Dwain Northey (Gen X)
The big question that has been posed to Big Oil corporations for years was whether they knew that the continued of fossil fuels would have a negative consequence to the environment. To the extent that these projections represented contemporary knowledge of the likely effects of fossil fuel burning on global temperature, we can conclude that Exxon knew as much in the 1970–1990s as academic and government scientists knew. Yet they denied that they had any foreknowledge of the impending calamity of their actions.
Now an environmental group is looking into charging these multinational conglomerates for their reckless actions with homicide related to their denial and continued inaction. This was reported earlier this week by ‘The Guardian’.
I think that is awesome and amazing it about time they are held accountable for the global problem they continue to exacerbate and charges of negligent homicide, man slaughter, and even 1st degree murder might just wake them up.
Exxon Mobile, BP, and many other large corporations have been lobbying governments for decades to let them continue to pollute and in the U.S. to subsides their profits. During his term in office, President Jimmy Carter fought for clean energy using renewable sources. As a symbol of his faith in “the power of the sun,” Carter had 32 solar panels installed on the White House West Wing roof in the summer of 1979. These panels were used to heat water in the household for seven years until President Ronald Reagan had them removed in 1986. George Charles Szego, the engineer who persuaded Carter to install the solar panels, reportedly claimed that Reagan’s Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan “felt that the equipment was just a joke, and he had it taken down.” The panels were removed in 1986 when work was being done on the White House roof below the panels.
Can you imagine where we would be today if the example was set to have renewable energy running the White House? We could have even had solar panels on all the government buildings in the District. Maybe the original panels weren’t as efficient as hoped but the confidence in renewable technology that the continued use and improvement of solar would have us in a far different position than we are in today.
Vice President Gore prioritized the climate crisis and its solutions throughout his career as a Congressman, Senator, and as Vice President. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Gore organized the first hearing on man-made global warming in 1981. In the Senate, Gore held numerous hearings on the climate crisis and hosted an international conference to discuss his proposal for a Global Marshall Plan to focus on “a unified global response to the worldwide environmental crisis.” As Vice President, Gore continued his focus on solving the Climate Crisis, encouraged the development of low-carbon technologies through the Climate Change Technology Initiative and the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles to replace the internal combustion engine.
Where would we be if G.W. Bush hadn’t stolen the Presidency in 2000? Al Gore, although not the most charismatic politician, would have put us on the path to renewable energy, not to mention that we most likely wouldn’t have been in a 20 year war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As a species we have continued to be led down the path of profit at the cost of finite resources instead of resources that are and always have been abundant and unlimited. Collectively we have let those with the advantage of harvesting those finite resources convince us that the renewable methods are unreliable and inefficient and we have fallen for it allowing them to become insanely wealthy.
Cutting the cord to oil would not only greatly reduce the amount of CO2 and other climate changing gases released into the atmosphere and slowing climate change it would improve our national security. Energy independence and national security are linked and anyone who has been witness to the global battles over petroleum over the last 50-75 years cannot deny that truth. So, I am for getting off oil and if charging Big Oil, in a global court, with mass homicide will hasten for their recklessness then lets do it. I will bring the popcorn and watch the show as they go down.
Esoteric Meandering Shouting Into the Void 