[dannycastonguay]

Answer: Yes, these people need jobs and there is a lot of money to be made legally drilling offshore oil wells off the coast of Guyana[1].

Consider coal, the poster child. Blaming the coal producing states[2] might feel good, but it's not very effective. Personally, I prefer to have a shared global responsibility mindset because I too consume goods that are made in China, where ~50% of the coal is burned. How do I sleep at night? Quite well because I'm often exhausted from startup life + BJJ + kids :-)

As a citizen in a democratic country, if you want to affect change, policy seems to be the way to go. As far as environmental problems go in the US, the boundary between federal and state is not well defined[3] and most recently the federal government seem content with letting the states take more of the burden. A few (humble) thought starters for US citizens would include:

  A. Learn how much your state is burning[4] and what your governor is doing about it
  B. Find out about organizations and lobbying groups that align with your ideals
  C. Vote with your money[5], and vote in the election

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  1: https://corporate.exxonmobil.com/en/Locations/Guyana/Guyana-project-overview#explorationWellsDrilledInTheStabroekBlock
  2: https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=69&t=2
  3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_and_state_environmental_relations
  4: https://www.americangeosciences.org/critical-issues/faq/which-states-are-largest-producers-and-consumers-coal
  5: https://lobbyit.com/how-state-and-fe-lobbying-differ/

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