Corporations which Generate Wealth through Development of Natural Gas - Term Paper Example

Introduction “The economy is our environment.” – Tommy Remengesau, Jr. of Palau The simpli of such idea betrays the poignant effect it creates tothe listeners. When Mao Zedong said that power comes from the barrel of gun, his followers joined in a cultural revolution. Today, power not just comes from the barrel of gun, but also from the barrel of oil. Take the case of Russia. Russia, even after the fall of the Soviet Union, commands respect among states because it sits in the elite group of oil-producing countries. Its experience made it realized that oil does not only bring power; it also brings material wealth. Unfortunately for us, oil also brings adverse effects to the environment. Corporations which generate wealth must be commended and envied. Corporations which generate wealth through development of natural gas and refinery of oil reserves must be encouraged because earth is inconceivable without its inhabitants developing oil. However, corporations which generate wealth through development of natural gas and refinery of oil reserves must be regulated or controlled through the development/advancement of other sources of energy. Thesis The activities like utilization, development, and exploitation of oil, gas, and coal reserves if not hampered or regulated will cause damage to the environment in the form of global warming, which in turn, causes droughts, floods, earthquakes, diseases and extinction of flora and fauna. Discussion The rationale for the notion of regulation or control took various versions that, though espoused years ago, still have that ring of truth. “Most of our forward momentum in science and all of it in technology [must]…be halted until we have conquered pollution, urban blight, and the other frustrating problems of our day [or else there would be] rapid exhaustion of raw material supplies of the planet…. The great irony of our present dilemma is that it is the consequence of success…. [But we could still] achieve a world of decency.” (Jerome Wiesner, 10-13). This dilemma was echoed by Loren Eiseley: “[Man] is faced with the prospect of learning to be a creative god in nature without, at the same time, destroying his surroundings and himself through thoughtless indifference to the old green world…” (5-13). Most citizens of the world know the concern raised by environmentalists that Mother Earth is dying and we must do something radical to save her. Although a bit exaggerated, the poster of the film “The Day After Tomorrow” should give us a better picture of what is in store for us if the “save-the-earth” slogan remains a slogan. As a caveat, oil-developing corporations are not the sole culprits in this global warming issue. Part of the blame belongs to ordinary persons who use spray net, pesticides, and the like. Global warming did not happen overnight. It was the product of the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, disallowing the exit of sun’s heat; thus making the planet warm. So, why blame the oil-developing corporations? Because their burning of billions of tons of oil and gas—which they do to accumulate wealth—releases lethal greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide. Recent history has been replete with examples of things that came due to global warming: Yangtze River flood (1998), Peru flood (2002), Bolivia flood (2002), India earthquake (2001), Afghanistan earthquake (2002), Iran earthquake (2003), Zimbabwe drought (2003), Australia drought (2003), and Ethiopia drought (2002). Although the disasters were confined in particular places only, the issue at hand is not territorial; it is global (other legal luminaries say that it is involved with the concept of ‘inter-generational responsibility’). Such fact was acknowledged in the Trail Smelter Case wherein the Arbitral Tribunal said that “no state has the right to use or permit the use of its territory in such a manner as to cause injury by fumes in or to the territory of another or the properties or persons therein…” Despite this gentle reminder, there are states which still suffer the adverse effects of having one ‘global’ sky. Imagine that there are two neighboring states—one with several strict environmental legal restraints, the other, none. In such a scenario, it is highly probable that the polluted air coming from the latter will enter the atmospheric territory of the former; hence, putting to waste the restraints placed. Out of these knowledge came the Kyoto Protocol, Rio Declaration, and Stockholm Declaration. The above Declarations are mere declarations until now. Such Declarations encapsulate the whole idea of saving the earth and the need to be vigilant against the abuse of its natural resources particularly oil, gas, and coal. The intentions of the states which ratified them were good but enforceable caps