Big Energy and Campaign Finance Reform
The interviews that I am conducting that will eventually form the chapters of my upcoming book on renewables are, by design, on a variety of different topics. Yet I can’t help noticing that powerful common threads are emerging from the words of a range of different types of professionals speaking on topics that, on the surface, have virtually nothing to do with one another.
Perhaps the most obvious example of this lies in the politics behind Big Energy. Here are a few points of consensus:
- A “cozy” relationship exists between government regulators and those they ostensibly regulate.
- This relationship is spawned from the fact that regulators often come from — and later return to — those industries.
- Political campaigns are financed largely from contributions from the corporate giants whose interests the legislators are asked to regulate, presenting huge and obvious conflicts of interest.
All of this may sound like “old news” — so obvious that it hardly bears mentioning. Yet here is a variation on this theme — perhaps more intersting — that actually comes up in our my conversations even more often that this “the fox is guarding the henhouse” discussion above:
The political cycle is two years. Advocating an idea that does not produce demonstrable results in that time period is political suicide. Such support has no upside, and will be used by the supporter’s opponents as evidence of stupidity or corruption. Yet investment in renewable energy — in all its many forms — is long-term (certainly more than two years) by nature. Throwing money quickly and carelessly at the energy problem without thinking it through is guaranteed to produce failure — including gross inefficiencies, and, ironically, more ecological damage.
And guess who wins when renewable energy projects misfire? That’s right, it’s the status quo boys, heartlessly pumping their oil, greedily mining their coal, and recklessly splitting their atoms.
Again, I point to our political machine as the true culprit underlying the horrible environmental effects that the energy industry is wreaking on us. In particular, if we do not see intense grass roots efforts demanding a total reform of campaign finance law, it appears that we are doomed to sit idle while the last few billion barrels of oil are sucked from our earth and its exhaust fumes dumped into our skies.
I’d love to hear readers’ comments here.
I couldn’t agree more. Most of the money that was spent on energy research in the past eight years has been directed at keeping alive existing businesses such as coal and oil. The nuclear and “clean coal” billions were a very poor investment while promising geothermal research funding was actually reduced to zero a couple of years ago.
My free book “Fuel Free!: Living Well Without Fossil Fuels” discusses this problem in depth. See http://www.clrlight.org/fuel.htm for more info.
Sorry to be playing phone tag with you, Tom. I’m looking forward to speaking with you about this.
Until we have campaign finance reform and lobby reform we will continue to get more of the same from our so called representatives in congress. Our democratic system has been hijacked by greedy corporations with no allegiance to citizens, or country, but only to the bottom line.
We have to get the money out of politics. All campaigns should be financed with public money and no politician should be allowed to lobby goverment for at least 5 years after leaving office.
I seem to remember Obama promising he wouldn’t use private funding because McCain said he wouldn’t if Obama wouldn;t. Later in his campaign he broke that promise like he’s done on just about every other one he made prior to getting into office. Remember getting out of Iraq in 30 days, not committing american troops to any more foreign wars (Afganistan), etc. etc. etc. It all starts from the top and you have to cut off the head of the snake to begin with.
Yes, this is sad, to put it mildly. Even my 14 year-old daughter, the ultimate Obama fan, says she’s disappointed that some of these campaign promises didn’t materialize. It’s hard when the painful realities of the political world start to come through.
Someone wrote to me, “If the US government does not take care of the people, the people will take care of the government.”
I said:
We get the government we deserve.
As long as we continue to be the Consumer of the world, we will have to sally forth and acquire territories and resources.
If you want to get the government’s attention, you have to stop buying stuff.
Yes, it is as simple as that. We buy stuff; they go get it for us.
Obama didn’t learn that until he got into office. There is nothing he can do except continue the efforts of the government on our behalf. As long as the dollars add up to say we are demanding products, then there is no alternative action to choose.
When the dollars add up saying we need our troops to stay home and grow food for their families without petroleum, then the troops will come home.
As long as the dominant species is the automobile, we will kill our sons and daughters to get oil.
P.S. The “people” will not “take care of” the government. The people are somnambulant “consumers” who couldn’t care less who lives or dies as long as there are Cheez Doodles on the shelves at WalMart and gas to go get them–cash or credit or food stamps make no difference to them.
Everyone needs to go to the National Geographic site and listen to how much energy it takes to get the sludge after the free flowing crude. This lets you know how the government feels about global warming.
