Everyone wants good news about the climate catastrophe, especially people of my generation that are actually going to live through it. To fulfill this demand, there are loads of articles, videos, social media posts, interviews, and even books: “Look! We made so many new wind farms!” “Well, we’ll solve it by 2050!” “Electric Cars!” Let us begin by looking at the efforts being made to counter climate change.
- In 2005, the concept of personal carbon footprints was popularized by environmental activists which made it appear genuine and reputable. However, behind this idea was a multinational company British Petroleum (BP), a fossil fuel giant. This is the same company that dumped 200 million gallons of crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico. The reason why an oil company that would suffer huge losses by climate action would promote such a thing is that it was actually to prevent climate action. The blame was shifted from multi-billion dollar companies to the people whereas th truth is that just 100 companies generate 70% of the world’s carbon emissions. Check out the details here.
- Governments have heavily invested in wind, solar, and other renewable sources. The problem with these is that they are way too inefficient to power entire countries. Oil oligarchs are well aware of this fact. So what’s the alternative? Nuclear. Nuclear energy is highly more efficient than even fossil fuels and is actually a stable source while also being the cleanest source of energy we have. France already generates 80% of their electricity from nuclear. But the public perception has been systematically set against nuclear. My other article discusses this in detail.
It is quite evident now that we are not doing anything to solve climate change. All minor efforts like electric cars are just for show and to deliver good news (See this). In fact, governments and corporations are actively rolling out even more mega-projects that will completely destroy any chance of us mitigating the effects of rapid climate fallout. Willow Project is a case in point.
In defence of a car-free future: The idea of making life hell for car owners in our cities!
The Willow Oil Project is an 8-billion-dollar proposed oil and gas project in Alaska. It would open up around 629 million barrels of oil and produce over 287 million metric tons of CO2 over the next 30 years. If the plan went through, it’s literally game over. Mass extinction, loss of entire ecosystems, unimaginable levels of global warming! On March 13, 2023, the Biden administration officially approved this project. This project will generate over 17 billion dollars in revenue that will make billionaires richer.
The worst part about all of this is that there is nobody to do anything and the ones that claim to do anything are just further helping billionaires get richer by promoting companies like Tesla, BP, Exxon because they claim to want change. The ones that are actually worried about climate change are only appreciated if they don’t speak out against capitalism. Look at the example of Greta Thunberg. In the beginning, when she chose not to speak about anything that threatens private companies, she was highly praised but when she actually spoke out against capitalism, she became irrelevant.
Capitalism is creating its own opposition. Almost every significant environmental organization is directly or indirectly funded by oil billionaires. This is called ‘manufactured dissent’. This sort of tamed opposition suppresses any genuine protest that could pose a threat. Even the most seemingly radical groups are funded by oil billionaires, like the much-hyped ‘Just Stop Oil’ movement which has become infamous by its because of its publicity stunts, like throwing a can of soup on a famous Van Gough painting (covered by glass) or disrupting a whole snooker game. This group is funded by the owner of Getty Oil- Aileen Getty.
This is why projects like Willow are approved with minimum resistance; this is why governments are allowed to continue pouring billions into fossil fuels by just building a few windmills. They just need to keep people believing that it’s going to be Alright!
World Environment Day: Climate Change Is Not Our Fault!
But it’s not! Every upcoming year is hotter than the last. Species are on the brink of extinction. Nations like Spain are already suffering the wrath of climate change. Spain is currently going through droughts in almost every part of the nation, their pastures are disappearing and livestock is becoming too expensive to even feed. Spain is turning into a desert. The European Union must spend over 2.2 billion Euros to deal with the calamity and this is just the start.
However, this doesn’t mean that there is no way to save ourselves from rapid climate fallout. The only solution is a radical change in the system i.e. abolition of capitalism is the only way to save the planet because a system that requires infinite growth cannot survive on a planet with finite resources. We have nothing to gain from this system but to lose with every passing day- just a sordid reminder on this Happy Environment Day!
This article is part of the series “Climate Change is Not Your Fault”
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