Incredibly, oil and gas companies don't have to pay certain

Hear, O seeker of justice, the words of Chellie Pingree, who bore witness to the imbalance of our age: “Incredibly, oil and gas companies don't have to pay certain environmental costs that amount to small change to them, while an offshore wind project start-up is faced with fees that could mean the difference between building a wind farm and packing up and going home.” This is not mere complaint, but revelation, a cry from the heart against the injustice that tilts the scales of progress. For in these words, we behold the truth that the old giants of industry walk unburdened, while the young champions of renewal stagger beneath unfair weights.

The meaning of this teaching is sharp as a sword. The oil and gas companies, swollen with wealth from decades of extraction, are spared the cost of cleaning the wounds they inflict upon earth and sea. The spills, the emissions, the scars of drilling—these costs are cast upon the people and the planet, not upon the companies who profit from them. Meanwhile, the pioneers of offshore wind, who seek to raise towers that catch the breath of the sky and turn it into power without smoke, are burdened with fees and obstacles that can crush their fragile beginnings. This is not justice, but distortion—a system that rewards the destroyer and punishes the healer.

History itself reveals the peril of such imbalance. Consider the early railroads of the nineteenth century. Governments granted vast subsidies and lands to the rail barons, fueling their rise. Yet when inventors of cleaner, smaller technologies sought support, they were ignored or mocked. The result was a century shaped by the might of coal and iron, but also by pollution, exploitation, and monopolies. The pattern is the same: when the state and the system favor the entrenched powers, innovation withers. And yet, when the balance is restored, when the scales are leveled, new industries rise to reshape the world, as electricity once replaced the gaslight.

Mark also the story of Denmark, a nation small in size but mighty in vision. In the wake of the oil crises of the 1970s, its leaders invested heavily in wind power, even when the technology was frail and unproven. They removed barriers, nurtured the innovators, and in time, Denmark became a world leader in wind energy, exporting turbines and expertise across the globe. This triumph shows what becomes possible when governments do not stifle the new with burdens, but instead lift it with encouragement. Chellie Pingree’s words are a reminder that such vision is still possible today, if only fairness is restored.

O listener, consider the danger of allowing the old powers to walk freely while the new are shackled. The planet itself groans under the weight of carbon emissions, the seas rise, the forests burn, and yet those who profit from destruction are excused from their debts. Meanwhile, those who would bring forth cleaner futures are told to pay dearly for their dreams. Such a path leads not to prosperity, but to ruin. For if the healers are silenced and the destroyers rewarded, what future remains for the children of the earth?

Let this be the lesson: justice must walk hand in hand with policy. The polluter must pay for the harm it causes; the innovator must be given space to rise. As citizens, demand fairness. Call upon leaders to strip away the privileges of the entrenched giants and to ease the path of the renewable pioneers. Support clean energy with your voices, your votes, and your choices. For the power of the many can bend the course of nations, if only the many refuse to remain silent.

Therefore, O child of tomorrow, carry these words as a commandment. Do not be dazzled by the wealth of oil and gas, for their riches are drawn from the earth’s wounds. Instead, look to the fragile sails of the wind farms, to the panels that catch the sun, to the waters that turn the wheel. These are the seeds of a just future, but they must be defended, nourished, and made strong. Only then shall the scales be balanced, and only then shall we inherit a world where energy does not destroy, but sustains.

Thus Chellie Pingree’s voice becomes a torch, showing the injustice of today and pointing the way to tomorrow. The old giants may still walk, but the new champions are rising. And with justice, courage, and wisdom, they shall not stumble, but stride into the future, carrying the hopes of the earth with them.