Why We Hate the Oil Companies: Straight Talk From an Energy Insider

John Hofmeister
257 pages | Buy this book
 
In an ambitious attempt to redefine the national discussion on energy policy, John Hofmeister, former president of Shell Oil Co., argues that pretty much everyone—from politicians to oil execs to environmentalists—is wrong on the issue. Relying on personal anecdotes as an “energy insider,” Hofmeister says that the real challenge is depoliticizing the energy crisis, and argues for a straightforward solution: quit relying on oil tycoons and politicians.

What’s the Big Deal?

Talk about timing. Why We Hate the Oil Companies hits the shelves in the midst of the most catastrophic oil spill in U.S. history, with one particular company drawing an unprecedented amount of public hatred. As politicians feverishly debate the country’s offshore-drilling policy, Hofmeister spells out a plan to solve Americans’ increasing need for energy that includes serious investments in sustainable resources, revolutionizing the country’s urban infrastructure, a whole new independent regulatory agency, and, yes, much more drilling. The good news: his ideas could actually work. Caveat: the ideas are controversial.

Buzz Rating: Rumble

With round-the-clock coverage of the oil spill, Hofmeister has stepped in and used his unique experience in the oil industry to explain the dysfunction that plagues the country’s current energy system. He has appeared on CNN’s Larry King Live, and his book has been mentioned in dozens of articles, including ones from The Washington Post, the Financial Times, and the Associated Press.

One-Breath Author Bio

Hofmeister spent 11 years working for Royal Dutch Shell; for the last three years of that, he served as president of its American subsidiary, the Shell Oil Co. In 2008 he left to found Citizens for Affordable Energy, a nonprofit that educates people about how to go green at the local level.

The Book, in His Words

“The negative relationship between energy producers and energy consumers, provoked and coddled by partisan politicians, has gone on too long and costs too much. It is time to confront this problem and move forward to solutions that will benefit us all, now and forever, here in the United States and around the world. Why We Hate the Oil Companies: Straight Talk From an Energy Insider was written to do just that” (page 9).

Don’t Miss These Bits

1. The people least qualified to develop energy policy (politicians) are in charge of it. When it comes to charting America’s energy future, Hofmeister unleashes on the political hacks: “The right’s unconstrained exploitation of hydrdocarbons will in time destroy Earth’s environmental balance, making the planet ever less habitable . . . At the same time, the left’s ideologically set timetable to transition the country to unproven, untested, not-yet-built new sources of energy to power the entire national economy . . . is both destabilizing and physically impossible” (page 79). Rather than promote serious investment in short-term oil exploration or kick in real money for long-term sustainable-energy technology, they pander to their constituents and move the discussion further off track, which is why the author believes . . . 

2.  . . . the global-warming debate is a waste of time. This might be Hofmeister’s most initially shocking, but ultimately sensible, point. “In the face of ever-increasing amounts—measured in the thousands and even millions of tons—of garbage in the air, we are having a monumental, never-ending, fundamentally dysfunctional national and international debate over global warming and the possibilities of climate change” (page 61). The salient question isn’t whether or not global warming is real or human-caused, he says, but rather what we are going to do about the “greenhouse gases and airborne particulates from exhaust” that are polluting our air and making many of us sick. In other words, polluted air may kill us before the waters rise. He supports placing limits on gaseous waste entering the atmosphere, and incentives for companies that develop creative ways to limit pollution. But this is only the beginning of his proposed solutions. His most radical? Keep reading.

3. Bureaucracy! Hofmeister proposes the creation of a Federal Energy Resources System, a regulatory agency (à la the Federal Reserve Bank) that operates independently of the federal government to plan and manage America’s energy sources. It would direct technology investment and also oversee the environmental impact of the energy industry. Hofmeister argues that such an agency would be significantly less politicized, and therefore more efficient, than other government arms that handle these responsibilities such as the EPA and, well, Congress. It may seem like just more red tape, but big problems require big solutions. And more important, big problems demand smart people who don’t need to worry about reelection.

4. So, why do we hate the oil companies? The primary reason is a fundamentally wrongheaded approach to corporate communication: “Instead of being accessible to the media, many energy companies choose to buy advertising space to tell a guarded version of the truth. Instead of educating consumers on the real risks and real cost of energy, they choose to sponsor cultural and educational television programs. Instead of being on-site to respond to a crisis, they send the lawyers.” In contrast, Hofmeister writes that when he was running Shell, he crisscrossed the country, meeting with community leaders, local business leaders, and regular citizens at town-hall meetings: “Two takeaways I carry to this day: Americans are smart when they have the facts, and they are pragmatic about what to do when they understand the circumstances” (page 6). Are you listening, BP? 

Swipe This Critique

Most of the chapters begin with an amusing, striking, or otherwise attention-getting anecdote from the author’s career in the oil industry. These push the narrative along, but the chapters often slow down shortly thereafter as Hofmeister spends too much time framing the issue before unleashing his argument.

Gradebook

Prose: Hofmeister succeeds in taking a pretty wonky subject and turning it into an engaging book.

Judging a book by its cover: The bold red text surrounding a picture of a flower losing its petals is eye-catching, to be sure, but borders on the sensationalistic.

Bottom line: A compelling, important book, especially given current events. But are the right people reading?