Sunday Evening Reads
Russian Oil Imports
“Russian oil and gas smells of Ukrainian blood,”
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba
I’m happy to learn that talk of banning imports of Russian oil and gas to the U.S. and Europe appears to be gaining momentum. Staking out this position also appears to go against what I’ve been preaching on Crime and Punishment: that government policies should benefit the poor, not hurt them, both in the short and long term. And if the U.S. bans the import of Russian fossil fuels, both the White House and economic experts claim that gas prices will rise at the pump, which will surely impact the poor and middle class (if one still exists), most directly.
On the other hand, I believe strongly in government actions directed toward the “common good”, and that a participatory democracy like ours should have some voluntary or required public service. I also don’t think it is too much to ask, at least every so often, that the American people be called to participate in shared sacrifice for the greater good of our country and the world. This is one of those times.
I’ll leave it up to you to debate the pro’s and con’s of this proposed sanction in the Comment section below. But first, I’ll share with you this evening some of the recent discussions surrounding this issue as it seems to gain traction.
— First up is this article from The Guardian published earlier today.
“ Earlier this week, the White House publicly rebuffed suggestions from lawmakers that the US ban Russian oil, which made up 3% of all the crude shipments that arrived in the US last year, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration. But Europe is far more dependent, with an estimated 30% of oil and 39% of gas supplies coming from Russia.”
Who says gas prices at the pump have to rise in the U.S. if we stop our 3% imports of Russian oil? The oil companies that make billions in profits each year? And isn’t it a tad hypocritical to give our money to Russia on the one hand, squeeze their economy with economic sanctions and send hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to stop Russia’s slaughter of innocent Ukrainian civilians on the other?
— This piece from NBC News discusses the pros and cons of this particular sanction, explains the Biden administration’s hesitancy and why even the likes of Senator Joe Manchin is in favor of the Russian oil ban.
According to Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., an Afghanistan war veteran, “Those sanctions are going to demonstrate that the free world is behind the Ukrainian people, and they are going to rock the foundation of the Kremlin.”
— This CNBC piece from just today gives me hope in the power of workers all over the world to affect change.
“Dock workers in Britain are taking a stand against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with ports in the country refusing to unload Russian oil and gas…Sharon Graham, the general secretary of U.K. Union Unite, said that her members will “under no circumstances unload any Russian oil regardless of the nationality of the vessel which delivers it.”
And finally for this evening, a post from Bill McKibben, former New York Times columnist, environmental educator and activist, and now Substack writer.
“The last time a European autocrat sent tanks speeding across the plains to subjugate sovereign nations we (eventually) responded by sending millions of men off to war and sacrificing everything about our domestic economy in order to produce the armaments needed to fight. This time America’s burden involves…paying higher gas prices.”
We’ve known for the last 40 or 50 years that it is dangerous to be dependent on foreign fossil fuels, not because we should be digging and drilling for our own, but because our country must switch to renewable resources to save our planet, and to prevent the near hostage situation we’re in now.
Let’s debate this issue right here. What do you think of the proposed ban on Russian oil and gas? Are you willing to pay more for your energy? Can you guess why Senator Manchin is in favor of banning Russian oil and gas?
It's absolutely ridiculous that our gas prices are rising. Companies will use any excuse - even hide behind the horror of Putin's atrocities - as justification for raising prices. Our current inflation isn't largely due to rising costs of materials or lack of labor - it's due to record profits and CEO raises. Cut the profits and the salaries and we wouldn't have this inflation.
Yes, ban Russian imports, absolutely. But sadly it is still the poor who pay for the actions of men in power - both in America and in Russia.
It seems crazy to sanction other aspects of the Russian economy without sanctioning their oil too; hurting the people while still fueling the invasion.
Another point that I don't think has been discussed much: if China knew about these invasion plans in advance, Putin's Oligarchs certainly were told too. I'm sure they took steps to protect themselves from the impact of the sanctions. Again, the Russian elite escape consequence while others suffer.
The problem I see with our oil situation is that our current administration's plan is to buy more heavily from Iran and Venezuela; shifting our funding from one murderous tyrant to another.
The bind we are in is the direct product of flawed environmental thinking: the United States has moved quite a few of its un-green endeavors overseas (Lithium, copper mining, oil drilling) so that our leaders can pat themselves on the back. Now the poor and middle class will suffer the consequences.
Thanks for writing, I enjoyed your work shining a light on this.