Did you ever stop to ponder just how much of what you do is tied to what happened thousands of years ago?  We use petroleum for all kinds of things.  When you dig up a rock with your skid loader the fuel, the hydraulic fluid, the hoses and the seals in the pump all are derived from petroleum.   But more than that, everything we do is but a small link in the chain; some time in the past your ancestors made the right turn that prevented them from being eaten by something with long claws,  survived the diseases that were killing off their neighbors, and managed to reproduce.  Most Americans have a history that involves long journeys, a couple of wars, and the simple turn of chance.  I've read stories of entire plantations being won and lost in a game of cards (although alcohol may have been involved).  It's hard to predict who the winners and losers will be in the next several generations.  One thing is certain; the world will be a very different place in the future, but what we do now may have consequences we can't even imagine.