[Vision2020] 350.org: Petition for Congress to End to FossilFuel Subsidies.

Mon Mar 19 10:32:53 PDT 2012

I guess I’ll wait for some links to some articles you’ve been reading that would backup your understanding of things like…  supply-side economics, commodities markets, speculators, and just how well our economy fares when the government gets involved in price-fixing.

I will grant you that OPEC knows EXACTLY where the magic price point lies in which “alternative energy” starts to pencil out… but beyond that, my eyes are crossing… I can’t find much of anything in what you wrote that I agree with.

Jay

Paul,

I disagree with your assessment. Here's why: If oil prices were to skyrocket to above $12 a gallon oil companies would lose money because customers would buy less. They produce (supply) gas and sell it at a price that creates the greatest amount of dollars of profit. If an oil company tripled in price two things would happen. First, people would cut their consumption back by as much. Second, other alternative sources would appear on the market as more affordable and quickly replace oil companies  share of the energy market. In addition, the economy would weaken and their future stake in the American Economy would fall, losing them 100s of billions.

I understand the Europeans pay much more a gallon (Liter) of gas. However, their cars get far better mileage, and much of the increase is the result of additional taxes which result in offsetting other consumer costs like health care and education. 

It is not the cost of gas that bothers me as much as it is that I have no clue from day to day, month to month, year to year what the price is going to be. That makes it hard for me to budget when gas can be anywhere from $3 to $5 a gallon on any given day. It also screws up the economy and stock market as speculators bid up and down on the price. The price needs to remain consistent. We need to know what the price of gas is going to be in two months when we plan a trip, or trucking company accepts a contract for the next year. 

Donovan Arnold

From: Paul Rumelhart <godshatter at yahoo.com>
To: Ted Moffett <starbliss at gmail.com> 
Cc: Moscow Vision 2020 <vision2020 at moscow.com> 
Sent: Saturday, March 17, 2012 4:21 PM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] 350.org: Petition for Congress to End to Fossil Fuel Subsidies.

I used to think that raising the price of gas would be a good thing.  People would conserve more, the government would be spending a little less, and alternative energy systems would have less of a disadvantage when competing against fossil fuels.  And perhaps in small increments at the right times it could be.  However, outright ending the subsidies to oil companies would be a resoundingly *bad* idea.  Here's why.

I've seen a couple of studies on the web that claim that without fossil fuel subsidies, we would be paying anywhere between $12.75 and $15.14 a gallon for gas.  Here is a link to an article about one from 1998: http://www.commondreams.org/pressreleases/Nov%2098/111698e.htm

Imagine what that would do to your average person in this economy.  The price of almost everything would rocket sky-high.  Items we buy are shipped mostly by truck, by sea, or by air.  All of these methods would be affected by such a large spike in the cost of gas.  If you wanted to put the brakes on a fragile economic turnaround that is trying to happen right now, I can't think of a better way.  People living paycheck-to-paycheck would be hurt the most.  Food prices would be the first casualty, and that would affect a lot of people in a bad way.  Tourism and travel would also suffer greatly.  So would companies that sell the least essential items, because people would have less money to spend because of the price of everything else has gone up.  The evil 1%-ers would be affected the least by this.  Not everyone is in a position to walk or bike to work, and we live in a country that has been designed around the automobile.  Mass transit is adequate only in the highest-density areas of the country.  

In the long run, after the damage has been done and life as we know it has changed and we're back on the road to recovery a decade or two from now, we probably would have more access to alternative energy systems and public transportation, just out of sheer necessity.  But at what price?  I would bet that more undue hardship would happen to more people in the next ten years if you turned subsidies off tomorrow than climate change (whatever it's cause) would in the next fifty.

When the economy has recovered a bit more, I could back a scheme to move a small portion of those subsidies from the fossil fuel industry to alternative energy research.  Easing us into less of a dependence on oil might be wise, as long as we keep  working on alternative energy, power grid updates, and mass transit and as long as we do so slowly in order to reduce the shock on the populace.  It's definitely worth looking into, anyway.

Paul

On 03/16/2012 04:18 PM, Ted Moffett wrote: 

Dear friends,

We just recorded a new video that I think you’ll enjoy: www.350.org/join-the-fight <http://act.350.org/go/1206?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=1> 

 <http://act.350.org/go/1206?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=2> 

I'm pretty sure this video won't go viral and get 50 million views in 24 hours -- and it doesn't need to. It’s more of an internal update for the extended 350.org <http://350.org/>  family, a chance for all of us to reflect and get ready for some busy months ahead. 

As 350.org <http://350.org/>  co-founder Bill McKibben explains in the video <http://act.350.org/go/1206?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=3> , we're gearing up for a major new fight to end the billions of dollars in subsidies the fossil fuel industry receives each year -- the tax-breaks, handouts, and loopholes that are just adding to the record-breaking profits that these companies are already making. And perhaps most importantly, getting rid of fossil fuel subsidies across the board would be a huge step to cutting carbon emissions and putting us back on a pathway to 350 ppm.

The subsidies battle is gaining momentum, and fast. In a recent speech, President Obama called for an end to subsidies to Big Oil and said, “Let's put every single member of Congress on record: You can stand with oil companies or you can stand up for the American people.”

As you probably know, we haven’t agreed with President Obama on everything, but we think getting every member of Congress on the record is a great idea. As a first step, we just launched this short and simple petition <http://act.350.org/go/1206?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=4>  that reads: "I call on Congress to end all subsidies to fossil fuel companies, and invest in green jobs and clean energy instead."

Please take a minute to add your name to the petition calling for Congress to put an end to fossil fuel subsidies <http://act.350.org/go/1206?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=5> . Over the next month, we'll ramp up the pressure -- on Twitter, on Facebook, over the phones, and in district -- to get every politician to tell us where he or she stands on these subsidies. For now, we'll use this petition to show Congress how important this issue is -- and when we launch our big push to get every member of Congress on the record, they'll know that we have an army of concerned citizens who have our back. 

As Rev. Lennox Yearwood of the Hip-Hop Caucus says in the video, “To make this movement successful, we have to continue to keep the pressure going.” We couldn't agree more. Along with taking on fossil fuel subsidies, we're gearing up for some massive new efforts to build this movement:

*	Taking on more iconic fossil fuel fights across the country and around the world.
*	“Connecting the Dots” between climate change and extreme weather -- expect more on that front very soon! 
*	Training and supporting thousands of new climate leaders to strengthen our movement.
*	And lots more…

None of this work is possible without your participation and leadership. As Bill says in the video <http://act.350.org/go/1206?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=6> : “This fight is going to be a lifetime fight. I’m so, so, so grateful to all of you who are playing such a huge role in it.”

On we go,

May Boeve for the 350.org <http://350.org/>  Team

Links and Articles

"Scrapping fossil-fuel subsidies would get us halfway on climate change" <http://act.350.org/go/1209?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=7>  - The Washington Post: go.350.org/ypIIRs <http://act.350.org/go/1209?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=8> 

350.org <http://350.org/?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=9>  is building a global movement to solve the climate crisis. Connect with us on Facebook <http://facebook.com/350.org>  and Twitter <http://twitter.com/350> , and sign up for email alerts <http://350.org/signup?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=10> . You can help power our work by getting involved locally and donating here. <http://350.org/donate?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=11>  

What is 350? Go to our website <http://350.org/science?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=12>  to learn about the science behind the movement. 

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Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett

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