Energy independence might be the dream that caused a nightmare.
Given the odds that fracking fluids and baby cancer fairies will migrate soon to an acquifer near you.
Given the power of invisible chemicals to kill us slowly but surely, we can expect health costs to go up.
Expect pre-existing conditions (especially those related to adrenal and endocrine functions) to rise.
Expect Bible-beaters to demand coerced fetus birth with no regard to the damage accrued by mammalian fetuses under the frackinstances.
At least we know where Fred Palmer stands on cheap coal and coke. At least we know the heartland is in good hands.
As for Putin, he is doing well. His reputation continues to climb since Marat Gelman turned Channel One into an "institution of managed democracy" for the 2003 elections.
Putin has exported his model to nearby states and his bottom is covered in lipstick marks by Viktor Orban.
Putin keeps scoring.
Tillerson smiles and acts congenial.
Putin scores another pipeline, this time to Georgia's detriment.
Speaking of scoring, where is Tom Holst? I miss Tom Holst.
Good ole Holst was a major player in bringing Chevron to Romania. Getting a 600,000 hectares concession in the eastern Barlad region and three concessions in the Dobroudja region.
Tom Holst said only shale gas development could achieve energy independence for the Romanians.
The peasants of Pungesti protested earthquakes and made a stink about water.
It was peasants v. Tom Holst.
He felt misunderstood by the native, garlic-chomping masses.
He wanted to make the world free for national energy independence.
He never liked syllogisms or hardcore logic.
Tom Holst was a true public-private humanitarian.
And Tom Holst would be nothing if not for Obama.
The international frack fest might be less pervasive if not for Sec. of State Clinton's active lobbying on behalf of the fracking industry.
In August 2010, the U.S. Department of State launched a program to promote the extraction of shale gas in other countries. It was called the “Global Shale Gas Initiative” and led by David Goldwyn, who was then State Department’s Coordinator for International Energy Affairs. [Source]
Once upon a time, Mark Gitenstein couldn't stop fracking. He sat on a horse named Corruption and rode it around the world. A true oil cowboy.
Gitenstein has owned stock in 17 companies, including energy companies like Exxon Mobil, that has high profile operations in Romania. In March 2012, the Office of Government Ethics asked Gitenstein’s spouse, Elizabeth Gitenstein, to surrender 337 shares in Exxon Mobil after the energy giant announced the discovery of a large natural gas deposit in the Black Sea, which it will extract in partnership with Austrian OMV-owned Romanian energy group Petrom.
The former ambassador also owns nine gas leases In Oklahoma, which earned him between $35,508 and $102,000 in 2009, according to his financial disclosure report.
In his ethics pledge, Gitenstein wrote: “I understand that a heightened prospect of a conflict of interest could exist as to companies that maintain a presence in Romania, because they may be more likely than other companies to seek official assistance from or make other contact with the Embassy. I will remain alert to the possible need for recusal where appropriate.”
“I was required by the U.S. government to advocate for Exxon. The same thing for Chevron,” said Mr. Gitenstein in a phone interview. But the former ambassador said he doesn’t know what’s in the contract. “That contract was negotiated between Chevron and the Romanian government without my involvement, certainly.”
Chevron denied that Gitenstein lobbied the Romanian Government on its behalf. “I’m aware of no role that Ambassador Gittenstein played. I’m not aware of any meeting he attended,” said Thomas Holst, Chevron’s representative, when I asked him after a conference.
Gitenstein, who ended his mandate as ambassador on December 2012, is now a board member in Fondul Proprietatea, a joint stock company established by the Romanian state that holds shares in all the major Romanian oil, gas and power generation companies. He also returned to Mayer Brown as “special counsel in the Government & Global Trade practice”. “Commercial opportunities abound in Romania and throughout Central and Eastern Europe, and my experience and contacts in the region can help clients capitalize on them,” he said in an announcement on the firm’s website.
Gitenstein’s advocacy is not unusual in the context of diplomacy. The U.S. Embassy in Bucharest offers a “Commercial Diplomacy” service for U.S. companies. According to export.gov, the Embassy can help companies “benefit from coordinated U.S. government engagement with the Romania government to protect U.S. business interests”, as well as “access U.S. government trade advocacy for your Romania government procurement bids”.
Sometimes I think about Tillerson and Gitenstein and Holst and other free-range global cowboys.
Sometimes I think there should be laws to restrain them from riding so much.
Sometimes I want a nanny to step in and prevent them from damaging private property. Mineral extraction rights are like acid on a landscape's flesh.
What's the resale value of a mined body?
Hollywood says nada.
Female values plummet after giving birth.
Oh... and guess who's coming back to Romania hungry for cuddles and partnerships? Ambassador George Maior extends an open and very physical invitation to Tillerson and the US Chamber of Commerce.
Thanks Obama. Thanks Clinton. Now look at what is waiting for Trump.
Sometimes I wonder if this election was a contest between oil and gas corporations.
And I wonder why we pay taxes so rich white men can get neocolonialist in the name of a flag.
I think the methane has disrupted our synaptic firing. I think American brains are dead. And very, very red.
