Oil Industry Denies Climate Change But Demands Taxpayer Money For Climate Change Protection

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http://www.politicususa.com/2014/08/09/oil-industry-denies-climate-change-demanding-taxpayer-money-climate-change-protection.html




Indemnity is security or protection against a loss or other financial burden, and for the American oil industry, taxpayers hand over large amounts of cash to protect oil company profits while eliminating any potential losses; typically through taxpayer-funded subsidies. Interestingly, proponents of funding already profitable oil companies are also avid supporters of free market capitalism where a business either lives or dies of its own accord, but like most things Republicans support, it is only applicable when it fits their agenda.

There were a few news reports over the past two weeks that reveal the depth of the entitlement mindset permeating the oil industry as well as their expectation that the government will force taxpayers pay for their malfeasance that Republicans are only too happy to oblige. Sadly, many Americans have bought into the Republican absurdity that it is unpatriotic to hold the oil industry to the same standards as every other American, and the industry is well aware that any demand they make, regardless how obscene, will be granted by Republicans with likely support from voters.

In Louisiana this past week, it was reported that a Halliburton-owned business, Multi-Chem, that mixes carcinogen-laden fracking and oilfield chemicals just received a $1.8 million tax break from the state after the plant blew up in 2011 nearly destroying a nearby town. It was a great deal for war criminal Dick Cheney’s former company that not only got nearly two million dollars from taxpayers, it received an expedited environmental permit from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) to build a new plant that was granted without public notice or hearing. The company did receive a fine from the OSHA ($49,000). Multi-Chem now demands an LDEQ permit to discharge waste water from its facility into local waterways.

According to an LDEQ spokesman, Tim Beckstrom, the company did not get penalized for nearly blowing up the town because “When an event like that happens we make a decision whether or not to issue a penalty, and in this case, they got right on the ball, and we didn’t identify any areas of concern, so the company was not issued a penalty.” Instead, they got a tax break despite reports that local residents experienced “a bitter taste, just a foul taste” in their mouths after drops of liquid hit them following the explosion.

[Jim Lane]

1. The Sierra Club gave more info about the Delaware situation

From the Delaware Chapter of the Sierra Club:

The application purports that this project will “provide a designed solution that has the resilience to deal with Sea Level Rise for at least 50 years” by eliminating wave energy that is eroding the shoreline, and provide for the natural accretion of sediment that is supplemented by dredge material. Thus, the Delaware City Refining Company acknowledges the risks posed to its facility by sea level rise.

. . . .

The State of Delaware has launched and/or participates in numerous programs to help reduce climate change-inducing carbon emissions, including the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Renewable Portfolio Standard, Energy Efficiency Resource Standard, Low-Emission Vehicles Standards, and the Sustainable Energy Utility. Yet, the Delaware City Refinery has placed us all at increased risk of sea level rise though by expanding its footprint for greenhouse gas emissions through its choice of refining Canadian tar sands and fracked Bakken crude oil.

. . . .

The Delaware City Refinery, therefore, has chosen to process the crude oil with some of the highest, if not the very highest, contribution to greenhouse gases per barrel, while simultaneously preparing for sea level rise. This raises grave concerns about the imperceptive contribution of the Delaware City Refinery to climate change and sea level rise in Delaware, which increases the risks that are being placed on coastal communities throughout the entire region. We would like this to be considered in the state review of the impacts of this project.

Excerpted from "Plan for Refinery Shoreline Stabilization Project raises questions; Sierra Club requests public hearing" (emphasis added).