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A federal carbon tax is imminent in the USA, and Exxon is pushing it

electrek.co

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Re: A federal carbon tax is imminent in the USA, and Exxon is pushing it

#11

Post by RcouF1uZ4gsC »

DiabloD3 wrote: post #2

From what I can tell, this is a political maneuvering by the oil industry to not be nailed to the cross like the tobacco industry did: knowingly selling a highly toxic product that is conclusively linked to many disorders including cancer, and covering it up or minimizing it in the media for decades to continue profiting. Unfortunately, it's not going to work, and they will be ran out of business through the politica…

People who compare oil and tobacco ignore the benefits side. For tobacco, the positive benefits are very small. The oil industry on the other hand powers our entire modern way of life.

* Ever fly in an airplane - thank oil

* Ever ride in a car or bus - thank oil

* Live in a cold climate and heat your home in winter - thank oil

* Ever use plastics - thank oil

* Ever buy something on Amazon and had it shipped to you - thank oil

* Ever buy something manufactured in another country - thank oil

* Ever use electricity on a still night - you should probably thank natural gas or coal

* Ever mail a letter - thank oil

If tobacco and tobacco products were suddenly unavailable tomorrow morning - the world would probably be a better place

If oil and oil products were suddenly unavailable tomorrow morning - it would probably result in the collapse of civilization as we know it and millions of deaths

Let's not pretend oil and tobacco have anywhere near the same pro/con trade offs.

Re: A federal carbon tax is imminent in the USA, and Exxon is pushing it

#12

Post by strommen »

Exxon is probably pushing this because it will help their business.

The #1 "victim" of a carbon tax is coal, which accounts for about 30% of our energy production. A carbon tax will redistribute this production to other sources, mainly natural gas (which emits 42% less carbon). Exxon does a lot of natural gas extraction, and virtually nothing with coal.

Exxon is also working on carbon sequestration technology. Which becomes a much more profitable business if there is a real carbon tax.

And as far as oil goes - a carbon tax has comparatively little effect on gas prices. $30/ton would be about 27 cents per gallon [1].

[1] https://www.uscleanenergyfund.com/articles/carbon-tax-simula... (disclaimer - I made this)

EDIT - After RT-entire-FA, I see they got to this point. But I think they are overcomplicating things with points #1,2,4,5. It's just good business for Exxon.

Re: A federal carbon tax is imminent in the USA, and Exxon is pushing it

#13

Post by robertcope »

strommen wrote: post #12

Exxon is probably pushing this because it will help their business. The #1 "victim" of a carbon tax is coal, which accounts for about 30% of our energy production. A carbon tax will redistribute this production to other sources, mainly natural gas (which emits 42% less carbon). Exxon does a lot of natural gas extraction, and virtually nothing with coal. Exxon is also working on carbon sequestration technology. Which…

27 cents a gallon is quite a lot.

Re: A federal carbon tax is imminent in the USA, and Exxon is pushing it

#14

Post by wildmusings »

IsaacL wrote: post #5
DiabloD3 wrote: post #2

From what I can tell, this is a political maneuvering by the oil industry to not be nailed to the cross like the tobacco industry did: knowingly selling a highly toxic product that is conclusively linked to many disorders including cancer, and covering it up or minimizing it in the media for decades to continue profiting. Unfortunately, it's not going to work, and they will be ran out of business through the politica…

Unfortunately, it's not going to work, and they will be ran out of business through the political will of the people, just as the tobacco industry is now having done to it. Cool, and what's your proposal for an alternative energy source to power modern civilisation? https://www.scribd.com/document/320110894/Alex-Epstein-Moral...

How about nuclear power? It's the most viable energy source that we have. It doesn't emit carbon. It could power the world.

Funny that the people who get labeled "climate deniers" are also the most pro-nuclear, while the loud environmentalists are the most anti-nuclear.

I frankly don't give a damn what they believe or don't believe, if they're going to solve the problem anyway.

