Male Logic - Lost in the Amazon Jungle

If you've been awake at all in the last year and can read, you've probably spent a bit of time stewing about the state of things in your corner of the universe, your country, and in the world at large. My husband and I have been no exception. Since I'm the more vocal of the two of us, I've probably spent more time expressing my concerns. So he got my attention when my husband came to bed the other night and said, "I think I've got the answer to your concerns over what will happen if our country runs out of oil."

"Oh, really?" I said. "What's the answer.....buy a horse and buggy and join the Amish?"

"No, I just heard on the news that Brazil is now totally independent of any country when it comes to producing their own fuel sources," he stated.

"So what are they doing?" I asked, intrigued despite the late hour.

"They're producing ethanol...."

"From corn?" I interrupted. "Come on....our own country is trying that and look what it is doing to the supply of food to the world's poor and to the cost of food even in our country."

"No, they're using sugar cane to produce it and after they've produced the fuel, they still can produce the sugar," he continued, smiling at me triumphantly.

"Well, that's great for Brazil but I see a few flaws in transferral of that plan to the United States. First of all, there aren't as many places here in the States where you could grow sugar cane. Second, many of the places that you COULD grow it here are in the midst of an ongoing drought. And third, look at the number of major cities in Brazil compared to the number of major cities in the United States. Compare their population to our population. What is a major part of Brazil composed of? Jungle, for Pete's sakes. They aren't going to need anywhere near the amount of fuel alternatives that we would need for our population." I sat back against the pillows and considered him. "I think we need to explore other alternatives like mass rail transit, electronic engines, solar fuel cells, things like that."

"I know their system wouldn't work here," he said. "That's not the point."

"Then what IS the point," I asked. "What's the solution to my concerns?"

"We can always move to Brazil if the U.S. gets low on fuel," he said, and I swear he was NOT grinning.

"What! Are you serious? Just you and me and the 'Boys from Brazil' out there in the Amazon? I don't know. I think we'd have to get pretty low on fuel before I'd consider that. Tell you what, let me sleep on it, OK?" I said as I gave him another long look before turning off the light.

Male logic! It's a scary thing.