While there are still “Deniers” out there – ignorant and stupid people for the most part – who claim that nature and climate are simply going through a “phase” and will eventually swing back to a cooler period regardless of what humans do to influence anything… Most people with even a modicum of intelligence accept the reality that we are rapidly approaching several tipping points beyond which there is no return. We are right on the cusp of becoming those “frogs in the pot” despite what’s known as “creeping normality” causing many to believe we have plenty of time to right the climate “ship” and get our act together. That’s simply not true. Climate change is a state of emergency right now; and yet articles like this one show us clearly how big oil companies, the entire coal industry, auto makers, airlines and aircraft companies, practically ANY big business with skin in the game and profits to be made will never – I repeat, NEVER – willingly and voluntarily do their part to head off the disaster that will put your children and grandchildren into a reality that will look more like “Mad Max” than anything we can imagine.
It’s against this reality that the news broke today that both Shell and BP oil companies are playing games with the public. They talk big about how they are doing their part in developing carbon capture and storage technologies and how this will help climate change as everyone does their part to develop alternatives to fossil fuels. Turns out? They are talking amongst themselves how this is a strategy to simply continue using fossil fuel for as long as there is any amount of profit involved. The U.S. House Committee on Oversight just released internal documents that, among other things, confirms the following: “Contrary to their pledges, fossil fuel companies have not organized their businesses around becoming low-emissions, renewable energy companies. They are devoted to a long-term fossil fuel future.“ Congress has issued a tepid “urging” for Shell and BP to “stop their deception this week; as if THAT has a prayer’s chance in hell of actually happening.
Shell even has an entire website devoted to showing us how “seriously” they are addressing carbon capture and climate issues. Lots of beautiful pictures, informative graphics, plenty of images and graphs, and catchy titles and terms to show us all how they are doing their part in heading off the fatal climate change so many deny is real. The only problem? These just released memos show us that none of it is true. “Big oil firms like Shell, Exxon, and Chevron can try to gloss over their murky PR image as much as they like, as we’ve seen in the millions of dollars pumped into disingenuous greenwash campaigns by the industry. But though unsurprising, this bombshell disclosure confirms what remains utterly transparent about big oil. That it has every intention to keep on extracting in pursuit of profit, rather than transforming how it operates for the sake of our communities and our planet.”
Which means all the nice pics and catchy phrasing are nothing more than lies.
Isn’t this how capitalism always fails? Profits trump ethics, money beats responsibility, power eclipses morality… And in this case? The end game is simple yet graphic; the planet dies. (Aw hell… we’ll all be dead and gone by then right? So why should any of us give a shit about something like this? A sentiment that gets shared far too often.)
And it points to a very simple problem. Left to themselves, businesses and corporations like Shell, BP, Exxon / Mobil and a long list of others… will NEVER do the right thing. And our leaders in Congress need to wake up, get off their asses, forgo the corporate gravy trains they’ve all been fattening themselves on, quit arguing about abortion and other “issues” 
and actually start legislating the changes needed. It’ll never happen otherwise. (And sadly, considering the fact that relying on politicians to save the planet is about our only hope, may never happen period.)
How’s all this for a cheerful Monday greeting?