Capitalism's last bullet?

Only when the last tree has died, the last river poisoned and the last fish caught will we realize that we cannot eat money. ~ Cree observer

This writer posted his first column about an impending peaking of world oil production in July 2005. The potential scenarios presented by increasingly scarce petroleum-based energy and products have caused me to keep one eye on the issue of peak oil since then, even as “global warming” (aka “climate change”) has progressed from household word to political football.

Besides gaining an appreciation for how profoundly dependent on dirt-cheap energy our civilization is, I’ve learned that estimates of how much oil remains in the ground have been notoriously overestimated, captive to corporate secrecy and national interests. I’ve learned something about the challenges of developing alternatives to energy derived from petroleum, and how tragically short of the needs of a rapidly expanding world population current efforts will likely fall due largely to the very short window of time left to build an entirely new energy world. By the estimations of many lifelong petroleum geologists, we have left it too late to avoid a fundamental shock. Perhaps most frightening have been personal interactions which tell me that while most folks favor cutting carbon emissions to remediate global warming, they are either ignorant of the peril peak oil presents or simply assume a painless transition to a post-petroleum era will occur, like the latest (synthetic) miracle pill.

Add to the list of challenges to the survival of industrial society our once-proud financial sector. At a time that demands the immediate launch of a transition to clean and renewable (not merely alternative) forms of energy, Wall Street seems capable only of serving up a greenwashed version of business as usual.

Last week in New York, management consultant firm McKinsey and Company, which advises three of the world’s five largest companies and two-thirds of the world’s Fortune 1000 businesses from its 90 offices in 51 countries, presented a report at the United Nations’ Investor Summit on Climate Risk. (I’ve taken to covertly inserting “and peak oil” into virtually all global warming discussions.) The report was sponsored by Ceres, an alliance of what you might call green investors, and shows how unresponsive 40 of the world’s largest investment banks have been to the threat of global warming (“and peak oil!”). In a country whose president has provided official cover by rejecting the Kyoto accords and refused to mandate carbon dioxide reductions, the survey shows that banks have failed to incorporate climate change considerations into their investment activities. Worldwide, not a single bank has opted to avoid investments in coal-fired power plants or Canadian tar sands – not only major sources of greenhouse gases but ultimately unaffordable distractions from the Herculean task of developing sustainable alternatives.

As an editorial in the Boston Globe stated the following day, “lenders’ failure to foresee the subprime mortgage debacle . . . does not speak well for their ability to take the long view on an issue like climate change.” (Or peak oil.) But the Globe goes easy on their friends in the banking industry. Of course the denizens of Wall Street foresaw the subprime monster they helped create; they simply didn’t care, as long as they made their tidy profits before the roof came down on Main Street. Which should alarm us all the more; the only thing worse than a blind pilot is one intent on drunken mass suicide.

Since the days of Ronald Reagan, the banking and lending industries have joined the howl for reduced governmental oversight of their activities - the dreaded regulation - and their support for presidential and congressional lackeys who would play ball has gained the right to mix investment and commercial banking under the same roof. The result: institutionalized conflict of interest so pervasive as to defy coverup, as seen in the daily cascade of ruinous financial scandals.

Which brings me back to my original topic, global warming/peak oil (together at last). When the grave and universal nature of these twin threats finally becomes undeniable, it would be better for the bankers if they were found to have been doing something in the public interest for a change. If not, then they are sure to harvest a level of regulation that will have poor Mr. Reagan spinning in his grave.

Dave Wheelock, a member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of New Mexico. He can be reached at davewheelock (all one word) at yahoo.com. His views do not necessarily reflect those of Socorro News, but frequently do.

Copyright 2008, Dave Wheelock; all rights reserved.