Guest essay by Eric Worrall
h/t observa; The Guardian and other greens are still in denial about their culpability in the wrecking of Europe’s energy security.
Fossil fuel companies are trying to exploit this war for their gain. We can’t let them
Jamie Henn
Sat 26 Feb 2022 22.29 AEDTWithout fossil fuel, and Europe’s dependence on it, Putin wouldn’t have so much power. We need clean energy now, but big oil has other plans
Never ones to let a good crisis go to waste, the fossil fuel industry and their allies have taken to the airwaves over the last few days to try and use the Russian invasion of Ukraine as an excuse for greater oil and gas development.
It’s the classic shock doctrine that we’ve come to expect from big oil, and unless our politicians are wise enough to see through it, it’s a strategy that will continue to undermine our ability to take action on climate change over the decade to come.
The fossil fuel industry’s attempt to exploit this particular crisis is all the more galling because of their central role in causing it. Putin’s ability to wage war in Ukraine and threaten the stability of Europe comes exclusively from his control over Russian oil and gas production. Forty per cent of Russia’s federal budget comes from oil and gas, which make up 60% of the country’s exports. This October, Russia was making more than $500m a day from fossil fuels, money that goes directly into funding Putin’s war machine.
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“Sanctions should be as targeted as possible to limit potential harm to the competitiveness of US companies,” an American Petroleum Institute spokesperson said recently. The companies he’s talking about aren’t your Main Street mom-and-pop’s: they’re the richest oil corporations on the planet.
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If the Biden administration wants to help, it should launch a new green Marshall plan to help build renewable energy in Europe and around the world. Expanding the production of clean energy technologies, rather than fossil fuels, would help combat the influence of big oil and petro states, as well as address the growing climate emergency.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/26/big-oil-ukraine-russia-putin
I accept that some fossil fuel companies have helped build Putin’s fortune, but investing in Russia was not a crime, at least until a few days ago. Now those fossil fuel companies face likely expropriation of their assets by Russia’s authoritarian regime – a painful learning experience, for anyone who considers investing in such places in the future.
But the Guardian’s push for a “Green Marshall Plan” shows they still haven’t faced their own culpability in Europe’s energy security crisis.
The only reason Europe is facing an energy crisis is greens like the Guardian convinced European politicians to back renewable energy, renewable energy which has utterly failed to deliver.
Europe’s ongoing high risk dependence on imports of Russian gas, despite all the billions invested in wind and solar, is compelling evidence that renewable energy is not an affordable replacement for fossil fuel.
The Guardian has repeatedly published absurd claims that renewables are or soon will be the cheapest option. Why would anyone need a “Green Marshall Plan” to embrace the cheaper option? People would flock to the cheapest acceptable option of their own free will.
Dear Guardian authors, man up, grow a pair and admit you are wrong about renewable energy. James Lovelock had the balls to admit he made a mistake about climate change. You should follow his example, before your engineering challenged fantasies cause even more damage.
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During WWII Canada was a major contributor of raw materials to the war effort. Coupled with American manufacturing the allies were thus able to out produce the opposing forces and win the war.
Canada has more oil than Russia. Way more. Yet Russia has Europe by the throat. NATO could not defend Europe if Russia cut off oil and gas to Europe.
Canada is a NATO member. Yet they also buy oil from Russia, driving up the price of Russian oil and help cut the throats of their European allies.
Canada, time to step up like you did in WWII and use your vast supplies of natural resources before it is too late. Replace Russia as the main supplier of oil and gas to Europe before Putin pulls the plug.
The buyer needs the seller and vice versa.
Things get complicated when there are more than one buyer and seller. The beauty of free trade is that competition keeps quality up and costs down. If only.
Textbook projection by the gray matter-challenged Climate Liars. It is in fact Ruinables which has created the current dilemma regarding energy security, and it is their side shamelessly attempting to use the Ukraine crisis to their advantage.
It’s not Big Oil they are worried about. But they expect the smear to work against us.
Eric, thanks for your reference to James Lovelock and the recognition that he is man enough to admit a mistake.
As far as I know, he has to some extent always been a supporter of nuclear power to the chagrin of environmental leftists, though overall they revere him because of his Gaia theory and support of other leftist causes.
Nevertheless, if only on the basis of his longevity (he’ll turn 103 this summer) his voice is worthy of consideration by all.
We can always hope the insanity and lies will stop, but you can’t fix stupid. Stupid is forever.
“Putin’s actions in Ukraine threaten your savings, investments, and livelihood. They endanger your life and the lives of those you love. Russia may have the most advanced cyber-attack teams in the world. Such attacks threaten electricity, water, and food. Russia also holds the world’s largest nuclear arsenal & Putin’s threats to use it suddenly seem credible. Some say what happens in Ukraine shouldn’t concern Americans. These people either don’t personally visit gas stations or don’t understand the recent jump in fuel prices. Over next weeks & months, the connection will probably be made plain to everyone who drives a car, heats a home, or pays an electric bill”
Not to mention food, which reflects transportation and fertilizer costs!
