Heroes or Goats?

The oil change business is by nature an extension of the oil industry, an industry that is considered by many environmentally conscious people to be “the enemy.” It’s a strange situation, because everything that has moving parts needs lubrication, hence the lube folks have actually played an essential role in the advancement of civilization.

Journal Note

There is good reason to be concerned about the environment. This is the only planet we've got.

As for our oil dependency, it is one facet of a basic energy dependency. It takes energy to move a body from one place to another. Our bodies burn energy to do it. We obtain the fuel to do this via eating. Likewise it takes energy to heat a house, or to create electricity. Frankly, I like these conveniences. Otherwise I would not be very warm in Minnesota's winters and could not power up my computer to write this blog.

Sources of energy are limited. The automobile became the vehicle of choice for Americans because horses and bicycles had certain drawbacks as a means of commuting to work. Trolleys and trains also have limitations. Our whole way of life seems to require transportation to and from the stores (supply chains) and places we are employed.

Are there alternatives? I read a lot of articles suggesting this and that solution to reduce dependence on oil, but guess what? Most of those solutions are either two to three decades off or simply not practical. All involve trade-offs and may require sacrifices Americans do not want to make.

I work for a synthetic oil company called AMSOIL that has a partial solution that we can implement today, without waiting two to three decades to make a difference. AMSOIL synthetic motor oils have two features that make a difference with regard to environmental impact. The company was first to introduce the concept of extended drain intervals, in 1972. You only have to change your oil once a year or in 25,000 miles, whichever comes first. Oil change intervals for conventional petroleum oil are once every 3,000 miles.... which creates a heckuva lot of extra used oil to dispose of or deal with. A second environmental benefit of AMSOIL synthetic oils is their fuel efficiency. Because AMSOIL synthetics reduce friction, slide more easily inside the engine, and because they don't break down to create sludge or varnish (which increases engine drag) the engine runs more efficiently. It takes less energy to create the same amount of power.

In short, if we want to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce the environmental damage we're doing through excessive amounts of oil being disposed of, check out the AMSOIL website at http://www.amsoil.com/.

Let's not just talk about making the world a better place. Let's do something about it.