• April 20, 2010: Deepwater Horizon rig explodes and sinks after a catastrophic blowout.
• June 7, 2010: Gas well explodes in north Texas A natural gas facility has exploded near Cleburne in Johnson County, TX. Three dead, at least ten known missing.
• June 7, 2010: Gas mine explodes in W. Va -- Chief Oil and Natural Gas's well explodes as a result of new drilling by Union Drilling. The explosion occurred just outside of Moundsville, W. Virginia.

And we shouldn't forget the deja-vu inducing Ixtoc I disaster from June 3, 1979 or the Exxon Valdez incident off the coast of Alaska from March 24, 1989.

There are others, but these help illustrate some of the primary factors -- and unwelcome, unexpected and unplanned costs -- that fossil fuel dependency incurs.

There are other options. There are significant changes we can make in policies and procedures that impact energy, transportation, manufacturing and construction that would drastically alter our dependency on fossil fuels while strengthening our economy and reducing waste. Before we can make these adjustments, however, we must accept that we are accountable for the decisions that we make and the policies we pursue, not only as individuals but as a nation and as a civilization.

The question is, are we mature enough as a species to make the commitment to growing up and making the difficult adjustments required to review, alter and adjust our current consumption and utilization toward sustainable alternatives?

And if not now, then when?

How much damage do we need to do, how scared or large the negative impact must we witness before we decide that there are options we must explore, develop and adopt?