by: Justin Lynch
The adjective "big" added to most things gives off a sense of superiority: Big Poppa, Big Ten... etc. Then there's Big Oil, Big Sugar, and other industries that use their big power to get whatever they need, whatever the cost.
In the United States, there's a political battle between people and Big Oil. Ranging from Alaska, where Big Oil has tried for years to get into one of America's most treasured preserves, the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, to the Great Plains and West, where public lands were sold off by the scandal-plagued Interior Department for cut-rate prices to oil and natural gas companies that in turn have dotted the landscape with various forms of machinery, to the Gulf Coast, where our former president gave everything he had to try to get drilling off the coast of these states which depend heavily on tourism. It seems tourists aren't crazy about large oil rigs in view of beaches, so this puts millions of jobs and billions in revenue at risk.
In this article from The Nation, Alexander Zaitchik examines Big Oil at work again, this time in Ireland. After Big Oil discovered a large gas field fifty miles off the coast, they bought the site and drew up plans for it, saying nothing. When people began to find out about the planned construction, Big Oil went to assure the public that the site would cause no environmental problems and would be a boon for the economy. But of course, none of this was true.
Most of the pipes and rigs needed for the project would cause great environmental harm and destroy the locals' way of life, so they fought back. This story illustrates the very real implications of letting the Bigs of the world have their way; and that in the end, politics affect people.
The adjective "big" added to most things gives off a sense of superiority: Big Poppa, Big Ten... etc. Then there's Big Oil, Big Sugar, and other industries that use their big power to get whatever they need, whatever the cost.
In the United States, there's a political battle between people and Big Oil. Ranging from Alaska, where Big Oil has tried for years to get into one of America's most treasured preserves, the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, to the Great Plains and West, where public lands were sold off by the scandal-plagued Interior Department for cut-rate prices to oil and natural gas companies that in turn have dotted the landscape with various forms of machinery, to the Gulf Coast, where our former president gave everything he had to try to get drilling off the coast of these states which depend heavily on tourism. It seems tourists aren't crazy about large oil rigs in view of beaches, so this puts millions of jobs and billions in revenue at risk.
In this article from The Nation, Alexander Zaitchik examines Big Oil at work again, this time in Ireland. After Big Oil discovered a large gas field fifty miles off the coast, they bought the site and drew up plans for it, saying nothing. When people began to find out about the planned construction, Big Oil went to assure the public that the site would cause no environmental problems and would be a boon for the economy. But of course, none of this was true.
Most of the pipes and rigs needed for the project would cause great environmental harm and destroy the locals' way of life, so they fought back. This story illustrates the very real implications of letting the Bigs of the world have their way; and that in the end, politics affect people.
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