From the blog "The Optimist"
by Umberto Minopoli
But what country is this? The No Triv and their supporters rejoice. Showing where we want to go: stopping oil extraction everywhere, everywhere and not only, as the hypocrites who support the No Triv said, within 12 miles of the coast, at sea. In a civilized and mentally stable state one distinguishes between what is a crime and what is not a crime. Between what is an unholy, inappropriate and stupid act of a minister, such as to immediately require his resignation, and a work, in our case the Tempa Rossa project, which is legitimate and pursued by its proponents respecting the legal, institutional, environmental.
EVERYTHING BLENDS
Here, however, everything gets confused. And everything is exploited for petty political and party purposes: if a minister is wrong, it means that the Tempa Rossa project is wrong and must be stopped ”. Here is the Italian logic. But what is the logic? Where do we end up at this rate? We realize that this would stop everything: any work or infrastructure? There is no investment, infrastructure, project that cannot manifest, in its development, someone's illicit conduct. What do we do: do we stop everything for this? Or do we prosecute the crime while safeguarding the work? In normal countries it is obvious and banal that this is done! With us, however, it is not.
Only in Italy is an offense exploited to stop a work: instead of pursuing the offense, saving the work, the work is stopped. Farcical. But, mind you, it's not even true that it's always like this. Let's take something that environmentalists rage about: investments in renewables, sun and wind. It should be pointed out to the so-called environmentalists who gloat over Guidi's offense and would like to stop extractions that, if the method they apply today to extractions had been applied to renewables, "if a crime occurs in a work, the work is criminalized and should be stopped”, Italy would not have a single wind turbine or a single photovoltaic panel.
RENEWABLES AND SCAMS
In fact, in terms of crimes, frauds, proven thefts, in Italy we forget what has accompanied the investment in renewables. Turkish stuff! In front of which Guidi's stupid illicit act appears as the vice of the country priest. You have forgotten what was the string of crimes, swindling the state, mafia and Camorra crimes that studded the construction in Italy of the largest photovoltaic park in the world (with Germany) or the wind farm in southern Italy, in Sicily and elsewhere. Among other things: oil or gas extraction does not distribute public money, unlike super-incentivized renewable energy plants. They are private investments. Instead, renewables provided for a flood of public money, aid, incentives for tens and tens of billions: an astonishing mega-deal into which organized crime, the mafia and the Camorra poured over the decade 1995/2005.
I would like some intellectually honest journalist to practice listing the flood of criminals, the episodes of corruption, embezzlement, illicit acts that accompanied "public" investments in renewables in Italy in those years. What did we do? Did we stop that work? No. It was a waste and a damage for how it was made: without planning, only with public money, putting other investments made, those in combined cycles (also private investments such as extractions and non-public ones such as those for sun and wind) out of play ), leading to skyrocketing energy prices. And instead, and I also rightly say, the investment in renewables did not stop'. Despite the criminal river. He distinguished himself between the crime and the work. And to make another case, let's take the high-speed train.
If the "Tempa rossa" award had been followed, ie "an offense occurs, let's stop the work", today we would not have an infrastructure, high-speed rail, which the world envies us and the Italian citizens bless. And they would like it to extend to all of Italy. And not just at Milan-Naples. Do you remember how many scams, illicit acts, crimes committed by the construction companies that accompanied that work? What was the level of corruption that manifested itself? But the work was not stopped. Even if, in that case (unlike renewables) the environmentalists would have liked everything to stop. Had we listened to them, today we would still travel with Intercity, taking 12 hours instead of 4, to go from Naples to Milan.
THE TEMPA ROSSA PROJECT
Now, in all of this, what is the "Tempa Rossa" project that according to the hypocritical referendaries should stop because of the illicit idiot of Minister Guidi? It is the plant defined as "among the most advanced in the oil sector", designed in an innovative and particular way, such as to be consistent with the particular environmental context in which it is inserted. Which will employ over 500 people, financed only by private investments of world leading companies in the oil sector. This is not a future project. Almost all of the wells already exist (6 out of 8 that have passed all levels of authorization). What remains to be done is, coincidentally, not so much drilling but organizing the transport of what is extracted, i.e. pipelines and logistic landings. Passing through Puglia: a pure, essential geographical fact.
THE REFERENDUM AND OIL TO DRINK
But in Puglia the promoter of the anti-drilling referendum rules: a former magistrate. A week after the referendum, the judicial case of Minister Guidi breaks out. Chronicle, let's understand each other. To me, optimistic and rational, the pathology that sees conspiracies everywhere worries me. Of course: the coincidence strikes. But to me it seems more important a substantive question to Dr. Emiliano who delays (because of the referendum he called?) the authorizations for the pipelines and logistic docks to complete the Tempa Rossa project (I think the famous amendment was talking about this): Dr. Emiliano , but what happens to the oil that will be extracted from the already authorized and perfectly legal wells of Tempa Rossa? It cannot be moved through Puglia”? So? I am convinced that the former magistrate, a well-known technologist who wanted to run a steel mill on gas, would answer piquedly: "You can always drink it".
