Friday, March 7, 2014

My letter to the editor of the NY TIMES
March 7, 2014

Re: Natural Gas as a Diplomatic Tool

Does the Times really believe that America should be “heralding the rise of a new era of energy diplomacy” by beefing up our oil and gas sales to Europe and boasting about our huge potential to export carbon-laden filthy fuel to Russia’s fossil fuel customers as a way to curb Putin? Is this a rational solution to the disturbing events in Ukraine? Pour more carbon into the environment and watch the earth’s ecosystems collapse! Pick your poison—nuclear war or catastrophic climate change!! The follow up editorial to this tone deaf reporting, “Natural Gas as a Diplomatic Tool”, is even more cynical, arguing for speeding up export applications and easing restrictions, knowing it would take years and costs billions of dollars. Advising that “American officials should use natural gas exports as one component of diplomacy” is like selling smallpox laden blankets to the indigenous people of America. It’s a death sentence for our planet and the billions should be spent instead on a Manhattan Project for solar, wind, geothermal and hydro energy which can power the whole planet by 2050 and undercut so many of the geopolitical resource-driven motives for war.

1 comment:

  1. My friend Nelly's poem in response to the chaos in Ukraine:
    Into?
    Neras, 3/6/2014
    The word, democracy,
    (Not a new concept by any means)
    Is in the pipeline, though the
    Conduit is no peace pipe.
    Instead, flatulent gasses
    Of controlling interests
    Stockpile wealth

    Poison the air, destroy the forests,
    Pollute the waters, all neatly labeled
    “Freedom and Progress” wrapped
    In blankets contaminated with
    Modern plagues
    Damp still, with innocent tears

    The simple folk, everyday dreamers,
    Turned GM fodder,
    Waiting,
    Struggling
    In the digestive track
    Of the world
    To recombine the poison gasses
    Into…?

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