General Discussion

The same guy holding Just-us John "Make the Check Out to Jane" Roberts' feet to the fire is working to raise awareness of Big Oil's role in the environmental crisis. It looks like a lonely job in the Senate. Glad Representative Jamie Raskin in the House also understands what We the People are up against.



Unveiling Big Oil's Campaign of Lies

An explosive hearing held by the U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget has unveiled more details of Big Oil’s campaign to block climate action.

by Zanagee Artis
May 10, 2024

The fossil fuel industry has never been a part of the solution to the climate crisis, and new documents uncovered by a congressional investigation spanning the last two years make that abundantly clear. On the contrary, Big Oil is actively fighting to maintain fossil fuels for decades to come. The United States Senate Committee on Budget recently held a hearing on Denial, Disinformation, and Doublespeak: Big Oil’s Evolving Efforts to Avoid Accountability for Climate Change.

Ahead of the hearing, the committee published a joint bicameral congressional staff report detailing the depth of the fossil fuel industry’s deception and campaigns to block climate action. Not only has the fossil fuel industry known about the causal relationship of greenhouse gases and climate change since at least 1959, the industry has fought to block the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy the whole time. For more than 60 years, the fossil fuel industry has chosen profit and shareholder value over people’s lives. It is time for Big Oil accountability, and this joint investigation by the Senate Budget Committee and House Oversight Committee is just the beginning. Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island said, “That’s what this hearing is about, because what is protecting the massive fossil fuel subsidies and what is preventing policies to reduce the danger is the same thing: the fossil fuel industry itself.” Here is a look at some key findings from the investigation:

Big Oil knew

In 1959, nuclear scientist Edward Teller explained to a symposium hosted by the American Petroleum Institute that carbon dioxide emissions from burning oil would melt ice caps and raise sea levels. The fossil fuel industry later engaged in climate science research themselves, and in 1979 Exxon admitted that, “[t]he present trend of fossil fuel consumption will cause dramatic environmental effects before the year 2050.” In the ensuing years, Exxon, its peers, and a collection of industry-funded front groups have waged marketing and lobbying campaigns to convince lawmakers and the public that the science behind climate change is not certain.

Fossil fuel industry doublespeak

Multiple companies, including BP, Exxon, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips, have been actively deceiving the public about their commitment to achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and net zero emissions by 2050. Internal documents produced to the House Oversight Committee reveal that BP went so far as to say that, “No one is committed to anything other than to stay in the game,” the game being the development and production of the fossil fuels that they know are devastating communities and the climate. Earlier this year, BP announced that it would increase oil and gas production from 2024 through 2027.

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https://www.nrdc.org/bio/zanagee-artis/unveiling-big-oils-campaign-lies