In the 1970s, Exxon scientists informed the board of directors of the deleterious effects of burning their product on the climate. Did the bigwigs take the socially responsible action and tell the world and immediately switch to power sources with no emissions?
No chance. The industry made the capitalistic move and kept the scientific information a secret. When word got out, Big Oil took a page out of the Big Tobacco playbook and commenced a massive disinformation campaign.
Greenwashing became the order of the day, with the industry advertising minor projects toward net zero while focusing heavily on fossil fuels. Consumers were blamed for the proliferation of oil and gas. To a certain extent, this is true. If we could eliminate the demand for fossil fuels, it would be left in the ground.
An international economic catastrophe is predicted if Big Oil goes under. Is worldwide fiscal security dangling from such a tenuous thread?
When the Inflation Reduction Act was passed in 2022, opponents said it picked winners rather than letting market forces prevail. What about the $37.5 billion in government subsidies the fossil fuel industry collected in 2025? What does an industry that raked in $3.3 trillion in profits in that year need with that?
We need fossil fuels for jobs, the industry says. They employ 1% to 1.8% of Colorado’s total workforce, while renewables hire 2.4%.
Methane gas is advertised as a “clean” energy source and a bridge fuel to the future. This fails to take into consideration the fact that methane emissions are roughly 84 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and, when extraction techniques like fracking are taken into consideration, are just as dirty or dirtier than coal.
Rocky Mountain Institute did a study of the myths surrounding methane gas. They found:
Myth: Gas leaks are normal and not too costly.
Fact: Globally, 280 billion cubic meters of methane leak each year, and Texas, alone, lost $1 billion in wasted methane last year.
Myth: Gas loss is inevitable
Fact: The industry can stop leaks when they want to. When gas prices are up, methane capture goes up. When gas prices go down, methane leaks increase.
Myth: Gas is natural and clean.
Fact: Methane gas contains toxic hydrogen sulfide and carcinogenic benzene and contributes to sickening smog. In its natural state, methane gas is in the ground.
Myth: Gas prices are reliable.
Fact: Hardly. Wars in Ukraine and Iran and actions in Venezuela have caused huge swings in gas prices.
While campaigning for Proposition 112, the 2,500-foot setback initiative, in 2018, environmental groups learned that the fossil fuel industry has deep pockets. Proponents were outspent $40 million to $800,000 by the industry and still lost by only 55% to 45%. Seeing promotional television ads is a good sign an industry or a trade association has too much money. Thirty second spots are pricey.
This year, the industry will have a “Right to Natural Gas” initiative on the ballot, which would prevent municipalities from enacting gas hookup bans on new construction. Crested Butte and Berkeley, California, already have gas bans. Get ready for a deluge of ads for this proposal.
The fossil fuel industry points out that China is still building coal power plants. Indeed, they are, but China has also added more renewable energy than the rest of the world combined. They can be excused for taking an all-of-the-above approach, since China has a lot of people to provide energy for.
The industry claims renewables are expensive and unreliable. Locally, Holy Cross Energy is 92% renewable, and they provide some of the cheapest power in the state. And, I don’t know how you can be more unreliable than the Xcel Energy Comanche 3 coal-fired plant in Pueblo, which has been up and down like a yoyo since it came online in 2010.
The property taxes the industry pays keep our schools open, so says the industry. They’d have you believe they’re doing that out of the goodness of their hearts, and not because they’re required to and they’ll get favorable decisions from local governments that way.
Chevron tells us they’re protecting the migration routes of antelope, as if they’d refrain from drilling if it interfered with a pronghorn path. The American Petroleum Institute says it’s pheasant and quail they’re looking out for.
Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development actually claims extraction is environmentally beneficial despite the fact that drilling is responsible for 84% of all carbon dioxide emissions.
In the face of recent overwhelming evidence to the contrary (heat domes, droughts, wildfires, floods, etc.), the Prevaricator-in-Chief says climate change is a “con job.” That would indicate a profit motive. Who’s getting rich off warning about climate change?
The truth is, fossil fuels would’ve died out decades ago if it weren’t for the obscene amounts of money the industry spreads around to influence politicians, voters and other industries. It’s time to break those bonds and phase out the industry that seems hell-bent on phasing us out.