frankFUEL


 * Title, Director, release year?**
 * Title:** Fuel – Change your Fuel, Change your World
 * Director:** Joshua Tickell
 * Released:** 2008


 * What is the central argument or narrative of the film**

The central argument of the film that Joshua Tickell portrays is that the United States has a serious addiction to fossil fuels, in particular, oil. The United States alone consumes 25% of the world’s oil with only a fraction of the world’s population and only 2% of the world’s oil reserves. Joshua argues that at this rate, it is possible that the world oil reserves will be dry within the next 50 years. In addition, the very environment that we live in and love is being mutilated because of the raw oil spills and remnants from drilling. The only logical and safe solution for people to maintain their everyday lives and the environment we live in is to change the type of fuel we consume and make a greener society. Joshua portrays our countless options in this film that are all within our grasp at this moment.


 * Who are the key social actors and stakeholders in the film?**

The key social actors and stakeholders in this film are big businesses, in this case the oil companies (ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron Corp, etc.), the government, and the people. The oil companies are the multimillion dollar corporations that prosper even when the economy is in a slump, all because of our countries dependence on oil. By this single factor, the government and its people surrender to the oil companies and see them as the only reliable and safe sources of energy.


 * What does the film convey about the matrix of factors that contribute to our dependence on oil?**

The film conveys a strong matrix of factors that contribute to our dependence on oil. To start, the oil companies control economy even though it may not seem that way. For example, Cindy Lou Who’s family is leaving their house in Whoville (heated by oil because gas and electric isn’t an option) to go to the supermarket and in order to get there they must take their car (that runs on gas), they get to the supermarket and all of the items are shipped by truck which has rubber tires (oil based), shipping charges go up for fuel cost and so does the food cost. This very simple chain of being able to heat your own home, drive your own car, and buy your own groceries are all based on the price of crude oil. The largest consumption and the biggest reason for high gas prices, comes from gas for our vehicles. If the US converted to biodiesel alone, this would drop oil consumption dramatically and decrease prices of many household items. This decrease in price would enable people to place money elsewhere so that they have a better living, such as buying fruits & vegetables instead of ready-cooked meals. This only begins the matrix of factors of weight loss and healthy eating…


 * What does the film convey about the matrix of problems caused by our dependence on oil?**

The United States’ has a large matrix of problems caused by our dependence on oil. To start, the exhaust that comes from cars after burning gas result the release of CO2; 80% of heat energy comes from CO2 emissions. If people would open their eyes and put these two facts together, they would realize that global warming is a serious factor and is reality. Switching to biodiesel enables us to use the same cars we have but just run on a different fuel. Every parent loves their children to no end and would do anything to keep them safe. A scary reality is that since buses run on diesel, there was a 4% increase in exhaust fumes inside the bus than normal. Transitioning to biodiesel is significantly cheaper as well as cleaner and the bus will smell like McDonalds rather than a black plume of filthy air.


 * What does the film convey about the matrix of affects that would be mobilized by a shift away from oil?**

What the film conveys about the matrix of effects that would be mobilized by a shift away from oil is that biodiesel, electric, and hybrids would become the primary sources of fuel for our vehicles (which means that car companies would have to alter their vehicles accordingly), we would see more solar panels on both commercial and residential buildings, a large increase in public transportation usage where it is feasible, and also over time our environment would prosper again. For example, if we used biodiesel for fuel, we could plant the fuel plants on land that cannot be used for food crops and then burn it for fuel. We will get both fuel as well as more nutrients back into the ground and fix the land.


 * What parts of the film did you find most persuasive and compelling? Why?**

The parts of the film that were most persuasive and compelling to me were solutions that we have for other sources of energy that cost a fraction as much as battling for oil; all it takes is the initiative to get the ball rolling in the direction of having renewable energy sources. When Josh Tickell mentioned using anything alive and making it biomass for fuel or using algae for fuel, which is an endless source, I could not believe that more money was not being used for research in those fields.


 * What parts of the film were you not compelled or convinced by? Why?**

The parts of the film that I was not convinced on was that the attacks on September 11, 2001 and the resulting actions thereafter by the government were the result of controversy over oil territory. I feel that the acts of terrorism that we faced that day were more than disputes over black gold and thus should not be wrongly labeled such.


 * What kinds of corrective action are suggested by the film? If the film itself does not suggest corrective action, describe actions that you can imagine being effective.**

The type of corrective action that is suggested by the film is that there are plenty of other sources of renewable energy readily available right now. To start, we can harness wind energy by using turbines in deserted areas of the US, solar energy on buildings, electric and hybrid vehicles, biofuels, and simply using less energy. The latter is one thing that everyone can start immediately and includes using energy bulbs, weatherize your home to keep heat/AC in, use different water faucets that have less flow volume, and the last one that people don’t realize is phantom energy. When your phone charger is plugged in even without your phone charging, you are using energy. Being aware of these few things can decrease your energy bill significantly and aids in protecting the environment in the long run.


 * What additional information has this film compelled you to seek out?**

The additional information that this film compelled me to seek out is where I can find biodiesel stations in both Troy and Brewster. The nearest station to the RPI campus is in downtown troy on 6th Ave with the B5 and B20 blends and near Brewster is 20 miles away. The other item I looked up was the price of biodiesel which is surprisingly high based on Josh Tickell’s devotion to a cheaper fuel source at a price of $3.85.