[Vision2020] Head in the Sand

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of today's (September 21, 2011) Moscow-Pullman Daily News with thanks to D'Wayne Hodgin.

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Head in the sand
When someone says that protesting the oil industry's tar sands project in Alberta essentially "drives companies to close or relocate," I am almost reduced to tears of laughter.
The New York Times in January noted that revenue for Exxon-Mobil (the No. 1 American based oil company) rose $73 billion from $310 billion in 2009 to $383 billion in 2010. That's more than a 23 percent increase in revenue, resulting in $30.5 billion in net profit. Regulations requiring they clean up the Exxon Valdez disaster haven't done much to hurt the company's bottom line.
Remember the BP Gulf oil spill, all those destroyed livelihoods, the ooze drenched bayous of the Gulf Coast? BP reported in November 2010 that the company returned "to profit in the third quarter of 2010 despite an additional pre-tax charge of $7.7 billion in respect of the Gulf of Mexico spill" (BP.com).
Another website posted that, "The cost per day of the oil spill to BP so far has been $16 million ... compared to the $66 million per day the firm made in profit in the first quarter of this year" (Huffington Post, June 2010).
In the long run, oil companies are going to get the oil out, they're going to employ people to do it, and they are going to make a profit.
To argue that they won't is myopic greed ("I don't want to pay more for my gas") justifying itself. I use gas, and I'll be content to pay more for it if I know that oil companies are doing all they can to protect the environment and not harm humans in their march toward more profit.
To believe that they are doing that is sticking your head in the sand. Good thing it's not oil-soaked.
D'Wayne Hodgin
Moscow
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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
 


 
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