Touched by Angel(s)

If I had a hammer I'd hammer in the morning
I'd hammer in the evening all over this land
I'd hammer out danger, I'd hammer out a warning
I'd hammer out love between all of my brothers
All over this land

Well if I had a bell I would ring it in the morning
And I would ring it in the evening all over this land
I'd ring out danger, I'd ring out a warning
I'd ring out love between all of my brothers
All over this land

Now if I had a song I would sing it in the morning
I would sing it in the evening all over this land
I'd sing out danger I'd sing out a warning
I'd sing out love between all of my brothers
All over this land

Well I've got a hammer and I've got a bell
And I've got a song to sing all over this land
It's a hammer of justice it's a bell of freedom
It's a song about love between all of my brothers
All over this land
All over this land

Sometimes you meet Angels in the strangest and most unexpected places, they usually disguise themselves in an effort to remain anonymous.

I had absolutely no "intention" of a follow-up to my last blog post but sometimes you get hit with a "Hammer" when you are looking for a simple drink and a bite to eat. So unexpectedly I am stretching the religious "play" from my last blog "Angels and Demons" one "blog" further on the same topic.

Last night My Faithful and Obedient Companion and I headed out,in the midst of quite a snowstorm, to our favorite "watering hole" and light apps eatery, for drinks and a bit to eat.  The place "Idlewild Distillery" is located right in the heart of Winter Park.    Several of you have sampled their Gin products and blog follower Phil and his Joan went there with us a week or so ago.

Barbara and I  always sit at the Bar and this week was no different.  There were only 3 seats available and we ended up sitting between 2  "young" gentlemen on My Faithful and Obedient's left,  and an "interesting" young lady on my right.  Interesting (?),  she wore a Tee Shirt that literally had F-ck You as the top line!

We immediately started the usual  bantering back and forth found in a "Ski Resort" watering hole and quickly learned the two gentlemen came up to Winter Park for just one day of skiing (the following day).  One was from Boca Raton Fl, the other from Dallas TX.  They had  both been in Denver to attend a "Foundation Board Meeting" they served on, and decided to squeeze in a day on the slopes before flying home.

Of course, having served on a couple of Foundation Boards, this comment captured my interest.  We  talked about some of the some things our Foundations were doing but oddly they seemed reluctant to specifically name their Organization.  Eventually they indicated they were "Drilling Engineers" (Oil/gas) and this was an "industry group".  At the time  I could not help but sense they said it so quietly that the young lady next to me could not pick up on it-nor could any others at the bar.

This morning I reflected on this specific "sense" I had and on the rest of our ensuing conversation.

If any of you have ever watched the movie (yes another movie reference) "Groundhog Day" there is a scene (repeated several time in the movie because after all  every scene is played over and over)  It is when Andie Macdowell is chatting with Bill Murray about her college years.  He asks her what her College Major was and she looks at him apprehensively and reluctantly states: "French Poetry".  In the first scene played out he  he laughs and says: "That must have been a complete waste of time". Rita's (her character name) eyes tear up and she sadly looks away.  It was obvious she expected ridicule every time she told anyone her major.

I bring this up because that look was EXACTLY the look I saw in that man's eyes when one said "Drilling Engineer".  He anticipated ridicule.

This struck me as "odd" at the moment, but then I realized he was at a bar, in a ski and resort and there was a high likelihood of several  anti-"fossil fuel" zealots- much like those marching Vermonters I cited in my last blog, sat among us .  The girl in the T shirt next to me fit that image (maybe unfairly) to a "T".

After the Bar cleared out (including the aforementioned tee shirt girl) our conversation opened up. It was interesting to say the least.  I told them that what a great profession "drilling engineer" was and how it likely made positive impact in the world.  I talked about Vermont., and how that anti-fossil fuel bias made it  cost 3 times as much for heat and electricity in Vermont as it does in Colorado.  Then we chatted about how Colorado's increasingly anti-fossil fuel population wants to become like Vermont.  It was evident during this conversation that both of these gentlemen had been confronted by the "Anti- Fossil" fuel crowd at various times in their past.

I told both of them their work over the years has been one that saved millions, but most people are too stupid and misinformed to have a clue.  I even kidded them that if you asked the average person who actually saved the "Whales" they would likely say "Greenpeace" instead of EXXON, which in reality is a true statement.  Whales were being hunted to extinction until Drake drilled that first Oil Well in Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile several states are currently suing Exxon , for supposedly "hiding" the effects of  spewing CO2 into the atmosphere.  I am convinced that misguided politicians and those marching in Vermont might actually prefer we all live in Yurts.   In my mind they are the real threat to our kids and grandkids future. More importantly they threaten millions of the poor around the world. The misinformation spewed by anti-fossil fuel zealots coupled with our  education systems failure to provide any information on the benefits gained from cheaper energy has the the potential to be much more tragic than any  "projected"  2 degree increase in global temperatures.

So today I played  with a few quick stats (only for brevity of this blog) this morning:


In 1970 India had a life expectancy of 49 years and  GDP per capita of  $142
By 2017 it was 68.6 years and $1,940.  The average person added about 20 years of life and increased their income 10 fold.  Does anyone put a price on that??

In 1970 Pakistan had a life expectancy of 53 years and a GDP per capita of $100
By 2017 it was 66.5 years and $1540.  The average person added 13-14 years to their life and increased income 15 fold.  Does anyone put a price on that?

I am confident the same types of stats from any "third world country" would emerge over the same time frame.

Meanwhile it is true that worldwide CO2 emissions (from all that economic activity which uplifted literally BILLIONS of people  into better, longer lives, less hunger, better healthcare and sanitation) increased about 3 fold.  The correlation. is no mirage, nor is it "coincidental".

Meanwhile one  can also observe that global temperatures over the last decades look like this:

Satellite Observations

I will  concede that the observed "global" temperature since 1980 are up about .5 centigrade..  While I still may question how much is regular climatic change (example note how cold it was pre 1930 was that "abnormal"? ) versus human induced change is open to debate .  At any rate scientific inquiry on the issue is worthwhile.

I also believe continued political dialogue on the science is worthwhile since no doubt lots of CO2 gas has been generated.  I have no issue with exploring  more "sustainable"  and less fossil generated energy sources.  Even though I remain a skeptic on the methods and models used to project the future, I take no issue with a meaningful discussion on this as well.

What I remain concerned with is the total lack of media coverage and the total lack of educational discussion except that "climate catastrophe" looms, and the attendant demonization on the "evil" Oil and Coal industry. There is no public discussion about what forced reductions would cost not just in dollars but in actual human misery.

The sad observation from my  simple "Bar Encounter" is that all the "dialogue" that has taken place so far is to openly demonize 2 guys that I consider to be the real Angels over the last 30 years.  Certainly I believe they have contributed more to improving billions of people lives than  all the 350.ORG "Climate Activists",  and the media fear mongers ever did.

I promise to close this and all future blogs on this issue with this Observation.

The radical voices, unanswered and unchallenged by those who fear "ridicule" in even our daily conversations are a much bigger issue than we all realize.  It is for that reason why I have been so passionate in adding my contrarian view to this topic. 

Our kids and grandkids, including those in third world countries,will ultimately pay the price or reap the benefits of whatever the outcome may be.  Demonizing those who have unquestionably helped us advance people's lives is a real tragedy in my humble opinion.  Go give an oil worker a big hug!

With that I bid a final adieu to Climate Change