Re: A federal carbon tax is imminent in the USA, and Exxon is pushing it

#15

Post by pjc50 »

DiabloD3 wrote: post #2

From what I can tell, this is a political maneuvering by the oil industry to not be nailed to the cross like the tobacco industry did: knowingly selling a highly toxic product that is conclusively linked to many disorders including cancer, and covering it up or minimizing it in the media for decades to continue profiting. Unfortunately, it's not going to work, and they will be ran out of business through the politica…

you're not cool if you don't drive a Tesla

Transport for the 1%! I'll just carry on with my bus. Some of them are already hybrid.

Re: A federal carbon tax is imminent in the USA, and Exxon is pushing it

#16

Post by pjc50 »

robertcope wrote: post #13
strommen wrote: post #12

Exxon is probably pushing this because it will help their business. The #1 "victim" of a carbon tax is coal, which accounts for about 30% of our energy production. A carbon tax will redistribute this production to other sources, mainly natural gas (which emits 42% less carbon). Exxon does a lot of natural gas extraction, and virtually nothing with coal. Exxon is also working on carbon sequestration technology. Which…

27 cents a gallon is quite a lot.

Hasn't US petrol prices seesawed from $4 to $2 fairly recently?

Of course, over here in the UK it's £1.10/liter, which is about $6.

Re: A federal carbon tax is imminent in the USA, and Exxon is pushing it

#17

Post by pkulak »

robertcope wrote: post #13
strommen wrote: post #12

Exxon is probably pushing this because it will help their business. The #1 "victim" of a carbon tax is coal, which accounts for about 30% of our energy production. A carbon tax will redistribute this production to other sources, mainly natural gas (which emits 42% less carbon). Exxon does a lot of natural gas extraction, and virtually nothing with coal. Exxon is also working on carbon sequestration technology. Which…

27 cents a gallon is quite a lot.

Gas prices vary by that amount just from state to state.

Re: A federal carbon tax is imminent in the USA, and Exxon is pushing it

#18

Post by k26dr »

strommen wrote: post #12

Exxon is probably pushing this because it will help their business. The #1 "victim" of a carbon tax is coal, which accounts for about 30% of our energy production. A carbon tax will redistribute this production to other sources, mainly natural gas (which emits 42% less carbon). Exxon does a lot of natural gas extraction, and virtually nothing with coal. Exxon is also working on carbon sequestration technology. Which…

I'm fine with Exxon benefitting from a carbon tax. They have the political clout to push a bill like this through Congress, and it benefits the country as a whole to have carbon legislation in place. Seems like a win-win to me.

Re: A federal carbon tax is imminent in the USA, and Exxon is pushing it

#19

Post by chrisbennet »

fucking_tragedy wrote: post #10
DiabloD3 wrote: post #2

From what I can tell, this is a political maneuvering by the oil industry to not be nailed to the cross like the tobacco industry did: knowingly selling a highly toxic product that is conclusively linked to many disorders including cancer, and covering it up or minimizing it in the media for decades to continue profiting. Unfortunately, it's not going to work, and they will be ran out of business through the politica…

> You're not cool if you smoke, and you're not cool if you don't drive a Tesla. PM has been trading for more in the last 5 months than it has in the last 8 years. Cool to who? Tesla ownership is a sign that you have money to spend but are not informed enough to purchase a vehicle that's worth the money. You might be cool in tech circles, but people that know cars will roll their eyes.

Car guy here: None of my car guy friends "roll there eyes" at Teslas. Myself and my "car guy" friends are all Porsche guys who all work on their own air cooled cars - we rebuild our own motors and transmissions, corner balance our cars for the track, etc. Then again, we probably aren't cool though. ;-)

Re: A federal carbon tax is imminent in the USA, and Exxon is pushing it

#20

Post by xxpor »

wildmusings wrote: post #14
IsaacL wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately, it's not going to work, and they will be ran out of business through the political will of the people, just as the tobacco industry is now having done to it. Cool, and what's your proposal for an alternative energy source to power modern civilisation? https://www.scribd.com/document/320110894/Alex-Epstein-Moral...

How about nuclear power? It's the most viable energy source that we have. It doesn't emit carbon. It could power the world. Funny that the people who get labeled "climate deniers" are also the most pro-nuclear, while the loud environmentalists are the most anti-nuclear. I frankly don't give a damn what they believe or don't believe, if they're going to solve the problem anyway.

Putting a nuclear reactor in every car and truck sounds like a great idea!
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