Jule: Thanks for this. Sounds very interesting. Could you please post a link to the exact article to which you’re referring? I can’t find it easily, and other readers may be having the same problem. Thanks again.
In 1972 I wrote Man, Energy and the Environment as an employee of the Southern California Edison Company. It was directed at high school audiences and intended as a talk piece to spur the idea of a rational energy policy. Energy strategies require at least a 50 year perspective. The planning, approval, and construction take at least 20 years and generating stations endure another 30 years. Our “democratic”/ special interests governance/regulatory system is such a hodge podge of nonsense and dummying down that 50 year planning appears be light years distance from our current political system’s capability. However, forces of economics will prevail eventually. Petroleum prices and uranium availability will drive industrial nations toward alternative options , not out of common sense and intelligent debate, but rather by virtue of necessity. Clumsy but we will survive.
FairTax.com Take this and double the rate.
I believe the root problem is allowing corporations all the privileges personhood with out all the responsibilities. Originally corporations were chartered to serve the public good and their charter (right to exist) could be revoked if they failed to do so. Up to the recent near meltdown of our financial system government termination of corporations was nearly unheard of and corporate meddling in our political system was rampant. Corporations should be allowed to give expert testimony in congressional hearings but should not be allowed any other form of influence in congress or elections!
It’s interesting that you mention this, and I agree with you entirely. It’s the very subject of a post that I wrote some time ago about a very compelling episode of Bill Moyers’ Journal: http://www.2greenenergy.com/bill-moyers-and-renewable-energy/763/.
I agree, money making has no country or love for the people….
But, soon everyone will believe they may not be safe from the
anger of growing storms, the dry up of fertile land while
the deserts get larger, and rising sea levels. The USA is blind
to the World, successful at selling fuel, growing corn and trading,
not realizing how frail the weather or biology. Soon, warming
will create more spooky changes…..Obama knows these things
will happen, and he, like me, are afraid for our grandkids.
My solution, it to create a product that is market driven that will naturally turn consumers into conservationists without them even needing to care about it. That’s what the Tango could do if it were capitalized. So simple!
Unfortunately, the economy will likely have to get a lot worse before there will be a rebellion leading to any meaningful reform of the current political system.
It would be good to know whether lengthening the political cycle to 4 years would make things better or worse with regard to corporate ownership of the government. It might be that corporations would have to spend less money to maintain the same amount or even more control. Perhaps there is a political scientist out there that has already looked at this.
Note to Tom Blakeslee: Thanks for the link to your site. Natural Gas produced by any means, fossil or not is still a global warming fuel unless the carbon dioxide can be captured before it gets into the atmosphere. Then the CO2 that is captured must be utilized such as used in the production of concrete (Calera Corp). Somehow the coal industry’s idea of storing CO2 underground or the oil industry’s idea to use it to pump out more oil just doesn’t give me a warm fuzzy feeling that it won’t someday be released to the atmosphere. Do you have a solution to offer?
Craig, I am 62 & have lived History, been there, done that, heard this, & saw that, bottom line is “one world gov’t” ! Believe this then you can get on with the problems of our lives!! Alex Jones.com says it best, we the people, have plenty to fear, if you accept the “magic bullet theory” then all the Green Energy peoples of the world can NOT help you! This is FACT ! To halt “oil” is bypassing ALL the big names of WEALTH & this is NOT going to happen till all stocks & investments have been diverted or traded to “GREEN ENERGY” this is a very slow process, thus, the hybrid vehicle !got the picture yet ? look up the Facts, check out all of the info. YOU decide, Germanys concentration camps are minute compared to what is going to happen ! I have read the final chapter & WE, the “Green” people WIN, but with a LOT of suffering !! GOD bless us all ! DC
You choose to pollute. I haven’t owned a car in years. My wife still drives. And sometimes I have to drive. But I go to great lengths to not drive, illuminate, heat or cool my home. I built a four wheel bicycle and sell my art on the street to get closer to my zero carbon footprint goal. Government is a tool. People get involved politically only when they need something. The best way to make green progress is to simplify your life and give people an example. We do need people to be politically active on the green front. I sign online petitions and make those calls to my representatives. We have to want it more than them. Maybe we aren’t paying people enough to represent us.
