Budging Big Oil

By FRANK LINGO

It’s understandable why the oil and coal companies would deny climate chaos. They have a vested interest in the old extractive ways of burning fossil fuels. That’s how they got rich and how they want to get richer.

Not so understandable is why regular folks who work regular jobs and breathe regular air would resist the research of nearly every climate scientist in the world that we are causing the planet to warm with the way we live.

Why won’t these people believe and accept the truth? One reason is the political party they prefer (Republican) has been anti-environmental for at least three decades. Republicans don’t just take a do-nothing approach — they actively prevent and subvert any efforts to reverse the damage we’ve done to our atmosphere.

Another reason regular folks are in denial seems to be an aversion to giving an inch on the ancient Biblical idea that we humans have dominion over the Earth and its creatures. If the Creator put us in charge of the world, then we’ll do whatever we feel like with it, and nobody can tell us what to do.

That’s the same mindset many of these folks have about guns, and the Republican Party gives them everything they want on that issue, too.

Add in racist beliefs, whether subtle or blatant, along with religious rigidity, and these round out their reverential regard for Republicans.

The one possibility for progress with these people is the climate crisis. Surveys have shown a large majority of Americans consider it a serious problem. Dramatic events, including drought, hurricanes and record-shattering heat waves, are providing proof that climate chaos is already upon us.

Big Oil is beginning to budge. To be sure, they are nowhere near the green-washed illusion that oil companies have presented on television ads for years. No, nearly all their profits still spring from the polluting petroleum they peddle.

Yet there are hopeful signs. A June 19 New York Times article told of Royal Dutch Shell’s part in a giant battery in Britain that will act as a back up for times of low power output from wind and solar generators. It will be operated by a Shell subsidiary named Limejump, one of dozens of sustainable energy companies that Shell has invested in over the last few years.

An impetus for oil to evolve is pressure from investors. The Church of England’s Pensions Board has had an influence on Shell’s involvement in renewables.

Impressive movement also occurred at the behemoth of Big Oil, Exxon Mobil, when a hedge fund manager convinced other money managers to team up and pressure Exxon into environmental modifications. A June 12 Wall Street Journal article recounted how Christopher James used $250 million of his own to invest in Exxon and land three new members to its board. The new members are steering Exxon toward developing a plan to invest in renewable energy.

Granted, these changes are happening at a snail’s pace and that may be an insult to snails. There needs to be many more pressures on the fossil fuel industry before the world will feel the effects of non-polluting energy production.

But let’s take heart in the inspirational examples shown by a few and follow their lead as we march onward thru the smog.

Frank Lingo, based in Lawrence, Kansas, is a former columnist for the Kansas City Star and author of the novel “Earth Vote.” Email: lingofrank@gmail.com.

From The Progressive Populist, August 1, 2021

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