Refining: oh so many things

My commute to work, each morning and evening, takes me past Refinery Row. In the winter months, the cold air makes visible the heat and material waste expelled into the atmosphere during the process of refining the gasoline that is also wafting out of each tailpipe as individually whizz past on the highways.

Just east of refinery row there are a series of car dealerships. Oil was discovered in  Titusville in the U.S., around 1859. Henry Ford would be born 4 years later. While he revolutionized the auto industry with his Model T, launched in 1908, we know that as early as the 15th century Leonardo DaVinci was drawing picture of vehicles. There were steam and electric vehicles invented in France (1769) and Scotland (1832-39) before Karl Benz created the first gasoline powered horseless buggy vehicle in Gemany (patented 1885-6). My direction, perspective, and approach, determine  whether the dealerships or the refineries come first; in the morning it is the dealerships and in the evening the refineries.

As the freezing air crystallizes, so too does my thinking around how different things need to be, for a living sustainable planet.

(Image: Photo of the refineries by Sherwood Park, Alberta. Photo Credit: M.E. Luka)

15th Century20th CenturyAtmosphereBuggiesCarsCommunitingCommuteElectric VehiclesFranceGasolineGermanyHenry FordHighwaysKarl BenzLeonardo DaVinciPatentsRefineryRefinery RowRefiningScotlandSteam VehiclesSustainabilityTitusvilleUnited Status