DoomsdaysCW<p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ExxonKnew" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ExxonKnew</span></a> about <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateChange" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateChange</span></a> almost 40 years ago</p><p>A new investigation shows the oil company understood the science before it became a public issue and spent millions to promote <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/misinformation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>misinformation</span></a></p><p>By Shannon Hall on October 26, 2015</p><p>"One thing is certain: in June 1988, when NASA scientist <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/JamesHansen" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>JamesHansen</span></a> told a congressional hearing that the planet was already warming, Exxon remained publicly convinced that the science was still controversial. Furthermore, experts agree that Exxon became a leader in campaigns of confusion. By 1989 the company had helped create the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GlobalClimateCoalition" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GlobalClimateCoalition</span></a> (disbanded in 2002) to question the scientific basis for concern about climate change. It also helped to prevent the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/USA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>USA</span></a> from signing the international treaty on climate known as the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/KyotoProtocol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>KyotoProtocol</span></a> in 1998 to control <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GreenhouseGases" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GreenhouseGases</span></a> . Exxon’s tactic not only worked on the U.S. but also stopped other countries, such as <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/China" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>China</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/India" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>India</span></a>, from signing the treaty. At that point, 'a lot of things unraveled,' Oreskes says.</p><p>"But experts are still piecing together Exxon’s misconception puzzle. Last summer the Union of Concerned Scientists released a complementary investigation to the one by InsideClimate News, known as the Climate Deception Dossiers (pdf). 'We included a memo of a coalition of fossil-fuel companies where they pledge basically to launch a big communications effort to sow doubt,' says union president Kenneth Kimmel. 'There’s even a quote in it that says something like ‘Victory will be achieved when the average person is uncertain about climate science.’ So it’s pretty stark.'</p><p>"Since then, Exxon has spent more than $30 million on <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ThinkTanks" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ThinkTanks</span></a> that promote ClimateDenial, according to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Greenpeace" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Greenpeace</span></a>. Although experts will never be able to quantify the damage Exxon’s misinformation has caused, 'one thing for certain is we’ve lost a lot of ground,' Kimmell says. Half of the greenhouse gas emissions in our atmosphere were released after 1988. 'I have to think if the fossil-fuel companies had been upfront about this and had been part of the solution instead of the problem, we would have made a lot of progress [today] instead of doubling our greenhouse gas emissions.'"</p><p><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/exxon-knew-about-climate-change-almost-40-years-ago/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">scientificamerican.com/article</span><span class="invisible">/exxon-knew-about-climate-change-almost-40-years-ago/</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateCrisis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateCrisis</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateChange" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateChange</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateCatastrophe" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateCatastrophe</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ExtremeWeather" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ExtremeWeather</span></a></p>