Ramsey McPhillips: The rise of plundercrats reshaping a fragile world

By RAMSEY McPHILLIPS

The natural world is on the brink of collapse, and it’s not due to lack of awareness or solutions, but to the deliberate exploitation of our planet’s resources by powerful corporations and the Brahmins who lead them. The pursuit of profits, driven by a model of unchecked extraction and consumerism, has prioritized short-term gains at the expense of ecological balance.

Among the most destructive actors in this grim tale are a handful of companies whose practices have brought about irreversible environmental degradation. This commentary examines five of the worst corporate offenders and 10 of the corporate leaders who set them on such a perilous course.

ExxonMobil: Architect of the climate crisis

ExxonMobil stands as one of the most notorious examples of environmental destruction in modern history. For decades, the fossil fuel giant knowingly contributed to climate change, suppressing even its own scientific research into global warming.

Instead of shifting to sustainable practices, it invested heavily in campaigns of climate denial, misleading the public and stalling policy reforms while bringing in a whopping $85 billion in 2023.

The company extracts more than 4 million barrels of oil a day, contributing not only to carbon emissions, but also to deforestation and habitat destruction through oil sands operations in Canada and offshore drilling around the world.

Its reckless pursuit of oil profit has resulted in major ecological disasters, such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, which devastated the Alaskan coastline. Its legacy is one of climate devastation, biodiversity loss and rising sea levels.

Nestlé: Global water thief

Nestlé’s relentless commodification of natural resources, particularly water, has placed it at the forefront of ecological exploitation.

Operating in drought-stricken areas across the globe, it extracts billions of gallons of groundwater annually to bottle and sell, often leaving local communities without access to clean water of their own. Its business model prioritizes profits over human and environmental welfare, turning essential resources into commodities while draining ecosystems.

Beyond water extraction, Nestlé’s palm oil sourcing has driven deforestation in Southeast Asia, contributing to habitat loss for endangered species like the orangutan. The company’s practices illustrate how consumer goods giants use their influence to exploit finite resources, often leaving environmental devastation and human suffering in their wake.

Last year, Nestle’s net profit ran $1.9 billion.

Cargill: Destroyer of forest and ocean

Cargill, the largest privately held company in the United States, plays a central role in the destruction of rainforests, grasslands and marine ecosystems.

As a leading supplier of agricultural commodities such as soy, palm oil and beef, it drives deforestation in the Amazon and the Cerrado regions of Brazil. These forests, essential carbon sinks that regulate the planet’s climate, are being razed to make room for industrial farming operations.

Cargill’s disregard for sustainability extends to the oceans, where its feed supply chains contribute to overfishing and depletion of marine biodiversity. Despite pledges to clean up its operations, the company continues to prioritize profits over meaningful environmental reforms.

Cargill’s dominance over global food systems exemplifies how corporate interests in agriculture pose a direct threat to both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Amazon: Legacy of emissions and waste

Amazon, the world’s dominant e-commerce retailer, has created a global network of warehouses, data centers and delivery infrastructure that leaves an immense environmental footprint.

While consumers benefit from Amazon’s convenience, the true cost is paid in carbon emissions, resource depletion and waste. In 2022 alone, the company emitted more than 71 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, leaving a footprint larger than those of many countries.

Amazon’s operations rely on a constant influx of disposable goods, encouraging overconsumption and creating mountains of waste ending up in landfills.

Its aggressive expansion strategy has led to deforestation for warehouses and degradation of natural landscapes. Furthermore, the company’s use of plastic packaging contributes to the global plastic pollution crisis, impacting wildlife and marine ecosystems.

Chevron: Trail of human and environmental harm

Chevron’s environmental record is a grim catalog of ecological disasters and resource exploitation. The company is infamous for its operations in Ecuador, where it was accused of dumping billions of gallons of toxic waste into the Amazon rainforest, poisoning rivers and causing widespread health issues among Indigenous communities.

Chevron spent decades avoiding accountability for the environmental damage. It has consistently fought legal efforts to hold it responsible.

Beyond its operations in South America, Chevron remains a major player in oil extraction, contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions and perpetuating global dependence on fossil fuels. Like ExxonMobil, Chevron has actively opposed climate legislation, ensuring that governments remain shackled to fossil energy.

The company exemplifies the pattern of corporate plunder, where profits are pursued at any cost—leaving behind devastated communities and ecosystems.

At the top: Setting the course of destructive peril

The Big Five and their enablers and co-conspirators operate under the like-minded leadership of what I call the plundercrats — elites committed to exploiting the environment for short-term financial gain.

These figures and institutions highlight the tension between profit-making and environmental responsibility. Many are tied to fossil fuel financing, deforestation, or unsustainable consumption. Here are some of the more prominent among them:

1. Jamie Dimon at JPMorgan Chase, the world’s largest financier of fossil fuel expansion, pumping billions into oil, gas and coal projects.

2. Rex Tillerson at ExxonMobil, which engaged in years of climate misinformation under his watch and continued on the course of ever-expanding oil and gas exploitation he set before his departure.

3. Vladimir Lisin at NLMK Group, a Russian steelmaking giant whose operations contribute heavily to global emissions.

4. Jame Fraser at CitiBank, which continues to invest in destructive energy projects in sensitive areas like the Amazon and Arctic.

5. Jeff Bezos at Amazon, which faces backlash for promoting overconsumption and operating with significant carbon emissions.

6. Larry Fink at BlackRock, which pledges divestment while retaining large stakes in fossil fuel companies.

7. Mohammed bin Salman at Saudi Aramco, already the largest emitter among oil companies and bent on continued expansion.

8. Mark Cutifani at Anglo American, a mining giant responsible for environmentally destructive activities, including coal mining and deforestation.

9. Andrew Mackenzie at BHP, engaged in extensive mining and coal extraction contributing to environmental degradation.

10. Elon Musk at Tesla, whose celebrated promotion of electric vehicles hides an underbelly of lithium mining practices that harm ecosystems and Indigenous communities.

Conclusion: A call for accountability and systemic change

The actions of these corporations and corporate leaders highlight the structural flaws of a global economy driven by profit at the expense of sustainability.

Addressing this crisis requires more than corporate greenwashing or token environmental initiatives. It demands systemic change through stronger environmental regulations, corporate accountability and the transition to sustainable economic models.

The demise of the natural world at the hands of these companies and individuals serves as a warning:

Unless we break free from the grip of the plundercrats, the future of our planet remains in jeopardy. Only by challenging this unsustainable system can we hope to preserve the natural world for future generations.

About the writer: Ramsey McPhillips is an ecological advocate whose mission can be summed up in two words: forming community. He has achieved his successes by assembling teams of seasoned collaborators to help organize, define, fundraise and administer their way to solutions. He lives on his family’s 160-year-old farm in McMinnville. He is a graduate of Sterling, an early precursor to the regenerative farm movement, and holds a degree in environmental studies from Bowdoin College.