cross-posted at annoyedomnivore.wordpress.com
On March 5, the New York Times ran an article espousing the notion of becoming a supplier of natural gas to Ukraine and Europe as a means to weaken Vladimir Putin’s control over the area. The article points out that while “Russia is still the world’s biggest exporter of natural gas, the United States recently surpassed it to become the world’s largest natural gas producer, largely because of breakthroughs in hydraulic fracturing technology, known as fracking.” Nowhere in the article does it discuss the dangers of fracking. Indeed, in a follow up editorial on March 7, the NYT put forth the idea that “increasing natural gas exports could serve American foreign policy interests in Europe.”
Both the initial article and the editorial acknowledge that the U.S. currently does not export natural gas. To rectify this omission, permits have been issued to American companies requesting applications to build port facilities, as well as permits to allow the exportation of gas to Europe and Ukraine. The problem with this strategy is that it would take roughly a decade and cost billions in order for this infrastructure to be functional.
Enter ExxonMobile and other giant oil and gas producers. Taking advantage of political upheaval in Ukraine, they’re petitioning the U.S. government to increase the practice of fracking all over the world. The NYT says that Halliburton has already started fracking in Poland and Shell will soon begin fracking in Ukraine. The gas company shills, the Republican Party, have eagerly lined up to do the bidding of their masters. Speaker John Boehner has stated that “one immediate step the president can and should take is to dramatically expedite the approval of U.S. exports of natural gas…and the U.S. Department of Energy’s excruciatingly slow approval process amounts to a de facto ban on American natural gas exports that Vladimir Putin has happily exploited to finance his geopolitical goals.”
Boehner’s overheated demands, however, are disingenuous, as the gas companies, once in place to export natural gas, can sell to whomever they wish, leaving Putin free to lower the price of Russian exports. American gas would then not be a player in geopolitical conflicts, as they would be more likely to sell gas to countries such as Japan, India and China where gas is more expensive. The only beneficiaries of a plan to export more American gas are, once again, the industry giants.
The oil and gas industry is not only lobbying the government to help them increase profits by use of the dirty fracking process. They’re also attempting to discredit any organization that highlights the negative impact fracking has on our health and the environment. Food & Water Watch, among other environmental groups, was recently attacked in a full page ad in The Wall Street Journal. The man hired by the industry to place these attacks is Rick Berman, once referred to as “Dr. Evil” by 60 Minutes. His resume includes organizations founded and managed by him that fight against unions, minimum wage increases and any laws intended to keep drunks off the streets. The ad was put forth by the Environmental Policy Alliance, a project of the Center for Organizational Research Education, a group led by Rick Berman. The organization was recently known as the Center for Consumer Freedom and funded by, among others, Monsanto, Cargill and Tysons Foods. Their chief goal is to uncover “the funding and hidden agendas behind environmental activist groups.”
The ad states that “middle class families are struggling to pay bills and make ends meet. Meanwhile, powerful and well-funded environmental groups like The Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Food & Water Watch are using scare tactics and junk science to push policies that increase the cost of energy.” The industry giants are putting everything they have in their arsenal to stop any voice used against their march towards ever increasing profits. This is not about Ukraine’s sovereignty, nor are the environmental groups they besmirch using “junk science” to demonstrate the evils of fracking. Instead of allowing gas and oil companies to increase their profits at our expense, a better notion for the U.S. government would be to heavily invest in sustainable renewable energy at home and abroad. Why don’t we spend billions doing that?
And there’s always a Recipe of the Week.
It’s still winter, and a good, hearty soup can be very satisfying. While I realize Minestrone is very well known, I like the version I scrabbled together using the ideas of Paula Wolfert and others who include pancetta as a primary flavoring.
1/2 pound dried white beans, soaked in cold water over night, or at least for a few hours
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 pound pancetta, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
3 tbls. fresh rosemary, minced
1 pound cabbage of your choice
1 28 oz can of organic whole tomatoes, pureed
salt and pepper to taste
pasta, rice or bread, optional
Cook the beans in a large soup pot, covered with cold water by about 4 inches. If soaked, they should become tender in about two hours. In the interim, heat the oil in a large cast iron frying pan. Add the pancetta, onions, celery, carrot, cabbage and rosemary and cook for about ten minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for another ten minutes. Add this mixture to the cooked beans and cook for another 30 minutes or so. If the soup is too thick, add a little more water and cook for another ten minutes. You can eat the soup as it is at this point, but if you want a more hearty soup, add about a cup of pasta, or a 1/2 cup of rice or some cubes of stale bread. A bowl of freshly grated parmesan is welcome at the table.