Green. The color for those who cannot count (and I am not talking about money)

I can’t help myself. I will confess. I still subscribe to “Fortune Magazine” (among other rags of the financial press). Maybe I have a touch of the masochistic, or maybe old habits die hard. Whatever the case, I invest for a living so I read this stuff.

For the December 24, 2008 issue “Investor’s Guide 2008”, most of the first 20 pages contain advertising for all things “Green”.

“The Most Fuel Efficient SUV On Earth”, - Ford Motor Company

“Waste Management is using the resources our disposal to create the energy equivalent of saving over 14 million barrels of oil per year” - Waste Management

“Our Plans for Bio-Fuels Are Growing” British Petroleum

And my personal favorite…

The lead line “Meet The New Environmentalist” under a picture of your average middle class millionaire standing in front of his McMansion holding a cup of coffee, his Wall Street Journal tucked under his arm and a shit-eating-grin on his face because he just saved the flipping planet by using materials to build his house from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.

The silliness did not end there, but you get the point.

The Editors have absolutely no problem throwing their readership “under the bus”. Considering the volume of reporting in the past 60 days on the impending oil import crisis, price signals from the oil markets, and countless academic papers on the issues, there is NO CHANCE that the editors are not aware that this is all harmful propaganda for their readers, their PAYING readers. “Sorry, dear reader, the advertiser paid more. And by the way, when you get blown up in the market, we’ll report on that, too. Hey, we aren’t analysts here, we are just journalists.”

The powers that be will continue this charade for as long as possible. Their net worth depends on it. They need to convince you that the markets will continue to function as they have, money supply will continue to grow, technology will trump physics regarding our energy consumption, etc… so that they can SELL YOU their paper assets before they decline in real value any more. That’s the game, the story, and the strategy. If you fall for it, you will look back on this BS in 10 years and wonder how you could have been so dumb.

There is no such thing as a fuel efficient SUV, any more than the tooth fairy.

Waster Management is full of baloney. The methane from the refuse they are talking about equals 14 million barrels of oil equivalent? Maybe. Anybody care to guess how many HUNDREDS of MILLIONS of barrels of oil were wasted in creating that waste? Certainly not Waste Management.

And the cute, double entendre of British Petroleum for growing Bio-Fuels (complete with a picture of a corn stalk)? Get a new schtick, guys. No one, not even the great unwashed, believes that one anymore. Still, you have got to give them credit for their stick-to-it-ivness.

But can you imagine the financial press foretelling the situation accurately? We would have to adjust my favorite advertisement to:

The lead line “Meet The New Environmentalist” under a picture of your average middle class millionaire standing in front of his 800 square foot, well insulated home, which is getting by with its ration of electricity by having a college dorm size fridge, and a grand total of 10 compact fluorescent light bulbs fixing his bicycle or waiting for public transportation. Don’t even ask about AC…

This is where we are going, folks. This is what it means to our lifestyle if we accept, and even if we don’t accept, the U.N.’s IPCC analysis on carbon emissions and the realities of the impending oil import crisis. If you have the means, the motivation, and the intellect, there is much you can do to improve your circumstances. There is little your government is going to do for you. Spending time waiting for the government to solve this with a tooth fairy, techno fix is a fool’s errand. Personal responsibility is going to take on a whole new level of meaning in the brave new energy/carbon constrained world we are entering.

The 1960’s slogan: “Question Authority” needs revision…

Question and Doubt EVERYTHING the media says.


Yours for a better world,

Mentatt (at) yahoo (d0t) com