Dear Daily Disaster Diary, Nov.19 2024

 Hope is the only universal liar who never loses his reputation for veracity.

- Robert Green Ingersoll

Oil and gas ‘a gift of God’, says COP29 host  BBC News

The Oil Industry’s Obsession With Profits is an Unpriced Disaster We’re All Paying For

Four years ago, when oil and gas companies stood on the precipice of financial ruin, there was a glimmer of hope that these fossil fuel behemoths might pivot toward a cleaner, more sustainable future. 

The pandemic had slashed demand for oil, prices were in free fall, and the industry’s losses totaled over $100 billion. For a brief moment, it seemed renewable energy wasn’t just the moral choice—it was the logical business one.

Fast forward to today, and that hope feels like a cruel joke. Instead of leading the charge into a greener future, companies like Exxon Mobil doubled down on their traditional playbook: extracting resources, dodging accountability, and prioritizing shareholder returns over planetary health. 

Meanwhile, firms like BP and Shell, which dared to invest in wind, solar, and EV infrastructure, have seen their market performance falter. Wall Street has made its preferences clear: profits now, consequences later.

This short-sighted fixation on quarterly earnings is not just infuriating—it’s deadly. 

The math is as brutal as it is clear. The total cost of climate-related disasters since 2000 has exceeded $4 trillion. That’s $4 trillion worth of destroyed homes, ruined livelihoods, and irreparable damage to ecosystems. 

And yet, this is labeled an “externality,” as if the oil companies’ actions exist in some vacuum where the rest of us aren’t gasping for air and watching our cities sink beneath rising seas.

What makes this all the more grotesque is the complicity of policymakers. The election of Donald Trump turbocharged the oil industry’s unchecked greed, with deregulation and climate denial serving as a green light for environmental destruction. 

Now, with climate skeptics like Secretary Wright at the helm, the U.S. energy agenda reads like an oil executive’s wish list: fewer regulations, lower taxes, and a carte blanche to extract every last drop of profit from the earth.

Let’s be clear: the oil industry’s resistance to transitioning isn’t about a lack of expertise in renewables, as Exxon’s Darren Woods claims. It’s about refusing to prioritize the future over the present. 

Engineers know ignoring math ends badly, and climate math doesn’t lie. Every ton of CO₂ emitted today compounds tomorrow’s disasters. 

Every delayed investment in green energy is a step closer to a planet that’s unlivable for future generations.

So, what do we do? Some argue that individuals need to take action: buy EVs, install heat pumps, and cut down on flying. That’s fine if you have the privilege of choice. 

But the scale of the problem demands systemic change. Governments need to price carbon to reflect its true cost. Regulations must force polluters to pay for the damage they inflict, just like any other responsible business. 

We teach kids about taxes and inflation—why not climate economics? If voters understood these concepts, maybe they wouldn’t wait for their homes to burn or flood before demanding action.

But none of this will happen without a fight. Corporations and their enablers are banking on apathy, betting that by the time the consequences are undeniable, it will be too late to act. 

Well, it’s not too late yet. We have to fight for clean air and water, for renewable energy, and for accountability. 

It’s not a given—it’s a battle.

The oil industry values a dollar today more than the planet’s future. Do you?

Sincerely,

Adaptation-Guide