THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume V, Issue # 3, January 3, 2003
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
"BEYOND PETROLEUM," BEYOND THE TRUTH
By Alan Caruba
I was watching a recent "Meet the Press" and was struck by two commercials, one by British Petroleum (BP) and one by ExxonMobil. Both strove to convey a message of environmental responsibility, but the BP commercial failed the truth test on several counts.
The BP company motto these days is "Beyond petroleum" and the tag line of its com- mercial was "It's a start", suggesting that BP is working toward a future where it will focus on energy sources other than petroleum. It spends an estimated $100 million a year to convey this message and there is very little truth in it.
By contrast, ExxonMobil's commercial was more candid, with one of its engineers saying that its goal was to continue to provide petroleum, but with a "lower environmental im- pact." This is engineer-talk for extracting the lifeblood of all modern societies in ways that does not adversely affect the land or seas from which oil is pumped. ExxonMobil is famous for not rolling over for the rabid environmentalists who demand the end of all uses of petroleum; irrationally ignoring our dependence on oil and the products made from it.
No one on earth today can even imagine life without the many by-products of oil. One starts with transportation. There is the family car, the trucks that deliver everything we require to live, the planes that take us in mere hours to our business meetings and vaca- tions. Then there are the endless uses of plastic that have transformed our lives for the better. There are drugs, cosmetics, and clothing, to name but a few.
So why is BP trying so hard to convince us that they are focusing a company that will be involved in the provision of energy "Beyond petroleum"? This has to be among the most audacious "spins" ever applied to the truth. Instead of telling us what they are doing to provide oil to the world, BP's commercials disingenuously talk of "Solar, natural gas, hydrogen, wind. And oh yes, oil. It's a start."
The average annual $33 million solar investment by BP equals just 0.4 percent of its $8.5 billion 2001 petroleum expenditure. It represents 0.02 percent of its current net worth. It is about a third of what it spends annually to convince you that it is "Beyond petroleum."
BP is investing in a massive disinformation program, much as a magician gets you look- ing at his left hand while his right hand is reaching for the pigeon that suddenly appears amidst the silks he is flourishing.
Right now, upwards of l6 billion barrels of untapped reserves of oil are waiting in Alas- ka's Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR). That's about thirty year's worth of oil we will not need to import from Saudi Arabia or Iraq. Refined into gasoline, it could fuel every one of California's cars and trucks on the road for the next fifty years. The natural gas potential is estimated to be four trillion cubic feet, enough to fuel all of California's electrical generating plants, homes, schools, hospitals and businesses for several decades.
And that's just ANWR. It doesn't include the vast, untapped oil reserves in the Gulf of Mexico. We are not running out of oil. We are being kept from accessing it for our na- tional needs. This is the central goal of the many environmental organizations that con- tinue to work against the interests of America. So, why is BP talking about solar energy and other expensive and essentially useless alternatives such as wind?
Watch the BP magician. What he does not want you to see is the fact the BP is the big- gest operator on the current North Slope of Alaska, with huge lease holdings, and its eyes on ANWR. This huge reserve is about the size of Indiana and its oil would be drawn from an area totaling less than 2,000 acres, a tiny fraction. Today ANWR is inhabited by nothing more than a few native Inuit tribes, lots of caribou, and other wildlife.
This is the same BP that was fined $500,000 in 2000 by a US District Court for failing to report the illegal disposal of hazardous waste on Alaska's North Slope. It was further ordered to pay $15 million over five years to "establish a nationwide environmental management system designed to prevent future violations." It is the same BP that, in 2001, was assessed a $10 million penalty and agreed to spend $500 million to modernize its pollution-control equipment as the result of having violated federal clean-air laws at eight US refineries.
Watch the BP magician who has been working hard to get the Kyoto Protocol on global climate change ratified, despite the fact that the U.S. Senate is on record opposing it and the Bush administration's comparable decision to refuse US participation. This is a Pro- tocol based in the Big Lie that the world faces "global warming." It is a Protocol that can fatten BP's coffers because of the company's substantial stake in natural gas, touted as a substitute for coal and oil. All of a sudden, BP's devotion to the "environment" is re- vealed as a devotion to profit at the expense of our nation's and the world's dependence on oil. The potential for fraud involved in the trading of "credits" under the Protocol is beyond comprehension.
By contrast, ExxonMobil, cast by environmentalists as a greedy oil giant for its commit- ment to providing energy to America and the world, has reduced its socalled greenhouse emissions by more than 35 percent over the past quarter century. It has achieved similar improvements in energy efficiency in its refineries and chemical plants during the same time period. Why? It's the right thing to do and yields benefits for the company's bottom line. ExxonMobil has also joined other energy giants in a ten-year, $225-million-a-year research project by Stanford University to evaluate alternative energy technologies to determine which hold the greatest promise for future needs.
While BP spends millions to convince you and others watching their commercials that they are committed to protecting the environment, the company is "greenwashing" the truth. They are in league with radical environmental groups that work to undermine their competitors.
I suggest you hit the "mute" button the next time BP runs one of its commercials.
More on Policy Issues Relating to
Energy, Environment, & Natural Resources
Alan Caruba is a veteran business and science writer, a Public Relations Counselor, Communications Director of the American Policy Center, and Founder of the National Anxiety Center, a clearinghouse for information about media-driven scare campaigns. Caruba writes a weekly column, "Warning Signs," posted on the Internet website of the National Anxiety Center (www.anxietycenter.com). He is the author of A POCKET GUIDE TO MILITANT ISLAM and THE UNITED NATIONS VS. THE UNITED STATES, both available from the National Anxiety Center, 9 Brookside Road, Maple- wood, New Jersey, 07040.
Copyright Alan Caruba
Reprinted with Permission of Alan Caruba
Reprinted from ACaruba@AOL.Com
January 5, 2003
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Conservative & Free-Market Analysis of Government, Politics & Public Policy, Covering Political, Legal, Constitutional, Economic,
Cultural, Military, International, Strategic, & Geopolitical Issues
Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity