Environment, Energy and Economies - A Canadian Primer: GREEN HOUSE GASES (GHG) AND OIL COMPANIES Ray Hamm

The production and use of fossil fuels produces greenhouse gases. GHG are a small number of chemicals which reduce the amount of heat the earth reflects back into space. When too much GHG  gets into the atmosphere, it begins to make a difference. GHG make the earth warmer, like a greenhouse. Carbon, carbon dioxide, is the main factor in all this.

China produces 26% of global GHG. The US is at 15%  Canada produces 2% of the total. Per capita, GHG emissions are quite different. China is #12. Canada and the US are in the top five in per capita GHG emissions.

Coal continues to be “dirtier” than oil and natural gas. Tar sands oil is “dirtier” than regular oil - environmentally and economically more expensive. New technologies are improving some of the environmental impact. Fossil fuel companies are among the top carbon dioxide emitters in the world. Twenty corporations are responsible for more than a third of total global emissions  since 1965. (These lists are based on production, transportation and end use of the fuel; information taken from a project by The Guardian, October 2019.)

Top state-owned emitters are Saudi Aramco, Gazprom (Russia), National Iranian Oil Company, Coal India, Pemex (Mexico). Top investor-owned emitters are Chevron (US), ExxonMobil (US), BP (UK), Royal Dutch Shell, Peabody (US). Shell has begun to shift to new energy. Chevron continues to pump oil for all its worth.

Oil Companies are among the largest entities in the world. Of the top 50 richest companies and corporations ranked by annual revenue in 2016, 6 were oil companies, 26 were countries and the other 18 were other corporations. (Canada was #9, just ahead of  Walmart.)

THE OIL COMPANIES KNEW

Oil companies could see problems coming with continued and increasing production and use fossil fuels. Shell Oil produced A Climate of Concern in 1991, a movie about climate concerns arising from the use of fossil fuels. Other companies also knew about GHG concerns. Neither the companies, nor governments nor the pubic did anything. We loved our convenience and lifestyle. Oil companies loved their profits. Politicians wanted to be re-elected. 

Find contact information for oil companies and write letters of inquiry and concern about the use of fossil fuels.

We should follow the science more than lifestyle and convenience. Our responsibility should impact our choices. Science has a good idea of how much more GHG can be pumped into the atmosphere before climate change goes too far. All new exploration and production should be stopped for the time being. There is more than enough carbon in the existing productions to surpass any emission limits, to surpass the carbon emission targets needed to control climate change.

ACAN seeks to educate and inspire sustainable practices in our community.

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