To the editor:

Is global warming a hoax? Does it help drive the price up and increase big oil profits?

The thought came to me the other day. Fuel efficiency almost tripled since the 1970s, but what has the price done? It would seem that the more fuel efficient we become, the higher the price of oil.

I used to be a believer in global warming, however I’m not so sure anymore. It’s not exactly a secret that several of the largest oil companies have publicly supported the idea of global warming. Yet at the same time, they invest billions in tar sands and shale oil.

Why would they continue to invest so much into such a dirty fuel unless they knew the potential profits these fuels would produce as the global warming scare heightens?

That brings up the question: Is global warming real?

If carbon dioxide were an effect of global warming as opposed to a cause, it may be easy to manipulate the information just enough to convince the average person to become a believer.

As developing countries develop, they use more energy, mostly oil. So even as several countries, including the U.S., work to reduce the amount of oil we burn, other nations are burning more.

If global warming helps to raise the price, then energy companies would still sell the same amount of oil, just at a higher price. It only makes sense that these companies help to promote and scare the public into believing in a theory that may not be true.

We all have our minds to make up on this one, but before you make up yours be sure to look at some of the arguments from both sides. It is very difficult to make an informed choice if you only see one side.

Dan Gagne
Brunswick