Written by Michael Kulla
Climate change is unlike any threat human society has encountered. In 1977 Exxon’s executives warned that the fossil fuels Exxon produced would prove to be catastrophic, requiring major reductions to reduce the greenhouse effect. This was long before the issue had risen to public awareness.
For a dozen years Exxon had a positive mission of public purpose. The corporate team collaborated with government, universities and companies.
In 1988, however, the quest for good deeds was suddenly put aside for the sake of profit. At ethical crossroads, Exxon faced a stark choice. Keeping their traps shut and shrugging could hardly preserve their alpha male image in the American corporate jungle. By 1989 the company did an about face by funding voodoo “science” to keep the world hooked on fossil fuel. The strategy was to create incessant babel, fueled by industry money to spread the false narrative that scientists are “uncertain” about climate change, much less its cause. Exxon denigrated the very scientists they had previously befriended, and they teamed with the Koch brothers to fund at least three dozen national front groups to patronize their agitation and disinformation agenda.
If you haven’t done so already watch the short PBS video above.
Top GOP presidential contenders are happy to parrot the lingo with such Einsteins as the Donald who called Global Warming “a total…hoax.”
As 97% of climate scientists say “yes”, the scoffers absurdly want total unanimity. Of the 3% who didn’t say yes, nearly all said maybe. That’s close enough to unanimity for me.
Don’t give up yet; The Paris Climate Summit just ended on a hopeful note.
Below is a one hour BBC special documentary on climate change presented over two years ago by Sir David Attenborough:
Econintersect editor’s note: Both videos were added to the submitted essay by Econintersect.
