Who's Blaming Who?

FOR MANY YEARS it has been widely known that the fossil fuel industry, especially the big oil companies, (which should be called "fuel" companies), were lying about the impact of carbon emissions on the atmosphere, concealing their own research from the world which indicated that climate change due to atmospheric carbon increase was indeed a reality. These big companies knew about climate change very early, possibly as early as the sixties, seventies, and eighties, but kept it quiet. Legal processes have resulted in their change of behavior, and their acknowledgement of not only climate change, but also their role of causing it, and in concealing early evidence of it. Now they are trying to rebuild their tarnished reputations by advertising themselves as new champions of environmental restoration and health, while selling plenty of gasoline. We'll see. Smart busines practice demands that they lead the way in fighting cliamte chang by converting to clean energy, while finding a way to remain in business. The governor of California, Gavin Newsome, who might one day be an attractive candidate for president for the Democrats, has now had the utter audacity to file a lawsuit, in the name of his great state of California, against the Exxon-Mobile fuel company, in federal court. Quite a match up; a gargantuan, gigantic state government, versus a corporate mega giant. A titanic struggle of goliaths. Right wing pro Trump capitalistic anti-government extremists will doubtless be rootng for the poor oppressed unfairly attacked business, versus, big, bureaucratic, activist, out of control government. Statism, collectivism, run amok. Meanwhile, we left wing socialist types will be pulling for Governor Gavin and his team, crusading to rectify the wrongs wrought by corporate perfidy, on behalf of we the people. Only this time the lawsuit isn't about climate change from burning fossil fuels, responsibility for it, and deliberately concealing it. Its about plastic, the less notorious less publicized but every bit as huge branch of the fossile fuel insustry. For may years, including in the present moment, the plastic industry has been telling us that their plastic products can be and are being recycled, when in fact about ninety five percent of them are, evidently, not. Precisely how Exxon-Mobil is involved in the plastic industry is uncelar, most probably in every way conceivable, including selling oil to companies which turn it into plastic of various shapes and sizes,and direct ownership of plastic products facilities. One can imagine that a lawsuit of this sort could list hundreds of businesses as defendants, charging them with illegally misleading the public concerning plastic recycling. The question is; precisely who really is responsible for the consumption by the human race of fossil fuels in such things as cars, and precisely who is responsible for climate change? Exxon - Mobile, among many others, dug the oil out of the ground, turned it into petroleum, and sold it to billions of car owners, decade after decade. They still do. Meanwhile, billions of car owners in the United Staes and in every country in the world, have for decades been happily, willingly obtaining automobiles, filling them with gas, and cruising around town and country. Any lawsuits that anybody files against anybody for lying about climate change, and for causing climate change, should, arguably, be filed by all of us against all of us. Hell, the fuel companies certainly aren't the only ones lying about climate change and its causes, or about plastic, and our enormous problem with it. We lie to ourselves, mostly. AS Goethe said: WE are never deceived, we only deceive ourselves". Still, I'm rooting for Governor Gavin...