Conspiracy theories are based on the notion that complex
plots are put into motion by powerful forces.
The plots’ goals are often to dupe the public and steal their money or
power. The plotters’ tools include
switching the argument or blaming other people or ideas for the “real” problem.
Recent comments by
two pro-oil powerhouses may point to a new strategy by fossil fuel supporters
that may be worth keeping an eye on by the conspiracy theorists.
Rex Tillerson, ExxonMobil’s chief executive, recently used
the “switching the argument” tactic. He said
in New York City that tackling global poverty should have a higher
international priority than reducing carbon emissions, because it would give
billions of the world’s energy poor access to oil and gas supplies.
“They’d love to burn fossil fuels because their quality of
life would rise immeasurably,” said Tillerson.
“You’d save millions upon millions of lives making fossil fuels
available to parts of the world that don’t have it.”
Tillerson believes world hunger is the “real” problem and
oil can solve it.
Now go across the pond to Norway and hear how Ivar Giaever,
Norwegian physicist and 1973 Nobel Prize winner, blames alternative energies
for preventing hungry children from being fed.
"In particular, I am worried about all the money wasted on alternative energies, when so many children in the world go hungry to bed," said the physicist.
Giaever clearly blames alternative energy development as the reason why the world has hungry children.
Hmmm. It appears from these comments from two esteemed energy experts that the "real" world problem is world hunger, oil can solve it and alternative energy is preventing its solution.
World hunger is a serious problem that needs to be tackled but it is being used as a red herring in Tillerson and Giaever's arguments.
A "red herring" is a fallacy in which an irrelevant topic is presented in order to divert attention from the original issue. These energy experts are discussing oil and alternative energy issues so they introduce world hunger under the guise of being relevant to energy issues. The world hunger issue becomes the focal point and energy issues are dismissed.
Is world hunger going to be the next political football used to take people’s attention away from the economic and environmental problems associated with an oil-dominated world? An argument could easily be made that increased production of lower cost renewable fuels could be the true answer to solving world hunger.
Switching the argument or blaming others for our “real”problems are two age-old political strategies to draw attention away from an issue. The conspiracy theory crowd may want to keep their eye on how this developing oil/alternative energy/world hunger argument plays out.
John McGory is an Ohio Energy Soldier. Go to our fan page on Facebook to like Ohio Energy Soldiers.
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