As I filled my gas tank yesterday, the display on the pump gave me a choice to observe the total number of gallons, and also the total damage I was inflicting on my credit card account.
I tried my best to pay attention only to the number of gallons. But I kept failing.
As I understand the situation, Chevron reported its highest quarterly profit in six years on July 31, 2026… and the analysts at Wood Mackenzie estimated the global oil and gas industry will see a cash windfall of $495 billion this year. Like, half a trillion dollars.
This is over and above the profits the industry expected before the U.S. and Israel started a war with Iran. And what they expected previously was not small potatoes.
I can’t say how much of that $495 billion windfall came out of my pocket. Not much, in the larger scheme of things. But some of it did.
The war with Iran is probably going to continue well into the foreseeable future, meaning that, filling my gas tank will continue to feel ridiculously expensive.
But every cloud has a silver lining. There’s always a balance. To quote Sir Isaac Newton, or someone like him, “to every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction.”
Like… yes, I will be paying more for gasoline, but look on the bright side… we still have climate change!
Last winter, here in southern Colorado, I shoveled my driveway… what… maybe two times, total?
Back in the old days, I used to shovel twice a week during the winter. So this is one of the obvious benefits of climate change.
I think my snow shovel was feeling neglected. Poor thing.
And all the record heat this summer finally got me to buy an air conditioner. For 15 years, I have been thinking about buying one, but it never got quite hot enough to justify the expense. This summer, I broke down and bought one, and what a pleasant change! Even my cat, Roscoe, appreciates it.
Sometimes it simply takes a sufficient amount of discomfort to make you do the right thing.
People might argue that the changing climate is threatening our water supplies here in Colorado, and that might be true. The drought this summer has a bit scary. And so was my monthly water bill.
But like I said, “to every action…”
In this particular case, I basically stopped drinking water, and switched almost entirely to drinking beer instead. Which has actually been a pleasant change.
How many times have you heard a friend say, “…but we need the rain…” ? When the storm has just ruined their planned picnic at the lake?
You can tell that they really didn’t want it to rain, but they’re afraid to admit it. They might be seen as embracing the benefits of climate change.
Someone has to say it. The benefits are obvious, if we simply open our eyes. No more ruined picnics. Snow shovels relegated to the attic.
Please note. I’m not one of those ‘climate deniers’ who are giving science a bad name. (As if it didn’t already have a bad name.) I completely support the idea that human activities are causing a warming and possibly drier world. And I’m partly responsible… even though, in the larger scheme of things, we can blame Chevron and Exxon and the rest of the global oil and gas industry.
But there’s a “silver lining” to climate change. And I can see it clearly.
Let’s get real. The world would be a happier place if everyone drank beer instead of water.
Underrated writer Louis Cannon grew up in the vast American West, although his ex-wife, given the slightest opportunity, will deny that he ever grew up at all. You can read more stories on his Substack account.