If you eagerly tuned in to the presidential debate Wednesday night, like I did, or if you regularly watch any major news network, like CNN, MSNBC, or Faux — sorry, Fox News — then chances are you’ve been brainwashed and you don’t even know it. I’m not referring to subtly slanted reporting or blatantly biased editorializing — I’m talking about commercials.
Because my apartment complex’s cable service doesn’t include my beloved MSNBC, I have been forced to endure the painfully dull and contemptibly timid analysis of John King and Wolf Blitzer on CNN. During the pre-debate analysis, every single commercial break included at least one 30-second spot of propaganda from the fossil fuel industry and its brazenly vile lobbies. In fact, the event itself was partially sponsored — “brought to you by” — these dirty interest groups.
It’s likely you’ve seen these commercials at one point or another. They chiefly come from three specific lobbying groups representing the fossil fuel industry: the American Petroleum Institute, America’s Natural Gas Alliance and the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. Together, these eerily influential organizations buy our politicians and manipulate the American people into supporting increased domestic production of fossil fuels, claiming that this will lower prices at the pump.
The reality, however, is that analysis has revealed that the “drill, baby, drill” approach of shamelessly pillaging the Earth of its natural resources does virtually nothing to lower gas prices for consumers. Just last March, the Associated Press analyzed 36 years of data on gasoline prices and U.S. oil production in order to find if the two datasets are negatively correlated, which would suggest that increased production does indeed lower prices. In short, the AP’s exhaustive study found the opposite, indicating that prices are not significantly affected by how many oil rigs are operating in the country.
“The Associated Press shows no statistical correlation between how much oil comes out of U.S. wells and the price at the pump … More oil production in the United States does not mean consistently lower prices at the pump … U.S. oil production is back to the same level it was in March 2003, when gas cost $2.10 per gallon when adjusted for inflation. But that’s not what prices are now. That’s because oil is a global commodity and U.S. production has only a tiny influence on supply. Factors far beyond the control of a nation or a president dictate the price of gasoline.”
Another article published by Time Magazine in April, examining increasingly extreme new methods of obtaining elusive supplies of oil from sources like oil sands in Canada and offshore arctic areas, concluded the same.
The fact is, the oil industry is brainwashing you. It’s manipulating us into believing that destroying the planet and drastically accelerating climate change in order to further increase their profits is supporting a job-creating industry that will ensure you pay lower prices to fill up your car. The oil industry is a collection of the most greed-driven corporations in the world, devoted to putting its profits over the health of the planet and the sustainability of our society.
Last year, the two most profitable companies in America were Exxon Mobil, with profits of more than $41 billion, and Chevron, with profits of almost $27 billion. They make this obscene amount of money thanks to Wall Street speculators, who push prices up for consumers by egregiously betting on oil futures. In turn, they use their earnings to buy our politicians. So far this election cycle, the American Petroleum Institute has coughed up $816,866 in political contributions and has spent $3,440,000 on lobbying.
No joke, in the hour and a half or so that it took me to write this column, at least five (!) of these scoundrels’ ads have run on CNN. Wow, as I’m writing this sentence, right now, one is running from the ACCCE (“clean” coal).
Don’t allow yourself to be conditioned into supporting the destruction of our Earth any longer.
Moisés Reyes is a journalism grad student at UF. His column appears on Fridays.