Putin has ordered the heightening of the alert status of it’s nuclear forces.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/putin-orders-nuclear-deterrent-forces-be-put-on-high-alert
Condoleeza Rice has met with Putin a dozen times and says that his recent behavior seems erratic to her.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/condoleezza-rice-putin-russia-erratic-ukraine
“Vladimir Putin lies. He looks his opponent straight in the face & lies. He’s good at it. He says he must invade Ukraine because NATO refuses to rule out the possibility of one day admitting Ukraine. But he knows no one joins NATO without the unanimous consent of all existing members. He knows France & Germany flatly refuse to allow Ukraine to join & several others have expressed strong reservations. He knows there’s no immediate possibility of Ukraine joining NATO”
France isn’t a member of NATO.
Not entirely correct. DeGaulle removed France from the NATO integrated command structure in 1966 but not from NATO itself. In 2016, France rejoined the integrated command structure. France has been a member of NATO since 1949. Sorry to be pedantic but the facts are the facts.
With everything that has happened this week, reluctance to admit Ukraine into NATO will probably decrease. A lot depends on whether Putin is successful in installing a puppet regime.
The Marshall Plan worked because US factories that had been going all out to produce war material had spare capacity because the war was over. There was also all those soldiers returning home from the war to provide labor.
Where’s the factories and labor for this new “Marshal Plan”?
As usual, the lefties at the Guardian spout great plans, but never think through how those plans are going to be executed.
The great James Lovelock was wrong about which goddess rules the Earth. It’s not Gaia, she is a minor deity holding sway over only one quarter of the surface. Three quarters of the Earth’s surface is covered in water and what happens in top few feet of the world ocean is the domain of Oceana.
The oil, surfactant and run-off nutrients from our civilisation are altering those few hundred feet. It’s not surprising that this alters everything
JF
Oil seeps have been a part of the ocean ecology for hundreds of thousands, if not millions of years; certainly enough time for bacteria to evolve that consumes oil. Aside from that I really wasn’t taken with your religious sermon, Reverend.
“Without fossil fuel, and Europe’s dependence on it, Putin wouldn’t have so much power. We need clean energy now, but big oil has other plans”
Putin taking advantage of the unconscionable self-destruction of formerly available, reliable, less expensive Western energy systems is what criminals do.
Putin funded much of the “green” hysteria and perhaps paid for a few supportive politicians, but the Western governments are more to blame.
Europe and USA are too influenced by self-interested, self-rewarding, pompous, elitists, and organizations that fund the propaganda and politicians destroying the very engines of their historic success and well-being.
If blame is sought, look internally, find the collaborators of this drastic and tragic “green” scheme and excise them. Install full transparency in data and economic costs and educate citizens before policies like “green or nothing” cause more harm!
To do nothing is criminal.
Confusing “Big Oil” with “big consumer demand” again…..
too much sharing the bong in the Guardy newsroom.
A learning experience – never would have believed it possible for folks to actually be this stupid, and insensitive, but they are Marxists.
Meanwhile John Cook at Skeptic Tank Science boasts that climate alarm shake-down politics has caused 39 trillion dollars of fossil fuel divestment:
Big numbers – dollars and institutions – behind divestments from fossil fuels (skepticalscience.com)
39 trillion dollars.
Their argument that this can’t possibly have had the slightest effect on fuel and energy prices is of exactly the same type as all alarmist counter-arguments against skeptics.
What psychologists call a “risk statement”. (Lie)
I’ve commented here before how climate alarmism is analogous to the early 20th century enthusiasm with eugenics where a a theory in development about complicated and poorly understood systems was used to fashion crude instruments of public policy. After Mr Hitler the ideas and the public policies were quietly abandoned by the progressives of the time without any apology and now only remain as ideas held by racists and white supremacists.
Up till now I thought the only question remaining was what kind and how much misery would be caused by climate alarmists’ political perversion of science. Well, now are seeing it.
probably this is where you tell me about Godwin’s law and I suppose you are right, except in the case of the Guardian, their favourite dictator would be Stalin.
Here’s some perspective for these alleged journalists.
Probably not the best chart to use for this, but it illustrates how small the temperature changes are, that we are supposed to be alarmed about … and it carries “official” endorsement.
they still haven’t faced their own culpability
And they never will.
It seems clear that people in the energy and environment sectors are indeed doing Putin’s bidding. However it is not the oil, gas and coal folks who, if they were left to do their work would have ensured the West a reliable source of energy that would not require imports from Russia. Just a year ago the US was energy independent. Biden “fixed” that issue in a few days of ham-handed “leadership”. It is the renewalble energy welfare cases and environmental wingnuts who are Putin’s best friends. They ensure that Western nations are crippled without imports from Russia and the Middle East thereby strengthening Putin’s position. How many Ukrainian children are they willing to see die from war and how many elderly Westerners die from cold for their idiotic crusade against natural climate variations?
Putin is a former WEF young global leader which means the WEF has “penetrated” the Kremlin.
If anything, this attack is going to favor green energy and the DNC.
I sure as hell hope all green activists heed my advice and book flights to Moscow with a massive effort to convince Putin to go green! This will eliminate 99% of these morons and their fascist policies!! The gulags are ready for you greenies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1