Big Oil lies

 It should surprise no one that "big oil" in the form of companies like ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and BP have found the truth about their behaviour unwelcome, and are finally being forced to admit the truth in US congressional hearings. Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, writes in the Guardian (17 September 2022): “If there is one thing consistent about the oil and gas majors’ position on climate, it’s their utter inability to tell the truth...” The co-Chair of the investigating committee is even more blunt: "The oil giants’ 'climate pledges rely on unproven technology, accounting gimmicks and misleading language to hide the reality...'” (LINK) 

The sad fact is that this lying has gone on for a long time. These companies make enormous profits and feel justified in continuing to exploit the planet because much of modern western society believes explicitly or implicitly that wealth-maximization is good and proper. In recent years a few activists have gone to court or to  legislative committees to force the big oil companies to admit wrong-doing, but this comes nowhere near to persuading them to rectify the damage they have done, or even to stop the damage they are still doing. 

Will these companies undergo a genuine, heartfelt conversion? Unfortunately the incentives all favour a continuation of lying and pollution. God's creation is at risk and will grow even more at risk until they have a change of heart.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Small steps matter

Small steps matter. It is not unusual for people to say that an Eco-friendly idea is too small to make any difference. In fact taking small steps not only shows an important symbolic commitment toward protecting the environment, but small steps can in fact make a difference in the long run. There are sites such as "My Climate" ( LINK ) that will help to calculate the cost.  One of the small steps that everyone can take is to reduce meat consumption. A completely vegetarian or vegan diet is not necessary to make a difference, and there are plenty of sources of good protein in the plant kingdom The Eco Church committee has long talked about providing some environmentally friendly recipies. Here is one for crispy Tofu: Tofu comes in many forms, some softer than others. It also comes with different seasonings. For this recipe seasoned and relatively firm tofu is best, meaning that it was squeezed to reduce the water content. The next steps are simple: dry the tofu with a towel, c
Read more

Church of England Eco church web

  The Church of England is actively committed to promoting "care for God's creation through their worship, buildings, land, community engagement, and individual lifestyles." Here is a LINK to the full official statement on the website. St. George's Anglican / Episcopal church in Berlin has made the same commitment. One of the purposes of this blog is to offer parish members a source of current information about environmental matters.  Our  Preußenallee  building  is under "Denkmalschutz", which protects the original architectural design. While this is an advantage, it also limits what we can do to the physical plant. The Eco Church committee will look at how to make the building and grounds more ecologically friendly, but we should also remember that there is much we can do in our private lives to act in ecologically responsible ways.  --Michael
Read more