The Fossil Fuel Frenzy of the 21st Century, Part 3

                           Year in Review May 11, 2014

                 THE FOSSIL FUEL FRENZY OF THE 21st CENTURY

                                              PART 3

Politicians in the Federal and State governments have allowed the energy industry to put its thirst for profits ahead of the welfare of our citizens. Coal, one of the dirtiest fossil fuels, supplies about 40% of America’s energy needs. There is no political will, however,  to control the amount of CO2 that is released into the atmosphere when we burn coal. Nor is there the political will to stop the environmental devastation from mountain top removal or disposal of the by products of the coal mining process. The Federal and State governments allow the energy industry free reign to drill and bring to market the other fossil fuels (natural gas, tar sands crude, and oil) in the same destructive way that coal is mined, brought to market, and burned. Our federal and state governments are failing the American people. Too many governmental officials are morally corrupt.

The energy industry pours money into the campaign coffers of politicians in Washington and many state capitols. The Koch brothers and others whose wealth is derived from fossil fuels create and/or fund ‘think tanks’ and ‘experts’ to create a rosy story about the benefits of the use of fossil fuels. We see carefully scripted commercials on tv depicting shiny tanks and manicured sites where natural gas is produced. Communities are barraged by arguments of how good the production and transportation of these fossil fuels will be for people who need work. The industry and the government go to great lengths to deceive and to lull the populace into a state of complacency. It is thus no surprise that this is a largely unregulated industry. It is no surprise that our governmental officials have failed to create a sensible and life sustaining energy policy.

Even though overwhelming scientific studies over the years have concluded that the continued use of fossil fuels will unalterably threaten life on earth, our state and federal governments are incapable of any effective plan to address our energy needs. The disastrous environmental impacts caused by the continued production and use of fossil fuels was again stated in the recently released National Climate Assessment. Yet, you need not look far to see how unlikely it is that governments will do the right thing for our country, the planet, and our welfare. Just this past week several of Florida’s most influential Republicans, Senator Mark Rubio, Governor Rick Scott, and former Governor Jeb Bush, would not even respond to reporters requests to their questions about the frequent flooding in Miami Beach and its relationship to rising ocean levels cause by climate change.

A recent article (http://truth-out.org/news/item/23511-new-mexico-governor-martinez-accused-of-wholesale-disregard-of-...) about the State of New Mexico mirrors the lawless behavior that is going on in too many States across the country. Politicians are coopted by the campaign money and enticements from corporations. Politicians are selling out their constituents in states across the country.

In the last two weeks 45 Republican U.S. Senators and 11 Democrats introduced a bill to by-pass the administrative approval processes in order to grant the owners of the Keystone Pipeline the permits they need to transport the dirtiest of dirty crude from the Alberta Tar Sands to export facilities on the Gulf Coast. The Koch brothers, among other energy tycoons, stand to make billions.

The Koch brothers, acting in concert with ALEC, the big business and corporate controlled lobbying group, are proposing legislation in many states to impose a surcharge on homeowners who install solar heating systems. Their goal is to create a disincentive to the sustainable energy industry’s efforts to find replacements for fossil fuels. Their intent is to screw homeowners and businesses that have installed or might install solar power systems. Gee, with over 40 billion accumulate in wealth in there no end to the Koch brothers’ greed?

And finally, even though America does not have the infrastructure to export the natural gas that Exon Mobile and other frackers produce, members of Congress want to pass laws to fast track the energy industries ability to export LNG so the industry can profit from sales to countries around the world. No matter that that exporting fossil fuels will cause more environmental damage to America. No matter that preserving our LNG resources in case of a national security threat is a much wiser policy. No matter exporting our energy resources will mean higher prices for Americans.

The best deal for the American people would be that our Country takes a time out to develop an energy policy to conserve our resources and to benefit the American public first. We should place a moratorium on the development of any new fracking sites, tar sand projects, and coal mining operations. We need to create a national regulatory policy to protect communities, states, and people from irresponsible industry practices. Moreover, we need an energy policy that does not pay lip service to renewable and sustainable energy. The earth’s atmosphere cannot continue to absorb the toxic gases released by fossil fuels.

Allowing the fossil fuel industry to drill and to bring to market fossil fuels in an unregulated manners fails to protect one of our most valuable resources on this earth-water. Chemicals and byproducts of the fracking process are polluting aquifers, watersheds, and rivers. Should aquifers, like the Marcellus water shed that is relied on by major northeastern states, become chemically laced with the toxics used in the fracking process and by toxins released from the earth in the fracking process, America will have another major disaster on its hand.

The loss of our water supplies is the unavoidable consequence of the destruction caused by mountain top and strip mining for coal; by the exploitation of the dirty tar sands in Alberta or Alabama; by the leaking pipes that crude oil flow through; by the trains that derail while carrying petroleum products; by the ships that crash like the Exxon Valdez in Alaska; by storage tanks that leak into the Elk River in West Virginia; and by the containment ponds that fail and pollute rivers like the Don in North Carolina. Deregulation is tantamount to a criminal act being committed by our federal and state politicians.

America should follow the lead of other more enlightened industrial states and get serious about developing sustainable energy alternatives to fossil fuels. The Federal Government should deny permits to develop and to transport the tar sands dirty crude in Alberta or any other area within the US. The Federal Government and the states should require full disclosure of all chemicals used in fossil fuel extraction and clean up of their spills. Government regulatory agencies should perform competent, scientific analysis of the soil, air, water that can be impacted by fracking and other fossil fuel processes. The federal and state governments should perform a complete environmental analysis of the spectrum of impacts from existing fracking sites and the storage and containment facilities of other fossil fuels and their by products. Congress should rescind all those industry friendly exemptions that protect the frackers and the other fossil fuel energy producers. Our federal and state governments should cease putting our population at risk of death and other serious illnesses.

By allowing the politicians to collude with the industry, we are harming America and contributing to what most scientists believe is an irreversible anthropogenic change in our climate. The fossil fuel energy companies only care about raking in the dollars. They don’t want regulations to force them to act as responsible citizens because doing such things as maintaining toxic free sites, cleaning up their toxic spills, maintaining pipelines or rail tanker cars or cargo ships require the expenditure of money. Essentially, the energy industry wants their profits without the costs of being responsible. You almost can’t blame them. All business owners wish the highest profits and the least costs. Only problem is that this approach is harmful to human health, the environment, and the world’s climate.

Given the way these mega corporations do business today, they do not care about your community, my community, or the environmental destruction from their activities. They don’t care if workers die in explosions on deep sea oil platforms, collapses in mines, or from cancers contracted from all the toxics. They don’t care if their products are transported in ill maintained train cars that explode and kill people. They don’t care if the toxins they use that seep into our water and ground causing people to die from cancers or becoming sick. You might wonder if they care whether the planet will become unlivable due to the massive tons of pollutants released into the air when fossil fuels are burned. Climate change is really just an inconvenient truth they wish to deny.

As our environment gets destroyed and climate change brings severe droughts, horrific tornadoes, and devastating hurricanes, you can bet these super wealthy corporate moguls and their financiers believe they have the money to find refuge.  The super wealthy and CEOs will jump in their planes, bring their personal army of security personnel, and go to some remote location to survive. The rest of us will be left to fend for ourselves in a world devastated by their greedy thirst for money.

Isn’t it time to stop the collusion between these irresponsible industrial predators and politicians that they bribe? America used to be regarded as an exceptional country. Today, what is exceptional is that our Country is being devastated by a hoard of unregulated corporations that could care less about the citizens and the environment we live in.