By
Melinda Pillsbury-Foster and David Lincoln
About the article
We
have been investigating the connection between Exxon’s Climate
change denial and their policies towards refinery maintenance and
operations policy. In particular, we are interested in how decisions
at the highest levels of the major oil companies have impacted the
rate of accidents and other major refinery incidents.
Today
we sent information to the Attorneys General in each state with
evidence of further wrong doing by Exxon. You need to know about
this, too.
While
we all know Exxon is being charged civilly for withholding
information on Climate Change, the company was at the same time
carrying out a campaign of climate change denial. This distracted
our attention from an ongoing shell game involving the refinery
industry.
Research
done by our organization, EcoAlert, revealed further acts by Exxon,
and other oil companies, which resulted in the deaths of plant
employees because the companies failed to maintain their equipment or
provide adequate training and oversight. Further implications of
refinery sales, fires and shutdowns are enormous.
While
we were still doing the research we realized the strategy Exxon
followed was really very simple, so simple a child could easily 'get'
it. We began calling this Greedville – The Oil Game. We refer to
the game in the article and use some graphics. We may actually
produce the game, as it worked well explaining these events to our
associates.
Here
is what we found out.
What Exxon is Still Hiding
At
about the time Exxon defunded their studies on climate change,
decisions were being made and a strategy agreed on to cut costs on
refinery operations. Exxon began its campaign of Climate Change
Denial to distract you. Now, for the real story.
The
very small group of individuals who run ExxonMobil are highly
motivated and extraordinarily well compensated for the work they do.
Each of these individuals, vice-presidents up, expected to leave the
company at least as a multi-millionaire. The last ExxonMobil CEO Lee
Raymond, received a compensation package of about $400,000,000 when
he retired in 2006. Raymond came onboard Exxon while these events
were playing out.
Their
present CEO, Rex Tillerson, made a little over $40,000,000 last year
and is expected to retire with a very nice golden parachute soon.
These
men had ambitions, dreams, and in 1985 they were firmly invested in a
sense of entitlement for what they were then earning and for their
future compensation.
This
is the real governing body, the club, the people who can be trusted
with the facts and would actively carry out the decisions made.
If
the public had known the damage oil was already doing, and the
potential for more, steps would have been taken to get us off oil far
sooner, cutting off the millions to be paid to the individuals making
these decisions. Of course, many vice-presidents also sit on the
Board of Directors of other companies.
Exxon
did not tell their stockholders, lower level employees - or us, about
their plans.
Exxon's
management must have been shocked when they realized what was causing
climate change. It may even have been shattering for them. A very
vocal faction of the public was becoming ever louder and more active
on the issue of oil in the 80s. At the same time, expectations for
long term goals were irrevocably altered.
These
men did not view themselves as bad guys, quite the contrary. But they
were also angry. Those of us around then saw that boiling anger in
this bumper sticker.
Perhaps
the penny that dropped was due to advances in solar energy. We'll
never know. But it is probably safe to assume they realized their
industry was not going to remain the dominant energy source for as
long as they had believed. Each of them would feel the impact
personally so they decided to take steps to protect themselves. If
there were problems to be handled, they would give the orders.
One
of those problems was liability. Their strategic group included
attorneys and seasoned geologists and engineers. They knew the risks
of doing nothing to fight climate change and they knew the
implications for the supply and price of their products.
Did
they think about those ordinary people making maybe $10 - $40 an hour
who their orders would intentionally place in harm’s way? It seems
the risk to their employees was something they were willing to accept
as long as they could avoid paying for the consequences.
Liability
would be hard to avoid, however. Since the victims did not know the
full nature of the risks and injury and death could result from
neglect and cost cutting, (to say nothing of the losses to
stockholders), they needed a way to immunize themselves from what
could amount to enormous damages.
Oil
refineries were shut down frequently and refinery ownership was often
shuffled between the major players. In a market with a growing
demand for gasoline and other petroleum products they all began to
cut back on maintenance and upgrades for their refineries. This
would save them money in the long run. Knowing most people knew
nothing about their business, lying worked when questions were asked.
