Our love affair with petroleum (the petroleum of my dreams)

Americans are in the heat of a love affair with a product we may not even be aware of: petroleum. Described as "crude oil" by wikipedia (yes, I am sourcing Wiki), petroleum is a flammable compound extracted from deep in the earth's surface. Perhaps telling, while the country to extract the most petroleum is Saudia Arabia, the Unites States by far uses the most every year -- some 20,000 barrels per day, more than double the amount of China, the second most consuming country.

So why are these tid tibs of info important about some oil that seemingly has no relevance to our daily lives? But it does. What you may or may not know is that petroleum is found all around us, including in products that we ingest and place on our babies' and childrens' skin. Although petroleum most commonly known to be used for fuel and in plastics like tires, is used in the gamut of body products, including chapstick and diaper cream. An anti-foaming agent made from petroleum used in dozens of skin products is highly hazardous, according to The Environmental Working Group. Called petroleum distillates, it's associated with cancer, according to numerous government agencies and environmental organizations. Petroleum jelly (aka Vaseline) and paraffin are also petroleum-based ingredients used in many skin care products. 

Another big one is the tempur-Pedic matress.  Made of petroleum-based chemicals, foam and plastics, this cozy sleep product has been argued to emit toxins that you breathe in while sleeping.

Now, my mini rant about petroleum has a point. I make an effort to avoid creams for myself and my children that contain petroleum. But I have a few petroleum-related confessions to make. First, we own a tempur-pedic, and have been using it for going on five years. When we were researching a matress to buy back in the day, Mr. Hubbie had his heart set on the T matress, whereas I was pushing for some awesome alternatives from Lifekind. He won that battle, but not without regular reminders from me about the brain cancer we may get some day as a result.

My issues with petroleum have somehow penetrated my subconcious. Mr. Hubbie and I are talking about forgoing city life and buying a house. I had a dream that we found this spectacular house overlooking a valley. It's deconstructed design included a main building for communal acvitities, an outdoor patio area for entertaining, and a separate structure with bedrooms. In the dream, Mr. Hubbie and I gawked over the vast space, the modern feel, and the indoor/outdoor living areas. As an afterthought, I asked the broker who was showing us the house, "What are the buildings made of?" To my horror and Mr. Hubbie's chagrin at my horror, she replied "petroleum bricks."  It went without saying that we could not but the house, I explained to Mr. Hubbie. The dream then ubruptly ended.

We all know that petroleum is not used to make bricks for building construction. But the idea is not too far removed from reality: It seems I cannot escape petroleum, even in my dreams.