No money for fossil fuels

No fracking, methane emissions, cracking, or plastic pollution

On April 22, a tweet from our #FakePresident revealed the reason he wants control of the $3 trillion stimulus fund. “We will never let the great U.S. oil andgGas Industry down. I have instructed the Secretary of Energy and Secretary of the Treasury to formulate a plan which will make funds available so that these very important companies and jobs will be secured long into the future!”

The overproduction of oil and gas by U.S. companies is one of the main reasons for the collapse of the market. On December 6, 2019, two months prior to the pandemic, Joseph Gatdula, head of oil and gas at Fitch Solutions, discussed lower prices for 2020 due to the oversupply of crude in the market. The “great” U.S. fossil fuel industry was full of debt and out of storage. There is no reason to bail out a failed industry.

What makes oil and gas companies “great?”

President Richard Nixon was the first to promise Energy Independence in the context of the 1973 OPEC oil embargo. “Gusher of Lies” by Robert Bryce, 2008, explains “the dangerous delusions of Energy Independence.” Bryce says U.S. oil companies had stockpiled large volumes of crude oil. U.S. refineries took advantage of the chaos to lower the supply of gasoline and raise the price. Long lines at gas stations created fear and uncertainty. Oil prices quadrupled during the 6-month embargo and remained at higher levels thereafter. The oil scam went unnoticed – only the memories of long gasoline lines linger.

Oil is produced at a lower cost by countries with liquid oil deposits. They are happy to sell at competitive prices.

The U.S. imports 100 percent of many other critical minerals like quartz crystals, rare earth elements, and thorium. Why not oil?

The U.S. fossil fuel industry producing tight-oil and shale gas has cracks miles deep, a pollution machine using taxpayers’ money without profits. Case in point: the Fayetteville Shale with over 2.5 million acres of land was sold at an auction leaving behind orphan wells emitting methane around the clock.

When Saudi Arabia flooded the oil market betraying the “close relationship” with the White House, the price per barrel dropped like a rock, with greedy investors running like rats. So much for the roaring economy!

Cracking in China

Natural gas is not only a fuel. Oil refineries use natural gas to crack a variety of petroleum products, including ethane. U.S. petrochemical plants use ethane as feedstock to make plastic pellets, used to make a wide variety of plastic products.

ExxonMobil has worldwide operations – it is hardly an “important American company.” It has a refinery in Singapore and is building a plastics’ plant in China, owned and operated fully by Exxon. It’s Chairman and CEO, Darren Woods, said the project reflects China’s growing commitment to foreign direct investment. The 1.6 million tonne-per-year ethylene cracker is an investment of $10 billion U.S. “All of this creates an environment that enables ExxonMobil to continue our strategic long-term investments,” Woods said. China will benefit.

Plastic pollution

The main reason to stop burning fossil fuels and wood pellets is to stop carbon emissions to avoid a much larger climate crisis.

One truckload per minute of plastic is dumped in the ocean, a planetary crisis. Unless we stop using single-use plastics there will soon be more plastic in the oceans than fish! Many places are no longer safe to fish. Microplastic and plastic pellets are killing fish.

A film released last week, The Story of Plastic, to celebrate Earth Day, shows the devastation from plastic pollution. Most “recycled” plastic ends up in our rivers and oceans, it moves from landfills to Asia and incinerators with toxic emissions. Only 2 percent is used again. Please visit storyofplastic.org where you will find effective resources to stop destroying the oceans and the environment.

Please join the Environmental Action petition asking McDonald’s to join Burger King and phase out plastic toys, environmental-action.org.

We need an honest and smart leader to get out of the crisis, not a #FakePresident.

Dr. Luis Contreras