LET’S
FINALLY, ONCE AND FOR ALL, KILL OFF THE FUCKING DINOSAURS
Republicans
this morning on the news are bemoaning the low price of oil. They are throwing around their usual mantra
about low oil prices costing jobs. They
fail to mention that in the last six years they have done nothing to increase
jobs: spending their time voting to close and defund Planned Parenthood Clinics
and voting sixty times to kill health care.
There are
three classes in this country: the mega-wealthy, the well to do that are
invested in the stock market, and the people like myself that live from pay day
to pay day. For older people and working people at the
bottom tier, the lower oil prices are wonderful – a big boon facing a winter
with heating oil prices declining. But,
people invested in oil are taking a hit.
Perhaps these lower prices may spur
investment in renewable energy production.
The Republicans, of course, will
cry about the loss of jobs, but their real concern in for the companies and
wealthy investors who depend on oil for their profits.
Anyone who
is paying attention must see, that because of environmental issues, we must
move away from fossil fuel dependency.
Also as a national security measure we find that Russia and the middle
east all depend on oil and oil prices for their economic survival – so there is
no down side in seeing our adversaries on economic hard times, as opposed to
being involved in military confrontations with them.
As far as
the loss of jobs go in the oil and gas industry, we should begin a transition
allowing people to train for employment in other fields as we transfer to clean
energy. It is fairly well recognized
that coal production is in its last throws and that at some point coal miners
must retrain for other employment. The
same recognition must eventually be accepted for people working in the oil and
gas industry.
We have all
been sold the snake oil tonic that natural gas is the answer because it is less
harmful to the environment than oil.
Now we have the massive natural gas leak in California. We must at some point recognize that all
fossil fuels are past their sell by date and need to be retired for clean
renewable energy sources.
With
unlimited power available in solar, wind, water and tidal production, we are
hanging on to fossil fuel simply because there are huge profits to be made by existing
companies and the mega-wealthy as long as we keep the status-quo.
