COP 28, part 1

The Oil Wars

– An Unauthorized Review –

In the late 1970’s the fossil fuels companies were informed by their R&D people that burning fossil fuels created greenhouse gases (GHG) on a large scale. As a result, and due to the Greenhouse Effect, GHGs would inject excess energy into our delicate planetary climate system, ripping it out of balance, and re-configuring a benign climate into a deadly climate–endangering the lives of billions.

In response, fossil fuel companies decided to take the climate problem in hand by:

1. Instituting GHG mitigation conferences, looking for ways to scrub CO2 emissions from tailpipes and smokestacks (the GHGT series)
2. Develop further research. Examine questionable feedback loops (like humidity change, cloud albedo, and the oceans) and therefore avoid a (stock) panic.
3. Heavily fund Heritage, Cato, Pew, and others–to heft doubt upon the science of climatology.
4. Develop propaganda for protecting their stranded assets.
5. Begin a concerted media effort to hide the truth about GHGs from the public.
6. Work to retain control over the planet in the event 1-5 fail. And here we are…

Further research looked bad for the oil cartel. The planet would soon kick fossil fuels into the dumpster. So, like any set of megalomaniacs, the oil cartel, having no taste for progress, took steps to retain its place at the top of the spittoon. In 1979, a former CIA guy leaked information that facilitated the takeover of a certain US embassy, leading to a stunning presidential victory in 1980 by George H.W. Bush and his lackey. (Did you know George Bush was an oil guy?)

So begins the Oil War cycle:

• Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988)
• Lebanon-Isreali War (1982-1983)
• The collapse of the USSR and the takeover of Russia by fossil fuel interests (1990-present)
• Gulf War (1990–1991)
• Iraqi no-fly zones conflicts (1992–2003)
• The US war in Afghanistan (2001-2021) Russia needed a warm water port for delivery of their oil products, and failed, so the US/UN took over the lead–with a push from the fossil fuels companies
• Iraq War (2003–2011)
• The deconstruction of Venezuela (2010-present), after its disagreements with OPEC
• Conflict in the Niger Delta (2004–present)
• The Yemen War (2015-present)
• The Ukrainian War (2022-present)
• The ongoing Arab-Israeli wars–because distractions count–and bodies don’t.

During this era of the Oil Wars (1980-present), the US fell from world leader to an oil (banana) republic. The reasons are varied, but three core themes pervade our time. Capital formation, equity prices–and the consolidation of power by a small group of oily people. The results of these misaligned priorities are too many to list–so I include only the greatest failures. (Though I guess the term, failure, might be debatable to some.)

• The dead and the maimed
• The giveaway of US manufacturing prowess
• Infrastructure decay
• Loss of technological and scientific leadership. (Sure–but we make nice cell phones, computer games, and cheap TVs)
• The housing abomination
• The destruction of the middle class and the creation of the homeless caste
• School gun violence
• Current US banking practices, like credit card interest rates; once illegal and considered usury, that have fostered a society that accepts a 25% interest rate on loans as normal
• Intensifying PsyOps against the US population – (trickle down economics, no government is good, faux news, the billionaire is your ally. Science is bad. Lies are truth. Authoritarianism is your friend, Obamacare in its final form, the drug problem, Citizens United Legislation, etc.)
• Consolidation of the global oligarchs
• A US health system that seeks to steal your net worth, when you get ill. After all, insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies are people too–or so says Citizens United
• US human citizen lifespan reduction
• The Russian asset that was installed in the US Executive branch
• The rise of Fascism in the US–under the guise of a  kinder, moral, gentler nation fostered by the now sociopathic Republican Party–bought and paid for by the oil cartel
• Media propaganda placing the blame for the US shit-show on powerless minorities like poor white folk, poor black folk, and poor brown folk.
• Your loss of privacy
• The obliteration of the Rule of Law
• The loss of US national pride–PsyOps at its crest
• The invasion of the Ukrainian by a nuclear capable oil company–does anyone sense a negotiation going on…?
• Framing the climate as an economic issue–did you know NOAA is under the Dept of Commerce?
• CO₂ concentrations in the atmosphere increasing from 339 parts per million in 1980 to 418.56 parts per million in 2022 and the resulting weather assault on humanity
• The erasure of meaningful legislation combating the climate crisis. Meaningful legislation, in this case, means legislation to force the sources and the sinks of GHGs back into balance–Net Zero. Not the nonsense that says reducing the growth of acceleration is a major step. Note that a 7% reduction of GHGs per year does not equal Net Zero anytime soon. The 7% solution–the current proposal from the Chair of COP 28–only reflects the expected reduction in GHGs already baked into the system from renewables, particularly photovoltaics and batteries.

With the reality of anthropogenic forcing of the radiative balance (so-called global warming–thank you OMSI) now too obvious to ignore, the end of fossil fuel dominance is unquestioned; however, the timing is still questionable. Note: The longer it takes to equal out the sources and sinks of GHGs (Net Zero) the more destruction and death we will face.

This is where you come in to the picture. Ignore the bullshit. Get PV with batteries for your home. Buy an EV. That’s how you fuck the oil cartel. Or perhaps you like getting bent over by those jerks.

—When you buy less fossil fuels, the cartel’s debt structure devours the cartel—

There is hope.

• EXXON has announced it will begin selling Lithium in the next 3 years. (That means the US Bureau of Land Management will hopefully stop blocking US Lithium development.)
• ICE drive trains have over 2000 moving parts. EV drive trains have less than 30 moving parts.
• The price of oil has fallen–even with the cartel’s standard tactics of a war and destroying their own oil refineries to boost prices. Ever wonder why Hamas picked a fight they were certain to lose… Could it be the fossil fuels industry works to weaponize religion?
• Solar systems with various types of batteries are becoming the favored tool of utility companies for energy generation. This means good-bye coal.
• Our current President is a US patriot and apparently too old to give a shit about oil company threats. Age has some benefits to our country.

On the other hand, there are challenges. The UAE hosts COP 28 later this month, in Qatar, and the Chairperson of COP 28 is an (Oil) Minister.

WCGW?