Big Oil Hates Your Freedom

[CoolOnion]

Last night, I saw the film Who Killed the Electric Car, and one of my favorite moments was a clip of President Clinton speaking in front of a panel of oil industry lobbyists.  The camera caught the oil industry executives shifting nervously in their seats, as Clinton recounted a conversation he had with a 5-year-old boy whose mission it was to spend his whole life working on pollution-free engines.  I thought, "Those guys probably want to know the kid's name and where he lives..."

The thought occurred to me that it's big oil--not "Islamic fascists"--who really hate our freedom.

Sad, isn't it, that big oil would rather have our kids fight and die in a war for oil than give up their fat profits? The last thing they want is a nation full of people with flat solar panels on their rooftops, generating their own electricity, plugging in their electric vehicles, and driving free of the internal combustion engine that has been so profitable for big oil over the past century. They want you to think that alternative energy is forever just beyond our grasp, always a project for some future generation. But the future is now, and we can make it happen as surely as we can elect progressives like Ned Lamont, instead of putting up with politics as usual.

I've been following the topic of alternative energy in the news for quite awhile, but didn't become fully aware of the politics behind the electric car until I saw the interview with Chris Paine (director of Who Killed the Electric Car?) on NOW with David Brancaccio. The real problem for the oil industry, it seems, is the highly profitable internal combustion engine.  With an electric car, you're not going to need oil changes--or oil, oil filters, tune ups, and all the "add ons" that go along with the current oil-industry-dependent auto industry.

"Jiffy Lube will go out of business!  What'll we do?"  That's the kind of thinking behind the oil industry opposition to electric cars.

Getting electric cars back on the market is going to take a Herculean people-powered grassroots effort, but we can do it, one letter, one blog, one email at a time--the same way we're going to take back the Congress, the Senate and the White House.

This morning, for instance, I sent an email to General Motors, all excited about the electric cars I saw in the film last night.  I asked how soon I could buy one!  That's one little hand full of "grass seed" I scattered this morning, hoping one little seed will take root in the imagination of whoever reads their email.

I also signed a petition at Plug In America, telling automakers that I want a plug-in electric car of my own.

Then, I sat down to write diaries at both Daily Kos and here, and will encourage my friends to educate themselves on the possibilities of generating our own electricity, and buying electric cars.

For instance, there's a great article about Stanford R. Ovshinsky, the scientist who invented the great, long-lasting Ovonic battery for the electric car, and who is seen in the movie briefly explaining how flat solar panels work.

Here's another article, from MIT, about Ovshinsky and flat solar panels, and if you don't want to wait for GM or Nissan to sell you an electric car, you can order one today from The good news is that the fast, sexy, cool electric car is ready to roll, and you can help put them back on the assembly line right this minute, if all of us take just a minute to spread the word.

[Dissenting_Prole]

1. Yes, it's sad

Sad, isn't it, that big oil would rather have our kids fight and die in a war for oil than give up their fat profits?

Uh, what's more sad is that we're unwilling to park our cars so that our friends and families don't have to fight for oil. Let's not place all the blame on oil companies. They're just doing what they were designed to do. Make a profit. We can't have money invested in the stock market and mutual funds, and arrange our lives in a way that forces us to drive miles and miles, and then complain because those institutions make a profit.

How much are we willing to give up to live in a healthy, peaceful world?

[Mind_your_head]

2. K & R - if you're serious (or even series ! 1 ! ) about alternative energy

and lessening our dependence on foreign oil, there's some good info here and "we've got to start somewhere".

Thank you for posting this :-)