Climate impacts and the oil industry Re: “Lawsuits are poor way to address climate change — Approach is likely to cause backlash that derails real reforms, Jibran Khan says,”April 2 Viewpoints. For major fossil fuel companies, publishing cutting-edge, peer-reviewed climate research and employing a vast network of lobby groups and trade associations, think tanks and politicians to distort the findings aren’t mutually exclusive approaches. Investigations by the Los Angeles Times and others found that Exxon Mobil and some of its peers financed a decades-long multimillion-dollar campaign to manufacture doubt about the science to ensure that fossil fuels would remain central to global energy production. Taxpayers, especially in vulnerable coastal communities, are already paying the consequences. New York City estimates that it will spend $19.5 billion to prepare for climate change impacts through 2030. California communities are experiencing sea level rise as well as disruptions to the hydrologic cycle caused by fossil fuel pollution — including more frequent and severe wildfires, heat waves, droughts and extreme precipitation events. Climate impacts are here and are already costing lives and livelihoods. From mounting evidence of the oil industry’s deception to increasingly sophisticated science, it’s clear fossil fuel companies played an outsized role in making the problem. Kathy Mulvey, Washington, D.C. Shedding light on Exxon’s actions Re: “Exxon fails to kill climate change probes — Judge rejects its claim that AGs plotted with environmental groups,” March 30 Business story. I really enjoyed reading this article and I respect the courage it took to publish it as such topics… [Read full story]
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