It always bothered me that the unchecked burning of fossil fuels would some day have a beneficial effect for oil companies beyond the obvious. Let me explain. Oil is burned -> atmosphere is warmed -> ice melts -> shipping lanes in the Arctic open -> ice-free shortcuts and easier transportation for oil companies.
The thing that adds insult to injury about this whole arrangement is the fact that part of the reason we’ve been slow to act in terms of cutting fossil fuel use, bankrolling alternative energy, and joining the rest of the world in their concern about global warming‘climate change’ is that we keep hearing about how the science is ‘divided’. Because, after all, there are many scientists who don’t think there’s a problem, and even if there is, it’s certainly nothing WE’ve done….right? They throw out all kinds of statistics about how there are some places actually getting colder, and weather in the Middle Ages, and this is all part of a natural cycle, bla bla bla.
“Close your eyes”, they whisper…”It’s OK. It’s not your fault. Just keep doing what you’re doing. You deserve a Hummer. There, there…don’t let those nasty environmentalists scare you. Close your eyes…”
Well, of course, these ‘climate experts’ who tell us to ignore our senses and what’s going on in Alaska, and choose the more pleasant scenario…the one that relieves us from culpability, are not just idiots. They are bankrolled, and they are bankrolled by…you guessed it – Exxon Mobil.
Well now we hear some startling new information. The North Pole may be ice-free this year. Not by 2030 or 2040 as studies last year indicated. This year. What does this mean for corporate oil giants like Exxon? Ice-free shipping for their tankers over the pole sooner than they dreamed, newly exposed areas for potential drilling, and more corporate allies to help them prop up their little groups of scientists who have sold their souls and their planet for some cold hard cash.
Exxon Mobil is going to be laughing all the way to the bank. Oh, that’s right…they already are from that whole Supreme Court ruling thing the other day… Well, as soon as they RETURN from the bank, they’ll laugh themselves right back again. I hope they don’t get sore from all this laughing and running to the bank.
And any bumps in the road like those pain-in-the-ass polar bears, and Alaska natives will be taken care of by the State of Alaska’s capitulation. They’ve got Gov. Sarah Palin, the congressional delegation, and half the legislature tucked snug in their corporate pocket. Will all this change when we flip some of those long held seats and fill them with new more progressive successors? We can hope so, but we shouldn’t take it for granted. Oil has permeated more than just the beaches of Prince William Sound in this state, and it’s going to take politicians who are willing to risk (gulp) losing for speaking the truth. Any takers?
And one final note. This week the federal government has placed a moratorium on new solar projects on public land until it studies their environmental impact, which is expected to take about two years. Doesn’t it make you feel all warm and fuzzy just to know they care?
Mudflats 
excellent! i sometimes think most of the world is determined to make the earth uninhabitable. foremost is us of america who thinks she is so intelligent when to comes to so many other things..such as telling the rest of the world how they better live or else.