Big Oil, Corruption, Global Problems

Michael Bishop forwarded me this piece by Juan Cole that places the blame firmly where it belongs: on big oil, captured legislatures, politicians working against the people's best interests. This isn't to say that each individual person shouldn't proactively reduce their carbon footprint and be as active as possible on environmental and energy issues. It just points out that it shouldn't be this bad, and corporations have way too much power--and that it's simplistic to self-flagellate without considering the whole picture.Maybe this isn't news to anyone, but its important to remember, especially in the aftermath of eight years of Bush basically loosening often already loose regulations and in general bending over backwards for big oil and other corporations that cannot be trusted to serve the public good.Then you have to factor in that this is a world-wide problem--case in point this revealing piece on oil spills in Nigeria, and how overlooked that problem has been.Short of some kind of international oversight, I don't see how this problem gets solved. These companies need to be brought to heel. Basically, we're destroying our planet, and this is just one of the ways we're doing it. Whether you're left wing, moderate, or right wing, I hope everyone could agree that we need a combination of governmental, corporate, and personal responsibility to make any progress at all. How long can you keep fouling your nest before you die?