There is a “Rorschach” way to examine your thinking about the controversy over fossil fuels and global warming. 

Psychologists use the Rorschach test to examine a person’s personality characteristics and emotional functioning. It’s been employed to detect  underlying thought disorder, especially disorganized thinking as evidenced by disorganized speech.  Try this on yourself.

Here is a photograph (from an English artist flying over Leon County, Texas, as reported in The Guardian).

Tell me what you see: The highest and best use of this land, … happy royalty owners and economic prosperity, … a nudge toward independence from people who want to kill us, … a step to a cleaner environment? 

Or: Stark and relentless environmental devastation, … a preview of the ghastly future of fossil fuels, … fracking, … the invisible hand of Dick Chaney and the Koch brothers?

If you are in the first category, you would probably agree with this, from the Associated Press, on the environmental costs of ethanol, or this, about  the good news of increased use of recycled water in fracking.

If not, then you would likely gravitate toward this one from the Los Angeles Times on the perils of climate change. (The same L A Times who refuses to publish letters to the editor questioning global warming.)

Or Al Gore’s Wall Street Journal warning about the inevitable and fast approaching carbon asset bubble.

Incidentally, I’ve confirmed what I suspected. Wells in the picture were drilled mostly in the 70’s and 80’s.  Modern fields tend to appear nothing like this because of the ability, with horizontal drilling, to drill a number of wells from a single pad, thereby reducing the drilling footprint.    

A musical interlude that best combines confused thinking and good piano playing.