The system will never allow campaign finance reform or term limits. However there is a way — individual contributions made to move election results. The special interests already know this — they concentrate their dollars where they have the most leverage — the least populous and poorest states. Act Blue raised $100 million in the last election cycle. Money of this magnitude which is even threatened to focus in these areas will change senate votes on healthcare and cap & trade overnight.
Time is running out for our noble democratic experiment. The growing multitudes disenfranchised due to loss of jobs, healthcare and homes is paving the way for the election of a demagogue. Additional shocks such as the destruction of the dollar along with the cut off of imported oil will bring the end ever faster.
Patriots will contribute to the campaigns of candidates who will grapple with increased healthcare coverage and reduced cost as well as energy sustainability.
After going back to school in my 40’s and graduating 3rd in my class, I was sought out by Noble Drilling and entered their “fast track” program. After (5) years they cut me loose (their quaint term is “run off the rig”). What I did learn in that time is there is no end to the arrogance and ignorance of the Mighty Oil Companies. I have since seen the light and have aligned myself with anyone promoting any alternatives to oil. I believe that electric vehicles with change the politcal, enviormental, business of the world. Just think of the resourses that can be saved when our military no longer has to be the mercenary forces of the oil companies.
The thesis seems sound. Personally, the ray of hope that buoys me is that of other nations, whether it be EU, pacific rim or so-called developing / emerging economies. I do not believe for one second that the USA will in any way lead or even play catch-up in the near term. Statistically, we seem to be a very selfish and short sighted people, and the trend line is in the wrong direction. I also do not believe in populist uprisings creating fundamental change. We are watching the latest version of that experiment at present, and the trend line there is nothing short of dismal. My last personal nail in the coffin starts with a definition – truly making a difference means changing the outcome. I drive electrically, my house is off grid, I recycle prodigiously, I try to live a simple life… yadda, yadda. By my definition, I am making absolutely no difference. Why? Anyone that has done a bit of homework knows this is a non-linear problem requiring solutions that redefine the baseline of our modern industrialized societies. 17% or 20% or even 40% carbon reductions by 2020, the kind of numbers that even the most serious of our politicos bandy about, do not translate into new outcomes. I would opine that most of us do this anyway because we know that fundamental change CAN occur if we as individuals choose to change. We bypass the populist uprising and go straight to the endgame through personal choice. An incredible long shot, but then we are a betting species.
So, back where I started, I am hoping that there are more enlightened peoples elsewhere in this globe that will ultimately shame us into taking significant actions, AND that simultaneously with that, we have been given more time to change than all the evidence currently suggests.
Oil, coal, natural gas, nuclear power are all a good thing. Imagine what life would be like without such energy forms! If you drive a car, fly in planes, buy any product from stores then you SUPPORT such energy. If you want to live in the dark ages then buy a lot of land and try to live off of it….but have fun trying not to burn wood to cook food or stay warm…maybe you can find a solar oven and solar heater that will last. Also need to figure out how to earn a living to pay the tax bill on the land!
Like we eat the planet’s vegetation and animals, it is OK to consume the sources of energy in it/on it…but we simply need to assure we do not pollute the planet to the point of harm…which some countries are doing. The “true” truth about global warming is coming out now….gradually. Yes, we need to find better ways to conserve and promote it through capitalistic voluntary ways….not forced government mandates. We should continue to invest and innovate around alternative technologies that are renewable…wind…solar…hydrogen…recyclable nuclear, fusion, bio-fuels, etc. Until “economic” solutions are invented…mankind will always following the current most economical solution. Back in the 70’s environmentalists said we would run out of oil by the year 2000….in 2000 there was not shortage and every year we find more and more. We have no clue how much there is or how long it will last. This is a real risk we must manage.
Clearly we need to get out there and invent and innovate in energy generation. As long as we keep the 2 party system…where D’s are socialists and R’s are mild solcialists we will likely fail to achieve much innovation that can be harvested by societies for alternative energy. Most are corrupt and mostly concerned about power and control. As long as we have a mind set of force and control to achieve what “environmentalists” believe is their “ideal” world state, then we will only limit the best solutions that will maximize prosperity and minimize harm to the planet and life.
Environmentalists should try to form their own city and live the ideal and show the rest of the world how great it is. Then if it is…the rest will follow. If it isn’t then at least you will live your ideals. One way does not fit all. We need multiple paths to move forward and respect FREE country our founding fathers created….no KINGS allowed please.