We see news reporting on the big winter storm hitting New England right now (and storms like it that have frozen much of the country this winter), and the announcer says: “Oil companies take a lot of heat for climate change, but when you lose power due to snow and ice knocking down power lines, guess what oil companies can make happen: generators. They run on gasoline, and we make that. And when you lose power, in whatever situation, you can always get it back using a gasoline-powered generator.” As the announcer is speaking, we see video of what he’s talking about, ending with people shivering in a house, and then we see the father outside filling up the generator and starting it up, and the power coming back on in the house, relieving everyone. Then the announcer says the slogan: “Energy, to make your life better: It’s what we do here at ExxonMobil.”
(Fossil fuels may not be popular with some people, but we need energy, and renewables are not there yet. That’s just a fact. So until we have an emissions-free system that works, we’re kind of stuck with what works now. I just wish the oil companies would create the next generation of energy technology, rather than lobbying for the status quo.)
