Frontline: Heat (2008)

The deserts are expanding. The ice caps are melting. The ozone layer is disappearing. Violent storms are brewing. Sound familiar? That's right - global warming. But chances are An Inconvenient Truth did not compel you to install solar panels on you roof, get a wind turbine, or buy a hybrid car. Instead you continued living your life as usual and hoped that the bright scientists and engineers, or savvy politicians in Washington, could fix the problem. What you probably didn't realize is that the nation, if not the world, is tied and progress has been stunted. There is a lot less action being taken than you may think.

Heat, a Frontline program, is a documentary on the role of big businesses in the threat of global warming. The film describes the struggle among the states, the public, corporations, the federal government, and its administrations.

In brief, energy corporations are focused on fossil fuels. The United States has had an abundance of coal, petroleum, and natural gas, and the infrastructure of the nation requires their use as its primary energy source. For this reason, corporations in the energy sector, such as Exxon and BP, have become some of the most powerful forces in the world economy. On the whole, there is a lot of money to be made by extracting, processing, and selling precious fossil fuels.

Adding to the gravity of the situation is the fact that the nation is built upon corporations. Corporations, by principle, are powerful, money-making machines. When money is the only motive, nothing else matters. For an oil corporation like Exxon, for example, to revolutionize and offer sustainable, clean, and renewable energy sources, it would have to commit a tremendous amount of time, materials, work, and most importantly, money to accomplishing the task. Essentially these questions arise: Should Exxon be required to be an energy company rather than an oil company? Should it even be expected to be? And how should an oil company function in a 21st. century market?

But how could we expect anything less tumultuous when our country is fueled by fossil fuels?

Unfortunately, the government is so entangled and influenced by big businesses that any attempt to pass regulations on manufacturers is squashed. Corporations lobby, intimidate, and use any means they can to prevent bills like the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act in 2008 from passing. They are aided by members of Congress, who, for either personal or political reasons, try to stop these bills in their tracks.

The problem of fossil fuel dependency does not just apply to the United States. Developing countries such as China and India are following in America's footsteps and joining the world ranks as the largest contributors to greenhouse gasses. This, obviously, is an issue that will need to be addressed and handled on the global level.

Though faced with an environmental catastrophe, it's stunning to see that the habits of human life across the globe are carrying on as usual - more consumption, and faster. Economists call is "growth" and it's supposed to be "good."

 

Though a change of the actions of individuals, and particularly corporations, could have a significant impact on the reduction of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, this is not a realistic expectation. The benefit of a society is to enact major changes that individuals cannot implement - for lack of vision or power - on their own. Individuals in a society rely upon authority to implement rules for the benefit of all. As for corporations, they are an undeniable aspect of the economy, and they were designed to make money. It is not necessary or plausible to completely do away with corporatism in America, but energy corporations, being among the largest in the nation, must be compelled take a different route. Corporations respond to changes in market demand and politics, however, when the market is slowing down and there is a lack of consistency, things will continue on their original course. Ultimately, it has to come down to the government to step in, lay down some serious regulations, and enforce them. Whether or not this will happen due to the intimate ties between the government and the corporate world remains to be seen. However, it is an absolute fact that nature will not wait for the world to get its act together and change.