I have my own oil well

Wouldn’t it be great if we could satisfy our energy needs in our back yard?

Well… actually, it’s more of a gas well. I was approached by a production company and asked if I wanted to pool with other property owners to start getting the gas out of the ground.

“Sure,” I said. “It’s money in my pocket.”

That was quite some time ago. The well didn’t produce very well and was capped and dismantled just two years later. I actually made some money, so — all good things must come to an end.

I’m pretty sure most people would be happy to have a well or two on their property, making money from a patch of land that just, well, sits there. Back then, I jokingly asked to be paid in LNG or gasoline so I could power a generator and produce all the electricity I needed. Wouldn’t that be great? Never paying for gas again? Running the A/C on full blast without worrying about the bill?

But here’s the funny part: pretty much anyone can do just that — without an oil well. Isn’t it weird that many folks would love to have an oil well – but reject something like solar or wind? Maybe they know something I don’t?

True, a few years ago, solar was super expensive and took 25 years or more to pay for itself. But those days are long gone. You can easily DIY a small- to medium-sized solar system for very little money. And those systems produce free electricity for many, many years. Not only that, they also help give us what we Americans crave most: liberty and independence. These days, it’s absolutely feasible to “cut the cord” and send the power company packing. Off the grid — while producing your own energy — isn’t that the ultimate declaration of independence?

I won’t go into why so many people seem to view renewable energy as something to avoid. “Drill, baby, drill” just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. But again — I’m willing to learn. Me? I don’t care about oil prices anymore. Though I’m not completely off the grid, my solar system powers pretty much everything — including my electric car.

My tree-huggin’ liberal friends would probably point out that I’m also saving the environment, maybe even a butterfly or two that happens to be endangered. That’s nice. But I’m realistic enough to understand that whatever I do won’t make the slightest difference in the grand scheme of things. For me, it’s about saving money and doing as I damn well please.

John D. Rockefeller became one of the richest men in the world by getting us all hooked on oil. By the time his monopoly was broken up in 1911, the damage was done — and folks were craving that stuff like junkies crave fentanyl – with dire consequences.

It took almost 100 years to have the means and technology to break that cycle and become free again.

I wonder — why don’t more folks jump at the chance?

Michaela Merz is an entrepreneur and first generation hacker. Her career started even before the Internet was available. She invented and developed a number of technologies now considered to be standard in modern web-environments. She is a software engineer, a Wilderness Rescue volunteer, an Advanced Emergency Medical Technician, a FAA Part 61 (PPL , IFR) , Part 107 certified UAS pilot and a licensed ham . More about Michaela ..