Recently, on Bloomberg News, a not-so-shocking report came out.
It seems that Exxon Mobil wanted to have it both ways on the matter of the so-called climate change or what used to be called “global warming”. The report indicated that Exxon Mobil spent several decades, 4 to be exact, telling the general public one thing in their public announcements, but had their own team of scientists and “climatologists”(is there even such a word? taking an entirely different route. The scientists and climatologists determined, according to a Harvard University research study, that climate change was a real and serious threat. Now, if that’s so, and I’m not believing it for a moment, why have just as many scientists on the other side of the question, determined that it’s not? The report said “ExxonMobil contributed to advancing climate science by way of its scientists’ academic publications…but promoted doubt about it in advertorials” which was used in the journal of Environmental Research Letters. Given this discrepancy, we conclude that ExxonMobil misled the public.”
There are lawsuits, both for and against ExxonMobil in this matter, and they are not alone. It’s apparent that this climate change discussion is going nowhere because, in my not-so-humble opinion, it(climate change) takes place over millennia and no one has been around that long, much less taking notes on the daily occurrences. For the record, what others may call climate change, I simply call “weather” and THAT changes daily. The New York State Attorney General is looking into the matter, trying to figure out if the petroleum giant actually lied to the public and its stockholders over the past forty years. Because the company played both sides of the street, so to speak, it may have benefitted the stockholders or it may have caused them financial distress. It’s one of those puzzles where you’re going to be damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
Because of the huge output of petroleum products by ExxonMobil, it’s being called one of the world’s largest companies that affect the climate. The company produces about ten million gallons of gasoline and other fuels every hour of every day! That, in anyone’s book, is a LOT of fuel, and potentially, a lot of effect on the climate…if you’re of the mindset that mankind is directly responsible for climate change. The researchers themselves have said that the company has disagreed with their conclusions and said its statements on public policy and climate science “have always reflected the global understanding of the issue”, according to an opinion piece by two of the authors of the report.
If, at this point, you are confused…you’re not alone. Just think of the, probably, millions of stockholders of ExxonMobil shares and how they must feel. On the one hand, their company is FOR climate change and believes in it, but on the other hand, they are against it and have publicly said so! It would take somebody a whole lot smarter than I to figure this one out. Weather has always been with our planet and will continue to be here…until such time as we blow up the earth, or we drift into the sun and all of us burn up. Either way, it’s most likely going to take many more years than we have in our lifetimes so let’s not get too concerned about climate change science…or the lack of it.
There are people, and former Vice-President Al Gore is the most prominent, who have made fortunes based on scaring people about climate change and what it will do to this area or that one. It seems to me that most of Florida was supposed to be underwater by this time and, the last time I looked it was still there. California, on the other hand, is poised to leave the rest of the country by one means or another. Either “the big one”, that cataclysmic earthquake will shake it loose and drop it into the Pacific Ocean or they will legally secede from the rest of the United States…making it the Untied States perhaps?
Years back it was my privilege to drive through most of this great country, excepting the Pacific Northwest. Yes, there are “amber waves of grain” and the “purple mountain’s majesty” in the proper places, and the wide open spaces are that…very wide open. In Arkansas there was a road going into Fort Smith coming out of Oklahoma City and, remember, this is before the Interstate system…and the sign read something about getting water and gas now because there’s nothing between here and Fort Smith, Arkansas! As I remember it was about one hundred fifty miles and the sign was correct…there was NOTHING but a two-lane road, lots of dust and a cactus now and then. If memory serves, there was one other car coming the other way for the entire length of that trip and when we got to Fort Smith there was another sign, same wording, about Oklahoma City!
Parting shot: you can choose which side of the climate change discussion you’ll support, but think about this: while the United States MAY go “clean” many of the other developed and developing countries will not, or cannot, at this time. Somehow our getting environmentally clean, while the majority of the world is not, is akin to shouting to someone in a thunderstorm. Good chance you won’t be heard.
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