Greedy but strategic

Shining a spotlight on the oil industry

I believe most people are basically good: kind, well-intentioned and guided by sound principles.  But there’s one group of people out there who I believe, when examined under the clear lens of morality, are outliers.  They are the leaders of the oil and gas industry, in this country and around the world.

It’s true that fossil fuels are the energy behind much of the progress and comfort we enjoy.  However, knowing what we now know about their impact on our planet’s climate, we need to stop burning them as soon as possible – and from that perspective, leaders of the fossil fuel industry have much to answer for.  Consider:

No wonder Christiana Figueres, one of the lead negotiators of the 2015 Paris Climate Accord, wrote in July that she’d given up hope that the fossil fuel industry would ever voluntarily be part of any realistic climate solution.

It seems to me all of this should anger any parent, citizen or human.  But please don’t take it out on the people at your local gas station; they don’t exactly control the levers.

Instead:

  • Try to see the fossil fuel industry for what it is (just reread the above points anytime you need a refresher)
  • Do everything you can to use less of their products (and mainly that means burning less gasoline)
  • Lend your passion and talents to organizations working to promote a sustainable, healthy future.

The fossil fuel industry may not be better off, but the rest of us sure will be.

In the news:

Canada’s 2022 emissions are expected to be two per cent higher than 2021 mainly because of emissions from the oil and gas industry.

The State of California launches a lawsuit against Exxon, Shell and three other global oil companies, alleging decades-long climate deception; and six Portuguese youth take the EU to court over climate inaction.

Watch Al Gore’s new TED Talk on what the fossil fuel industry doesn’t want you to know – including all the global progress on renewables.

Quotable

“Unfortunately, warming won’t stop this year or next. The changes will get worse until we stop putting more carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than the planet can remove.”

Scott Denning, Professor of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University

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