Seven years ago, on this day, November 27th, 2018, former President Obama gives a speech at Rice University:
“I was extraordinarily proud of the Paris Accords because, look I know we’re in oil country and we need American energy. And by the way, American energy production, you wouldn’t always know it, but it went up every year I was president. And you know that whole suddenly America’s like the biggest oil producer … that was me, people.”
The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was 408ppm. As of 2025, when this post was published, it is 430ppm. This matters because the more carbon dioxide in the air, the more heat gets trapped. The more heat, the more extreme weather events. You can make it more complicated than that if you want, but really, it’s not. Fwiw, I have a tattoo of the Keeling Curve on my left forearm.
The broader context was that climate change is not an issue for our lords and masters, not if it gets in the way of capital accumulation (and despite what the eco-modernists want you to believe, it does).
The specific context was that safely out of office Obama could tell it straight.
What I think we can learn from this – this is who the systems demand they be. The system is what it does, as per Stafford Beer.
What happened next – the oil kept flowing, the emissions kept rising.
What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.
Also on this day:
November 27, 1956 – New York Times science writer who covered C02 build-up dies.
November 27, 1969 – Canberra Times runs pollution article, mentions melting ice-caps
November 27, 1978 – “Impacts of climate on Australian Society and Economy” begins…