It’s seemed absurd that certain American politicians have been promoting more oil drilling when it’s so obviously hurting us and the planet, and particularly when renewables are clearly winning both financially and environmentally.

I understood that there’s still profit in oil, but in this illuminating article Alex Steffen explains why a small group of powerful people- mainly in the US- have been promoting oil and advancing climate denialism.

Specifically, Steffen shares his perspective about why Trump and Putin are pushing oil and coal like there’s no tomorrow. (Spoiler: it’s about staving off climate action just long enough that a few ruthless people can amass billions more $$.)

Worth reading for some game-changing insight.

Alex Steffen is a visionary, self-described planetary futurist who is working to help us imagine and rapidly jump to living sustainably on Earth.

Then, check out this TED talk for a quick look into some of the more inspiring ideas and climate change solutions Alex Steffen and his team have seen around the world. The talk is over ten years old but still relevant, and it’ll cleanse your pallet and hopefully encourage you after the rather unsavory pipelines insight: