Chip Aadlund writes:
CO2 is a problem and a huge one, but it doesn’t compare with chemical pollution. From 1973 to 1999 childhood cancers increased 26 percent. Acute childhood lymphcytic cancer is up 61 percent, brain cancer up 50 percent and bone cancer is up 39 percent. this does not include the problems caused by the chemicals leaching into food and water from containers causing dramatically reduced numbers of male babies along with reproductive issues.
Chip: Thanks very much for this. I’m reminded of some of my previous posts on the externalities associated with fossil fuels and how to quantify them. Ironically, it’s far easier to find numbers for the things that carry nowhere near the level of tragic impact as the things you’re talking about here. For example, we add up the cost of treating a case of lung cancer, but ignore the suffering of the victim and his family.
I believe that in 50 years the energy companies will be subjected to the aggression that the tobacco industry is receiving today in terms of class-action lawsuits and broad societal condemnation. We see it starting already, with pieces like 60 Minutes treatment of coal ash a couple of months ago. (This was the quintissential 60 Minutes hatchet job — but it’s a good sample of the scorn that’s coming down the pike — both fair and unfair.)
I point out to Chevron and its shareholders that the average wrongful death award in the US is in measured in seven figures; that adds up fast, people.
People talk about the high cost of PV, wind, geothermal, etc. But that’s only because most of the true cost of coal and oil is passed along to the family of some anonymous eight-year old kid slowly dying in a hospital bed. Given any even remotely fair-minded treatment of renewables, clean energy is the bargain of the century.
Thanks again for writing.
Reader Jacob Silver writes:
Non-absorbed carbon in the atmosphere is thickening the carbon filter of solar energy. With the loss of hundreds of thousands of acres of forest cut down in Indonesia and Brazil, the result is a gap of 25% non-absorbed carbon. This has already created an atmospheric carbon index of 390 ppm, with an increase of 2 ppm each year.
It’s coincidental that you mention the importance of the rainforests. As it turns out, my wife, who recently exited with the world of horse breeding, will soon be speaking with the good people of Amazon Watch re: a new career as environmental guardian. I truly hope it works out, as advocating for eco-stewardship is a great chance to make the big bucks. (Just kidding.)
I’m reminded of the magical night I had in Los Angeles a few months ago at a screening of the movie Crude (which I heartily recommend), and meeting a few of the filmmakers. It was a great honor to hang out with people who have dedicated their lives to such an honest and beautiful cause. I’m reminded in particular of Amazon Watch’s Atossa Soltani (pictured here) whom I’ve described as “a fierce but kind fireball of passion and energy for the cause of the Ecuadorian people.”
For those who may not be aware of the story, Crude is a documentary that lays out the history of one of the world’s most horrible tragedies – tragic mostly insofar as it did not have to happen. In brief, oil giant Texaco began looking for oil in Ecuador in 1964 and pursued that goal for decades, with dirty, low-cost processes that would have landed anyone associated with them in jail had they been performed in the US. The company knowingly ruined a huge part of the rainforest, resulting in the sickness and death of tens of thousands of innocent indiginous people. Now, Chevron, who acquired Texaco in 2001, has focused its throng of lawyers on the task of evading responsibility for the crimes.
Those wishing to learn more can do so at Amazon Watch. It would certainly be a happy day for us at the Shields family to have one of on the staff of such a fabulous team of people.
I was fortunate enough to have been invited to the Los Angeles premier screening of the movie “Crude” by filmmaker Joe Berlinger (pictured at left with Miss California) last night in Hollywood. It was a great honor being part of a cause so honest, and to be given the opportunity to meet people like Amazon Watch’s Atossa Soltani (below) – a fierce but kind fireball of passion and energy for the cause of the Ecuadorian people.
For those who may not know the story, Crude is a documentary – quite fair-minded in comparison to most – covering the history of one of the world’s most terrible tragedies – tragic mostly insofar as it did not have to happen. In brief, Texaco began its exploration for oil in Ecuador in 1964 and pursued that effort for decades, with processes so impure that they would have landed anyone associated with them in jail had they been performed in the US. The company knowingly ravaged the rainforest, and caused the sickness and death of tens of thousands innocent people living in the area. Now, Chevron, who acquired Texaco in 2001, is working hard to evade responsibility for the crimes of the company it owns. Those wishing to learn more can do so at Amazon Watch.
In any case, this film is truly a story of power, mystery, beauty, and evil – all presented in a straightforward manner that respects the intelligence of its audience.
I won’t give away the ending – in fact, I couldn’t even if I wanted to. There is no reason to believe that this litigation will ever end, as Chevron continues to astound the world, finding inventive new ways to postpone justice and fairness. If you think I’m exaggerating, I urge you to consider the case of the Exxon Valdez. No one at ExxonMobil disputes sole resonsibility for the disaster, yet they were successful in delaying paying off the damages until just this year — more than 20 years after the incident (and at the last minute prevailed upon a judge to reduce those damages by 80%). To me, it’s hard to guess when we could reach a conclusion in the case of Chevron.
But speaking of conclusions, one that I personally find obvious is that white people have treated people of color very badly all around the globe for many hundreds of years. This fine film is a reminder that there is precious little evidence that this pathology has slowed – or that it ever will.
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