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//The Blind Spot// by Adolfo Doring was released in 2008. This film looks into how oil has become the life blood of America and how it is affecting the environment. It examines the cost of the “build, build, build” mindset on the world around us.

One gallon of gas costs $2.50 and goes 20 to 30 miles. This is the distance someone could push a load in six to eight weeks. With cars and trucks we can now do what was once a six week job for $2.50. This is a great, but also scary thing. Economists explain that if we move away from oil this will become a new world. They joke about referring to times as APO and BPO, after or before peak oil. The situation we are now in is that we waited until we were in crisis to fix the problem. We now have limited options of what we can do to fix things.

Our food might be the best example of how far oil has taken us. The average piece of produce travels 1500 miles from where it was grown. Food used to come from the farmers in the area you live. This is clearly no longer the case. News today was covering the spike in produce prices due to the cold weather in Florida and the earthquake in Chile. This has lowered the amount of crops they have produced; causing them to have to raise prices. America cannot produce its own fruits and vegetables; there are more people in our population in jail than farming.

Corporations have a large part in this. They have squashed ideas that would be better for the environment because they are less profitable. The mindset of the country is different too. In our time people want things fast. No one wants to wait for a product, everything must be instant.

The only thing that can be done is to slow down the pace. We must change the mindset of an entire country and all the corporations. This is a daunting task. Changing a way of life sounds impossible, but it needs to start with laws to change corporations and work its way down.