“The struggle to save the global environment is in one way much more difficult than the struggle to vanquish Hitler, for this time the war is with ourselves. We are the enemy, just as we have only ourselves as allies.” – former Vice President Al Gore
We now have a divided government, with the GOP controlling the House. The question remains whether that will ultimately lead to more or less progress in addressing our environmental crisis, which should concern all of us.
To say that the climate change issue is complex is an understatement. However, scientists agree that we humans are ruining the environment that we inhabit (https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-i/). Per the IPCC, the most respected international environmental science group, “frequency of concurrent heatwaves and droughts on the global scale (high confidence), fire weather in some regions of all inhabited continents (medium confidence), and compound flooding in some locations (medium confidence)” are due to humankind.
Government-gathered statistics on the immediate cost of climate change in just the United States alone are startling (https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/summary-stats). From 1980 to the current year, there have already been 338 natural disasters in the US. The frequency of these events is increasing dramatically, with an average of three events per year in the 80s versus an average of 19 events per year over the 2019-2021 period. There are 15,689 deaths of our residents directly attributed to these events. And they have cost an astronomical $2.3 trillion, most of it from storms and cyclones.
Scientists have many recommendations for turning things around before it is too late. The challenge is how to get enough public support to do something both short and longer term to reverse the situation. And that high mountain is proving increasingly difficult to climb. The national mid-term elections, won convincingly by the GOP due to inflationary concerns, are a good example of why.
In politics, there is a wide divergence between what is right according to the facts, including cost/benefit analysis, and what is politically effective in winning elections. The GOP seized upon this self-evident fact to portray Biden’s meager environmental initiatives as causing gas price increases. GOP leaders are saying, inaccurately but effectively, that “permitting delays represent one example of the Administration’s de facto ban on new drilling” and “(Biden) stopped new oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters.” (https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/gas-prices-new-record-gop-senators-blame-biden).
The GOP position has been disproven by numerous fact checkers. Oil is an international commodity, with only 20% consumed by the US. No one nation can determine price, although the extended OPEC cartel certainly can and has negatively influenced it, raising prices for their own benefit. Russia, our avowed enemy, and the Saudis, obviously no true ally of the US, spearheaded this effort—hurting consumers but significantly increasing their own profits.
Despite what the GOP says, under Biden US oil production has not gone down. In fact, the latest figures show that we are producing 12 million barrels per day, the same as the US did pre-pandemic (https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-monthly-oil-output-climbs-pre-pandemic-highs-2022-10-31/).
In any case, domestic production is controlled by private enterprise. American oil companies are restricting production to maximize their profitability. Oil company CEOs and Boards are unconcerned with the negative impact on consumer pocketbooks (or the environment). They want to get their bonuses and stock options based on profitability of their company.
Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, TotalEnergies, and BP are the five largest producers of US oil. Per Forbes, these large oil companies are raking in record profits: “2022 annualized $45.2 billion/year of the super-major’s average, which is more than double the $20 billion/year from 2003 to 2015” (https://www.forbes.com/sites/ianpalmer/2022/11/04/oil-and-gas-profits-very-high-once-again–what-this-feels-like-to-energy-consumers/?sh=599f0676f36c).
Over the next two years, I expect the GOP to continue to blame the Democrats for high gas prices. The unstated implication is that liberals are causing inflation by putting the environment before taxpayer pocketbooks. Apparently, the American public believes that lie because the House is now controlled by the GOP.
If Republicans continue to be successful in winning elections by deceiving the public regarding environmental change (including oil), I see little chance that Democrats will take the initiative to put forth workable solutions to lessen climate change. And, as with the immigration situation, I see no chance that a Trump-dominated GOP has any interest in coming up with a bipartisan solution to the environmental crisis that is facing our children and grandchildren. Let’s all hope that my belief is incorrect.
Jack Bernard is the former Director of Health Planning for Georgia. He has served 4 terms on two Georgia Boards of Health.
