To Comfort The Afflicted
And Afflict The Comfortable

To Comfort The Afflicted And Afflict The Comfortable

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Observercast

Profits Trump Science

on

BY NATHANIEL BATCHELDER

Batch3Corporations and nations the world around are making adjustments to the science predicting dire consequences if CO2 emissions are not reduced. On the other side, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe’s 2012 book The Greatest Hoax claims that the consensus of world scientists on CO2 emissions is just wrong. Republicans in Congress speak and vote in apparent agreement.

In January, when Republican majorities take over both houses of Congress, there will no doubt be bills introduced to curtail or eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency. Republicans clearly look forward to voting for the pipeline across America that will accelerate the mining of Canada’s toxic tar sands.

These policies will leave undisturbed the fossil fuel industries that profit from the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas. At the crossroads where world scientists warn that global warming does threaten life as we know it, corporate influence may prove more influential than environmental wisdom.

Nathaniel Batchelder, a frequent contributor to The Oklahoma Observer, is director of the Peace House in Oklahoma City, peacehouseok.org.

Arnold Hamilton
Arnold Hamilton
Arnold Hamilton became editor of The Observer in September 2006. Previously, he served nearly two decades as the Dallas Morning News’ Oklahoma Bureau chief. He also covered government and politics for the San Jose Mercury News, the Dallas Times Herald, the Tulsa Tribune and the Oklahoma Journal.
Mark Krawczyk
Mark Krawczyk
March 9, 2023
Exceptional reporting about goings on in my home state as well as informative opinion pieces that makes people think about issues of the day...........get a SUBSCRIPTION FOLKS!!!!!!!
Brette Pruitt
Brette Pruitt
September 5, 2022
The Observer carries on the "give 'em hell" tradition of its founder, the late Frosty Troy. I read it from cover to cover. A progressive wouldn't be able to live in a red state without it.