Pirate's Cove

Did you know that 50% of every barrel of petroleum is used for around 700 products other than fossil fuels? The AP is Very Concerned

Iran war puts focus on petrochemicals used in numerous products and a driver of climate change

The Iran war has exposed deep vulnerability in the global economy: dependence not just on oil, gas and coal for fuel, but on petrochemicals that underpin everything from food production to plastic packaging.

As disruptions ripple through energy markets, the war is highlighting how fossil fuels are embedded far beyond transport and electricity. In the short-run, the widespread reliance will lead to higher prices for myriad products, while long-term the pollution that comes from petrochemicals will exacerbate climate change.

A two-week cease fire announced late Tuesday is a hopeful sign that the war, and energy disruptions, will abate. But no matter when it finally ends, for many environmentalists to energy experts, ultimately the war is a stark sign that the status quo needs to change.

“We cannot continue relying on fossil fuels neither for energy nor for material,” said Delphine Lévi Alvarès, global petrochemicals campaign manager at the Center for International Environmental Law. “We cannot continue relying on fossil fuels for absolutely everything around us.”

The article was surely written on a computer made with petroleum. And being read by people using computers, phones, and tablets made with petroleum. And the clothes and hat worn by “reporter” Steven Grattan are made with petroleum. The photos I see of Ms. Alveres show her wearing glasses, for which the frames and the lenses are made with petroleum.

Petrochemicals are expected to be a central topic of discussion in Santa Marta, a northern coastal city in Colombia, where governments will gather from April 24-29 for an international conference on transitioning away from fossil fuels. Experts say discussions will center on reducing demand because the sector is a major driver of future fossil fuel use. Indeed, environmentalists have long argued that fossil fuel companies, realizing that electric vehicles and green technologies like solar threaten their industries, see petrochemicals as a place for their products.

Hmm, so, all these Elites will take long fossil fueled flights on planes which are also made with lots of petrochemicals, wearing clothes made with petrochemicals, phones made with, etc and so on? Huh.

Trisia Farrelly, an environmental anthropologist at the Cawthron Institute in New Zealand, said that the crisis underscores how exposed global systems remain after decades of dependence on fossil fuels.

“For me, this is like another COVID wake-up call,” she said, pointing to risks for food security and livelihoods tied to rising costs and supply disruptions.

So, an attempt by the Elites to institute authoritarianism?