? I'm sure we'd find reasons eventually, but the military industrial complex wouldn't know what to do with itself for a while.

The Middle East would have to figure it's shit out without all the money behind it now. People like MBS would be ruined.

A lot of that money that's corrupting our government would just go away. There would be fewer predatory billionaires to mess with the rest of us. Many of the most destructive legacy fortunes would dwindle.

And there's no reason we don't do it, other than the fact that oil is pushed so hard at us by those who profit from it. We have the technology to replace it in most uses. A scientist from the Netflix documentary said, "There's no reason why plastic has to be made from petroleum. It's absolutely possible to make it plant based." That would make it biodegradable. As it is we are knee deep in plastic garbage, and set to increase our consumption of it geometrically over the next few years.

Imagine what the world would be like.

Gotta go. I'm googling for a hairbrush made of wood and boar bristles.

[MiHale]

1. Hemp based plastics...

https://hempplastic.com/

Hundreds of millions of tons of plastic are produced worldwide every year, causing serious impacts on environmental and human health. Transitioning away from fossil-fuel-based traditional plastics to greener alternatives is a necessity. Our eco-friendly plastics allow you to become part of the solution. Using renewable and sustainable materials, our biocomposites deliver the durability, versatility and availability you love about traditional plastics while helping you reduce your carbon footprint and plastic pollution. The result is a win for both your customers and future generations.

[Scrivener7]

7. Wow! I hope they start marketing to the public at large. It looks like right now they're looking for

big buyers - which, I suppose, would have the biggest and quickest impact.

But I want some!!

[multigraincracker]

13. Our Constitution was written on hemp paper.

Still looks good 250 years later.

Starting to see adds for hemp cloths too.

[leftstreet]

2. We'll have to demand it

Consumers can all agree to reject it, but finding alternatives when it's in EVERYTHING is overwhelming.

DURec

[llmart]

4. It really doesn't have to be overwhelming.

Like any other bad habit, if adopted as a lifestyle it eventually becomes just part of your regular habit to be a conscious consumer.

[Scrivener7]

5. I've been picking away at it for a while, but I still find major areas where I need to make

hard decisions.

For example - my living room needs painting. All the paints we use these days are plastic. What do I do with that?

I'll research and see if I can find an alternative. Not sure if I'll find one.

But I really recommend the new netflix doc. It's called The Plastic Detox.

[llmart]

3. I just finished watching that documentary.

As an older boomer I think younger generations don't remember a time when we didn't use plastic for everything. I believe it was after WWII when the proliferation of it began. In our household of nine, I can't remember having things that came wrapped up in all sorts of plastic packaging or having dishes/glasses made of plastic. Our juice glasses were repurposed jelly jars. I still can't get over how produce items come wrapped in plastic such as one green pepper with a Sarah wrap type covering. I refuse to buy produce in packaging.

I am also a proponent of just plain thinking about what it is you are purchasing and do you really need it. The consumer must bear some responsibility for propping up the oil industry.

[Scrivener7]

6. The produce section of the grocery store. What a mess!

I think Aldi's encourages you to bring your own packaging. I haven't been to one yet and don't know how it works. There's one about 20 minutes away. It might be worth the trip. (But, it will use more gas in my hybrid car than the walk to the local place. There's always a tradeoff, it seems.)

[FakeNoose]

11. I shop at Aldi's and I'm willing to bring my own packaging

Aldi's prepared foods are already packaged in plastic and on display at the store. If I bring my own packaging, maybe they'll take it out of their plastic container and put it mine to go home, but what happens to THEIR containers? They probably go to the landfill. I doubt that Aldi's or any other store would wash the plastic and re-use them for other customers.

The FDA has requirements for food handling and safety, and that's what enabled the plastic containers in the first place.

[Roy Rolling]

9. Thank you for your service, limart. LOL

Boomers are schizo—I’m one of them.

Our great-grandparents fought the first immunization/modern health war—many died or were crippled by common diseases we have now eliminated with medical science.

Their parents fought in World War1, and many died.

Our parents fought in World War2 and many of them died.

Boomers were taught by their parents that war is hell

But greedy capitalists still dragged 58,000 Boomers to their deaths in Vietnam in purely political and petroleum wars

The 2026 Boomers who forgot those lessons are the same people who were clueless assholes as kids, too. Now they’re adult MAGAts. I know, I was there.

The Boomers who remember those lessons won’t let it happen again without resisting.

Every boomer on DU remembers that lesson, every MAGAt doesn’t.

End of line

[multigraincracker]

14. Follow the money.

Plastics are produced by Big Oil Companies.

[progree]

8. This June will be my 7th year without a car. I haven't done taxi/Uber either or lean on anyone else

After a couple of repair jobs that made me mad, I said screw it. My car was very old at the time (and is 7 years older now).

I live in a first ring suburb of Minneapolis. We have some bus service, mostly one per hour or one every 2 hours frequency on weekdays. But I manage. Grocery shopping is an ordeal, but I get a lot of exercise benefit from it.

[Scrivener7]

10. The walking town/good public transport issue is a big one. And people love to show off

their enormous trucks at the local Stop and Shop.

[multigraincracker]

15. I visited Italy a decade ago.

The grocery stores were smaller than a 7/11. They only had meats, fruits and vegetables. Most people shopped everyday for that days meal.

[progree]

16. This kind of thing doesn't help --

CTA sues feds over halted funding for Red Line expansion, modernization
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143636193

The Chicago Transit Authority is suing the federal government after it chose to withhold funds needed to expand the Red Line and modernize both the Red and Purple lines.

...

According to the CTA, the federal government committed to providing nearly $2 billion for the Red Line project and had signed agreements to provide funding for both projects as recently as Jan. 10, 2025. But in October of last year, the federal government paused all funding.

The Red and Purple Modernization Project is nearly complete, the CTA says, and has rebuilt a 9.6-mile stretch of the track structure and rail stations that are a century old.

Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced an escalation of its scrutiny and oversight of the Illinois Department of Transportation, citing a failure to do more to keep transit riders and workers in Chicago safe.

We have a light rail project in the design phase in the Twin Cities that might run up against this same issue

[OldBaldy1701E]

12. "And there's no reason we don't do it, other than the fact that oil is pushed so hard at us by those who profit from it"

Yes, but it is not that it is pushed on us. We welcome it.

We do their bidding, even when it kills us.

Ask yourself (universally speaking)... why?

And, more importantly, ask yourself why it has not changed in the face of reality? Why would it never change?

Those answers always point to the same thing. Something that we refuse to understand because we want to act like it couldn't happen here.

But, it has been happening for almost a century now.