Excuses
were made about why major incidents kept reoccurring – but the
evidence shows they were deliberate falsehoods. They also knew
failure to maintain the refineries would lead to more incidents –
and explosions and malfunctions can kill people.
Restitution
was definitely something to be evaded, and the Exxon Club, and their
fellow corporations, successfully avoided being found out by
obscuring the records and providing misleading and contradictory
statements.
Greedville
– Ticket to Lie Card
For
example, the 10,000 clean up workers from the Exxon Valdez, harmed in
1989 have never been fully compensated and Exxon has made health
studies difficult. Another stall to keep a precedent from being
created. Exxon never followed up on what happened to these people,
who trusted Exxon and cleaned up their mess. Exxon applies the same
tactics when it comes to the poor residents near refineries. Exxon
knew if they had no information nothing could be subpoenaed. The
last time someone, not Exxon, tried to contact the clean-up workers
most were dead.
Notice
the form the Exxon disinformation campaign took. Instead of looking
at the impact on air, water and land, and human health, (where damage
already could have been proven in many cases), they focused on the
impact to the climate, a subject they knew, better than most, was
more complex and harder to prove.
It
was the best possible approach for their purpose. Using the
uncertainties of science and politics they divided possible
opposition, stalling so they could take steps to reduce their
potential liabilities, which would only increase over time. It
would be a long stall focused on ensuring the appearance of forward
momentum and increasing the value of their stock.
That
brings us to what is going to seem a completely different set of
players, beginning with a man named Thomas D. O'Malley. You can
usefully think of Mr. O'Malley, CEO of PBF Energy, Inc., as a trash
collector who makes sure companies like Exxon are not found liable
for the failure of critical infrastructure. It is a shell game; you
have to keep your eye on the liability to understand what is
happening. This has made Mr. O'Malley very wealthy.
This
was a step toward the going out of business sale or bankruptcy sell
offs which were inevitable. The step was taken to save them money,
and it has.
By
taking this step, intentionally and covertly, corporations, run by
similar management 'clubs' cooperated in actions which took the
lives of employees and also impacted the health of tens of thousands
of people living near the facilities. The companies likely realized
this opened them up to charges of conspiracy and decided the risk was
worth it.
Offsetting
costs to others had always been part of their business strategy. The
game involved selling obsolete, damaged or derelict refineries to
O’Malley through his numerous corporations and shell companies, who
would then pretend to add value by pushing these facilities to their
productive capacity while at the same time cutting operations and
maintenance costs to the bone. This would push up his stock value and
give the appearance of maximum efficiency while those in the trenches
would know something really bad was about to happen. Then when the
inevitable fire or explosion occurred, he would quickly close the
facility, cash in on insurance, subsidies or development schemes and
restructure into a new company with no track record.
Just
today Californians are learning how much this really cost them. In
an article published this morning in the Daily Breeze by Nick Green,
said, the February 2015 explosion, “that
shuttered the ExxonMobil plant in Torrance was the costliest
disruption at a California refinery in the past 16 years, with
motorists paying at least $2.4 billion in higher pump prices in the
following six months, according
to a recent RAND study.
Soaring
prices stemming from the lost gasoline supply sucked a staggering
$6.9 billion from the California economy in the first six months
after the explosion alone.
But
the total economic loss is likely more than double that figure, RAND
researchers noted.”
Our
research into Exxon introduced us to Thomas D. O'Malley and his
interesting career. He has used the 'Greedville Lie Card' multiple
times. He has also known the Exxon Club folks for a long time and
assisted them before.
We
are running out of time, this week Exxon will restart their refinery
in Torrance, Calif which blew up in Feb 2015. If it doesn’t catch
fire in the next 15 days, ownership will transfer to O’Malley’s
PBF Energy company. We know what he will do next, he has done it a
dozen times before. He will cut costs to the bone and push production
to maximum capacity. When the inevitable happens, he will once again
declare bankruptcy and leave the employees and residents with a
lifetime of hurt.
