Everyone knows fossil fuel giants and corporate lobbyists have spent decades rigging energy policy. But I was listening to an interview with David Spence (author of Climate of Contempt), and it hit me how much of this problem isn’t just about direct lobbying, it’s about media manipulation keeping us divided so real solutions never happen.

  • The biggest political force shaping energy policy isn’t just corporate money: it’s Fox News, Sinclair, and Facebook algorithms feeding people narratives that keep them scared and angry.
  • Voters didn’t always see energy policy as left vs. right… Texas’ wind boom happened under Bush. Now, even mild policy ideas get labeled as part of the "war on fossil fuels" and turned into partisan talking points.
  • Politicians care about corporate donors, but they also fear their base turning against them and right-wing media makes sure voters punish anyone who doesn’t toe the line.

Basically, we’re in a feedback loop: corporations create outrage → voters demand bad policies → politicians follow → media keeps them radicalized.

How do we break the cycle? Can we even have good-faith conversations about energy anymore without it turning into a left vs. right purity test…

Here’s the podcast if you wanna check it out: https://www.douglewin.com/p/how-to-overcome-ideological-divides

Corporations rigged the energy system & turned voters into foot soldiers
byu/EnviroMaverick inenergy



by EnviroMaverick

4 comments

  1. Citizens United and a close second could be corporate person hood.

  2. It’s a cost thing and will always be a cost thing. There isn’t a policy position that maintains QoL at current prices.

    Policy that covers externalities may be good policy, but in the end it’s horribly politics.

  3. This has happened in literally every important sector that controls our lives. We’re already too late to stop it. Capital is more important than any of our lives.

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