The Fossil Fuel Death Cult

The fossil fuel industry’s role in driving climate change is undeniable, with its financial might propping up a political machine that denies science and dismantles environmental protections. A June 2025 study revealed that human-caused global warming was detectable as early as the 19th century, with a mere 10 parts per million (ppm) increase in carbon dioxide between 1860 and 1899 signaling atmospheric changes. By contrast, the 2000–2025 period saw a 50 ppm surge, pushing levels to 430.2 ppm at Mauna Loa Observatory, a record high. These findings underscore the industry’s long-standing impact, yet its influence persists unchecked.

Major U.S. banks like JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup funneled $869 billion into fossil fuel companies in 2024 alone, with $429 billion supporting expansion plans, despite the International Energy Agency’s 2021 warning that new fossil fuel infrastructure is incompatible with a 1.5°C target. This financial backing, coupled with the industry’s successful lobbying against climate regulations, has emboldened a Republican Party increasingly aligned with fossil fuel interests. The Trump administration’s assault on climate science—slashing NOAA and NASA budgets, firing climate scientists, and proposing to shutter critical programs like the U.S. Global Change Research Program—reflects a deliberate effort to blind humanity to the crisis. Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s dismissal of climate concerns as “alarmism” and his assertion that hydrocarbons are essential for human well-being epitomize this ideology. Such actions are not mere cost-cutting; they are strategic moves to protect fossil fuel profits at the expense of planetary survival.

This alignment has transformed the Republican Party into a de facto arm of the fossil fuel death cult, prioritizing deregulation and extraction over human lives. The administration’s plan to mothball climate-monitoring satellites and eliminate EPA greenhouse gas reporting programs ensures that inconvenient truths are buried. As climate scientist Michael Mann notes, these cuts are driven by “special interests who hold sway today in Washington,” a clear reference to the oil, gas, and coal industries. The result is a government complicit in accelerating environmental collapse, with policies that exacerbate extreme weather events—droughts, floods, and heatwaves—now twice as intense as two decades ago, according to NASA’s 2025 data.

Amid this environmental betrayal, Trump and Netanyahu are pursuing a parallel strategy to reshape the world order through military aggression, specifically targeting Iran. Both leaders face significant legal and political vulnerabilities—Trump with multiple criminal indictments and Netanyahu with corruption charges and domestic unrest over his judicial reforms. A war with Iran offers a dual purpose: it distracts from their troubles while reinforcing U.S. and Israeli hegemony in a shifting global landscape.

Trump’s rhetoric and actions suggest a willingness to escalate tensions with Iran, potentially through strikes on its nuclear facilities or oil infrastructure. Such a conflict would disrupt global energy markets, temporarily boosting fossil fuel prices and profits, aligning with the interests of his backers. Simultaneously, it would allow Trump to project strength, rally nationalist support, and delay or derail legal proceedings against him. His history of stochastic terrorism—inciting violence through inflammatory rhetoric, as seen in the January 6 Capitol riot and the 2025 Minnesota assassinations—demonstrates his readiness to exploit chaos for personal gain. By framing Iran as an existential threat, Trump can justify authoritarian measures, from suspending habeas corpus to purging civil servants, as outlined in Project 2025.

Netanyahu, similarly, sees war with Iran as a means to unify Israel’s fractured society and sideline his legal woes. Iran’s support for Hezbollah and Hamas provides a pretext for preemptive action, which could draw U.S. support and cement Israel’s regional dominance. Both leaders aim to preserve a unipolar world order favoring their nations, countering the rise of powers like China and Russia. However, this gamble risks catastrophic escalation, potentially triggering a broader conflict that destabilizes the Middle East and beyond, further accelerating climate-driven resource conflicts over water and minerals.

While Trump and Netanyahu stoke global instability, the global elite—the top 1%—are preparing to abandon a planet they’ve helped render uninhabitable. Private equity firms, emblematic of this class, have profited immensely from fossil fuel investments and predatory acquisitions, as detailed in Megan Greenwell’s Bad Company. These firms saddle companies with debt, strip assets, and leave communities devastated, from shuttered hospitals to bankrupt retailers. Their wealth, amassed through such exploitation, funds elaborate survival plans.

Reports of billionaires converting missile silos into luxury bunkers have proliferated, with figures like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel linked to such projects. These fortified retreats are designed to withstand climate disasters and social unrest, offering a temporary haven for the ultra-rich. However, the long-term vision extends beyond Earth. Musk’s SpaceX and similar ventures aim to establish space stations or lunar bases, reflecting a techno-utopian fantasy of escaping a collapsing planet. This “longtermism” philosophy, which prioritizes future AI-driven consciousness over current human suffering, justifies hoarding resources for off-world colonization rather than addressing terrestrial crises.

This elitist retreat starkly contrasts with the plight of ordinary people, particularly vulnerable groups like Baby Boomers, who face eroded Social Security, reduced healthcare access, and volatile markets under Trump’s policies. The elite’s refusal to alter their carbon-intensive lifestyles—private jets, sprawling estates, and unchecked consumption—exacerbates climate change, ensuring that the poor and marginalized bear the brunt of floods, droughts, and heatwaves. As NASA’s 2025 report warns, these extremes are already twice as severe as two decades ago, with unprepared water companies and communities facing unprecedented challenges.

The growing awareness of societal collapse, as outlined by Richard Hames, has birthed diverse subcultures, from environmental catastrophists to far-right supremacists. While some, like the Deep Adaptation movement, advocate for solidarity and degrowth, others, particularly the “Western Decline” and “Population Crash” narratives, fuel authoritarianism and xenophobia. These subcultures, often backed by elite funding, channel public anxiety into conspiracies—chemtrails, depopulation plots—that distract from systemic causes like fossil fuel-driven climate change.

Trump’s administration capitalizes on this fear, normalizing fascist tactics through gradual habituation, as described by Milton Mayer’s German informants. From unmarked ICE vans in 2020 to loyalty tests for civil servants in 2025, each step desensitizes the public, eroding democratic norms. The Minnesota assassinations, linked to Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric, exemplify how stochastic terrorism translates into real-world violence, further destabilizing society. This authoritarian creep aligns with fossil fuel interests, which thrive in deregulated, chaotic environments where oversight is minimal.

The fossil fuel death cult, its political enablers, and the elite’s escape plans represent a betrayal of humanity’s shared future. Trump and Netanyahu’s warmongering, driven by personal and geopolitical motives, risks plunging the world into further chaos, while the 1%’s bunkers and space fantasies abandon the rest of us to a warming planet. Yet, resistance is possible. Climate scientists, activists, and communities fighting private equity’s predation offer models of defiance. As Thucydides wrote, the bravest are those who see the danger clearly and act despite it.

To counter this death cult, we must demand robust climate policies, regulate fossil fuel financing, and hold authoritarian leaders accountable. Grassroots movements, from local news startups to pension fund divestment campaigns, show that collective action can challenge entrenched power. The stakes are existential: a livable planet for all, not just the privileged few. History will not forgive us for sleepwalking into tyranny or ecological collapse. It is time to reclaim our outrage, resist normalization, and fight for a world where life, not death, prevails.