Tom
O'Malley and Rex Tillerson shaking hands
We
know the number of employees who were previously ordered into danger
after management had refused to carry out routine maintenance. We
know how many died, as a result. The number of incidents, including
explosions, has been steadily increasing since the 1980s. Many
refineries are now closed, no longer in use.
The
number of incidents taking place since 1987 has risen dramatically.
This
has happened in ten states.
And which state had the most
'incidents?' California,
with 47. Texas is second with 34.
And which company caused the most 'incidents?'
Exxon
owned refineries suffered 19 explosions followed by Valero, 12,
Conoco Philips and Tosco, ten each, BP and Sinclair, 9 each, and
Chevron, 8. The evidence for how they managed to evade
accountability is now in the hands of the Attorney Generals. The
states have stepped in to do what the Federal government ignored.
An
accident is not an accident when the conditions which caused
explosions were planned.
Fatalities
for the industry were 134 dead. The number of people injured was
over 20,000.
There
are steps to be taken now. The first has already been carried out.
The evidence we compiled went by email to the Attorney Generals in
the 10 states where the fatalities and injuries took place. Several
of these have already filed civil lawsuits against ExxonMobil on
their evasions over Climate Change. Other corporations, following
the same strategy, can be added and the matter tried criminally.
The
goal must include real compensation for those harmed, not just fines.
Officers for the corporations should not be allowed to hide behind
their corporate shields. Sign the petition demanding action be
taken. MovetoAmend.org.
What Next?
We
must get off oil.
This
project started over three years ago. As we wrote this we talked
about solutions.
Every one of us is vulnerable. You do not have to work in a
refinery to suffer major health damage from petroleum. Right now,
1,000 children are dying each year in the Central Valley of
California from asthma caused by the air quality. This is due to
multiple uses of petroleum products.
Knowing
this, the second step is to confront all presidential candidates with
this issue. We need to know the candidate elected will stand with
us, not with the corporations.
This will happen via petition and by targeting their appearances.
Corporate
greed has done enormous damage to all of us and the environment.
The next step is to start, simultaneously, providing justice for those
harmed by corporate greed and get off the grid which put all of us
under their control. To do this we must achieve sustainable energy,
rebuild our failing infrastructure, and home those most in need.
This
can be done much faster than people now realize because energy is
only one part of the equation. The other factor is the materials
used for building. We will need far less energy using Geopolymer
based materials which last for generations. These inexpensive
NetZero materials are now available. This way, we will also solve
the problem for rebuilding infrastructure across the country.
We
call this Sustainable Social Justice. Help those most at risk first.
It
is a sad fact that the best Green technologies have been reserved for
the wealthiest among us. Today, using these materials, we can give
the best to those who need it most and demonstrate to all Americans
what the future can hold.
Copyrighted
May 6, 2016 by EcoAlert and the Arthur C. Pillsbury Foundation. This
article may be quoted with accurate attribution.
Graphics
are from Greedville – The Oil Game. Copyrighted May 6, 2016 by
EcoAlert and the Arthur C. Pillsbury Foundation.
“His
father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald's being — you know,
shot. I mean, the whole thing is ridiculous,” Trump said May 3 during a
phone interview with Fox News, referring to the man in the necktie at
center in the photo. “What is this, right prior to his [JFK] being shot,
and nobody even brings it up? They don't even talk about that. That was
reported, and nobody talks about it.”
But their repeated conclusion is that Oswald killed JFK alone, as we reported in 
But
that does not mean that Rafael Cruz was not passing out literature in
New Orleans with Cruz. Indeed, a full examination of the circumstances
would suggest it is highly likely that those with Wallace were not
simply heavily comprised of government assets and Cubans. Indeed, Rafael
Cruz has lived his life in largely mysterious fashion in key details,
despite publishing a memoir this years and advocating as a that God's
will is that Americans elect his son as president.