and institutional will were sorely lacking. It escapes credulity why the act of saving earth needs to be discussed and ‘declared’ they wondered. Can we imagine ourselves legislating a law stating that people need to breathe? The primary reason why states convened to make international laws that would help countries to minimize greenhouse gas emission is to avert the following scenarios that had happened before and may happen again should the present practice of utilizing and developing natural resources go unhampered: 1) A stream of persons with respiratory problems exacerbated by pollution and the changing climate- When the (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) SARS reached the level of epidemic, paranoia was not far behind. People went outside their houses with masks similar to those worn by medical practitioners. Unbelievably, fashion found a niche in such a terrible situation—masks did not remain ordinary; they already bore initials like ‘LV.’ Needless to say, no matter how fashionable the situation looked, the landscape of mask-wearing people would have turned the whole region of Asia into a hospital-ambianced place. It was silly to say the least. However, more than the aesthetic issue is the health issue. When polio still tops the list of the deadly diseases, people knew that the cure was tangible which could be a capsule or a form of injection. In the case of global warming, the issue about its cure is not medical. It is economics. It is discipline. It must not involve greed. Worse, it might come from the whims of corporations which may have no sense of inter-generational responsibility. 2) Drought-Imagine that before the issue of global warming became crystallized, waters on earth were evenly distributed. Credit it to nature, but a place with no water or being dried up was unimaginable even to people with Homer-like talents. And now that global warming became an ‘inconvenient truth,’ the phenomenon of drought became a household term especially in 2003 when several countries dried up. 3) Floods. What was evenly distributed transformed into a case of having-too-much-water. The sad fact,however, was that having-too-much-water left millions homeless, if not dead. At the turn of the century, Mother Nature battered UK, Taiwan, Peru, Blivia, and China with floods, never seen since decades ago. Thankfully, the seriousness of the problem got the attention of 187 small island states which met recently in Poznan, Poland to think of ways to combat global warming. These states not only fear being homeless, but being country-less. Reported by Reuters, the said alliance of states predicted that “rising seas would also swamp low-lying coasts from Bangladesh to Florida…[I]ndustrialized nations would have to cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 40% below 1990 level by 2020 and more than 95% by 2050.” The message was made more emphatic in the same meeting by Selwin Hart: “We are not prepared to sign a suicide agreement that causes small islands states to disappear.” (1) 4) Earthquakes- The relationship between greenhouse emissions (which goes up to heavens) and earthquakes (which happen down on earth) is not too apparent. But when one realizes that what lies beneath the earth is an imitation of hell with tons of molten lava, it would be easy to visualize that once the earth heats up, the effect reaches the ring of what volcanologists call as ‘tectonic plates.’ When these plates heats up, movement occurs in the form of earthquakes. The danger in earthquakes does not lie on them alone. Most of the times, especially in the coastal areas, they are accompanied by tsunamis. These tsunamis make earthquakes doubly deadly. 5) Extinction of animals and plants- “That anyone can question whether living things are being affected by climate change now seems incredibly dubious itself.” (Eric Post) Human beings do not have the monopoly of ‘right to exist.’ If the reality is that human beings find it difficult to save their own kind, it will take a little imagination to say that during times of climatological upheaval, a Noah would be impossible to find. The signs of extinction are (not) blinding: News reports concerning creation of new zoos, conservatories that propagate species of animals and plants nearing extinction, and that famous TV clip where a polar bear rode onto a block of melting ice cap. 6) The Case for the Arctic The 01 October 2007 issue of Time Magazine, although more focused on the political aspect of the issue, aptly described the circumstances brewing in the Arctic: “The first flare-off of natural gas from the Snohvit gas field,…the first Arctic industrial oil-and-gas operation outside of Alaska, was up and running.” (Graff, 26) Immediately thereafter, the report zeroed in on what could be the manifestation of the adverse effects of exploitation of oil reserves not just in that place but everywhere