Anti oil rhetoric: empty words add CO2
August 18, 2008
Ockels said: “100 years from now we will look back on today and we will compare the oil business with slave trading”. The core business of both is dealing in “black gold”. Both needed to expand the business to make more profits. And this will continue with the oil business (as was the case with slave trade) until society puts an end to it, because it is no longer being considered in line with societal values. I don’t think that Van der Veer was informed about what Ockels had claimed. Because in his interview Van der Veer objected to the fact that the journalist compared the oil business to the tobacco industry. With that he wasn’t happy at all: I’m curious what he thinks about the comparison to slave trading.
Big words are used more often. Dr James Hansen, director of a Nasa institute, said in June: “CEOs of fossil fuel energy companies know what they are doing and are aware of the long-term consequenses of continued business as usual. In my opinion, these CEOs should be tried for high crimes against humanity and nature.”
For me it is clear that our society has to make a transition towards more sustainable energy sources. It is also true that oil companies better invest in this transition. If not for society then at least for preserving their own existence. One could argue that the transition should be accelerated, not the least because in times of growing scarcity our society’s fossil fuel dependency is an even bigger risk than usual. However, the type of rhetoric of Ockels and Hansen is not helpful, nor realistic. Whether we like it or not, today’s society needs fossil fuels. And no one can argue that we can do without it in the coming decades. For this we can not blame CEO’s of fossil fuel companies more than politicians, car owners, consumers in general: you and me. Constructive efforts are needed to make fossil fuel supply more sustainable and accelerating investments in alternatives. And again: not one of the mentioned groups can realise this in isolation. Ockels and Hansen should continue to use their energy for that instead of for insults. Their rhetoric reminded me of an advertisement of Vattenfall: “empty words only add carbon dioxide”.
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