Things Made From Oil

William Christensen (14) 9/10/08
If you would like to become independent of Oil, you had better get ready. There are a few things you will have to live without, because some derivative of Oil is used as an actual ingredient in these materials. They are as follows:

Artificial Heart Valves
Crayons
Parachutes
Telephones
Enamel
Transparent tape
Antiseptics
Vacuum bottles
Deodorant
Pantyhose
Rubbing Alcohol
Carpets
Epoxy paint
Oil filters
Upholstery
Hearing Aids
Car sound insulation
Cassettes
Motorcycle helmets
Pillows
Shower doors
Shoes
Refrigerator linings
Electrical tape
Safety glass
Awnings
Salad bowl
Rubber cement
Nylon rope
Ice buckets
Fertilizers
Hair coloring
Toilet seats
Denture adhesive
Loudspeakers
Movie film
Fishing boots
Candles
Water pipes
Car enamel
Shower curtains
Credit cards
Aspirin
Golf balls
Detergents
Sunglasses
Glue
Fishing rods
Linoleum
Plastic wood
Soft contact lenses
Trash bags
Hand lotion
Shampoo
Shaving cream
Footballs
Paint brushes
Balloons
Fan belts
Umbrellas
Paint Rollers
Luggage
Antifreeze
Model cars
Floor wax
Sports car bodies
Tires
Dishwashing liquids
Unbreakable dishes
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Combs
Tents
Hair curlers
Lipstick
Ice cube trays
Electric blankets
Tennis rackets
Drinking cups
House paint
Rollerskates wheels
Guitar strings
Ammonia
Eyeglasses
Ice chests
Life jackets
TV cabinets
Car battery cases
Insect repellent
Refrigerants
Typewriter ribbons
Cold cream
Glycerin
Plywood adhesive
Cameras
Anesthetics
Artificial turf
Artificial Limbs
Bandages
Dentures
Mops
Beach Umbrellas
Ballpoint pens
Boats
Nail polish
Golf bags
Caulking
Tape recorders
Curtains
Vitamin capsules
Dashboards
Putty
Percolators
Skis
Insecticides
Fishing lures
Perfumes
Shoe polish
Petroleum jelly
Faucet washers
Food preservatives
Antihistamines
Cortisone
Dyes
LP records
Solvents
Roofing

List from www.anwr.org/features/oiluses.htm

Principal or Politics?

William Christensen (14) 9/1/08

With this upcoming election, people are making up their minds on who to support. For most people, the race is between Barack Obama and John McCain. Most people are not satisfied with these choices. What about third party candidates? There are two basic arguments against third party candidates.

Obama might win

The first argument against good principled conservative voters voting for a third party candidate is that Obama might win. They say that if you vote for a third party candidate you are voting for Obama. A vote for John McCain is a vote against Obama.

They can’t win

The second argument is that the third party candidate can’t win. The reason for a candidate not winning is that he doesn’t get enough votes. But why don’t people vote for the third party candidates? Because of two reasons. The person doesn’t agree with the principles that the candidate advocates, or, the politics of voting for the republican, because you don’t want the democrat to win. Politics or principals.

How should you vote?

Most principled people I speak with are voting because of politics. I disagree. This country is founded on principles. We should vote for the person we believe would be the best president. I have more respect for the left-wing liberal that votes because of his principles, than a right-wing conservative who votes because of politics. Vote because of your principles, not politics.

Winning. Is it everything?

William Christensen 8/25/08 (14)

I often hear someone say, “Winning isn’t everything.” Upon further inquiry, I receive the answer, “It’s alright if you don’t win, all that matters is that you did your best.” This is taught to everyone at a young age. All that matters is that you do your best.

Your Best

You are capable of doing whatever you want. All you have to do is work for it. You set your limits. In your mind, you can only be as much as you can imagine. I think you can see what I am getting at. Lets use a game for example. There is a blow out win. The other team didn’t score anything. The coach for the losing team says to his team, “That’s alright. As long as you did your best, it doesn’t matter how well you did.” So, the players take this as consolation. They did their best, so everything is all right. But what are they unconsciously telling themselves? That even when they perform best, they are losers. That they can never do better, because they did their best. Quite the reward for doing your best.

The Rewards of Winning vs. Losing

In the Olympics, the winner receives a gold medal, and gets all the glory. The person who tried really really hard, but got 5^th, doesn’t get anything. In a Football Championship game, the winners get the trophy, and the glory. The other team, who tried really really hard, doesn’t get anything. In a business, the person who gets the promotion gets all the benefits. Not the person who tried really really hard. The winners in all these situations tried even harder. They didn’t set limits. Doing “their best” wasn’t enough.

Don’t set limits

A limit is a restriction. Why restrict how great you can be? Why restrict how much good you can do? Why should we say, “doing your best” is enough? Is America a bunch of pansies? The greatest nation on earth, and everyone wants to hold hands and sing. We did our best, we lost, you are better than us, let’s all be friends and watch butterflies! I am not saying that we should not show good sportsmanship. I am saying we shouldn’t go out and skip around thinking that everything is going to be all right as long as we “do our best.” Doing our best is a restriction. We say, “oh, I did my best, lost, I’m done.” We have to be better than that. Do better than you think you can. Don't be a winer and say, “But I did my best.” That means the same thing as, “I'm a loser!”

This is not to say you should be devastated when you lose, you should use that as encouragement to do better.