THE OIL MACHINE: launching the film and the campaign
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- Опубліковано 5 лис 2022
- Ask us anything: about North Sea oil and gas, about a Green New Deal, about COP27, and how to be part of the film's release.
Noga Levy-Rapoport, climate justice activist, organiser and speaker, is hosting this online event with the film team and core contributors:
- Emma Davie, director of The Oil Machine, talks about the aims in making the film and what its relevance in the current crisis is,
- Sir David King, former Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Government, now Centre for Climate Repair and Climate Crisis Advisory Group, looks back at the year since COP26 in Glasgow and gives an outlook on COP27,
- Ann Pettifor, economist and author of The Case of The Green New Deal, analyses the current crisis from a critical economic perspective
- James Marriott, Platform London, co-author of Crude Britannia and conceptual contributor to The Oil Machine
- Rachel Caplan, outreach coordinator at Film & Campaign, highlights opportunities to see the The Oil Machine and for communities, organisations and businesses to host their own screenings and discussions.
See our events and get involved at www.theoilmachine.org
CC BY-NC 4.0
Thoughtful folks, all. Supplying what has been normalized (the energy and substance of our standard of living) and being consumers in this exploitative system have to end before a new one might conceivably be "engineered". I give the chance of a peaceful and functional transition to be virtually zero. Since it is rare that persons desire to give up the benefits of our present standards and force potential generations of to do without as well, I imagine chaos to be the hallmark of our remaining time on the planet as whole nations take steps to insure the status quo. War, famine, hopelessness, depression. Say it over and over, over and over.
Those individuals, corporations, and countries who hold fossil fuel assets, are fully aware of the dangers that climate activism poses to them. So, they use the levers of supply and demand and prices to fight any changes to laws or consumption that do not benefit them. And they will do this to their very last breath. Because they want to maximize the monetary gains from the fossil fuel assets and maximize their power that the fossil fuels ownership affords them in society. They have control over supply and the money to maximize those assets. What they do not have as much control over is demand. Reductions in demand for fossil fuels is the only way to beat them.
I've been aware of the problem since I had started my university studies in the Engineering Department in Wyoming. I had many friends who were petroleum engineers, but also many in the Climate Sciences. And we had many discussions since Peak Oil was the big topic. They thought that if left to conventional sources we'd be passing the tipping point in 2007. But they discussed fracking and tar sands, as well as maintenance of older fields. These required millions of tons of toxic chemicals and the EROI (Energy Return On Investment) wouldn't be advantageous, and we'd probably be in a negative cycle. And they thought that financing this would be catastrophic. And they were worried about the climate, since Exxon had already done two climate studies.
We all thought we'd develop storage and would be using solar, wind and tidal energy by 2000 since we were positive.
Our society moved to fracking and tar sands in 2005, with a YUGE jump in our system for everything, materials, energy, electricity as well as the financial system. A fracking site needs financing for a 30 year ROI. And after 2 to 5 years it is worthless. So they sold it to Pension Funds. There was an amazing lecture by Simon Michaux to a Finnish political committee which explained this in detail. However, he made an unreal calculation that we would transform every vehicle to renewable energy and said we couldn't do it. But no one asked to change everything, we need to transition.
I started writing to insurance companies over 20 years ago to move to renewable energy. They never answered. I started pushing Windyday Concept and proposed a course to Swiss professional schools to encourage students to move to renewable energy, as well as fund research for battery storage as well as ways to use hemp and flax. This was accepted at first on a local level, but then the Oil Lobby put their Jackboot down. I also had talked to businesses in the metal construction industry that wanted to start manufacturing batteries and solar panels. If every community started building their own, that would mean jobs. And by building 5,000 vehicles with a 50 kWh battery would give a virtual battery of 250 MWh using Vehicle To Grid technology. I had talked with a grid operator and he said everything was doable today.
I arranged for a meeting with the Swiss government, but they refused to support it since there was no pressure from climate groups. I have been talking with them for years, and they refuse to support this. They have bought every lie put out by the Oil Lobby.
Regreta and Extinction Rebellion are large groups to do nothing. They want to stop burning oil, but aren't ready to support any change. I talked with a group recently and they wanted to glue themselves to roads. I asked them to support me and I would go back to the schools and the government. They refused. What the hell do they think they are doing?
You said you started your studies at the engineering department…but it’s apparent you didn’t finish your studies there…which means you dropped out. Also, if you had of achieved your degree in engineering you would know there is no such thing as “tar sands”, it’s called “oil sands”. Tar is a manufactured product, the “oil sands” are a naturally occurring phenomenon, the oil or bitumen is present in the soil.
What do you do for a living now? Sell pencils from a tin cup?
For energy for heating et al we need alternatives to oil. In sunny or windy areas there is something. Recently the Geothermal technology has had breakthroughs in using Fusion heat for drilling at one tenth or less the price of mechnical drill also the heat seals the bore holes. While Eavor in Saskatchan engineers have created a deep radiator of holes. Germany has ordered this company to work in Germany. Bringing these two technologies together might revolutionise access to energy everywhere? I suspect regulations to stamp everything made from plastic as 'made by oil might be effective'? I use as little energy & goods as possible and support 7 environmental/animal organisations plus Amnesty. I fear we will also wipe out many species of wild creatures. At 80 I've seen 80 to 95% of all birds, animals & sea creatures with many wild places destroyed. It is terrifying.
Thanks for this presentation. As a background to what Sir David King says, it was unfortunate that the weight of opinion in the scientific community was set against Peter Wadhams in the way it was. Wadhams forecasted, reasonably accurately for the time, the melting of the Arctic Ocean putting a date for what became known as the Blue Ocean event at around 2016. For this he was virtually pilloried. It was at a time when the venerable, but politically and corporately corrupted IPCC was officially giving a date of 2100 for the melting of the Arctic. The methane aspect was also a major bone of contention. But we're here now and the past is the past with the exception of the political and corporate corruption, which has ballooned. The banks are complicit in this. International and sovereign banking was my own professional life, eurocurrency, forex and treasury operation. Invisible? Well partly. Complicated? Well not really, but very easily obfuscated. Greed and power buy a lot of obfuscation, it's not so difficult. Can it be dismantled, yes absolutely. It requires law change, enforcement by judiciary, and a complete change of the political and financialised economic system including the banking system, the international settlement system, and the tax evasion systems of Euroclear, Clearstream, the Tax Havens and so on. GHG's know no political boundaries. So must the Legal system be enabled, and the systems of deliberative democracy. Entrenched, vested interests and the societal divisions they create are the big problem(s). Thanks again. Addendum: Depressing is not the right word. David King is realistic. We must know and understand the extent of the problem so it can be analysed and best operated on in quick order, both at national levels and international. Ignorance is a barrier.
See 'Just Have a Think' You Tube Stream for ideas on changing Banks & what Banks to go to. With many great videos by him. Also 'Undecided' by Matt Farral.
both are fools channels
WASF!!!!!!!!!
WASF. huh??
How long are you going to pretend the world can live without fossil fuels? When we have planetary wide starvation will you finally come to your senses?