As a farmhand in Applegate, Oregon, I learned about nature’s delicate balance. Water, soil, air and countless other factors all play their part in creating life. From season to season, I saw how even small changes would affect crop health. But the changes in recent years have been anything but minimal. Today, the once lush and fertile fields of this farm are dry and arid, victims of extreme drought brought on by the climate crisis.
My story has become banal. Almost three quarters of the United States farmers interviewed in August saw a reduction in crop yields due to drought. THE colorado river, which supplies 40 million people, is on the verge of collapse. We are currently in the worst mega-drought in 1200 years. There can no longer be any doubt: climate change is happening. If we don’t address it now, the fate of our farm will become the fate of the planet.
Greenpeace climate justice activists, including the author (second from right), aboard the Shell rig en route to a major oilfield in the North Sea.(Picture: © Greenpeace)
I boarded Shell with three other Greenpeace International activists to send them a message: Stop Drilling, Start Paying. Shell must take responsibility for its historic role in climate change; pay for loss and damage; stop its oil and gas expansion around the world; and turn to renewable energies. Without an end to new oil and gas projects and a transition to clean energy, we cannot keep our farms alive and our planet habitable.
If the ship reaches its final destination in the North Sea, Shell will be able to pump the equivalent of more than 100 million barrels of oil.
If the ship reaches its final destination in the North Sea, Shell will be able to pump the equivalent of more than 100 million barrels of oil. Burning all that oil would create the equivalent of 45 million tons of CO2. It’s more than the annual nevada emissions. This pollution will contribute to the climate catastrophe. The science is clear. We cannot continue to increase the use of oil and gas if we hope to limit climate change.
Oil and gas companies offer us a false choice between a healthy planet and a healthy economy. The truth is that with fossil fuels we get neither. We are ready produce more oil and gas than ever before. Yet, gasoline prices still soared to record highs. Instead of lowering prices, wealthy oil and gas CEOs gave themselves million dollar bonuses. The CEO of Shell made 57 times more than the average company employee in 2021.
Greenpeace climate justice activists approach the Shell rig en route to a major oilfield with the message: ‘STOP DRILLING. START PAYING.’ (Photo: © Chris J. Ratcliffe / Greenpeace)
Continuing to increase oil and gas production will worsen both the climate and economic crisis. The climatic disasters caused 165 billion dollars in damage in 2022. Financial regulators have called the climate crisis a threat to the stability of the US financial system. Increasing our reliance on expensive fossil fuels harms our health, pollutes communities and worsens wealth inequality.
Companies like Shell have played down the climate crisis for decades. Between 2000 and 2016, fossil fuel interests spent nearly $2 billion to derail climate legislation. Today, in the face of widespread support for climate action, these companies and the politicians they fund are trying to delay the transition to the renewable energy we need for a viable future so they can continue to generate billions. of profits.
We already have the technology to move from oil and gas to renewables like solar and wind. The technology is not the problem.
People around the world are already suffering from fossil fuel pollution and climate-fueled disasters. We have the ability to stop it. We will put people, not oil and gas companies and wealthy elites, back at the heart of governance and public life. We already have the technology to move from oil and gas to renewables like solar and wind.
The technology is not the problem. The problem is the political will of our world leaders. It’s time to stop these companies from extracting fossil fuels and start forcing them to pay for the damage they have done to our planet and our health.