Oil and Gas Industry Targeted Van Jones
Posted by Sonja Ebron
Van Jones finally made it to the top of the oil and natural gas industry’s hit list. His success at steering millions of dollars toward green jobs (in both stimulus funding and the House-passed climate bill) threatened a perfect storm for dirty energy.
Van’s brilliant idea was to marry the interests of labor, the environment and social justice. Taking on any one of those groups was a fight the oil and gas industry didn’t want, but a fight against all three was a sure loser. Alternet has the full story, but the short and skinny is that Van had to go. Here’s a breakdown of the takedown:
So let’s understand the stakes here and take heart. We are very close to changing the way we use energy in this country, and some folks can’t see themselves on the other side. That’s why they’re also targeting the Apollo Alliance, led by another “scary big ole black man,” former National Wildlife Federation chairman Jerome Ringo.
The Glenn Becks of the world didn’t wake up the other day and decide to equate green jobs with slavery reparations. They’re being fed this junk in an effort to divorce labor from the environment. You know you’re winning when an opponent resorts to these kinds of tactics. I think they made a big mistake in targeting Van, for two reasons. One, they’ve alerted us all to their weakness and fear and confirmed that we are on the right track. And two, Van is much more dangerous out here with the rest of us.
Our response is simple, and it’s one that honors the genius of Van Jones: We must push as hard as we can for the most progressive climate change legislation we can envision, one that includes green jobs with justice.
When You Don’t Know What To Do, Do The Right Thing
Posted by Sonja Ebron
Like most people, I find the Golden Rule an indispensable companion to living well. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” and “wish for your brother what you wish for your self” are among countless expressions of the Ethics of Reciprocity found in all religions. The trouble comes when we feel we need something and believe we can’t get it fairly. At those times, the temptation is to rationalize a double standard, but it always comes out wrong in the long term.
American history is replete with such examples, from genocide of the original inhabitants and enslavement of African people to the coups, assassinations and general warmongering of the last 60 years. We are so blinded by our past that we can’t adequately gauge our future. That’s what so dangerous about our continuing misadventure in Iraq.
Iraq War Ends When We Get The Oil
Posted by Sonja Ebron
Barack Obama is either lying or crazy when he says he’ll end the war in Iraq, and he doesn’t strike me as someone tolerant of self-delusion. Hate the game, not the player: Politicians lie for a living. No responsible American president could release his hold on a country floating on a sea of oil worth somewhere between $10-30 trillion, not while we remain so addicted to it and are too broke to even pay attention. (And the fact that the war is rank criminality? Look, I said American president.)
Of course, there is another alternative. The Financial Times reports that major Western oil companies are headed back to Iraq this year after four decades of being locked out. I’ve seen this story every other year since the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, so who knows if it’s actually true this time. But if it is, does this mean the war is finally coming to an end?
Say So, Mr. President
Posted by Sonja Ebron
I think I’m one of those cynics our new president referred to in his inaugural speech, the ones for whom the ground has shifted under our feet. I voted for him because of the hope his presence in the White House would bring to young Black people, but I never thought he could lead us out of the calamity we’re facing. Lately, though, I’ve been engaged in some very uncynic-like behavior. Somehow I can’t stop singing, humming and dancing to that inaugural band music.
Goodbye To All That, Hello Redemption
Posted by Sonja Ebron
Negativity is not my style, but I wish I had a pair of shoes to throw at George Bush as he leaves office. Think that’s too harsh? It’s not nearly harsh enough. We had a half-decent shot at avoiding this energy crisis when Bush stole the 2000 election. His administration was steeped in the energy industry, and his top advisers knew the painful forecasts for global oil depletion long before they took power. The Bush administration should have formed a rational plan to lower our energy consumption. They should have formed a global protocol for fairly allocating the remaining recoverable oil supplies. Instead, they came to Washington with Iraq in their sights and a delusional plan to steal its oil. With 4,000 Americans dead, one million dead Iraqis, a global financial system in tatters and an energy system in meltdown, it’s hard to imagine they could leave the country in worse straits. Luckily, we don’t have to find out.
Top 10 Energy Stories Of 2008
Posted by Sonja Ebron
From where I sit, it’s very difficult to distinguish energy from foreign policy, especially when your country uses more energy than any other country. So here, in no particular order, are my picks for the most significant energy-related stories this year:
- Iran’s proposal for an OPEC-like consortium of the major natural gas producers
- Russia’s threat to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline during its short war with Georgia
- The 10-week scramble for gasoline in the southeast following Hurricanes Gustav and Ike
- The massive increase in disconnections of utility services in deregulated areas
- The $100 swing in oil prices, with gasoline dropping from $4.00 to $1.50 in six months
- The promise of Barack Obama’s Green Team and some new thinking on energy
- Mass awareness — but no real debate — of T. Boone Pickens’ plan to sell lots of natural gas
- Iraqi journalist throws shoes at outgoing U.S. president Bush
- U.S. failure to find African host country for AfriCom
- Expulsion of U.S. diplomats from energy-rich Venezuela and Bolivia
There’s only one thing left to say –> Happy New Year!
Obama Discovers A New Form Of Energy
Posted by Sonja Ebron
Barack Obama will be the first post-peak oil president of the most oil-hungry country on the planet. The Financial Times, London’s best daily, just previewed an International Energy Agency report that estimates global oil production is now falling 9 percent per year. To be clear, excess oil is the ‘capital’ in capitalism, and it no longer exists. We will see capitalist economies (are there any others?) shrink by at least the rate of oil decline, so we are in for a societal transformation much different than the turn of an economic cycle. Economic activity based on carbon (is there any other?) needs to shrink even faster than oil decline. A recent World Wildlife Fund report suggests our globe is warming five times faster than predicted, and the pace is accelerating. Change is necessary to address the twin crises of peak oil and climate change.
A Change Is Gonna Come
Posted by Sonja Ebron
Thank you, Madelyn Dunham. This Sam Cooke classic is for you: