Climate Conspiracy – the American Archons Rise Again

The world press has recently been all a-twitter over the exploits of one the most high-profile American Archons… Elon Musk (he actually has triple citizenship, in Canada and South Africa, as well as in the United States). And why not? Buying twitter is big news, worldwide. His control of Twitter, in light of his high-schoolish conservative views and propensity for trolling, is disconcerting for a large portion of world populations.

With that said, he has done some pretty cool stuff in his life. So his profile as American Archon is checkered. In all fairness, the same can probably be said for most all American Archons… especially those in tech. But this is no excuse for the rise in autocratic corporatocracy that currently grips the planet. As regular readers of this blog know, corporations have had free reign in the United States of Amerika ever since the Citizens United decision by the (not so) Supreme Court.

A more troubling and often overlooked development on the American Archon front, is the persistent and mostly successful suppression campaign, waged by said Archons… against climate science. This concerted effort is arguably a civilizational-ending campaign. 

Ever since the Koch brothers began using their vast fortunes to fight government regulation (circa 1974), the Environmental Protection Agency has been under attack. You remember the Koch brothers? Their dad, Fred Koch… was a Big Oil man and founding member of the John Birch Society. Now, surviving brother Charles Koch may be on the cusp of one of the biggest wins in a generation: trimming the powers of the U.S. presidency and gutting the EPA’s ability to fight climate change. 

In June of this year, the Supreme Court will deliver a potentially monumental decision in a case that could change the way the U.S. government works… and potentially cripple the EPA’s ability to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

In a nutshell, the decision could restrict the power of executive branch agencies (the EPA and possibly others) from making significant rules that go much beyond the specific powers laid out by Congress. Such a ruling would likely curtail not just the EPA’s ability to combat climate change, but the government’s ability to protect the public from other threats… everything from financial fraud to public health.

It is clear to all by now, that the corporatocracy agenda includes dismantling the government’s oversight responsibilities. All you cheering libertarians who want a hollowed government should go drink the water in Flint, Michigan. Don’t get me wrong… I would love to see an across-the-board 15% cut in military spending as much as the next guy.

It’s the targeted attack on oversight that the corporatocracy is salivating over… the rest is just smoke and mirrors.

Recently, Eve Darian-Smith wrote an article on our deteriorating climate and rising authoritarianism. She opens the piece by stating: “Around the world, many countries are becoming less democratic. This backsliding on democracy and “creeping authoritarianism,” as the U.S. State Department puts it, is often supported by the same industries that are escalating climate change.”

Can’t you just guess which industries?

In her new book, “Global Burning: Rising Antidemocracy and the Climate Crisis,” Darian-Smith lays  out connections between these industries and the politicians who are both stalling action on climate change and diminishing democracy.

She goes on to say… “Today, it’s easy to find political leaders… on both the political right and left… working on behalf of corporations in energy, finance, agribusiness, technology, military and pharmaceutical sectors, and not always (rarely in fact) in the public interest. These multinational companies help fund their (corrupt politicians) political careers and election campaigns to keep them in office.”

“At the same time that the energy sector has sought to influence policies on climate change, it has also worked to undermine the public’s understanding of climate science. For instance, records show ExxonMobil participated in a widespread climate-science denial campaign for years, spending more than US$30 million on lobbyists, think tanks and researchers to promote climate-science skepticism. These efforts continue today. A 2019 report found the five largest oil companies had spent over $1 billion on misleading climate-related lobbying and branding campaigns over the previous three years.”

In her article, Darian-Smith goes on to name-names and spell out the incredible extent of corruption and chicanery in todays political-economic world. It worth the read, so follow the above link…

Here in the good ole U S of A… voter suppression is one of the ploys used to cripple climate action. In the great State of Texas… voter suppression helps keep climate action off the table. A majority of Texans want politicians to address the climate crisis, but broadscale voter suppression means leaders are less responsive to voters’ concerns. Check out the above link for more on the Texas shenanigans.

However… all is not doom and gloom on the climate front. It has been reported that Putin’s War on Ukraine might actually hasten the demise of big oil. Kingsmill Bond suggests that… “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine means that global demand for fossil fuels has very likely peaked for good. World policymakers have been working toward a tipping point away from fossil fuels, for years. And now, the twin forces of national security and energy economics are driving permanent system change away from fossil fuels quicker than ever.”

However… the transition could prove to be a bit rocky… Putin’s war will turn this bumpy fossil fuel plateau into a cliff edge. As the world’s largest exporter of fossil fuels, Russia sits on the fault lines of this shift. Its largest customer is Europe. Rising conflict between the two will inevitably mean a long period of uncertainty and stress for fossil fuel markets, a reckoning which will galvanize the energy transition.

“So if we assume for the sake of argument that efficiency increases by 1 percentage point and solar and wind growth increases by 5 percentage points to 20 percent, then the decline in fossil fuel demand would turn into a rout. Fossil fuel demand would fall by 25 percent this decade and then collapse in the 2030s.”

It is horrific that it takes a war in the Ukraine to move the dial on climate action. Climate action should remain our number one priority on a warming planet. It is a pity that big oil will cynically squeeze every drop of profit out of this transition. As long as the American Archons… the Eurasian Archons… the worldly powers continue to divide and conquer… they will continue to rape mother Earth and sell us all down the (polluted) river in the process… but this is what we’ve come to expect, isn’t it?