What you pay for when you buy gas, plane tickets, and plastic: lobbyists (also more extraction)
I was browsing OpenSecrets’ page on lobbying by “the fossil fuel lobby.” Who is OpenSecrets? They track who lobbies whom in the US.
According to its site: “OpenSecrets is the nation’s premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. We provide comprehensive and reliable data, analysis and tools for policymakers, storytellers and citizens.”
Their page on climate change lobbying is sobering. Here’s one quote:
The oil and gas industry spent around $2.8 billion on federal lobbying from 1998 to 2023, OpenSecrets’ analysis found. Since the early years of Exxon’s campaign to diminish concerns about the use of oil and gas, the fossil fuel lobby has expanded its influence to create obstructions to emissions-reducing measures at every step of the policymaking process.
Before reading more, here’s my point for this post that you can do something about: Where do fossil fuel companies get their money from if not people buying their products and services: filling gas tanks, flying across oceans, packaging food, delivering products around the world?
Would you tell a racist joke, even though you know that you alone can’t end racism?
Would you tell a sexist joke, even though you know that you alone can’t end sexism?
Do you fly for vacation, even though you know that you alone can’t end pollution or depletion?
How much money are you willing to fund lobbyists with?
What’s the ratio of what you spend on charity to what you spend on gas for your car? Or products and services that require polluting and depleting in general?
Here’s where your money goes when you buy plastic, gas, etc. Actually, more of it goes to extracting more fossil fuels, which causes the pollution and depletion you probably want less of, but here’s the tip of the lobbying iceberg:
Top federal recipients of Oil and Gas contributions, 1990-present
| Member | Amount |
|---|---|
| Romney, Mitt (R-UT) | $8,519,708 |
| Cornyn, John (R-TX) | $4,947,300 |
| Cruz, Ted (R-TX) | $4,796,389 |
| McCain, John (R-AZ) | $3,833,059 |
| McCarthy, Kevin (R-CA) | $3,235,767 |
| McConnell, Mitch (R-KY) | $2,934,268 |
| Scalise, Steve (R-LA) | $2,441,273 |
| Obama, Barack (D) | $2,421,939 |
| Hutchison, Kay Bailey (R-TX) | $2,357,825 |
| Inhofe, James M (R-OK) | $2,332,745 |
| Pearce, Steve (R-NM) | $2,306,329 |
| Barton, Joe (R-TX) | $2,223,537 |
| Brady, Kevin (R-TX) | $2,117,446 |
| Gardner, Cory (R-CO) | $2,099,617 |
| Murkowski, Lisa (R-AK) | $2,033,986 |
| Biden, Joe (D) | $1,919,579 |
| Gramm, Phil (R-TX) | $1,856,079 |
| Cassidy, Bill (R-LA) | $1,836,418 |
| Boehner, John (R-OH) | $1,806,455 |
| Lankford, James (R-OK) | $1,791,194 |
That’s where the money goes. Here are the places that spend the money we supply them. Man, that’s a lot of money:
Top Oil & Gas lobbying clients, 1998-Present
| Client | Total |
|---|---|
| Exxon Mobil | $305,482,742 |
| Chevron Corp | $208,448,121 |
| Koch Industries | $183,948,000 |
| Shell plc | $180,248,339 |
| BP | $145,845,484 |
| ConocoPhillips | $140,579,639 |
| American Petroleum Institute | $139,715,067 |
| Occidental Petroleum | $138,658,705 |
| Marathon Oil | $82,722,000 |
| American Fuel & Petrochem Manufacturers | $59,214,056 |
| Phillips 66 | $44,180,000 |
| Williams Companies | $42,904,357 |
| Marathon Petroleum | $40,145,127 |
| Anadarko Petroleum | $33,578,370 |
| Cheniere Energy | $28,330,000 |
| Valero Energy | $25,461,000 |
| Independent Petroleum Assn of America | $24,656,701 |
| Interstate Natural Gas Assn of America | $22,884,852 |
| Devon Energy | $22,319,000 |
I’d copy more, but go to the site. There’s more. Remember: the only way they make that money is our spending it. That news can be empowering. I mean, if you want to change your life, I can’t think of much more motivation.
Retry later
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