Saturday, February 03, 2007

Touchy, aren’t we?

The natives are all up in arms about ExxonMobil and co. again. You know, flying off the handle with rage and all that. It’s kind of like when you sneak up behind them and say the word “Bush”.



These cynical bastards (ExxonMobil, not the natives) are actually offering $10,000 to “buy scientists” who can refute the climate change report sponsored by the United Nations which was made public Friday. My, that is shocking. I thought science was more expensive than that. I guess these scientific types don’t cost nearly as much to buy as I figured they would. Oops, how cynical of me.

But at least this is news. I mean, that global warming is "very likely" caused by man, as stated in the report, is something I thought we had all agreed upon long ago. And that the concentrations of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the planet's atmosphere "have increased markedly as a result of human activities since 1750” doesn’t really seem to be any great new revelation, either.

What I do find interesting is the ritual, the highly-emotional and near-hysterical reaction to announcements and counter-reactions like these. Like one article puts it, “the oil industry strikes back.” You know, as if Darth Vader is back among us again or something (he never really left, of course). It’s just that guilty conscience syndrome all over again, if you ask me. Everybody is fat and sassy and gets all excited when they can point the finger at somebody else.

Or does this add up when this is about to happen?

My suggestion: Sell your gas guzzling German car, stop flying to Mallorca two or three times a year, don’t buy any more “billig will ich” (cheapness is what I want) products made in China anymore (China + envirnment = bad), and spend more money on locally grown products, you know, not the environmentally destructive el cheapo products you now buy at Lidl. That’s just a start, of course. And then you can flip out when ExxonMobil gets cynical again. And we both know that they will.

That's too much to ask, you say? Of course it is. I knew it would be when I wrote it. But here I am being cynical again.

Das ist ja… unglaublich!

Kommentare auf Deutsch? Logisch.

Posted by clarsonimus at 10:41:34 | Permanent Link | Comments (8) |
Comments
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1 - Give them a break, they only earned $39.6 billion in profit last year. They sure can't afford much more than $10,000 when they are trying to invest money to make $49 billion next year.

That extra $10 billion can only come from higher oil prices and more people addicted to the spice! (Comment this)

Written by: brettbum at 2007/02/04 - 05:48:57
2 - I notice every one always say "they" and "the oil companies." Oil corps are made up of thousands and thosands of people at every level of oil drilling production and sales. All of those people support their families with the money that people pay for oil, which is incredibly difficult and dangerous to both find and produce. Breaking the Waves, anyone. It is even dangerous for clerks who sell gas, as they are often robbed and killed. Of course I guess oil should be free for everyone, like health care. Then people could drive and drive. Driving is of course, a God given right like privacy. (Comment this)

Written by: Miss Carnivorous at 2007/02/04 - 22:52:17
3 - In another year or so I might get back all the money that vanished when my Exxon/Mobil and Conoco stock was down. I tried standing on the corner demanding that people filling up their tanks compensate me for losing value and gettng tiny dividends but they just laughed. The nerve! (Comment this)

Written by: Pat Patterson at 2007/02/05 - 04:22:59
4 - Exxon didn't offer the $10,000, it was offered by the American Enterprise Institute (a liberal think tank I think). Yes, AEI is on Exxon's donations list, but just like with PBS Exxon doesn;t care much less control what they do with the money. They just want the PR from saying "we donated to . . .".

Finally, why would Exxon care about global warming? They're only providing a product that we asked them for, WE are the ones who are actually burning it and polluting. (Comment this)

Written by: Jay at 2007/02/10 - 23:20:38
5 - Jay, exactamundo. That is the ONLY problem. WE want it that way (burn up gas) - and can. The moment it get's too expensive, our heads will turn at all of the way new alternative technolgies suddenly available out there for us. Wanna bet most of them will be American-made technologies, too? Not that that matters... (Comment this)

Written by: Anonymous at 2007/02/11 - 11:17:54 in reply to: 4
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