Jones: From 'sink or swim' to 'we turn to each other'

Van Jones decries oil as “death from the ground” (Campus Notebook, Feb. 9). If this be true, let Princeton lead the way. No internal-combustion engines to be used by the University. Electric vehicles and electricity for the campus: OK if generated by non-fossil fuels. Let the green theologians decide whether nuclear is fossil. Good luck.

So Van Jones considers drilling for oil to be pulling “death out of the ground” (Campus Notebook, Feb. 9). Did he arrive at the MLK celebration on his horse, or in a car? Did he travel on a dirt road, or one paved with asphalt? Was the room lit by candlelight, or by electricity? Did he yell across the room to be heard, or speak into a microphone? Does he grow all his own food, or is it delivered to his supermarket on trucks from across the country? Does his clothing contain any artificial fabrics to help them last longer or stay wrinkle-free and, if not, does he press his shirt by heating a piece of iron by the fireplace in his home?

As someone who spent 20 years of my career finding the oil and gas that enables the standard of living we all enjoy, I’m disgusted with left-wing hypocrites like Jones who unfailingly disparage and criticize this vital industry. I have no qualms about pursuing green technology, but the disdain which Jones and other far-left zealots display for the industry that has sustained our economy and our way of life for more than 70 years is unjust and inappropriate.