Spring Break
Adhering to clean energy standards
Issue date: 12/4/08
Our civilization is hopelessly chained to the corporate elite, corrupt leadership of unstable states and a bureaucracy that has been unable to bring about change. While we might pretend to think that we are in charge of the economy, power still remains largely in the hands of an elite few. The executives that lead the world's major oil companies are constant reminders of this fact.
President-elect Barack Obama's recent cruise to the White House seems to have put wind back in sails of the renewable energy sector. Obama has promised to invest some $150 billion over 10 years in renewable resources as part of a wider plan to increase U.S. energy security amid fear of oil shortages, while also decreasing the country's carbon emissions in an attempt to confront the problem of global warming. Still, these promises of a long-term solution should be taken a with a grain of salt.
There still has been no commitment to an international treaty that obligates a government to adhere to clean energy standards. The same people who want to take a hard line against Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela won't consent to coming up with a plan to reduce dependence. In fact, the system has been so entangled that the only solution we have been presented with is offshore drilling - drilling that will have no effect on actual oil reserves for at least 10 years. Coincidentally, the same oil companies that are keeping oil prices high will be the ones who gain the rights to this new oil, without having to drill themselves. The bureaucracy is perpetuating corporate America's price exploitation, which continues to leave us dependent on governments we oppose.
The irony is almost painful. In the status quo there is a cycle that perpetuates the problem that we want to alleviate. All the while, we allow the system to block research and development spending on new types of energy. We allow oil companies to go back on their promises of developing alternate fuels.
We allow our reliance on oil to keep increasing. At the same time we are allowing our environment to become destroyed. And perhaps worst of all is that there is not any overwhelming anger at the way the system is working. There is no call for a revolution. There is no demand for a legitimate change amongst the corporate elite and the Washington bloc.
President-elect Barack Obama's recent cruise to the White House seems to have put wind back in sails of the renewable energy sector. Obama has promised to invest some $150 billion over 10 years in renewable resources as part of a wider plan to increase U.S. energy security amid fear of oil shortages, while also decreasing the country's carbon emissions in an attempt to confront the problem of global warming. Still, these promises of a long-term solution should be taken a with a grain of salt.
There still has been no commitment to an international treaty that obligates a government to adhere to clean energy standards. The same people who want to take a hard line against Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela won't consent to coming up with a plan to reduce dependence. In fact, the system has been so entangled that the only solution we have been presented with is offshore drilling - drilling that will have no effect on actual oil reserves for at least 10 years. Coincidentally, the same oil companies that are keeping oil prices high will be the ones who gain the rights to this new oil, without having to drill themselves. The bureaucracy is perpetuating corporate America's price exploitation, which continues to leave us dependent on governments we oppose.
The irony is almost painful. In the status quo there is a cycle that perpetuates the problem that we want to alleviate. All the while, we allow the system to block research and development spending on new types of energy. We allow oil companies to go back on their promises of developing alternate fuels.
We allow our reliance on oil to keep increasing. At the same time we are allowing our environment to become destroyed. And perhaps worst of all is that there is not any overwhelming anger at the way the system is working. There is no call for a revolution. There is no demand for a legitimate change amongst the corporate elite and the Washington bloc.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 2
jt
posted 12/05/08 @ 3:23 PM EST
Though passionate, your assessment is unfortunately entirely too sophomoric. "We" didn't overthrow the tyranny of England. WE didn't stand up against plantation slavery, equality for blacks, women's sufferage, or anything else. (Continued…)
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