I am reading a new book: The Motivation Breakthrough by Richard Lavoie. Here is a quotation from the book that I would like to remember:

[on preventing learned helplessness]

"Phrases that increase feelings of learned helplessness:

• Let me do that for you.
• I'll handle it.
• I'll talk to your mother (teacher) to see if I can get her to change her mind.
• I'll send the teacher a note.
• That's too difficult for you.
• I'll call the store and see if they have any left.

Phrases that enhance independence and decrease learned helplessness:

• I'll get the job started and you can finish it.
• Take a chance. See if you can do it.
• I know you can...
• Sounds like you have a problem. What solutions have you thought about?
• Let me teach you how to do this yourself."

"If you want to build a ship, don't recruit the men to gather the wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea." -Antoine de Saint-Exupery

reasons why we should limit and not limit our consumption of oil

Here are the reasons I can think of to limit the consumption of oil:

1. Global warming seems to be caused by burning oil and global warming may be a bad thing.

2. Dependence on foreign oil, leading to a situation of economic blackmail by countries or powers that do not have mankind's best interest in mind.

3. Oil is non-renewable and will run out. When we run out, we will see a drop in our standard of living if there are no alternatives to easily switch to.

Here are the reason I can think of right now to continue or increase the consumption of oil:

1. Oil is an excellent source of energy for making life possible for the number of people on the planet at this time (makes farming, creation of goods, many machines at a much higher level possible).

2. Oil (and gasolines/desiels/etc.) have good transportation properties due to their high energy densities. Transportation of goods/people would be more expensive and limit access to some regions of the world, where we would no longer visit/explore.

3. The alternatives to using oil are more expensive and we would notice a decrease in scientific output as a result (less money/resources available for specialists).