On Flaming Teslas, the Oil Oligarchs, and Low Emission Cows
How is anyone who cares about protecting the environment or climate change supposed to feel right now? We have what has been dubbed the “broligarchy” taking over, a billionaire oligarchy. Ironically, one of them dares to use free energy champion Nikola Tesla’s name. We reached the New Year, seeing pictures of a Tesla Cybertruck erupting into flames at Trump International Hotel, a less than subtle metaphor burned into the cultural zeitgeist, pointing not so subtly to maybe apocalyptic days ahead. The oil oligarchs paid big money for this big finale to civilization, it seems.
NBC News video of the flaming Cybertruck:
Oil Oligarchs and One Billion Dollars
Ironically, Musk once seemed to be a leader for clean energy, but instead, he locked step and went all in for Trump, who reportedly “shook down” Big Oil for 1 billion dollars to the tune of “Drill baby, drill.” It brings to mind Dr. Evil, absurd and yet even more ridiculously real. Of course, we can all assume that this pact will not lead to a push for clean energy, electric cars and definitely not wind turbines.
Not long ago, Trump absurdly said windmills cause cancer or kill whales.If anything, he’s a troll on the topic of caring for the environment or pretty much anyone besides himself. And any inconvenient science will surely be Project 2025’d in short order if they get their way.
Video by NowThis Impact about Elon Musk:
Here We Go Again
Like it or not, the inconvenient truth remains the truth, and it’s been known since at least the 1800s. One day, the truth will arrive in such a manifest way that there will be no doubt about it for any living person. Perhaps oligarchs like Musk really do think they’ll create a new world order after Mother Nature shrugs us off like so many fleas.
In the meantime, Musk apparently fully expects to bring on the challenges. Here comes economic strife for America, judging by his recent comments (see the video above). How can anyone want that? Well, the oligarchs learned they could thrive while the rest of society struggled with a pandemic during Trump’s last term as wealth inequality soared. So, here we go again: self-inflicted chaos that’s not so comical at all.
Video by Movie Clips of Dr. Evil:
We’ve Known About Climate Change Since the 1800s
While surfing on Bluesky, I came across this post, showing that scientists knew way back in 1912 that burning fossil fuels would affect the climate in a “few centuries.” A search shows this was fact-checked and shown to be true.
“The furnaces of the world are now burning about 2,000,000,000 tons of coal a year,” the article reads. “When this is burned, uniting with oxygen, it adds about 7,000,000,000 tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere yearly. This tends to make the air a more effective blanket for the earth and to raise its temperature. The effect may be considerable in a few centuries,” reported the New Zealand newspaper Rodney and Otamatea Times, Waitemata and Kaipara Gazette.
But similar reports go back to the late 1800s. And another meme really captured how egregious it is that people have just collectively let this continue until today.
In the New Year, we’re getting more oil drilling and it will be insulting to everyone who cares about leaving a more livable world to future generations. But hey, scientists are apparently making inroads in other areas, “re-engineering the cow” to burp less methane. So, instead of low-emission cars, we get “low emission cattle.” There are noweven bionic cows and other animals used for training veterinarians, which could help end animal cruelty in labs.
It’s ironic that scientists have set their sights on re-engineering nature while manufacturers just can’t seem to make affordable clean energy solutions. And yet, Mother Nature will likely have the last laugh, along with Necessity, the mother of invention.
As for leading the world in clean energy, it sure seems like America is ceding control to the broligarchs or oil oligarchs. Such a path has been continuing for such a long time, but today, we burn over 4,000 times the fossil fuels compared to the 1800s. Long before that, an extinction event began 13,000 years ago, which most scientists conclude is just getting ramped up today.
So, how much longer before we find ourselves simply unable to deny climate change anymore? One day soon, the broligarchs may get what they paid for, a desolate world more like the dystopian Silo series and less like Austin Powers. When that day arrives, will they finally be satisfied deep in their cash-lined crypts underground? Or in the near future, farming low emission cows from some Ivory Tower in Hawaii?
Video of Silo series one recap by AppleTV+:
Featured image: Composite of screenshots from YouTube/NBC News and YouTube/The Silo