on earth: “The Arctic ice cap’s loss through melting this year was 10 times the recent amount average, amounting to an area greater than that of Texas and New Mexico combined…” (Graff 26) Waters of the earth, as we know them by the names of Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and South China Sea, are just divisions made for everybody’s convenience. There is only one large body of water on earth. If the ice caps in the Arctic melt, then the sea level in the other seas rises. If a country like Maldives fails to address such issue, then in less than a decade it could be gone. Unfortunately, Maldives is not a player in the political Arctic race where Americans, Russians, Canadians, Danes, and Norwegians are engaged. It is by no means accidental that only small state islands are dying to have the Kyoto protocol and other Declarations ratified, if not altogether substituted; these states are only ones directly affected. The present situation in the Arctic is imbued with a sublime irony: “With gas and oil prices near historic highs and with scant prospect of any decrease in world demand for energy, it is only prudent to get a sense of what resources lies below the newly accessible sea.” (Graff 29-30). No one doubts the ever-increasing demand for oil and gas. Undoubtedly, as well, is the sonorous plea to save the earth. If this plea goes unheeded, then history may repeat itself. Despite these sad events, some solutions have been offered and practiced. One of the solutions is the tapping other natural resources, and the likely candidates are wind power, solar energy, and geothermal power. In India and the Philippines (though the latter is only in the policy-making phase), the use of the cleaner compressed natural gas is on the way—even though it is too expensive to use. The Indian Supreme Court even ordered a switch to unleaded petrol. In other countries, some corporations already adopted a policy that would lead to research regarding lessening of gas emission without much cut to their corporate profits. Examples of these are Goldman Sach and Cleantech Venture Network which invested billions of dollars to renewable energy and ‘green’ technology. Concluding remarks Although there are unwelcome observations (like the statements narrated in a journal that run: “The response of climate alarmists is {a} fodder for psychological textbooks” [Driessen]) in the light of these events, we must not overlook what was reported in a book by Concepcion Dadufalza, where she cited an editorial where Mother Earth seemed to be speaking to every inhabitant of earth: “You see, my children, life on the planet is inter-dependent. We…are all part of the web of life. Destroy part of the web and you affect the entire, intricate latticework.” (392) To paraphrase a writer: “[T]hese [disasters] have become psychologically powerful metaphor[s] for the frightening vision of a warmer future and our immediate need to prevent it.” (Lomborg) And what is the sense of amassing so much wealth in this lifetime if we are to forfeit them when the above cited disasters strike? If the days of earth are coming to end, maybe the powerplay in the political and economic game involving oil reserves is sensible; but how do we put into the picture the cause of the generations to come? To neglect them would be to create the highest altar of greed at the cost of million of lives. “Saving the earth” does not imply the total elimination or non-use of oil, gas and coal. In the first place, it is impossible to do. There is a reason why the slogan is ‘save’ the earth, and not ‘do not use’ the earth. But in using the earth resources like oil, gas, and coal; corporations must always remember to have caution and restraint. They must be cautious of how their activities could affect the people and the environment, and put restraints that would enable them to use other earth resources and that would ensure that the generations to come could also use them. Works Cited I. Books Dadufalza, Concepcion. A Handbook-Workbook-Reader for Critical Reading and Writing in Expository Discourse. Studio Printing Corp: Philippines, 1996. Eiseley, Loren. “Using a plague to fight a plague” Silent Spring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1962: 5-13. Lomborg, Bjorn. Cool it: The skeptical environmentalist’s guide to global warming. Vintage: UK,2008. II. Journals Wiesner, Jerome. “Technology for Mankind.” Technology Review. May 1973: 10-13  Driessen, Paul. “Global Warming Insanity.” Lighthouse Patriot Journal. September 2007. Post, Eric. “Extensive Research Survey Confirms Life on Earth Now Being Affected by Global Warming.” Science Journal. Fall 2002. Volume 20, #1. III. Newspaper Reuters “RP joins 43 islands states to fight global warming.” Philippine Daily Inquirer. 05 December 2008, sec A: 1+ IV. Magazine Graff, James. “Race for the Arctic.” TIME. 01 October 2007: 24-31. Read More