Mood in the hood

Posted by Sir Oolius (Guest Contributor) at 10:20 AM on 27 Mar 2008

Read more about: quotables | Big Oil | oil | business | energy

John Hofmeister, President of Shell Oil Company, was on Charlie Rose Tuesday night.

About 22 minutes into the segment, he says the following [my own transcription]:

If we don't drill more in this country, I am quite concerned about civil disturbances in our urban areas because of the price of fuel.

...

I was meeting in Los Angeles with mayor Villaraigosa and I asked him a specific question because I lived there during the Rodney King civil disturbances. [I] said, "How is the mood in the hood based upon the price of gasoline compared to the mood in the hood at the time of the Rodney King disturbances?" He said it's threshold.

Let us drill or those people will act all crazy again! You know how they can be when it comes to things like this.

And they say environmentalists are alarmist.

For story: Mood in the hood
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Mood in da Hood?

Is it because his name is Hofmeister that he thinks he can get away with talking like a SNL character?

And how the hell will drilling in this country reduce the price of gas? (Not to mention what the price of gas in Alaska has to do with preventing police brutality... that's a story for another day).

Yes sir, I sure wish we had some of that there Alaskan oil here in NY, as I hear tell it's selling for $1.15 a gallon.

by kmp at 10:50 AM on 27 Mar 2008

Wrong folks to worry about.

I do worry that demagoging by people like Hofmeister will leave some members of our society with the impression that their problems are caused by treehuggers, and not geology. But these are listeners of Rush, I doubt he has very many in the sorts of neighborhoods we are talking about here.

by bigTom at 11:07 AM on 27 Mar 2008

Market based carbon = price rationing

If the regulatory regime for carbon emissions is market based, without significant public policy to address social inequity, we will be rationing liquid fuels by price.

Price rationing increases social unrest.

Social unrest in LA is manifest ultimately through riots.

Seems pretty reasonable to me.

by anotherID at 11:54 AM on 27 Mar 2008

YOY increase Murders

27% in LA already and we aren't even in an official recession yet.

by anotherID at 1:14 PM on 27 Mar 2008

Oil Prices

I find it hard to believe that drilling in this country will have any significant impact on the price of oil or even the "mood in the hood"
First, where in this country is he purposing to drill, any place that has not been drilled at this point either does not possess enough oil to make it profitable or most likely is located in an environmentally protected area. Thus, you would have to assume he is referring to drilling in restricted drilling areas most likely in Alaska. But he has neglected to consider the "mood in tundra."
It would be a terrible incident if LA or any other area was in turmoil because oil prices but we cannot only consider this when discussing possible solutions.
The world, or let alone the U.S. does not revolve around the lives of everyone in L.A. and we must consider the consequences for everyone involved, not just the hood.

by awkline at 2:39 PM on 27 Mar 2008

The kernel of truth

I wouldn't make a cartoon character out of Hofmeister. He is one of the more reasonable spokespersons for an oil company - accepts global warming, says that Shell wants to do things in an environmentally responsible manner, etc.

He (and Shell) definitely do want to get access to areas that had been declared off-limits for environmental reasons.

The truth is that rising fuel prices are correlated with political turmoil. You may remember the protests in Burma a few months back when the government attempted to raise fuel prices (that is, remove subsidies). Many other governments want to remove fuel subsidies, but are afraid of the political repercussions - India, China, Iran, Venezuela.

I haven't heard that inner-city ghettos would be the locus for protests against fuel prices. Poorer people in rural or suburban areas would seem to be the hardest hit. The Nation had an excellent article on the subject a few years ago: Running on Fumes.

In the U.S., people tend to express their anger in the poll booth. The other manifestation is protests by truckers (Truckers `going broke' and threatening to strike). In 2000, Europe was the scene of protests by lorry drivers, farmers and others

As the price of fuels continues to go upward, environmentalists will be one of the groups scapegoated (along with OPEC and Big Oil). It would be wise to have a sophisticated position from which to respond.

Bart
Energy Bulletin

by Bart Anderson at 3:00 PM on 27 Mar 2008

Bart

I have no doubt that rising fuel prices can cause both political and social unrest.

My doubt comes from believing that drilling here in America will do anything to the price of oil as a global commodity. Drilling here would equal a drop in the bucket of global supply and seems unlikely to have any impact on oil price at all.

You know what might ease social & political unrest related to oil prices? Alternative energy.

by kmp at 3:27 PM on 27 Mar 2008

Now is the right time.

I always thought it was crazy to pump our domestic oil while foreign oil was abundant and cheap.

I believe that genetic engineering will eventually develop relatively inexpensive technology to make renewable liquid fuel.

The gentleman pointed out that we should not drill IN Alaska. Our offshore deposits are orders of magnitude greater than onshore resources.

We should develop our offshore oil now to maximize their benefit by reducing the price of oil and our trade deficit, and making us independent of our enemies during this transition.

Things Everybody Should Know About Energy

by BILL HANNAHAN at 10:31 PM on 27 Mar 2008

trade deficit? so what?

Bill Hannahan: "maximize their benefit by reducing the price of oil and our trade deficit"

What benefit would the U.S. derive from reducing our trade deficit? If foreigners want to trade our little pieces of paper for goods they produced, why not continue letting them do that? If foreigners want to use those little pieces to invest in the U.S. rather than take some of our goods back home with them, why not continue to let them do that?

The truth is, the U.S. economic engine is so strong it generates increased wealth for both U.S. citizens and foreign investors alike. That foreigners have a greater need for saving - and choose to place their savings in U.S. financial instruments and U.S. capital investments - is no cause for alarm.

by John Dewey at 8:31 AM on 28 Mar 2008

Shape of Things to Come

kmp: "Drilling here would equal a drop in the bucket of global supply and seems unlikely to have any impact on oil price at all."

Good point. However when people are upset, they will grasp at straws and are easy to manipulate. Energy crises are a good time for Big Players to push their solutions - coal, nuclear, tarsands, etc. It's starting to happen now and will become more intense, I think.

kmp: "what might ease social & political unrest related to oil prices? Alternative energy."

Even with alternative energy sources, the price of energy will be going up and up. I think we need to step back, give up the search for magic solutions and take a long-view.

How do we live meaningful lives in a world with less energy? What are the pluses and minuses of different energy sources (e.g., EROEI)? What are the long-term environmental impacts?

BTW, I listened to the whole Charlie Rose interview with Shell president John Hofmeister. Hofmeister is a very articulate spokesperson - he would be an excellent person for environmentalists to study and sharpen their wits against. There are probably points of agreement as well.

Last month, Shell released its 20-page report, National Dialogue on Energy Security (PDF). Read it to see what people in the most PR-literate of the oil companies are thinking.

My take: "an interesting mixture of openness and the same old stuff. Much of the report is quite reasonable."

Bart
Energy Bulletin

by Bart Anderson at 6:08 PM on 28 Mar 2008
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