An alligator spotted at Brazos Bend State Park. When you're up to your neck in alligators, it's hard to remember that your original goal was to drain the swamp.
Scott Solomon/Contributor
Majid Jafar, Chairman of Crescent Petroleum Co., right, presents a scarf in the colors of the national flag of the United Arab Emirates to Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Chairman of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and President of COP28, center, during the Summit on Methane and other non-CO2 greenhouse gases on the third day of the COP28 climate change conference at Expo City in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Hollie Adams/Bloomberg
Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Managing Director of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and President of COP28, speaks on the opening day of the COP28 Climate Change Conference on November 30 at Expo City in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Hollie Adams/Bloomberg
For people who commanded ground troops, my superiors in the Army spent an inordinate amount of time talking about swamps, alligators, and their proximity to boats.
Military officials turned it into a metaphor for problem-solving by arguing that when draining the swamp, one must first deal with the alligators closest to the boat. The alligators further away can wait.
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“Demand for affordable, reliable energy will continue to rise as the world's population grows, and the world will need more energy sources, not fewer,” said Dustin Meyer, a senior official at the American Petroleum Institute, the industry's top lobbyist. “We are committed to working with policymakers on solutions that leave all options open.”
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“The reality is that the risk is increasing. We all see it,” he said. “If we do smart things with investments in resources, we can reduce this risk. But we have to make smart decisions.”
What is considered smart is the challenge. Just as a salesperson at the beauty counter will always say you need more makeup, fossil fuel dealers argue that their products are the answer to energy poverty, the next alligator.
However, their solution complicates the goal of limiting global warming, the proverbial draining of the swamp.
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That's why last week every country pledged to transition away from fossil fuels and radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But if the United States follows through on its promise, Texas could suffer badly.
Texas is the nation's largest emitter of greenhouse gases and one of the world's largest contributors to climate change. Texas produces 42% of the country's oil and 27% of its natural gas, the Energy Information Administration reports. Texas' carbon emissions increased 85% between 1970 and 2021 and 1% since 2016.
No wonder Republican leaders in Texas deny climate change. Doing anything about emissions would make the state's wealthiest people and major political donors uncomfortable.
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The smart decision is to innovate and not stagnate.
New wind and solar projects provide cheaper electricity than coal, natural gas or nuclear power. Operators are installing huge batteries to store electricity for the dark and quiet hours when electricity demand can peak. We are learning to deal with demand.
Geothermal energy companies use fracking technology to produce steam from hot shale deep beneath the Earth's surface. The cost of offshore wind energy, which blows much more evenly, is falling rapidly.
Texas got rich by solving the world's energy problems with oil and gas. If we are willing to transform with science, we can fight the alligators while draining the swamp, saving the planet and our economy.
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