PUTNEY — Of all the arguments for the continued use of oil in Tom Buchanan's piece, the most remarkable was the statement, “[w]e need oil to [...] generate electricity so entertainment companies can produce extravagant professional wrestling shows in giant arenas and then beam their productions to satellites and big screen TVs in homes all over the planet.”
Good to know. I'll be sure to explain this to my grandchildren when they ask what compelled us to risk destroying the groundwater of Native American tribal lands.
We are living in times when straight argument and satire are becoming increasingly difficult to separate. But mixing the two in one piece of writing risks confusing the reader.
The above quoted sentence certainly argues for satire, but the rest of the piece, as far as I could tell, was not satire. In any case, the whole was an astonishing mix of cherry-picked information fitted to the author's bizarre perspective on reality.
Standing in welcome contrast to Mr. Buchanan's writing on the subject were John Willis' informed and compassionate essay and Gail Haynes' cogent and coherent letter. Thank you, both.