Oil industries create their own version of federal energy bill after spending $80 billion on public relations and lobbying regarding policy debate on climate legislation. The industry’s “”Creating Renewed Economic Activity through Energy Jobs Act of 2010″ bill dispenses with the key word “clean” — as in clean energy jobs — in its title and then proceeds to require expedited oil drilling, well, everywhere — in the Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain, throughout Alaskan waters including the Arctic Ocean and fish-rich Bristol Bay, and on the Florida Gulf Coast and Panhandle. This drilling could only occur by rescinding, waiving, or limiting federal laws, state authority, and people’s ability to protect these areas, while expediting judicial review of federal leasing and permitting decisions. The bill would promote and lead to increased oil use which would lead to less attention and action to reduce carbon emissions, further destabilizing the climate. The secured jobs for oil employees could lead to less security for the futures of people all around the world.
Sources:
Alternet.org, December 4, 2009
“No Future Act of 1010: Oil Industry Comes Up With Their Version of A Federal Energy Bill”
Author: Riki Ott.
Student Researchers: Emily Schuler and Trisha Himmelein
Faculty Instructor: Kevin Howley, Associate Professor of Media Studies, DePauw University, DePauw University
Evaluator: Jeremy Anderson, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, DePauw University