EXXOM SCANDAL EXXPOSED! So where's the news media?

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The exposure of the EXXOM-backed, tobacco-like, anti-science disinformation & denial conspiracy is finally getting some overdue coverage on the blogosphere.

Ask yourself why SciGuy or the Houston Chron is not reporting this potentially globally hot scandal that directly involves EXXOM, the, if not a, biggest employer & contributor & sponsor in So. Texas?

Could it be allegiance to, if not fear of, one of the biggest authoritarian carbon polluters this side of the Ganges, if not Yellow, River?

Or simply an uber-conservative sense, if not a history textbook full, of revisionist history & creationist ideology?

Or just news media business-as-usual that caters to fundamentally anti-science, anti-democratic sentiments in the libertarian bible belt?

Smacks of a major scandal, if not complicit coverup, to the rest of Colbert Nation.

Climate Science Watch: Dealing in Doubt: New Greenpeace report reviews 20 years of the climate change denial machine

The Cost of Energy: Greenpeace exposes those “dealing in doubt”

Hot Topics New Zealand: Dealing in doubt: 20 years of attacks on climate science

Post Carbon Institute: A Confederacy of (Climate) Dunces

The new report succinctly explains how fossil fuel interests used the tobacco industry’s playbook and an extensive arsenal of lobbyists and “experts” for hire in order to manufacture disinformation designed to confuse the public and stifle action to address climate change.

ExxonMobil deservedly gets special attention for its role as the ringleader of the “campaign of denial.” As Greenpeace has documented meticulously over the years with its ExxonSecrets website, ExxonMobil is known to have invested over $23 million since 1998 to bankroll an entire movement of climate confusionists, including over 35 anti-science and right wing nonprofits, to divert attention away from the critical threat of climate disruption caused largely by the burning of fossil fuels.

The report ... calls out by name a number of key climate skeptics and deniers who have worked with industry front groups to confuse the public, including S. Fred Singer, John Christy, Richard Lindzen, David Legates, Sallie Baliunas, Willie Soon, Tim Ball, Pat Michaels and many other figures familiar to DeSmog Blog readers.

A number of the key “think tanks” at the forefront of the attacks on climate science — including the Heartland Institute, Competitive Enterprise Institute, American Enterprise Institute, George C. Marshall Institute, Heritage Foundation and Cato Institute — are also examined for their climate denial work on behalf of oil and coal interests.

Greenpeace explains how the network of denial was created in the early 1990s to dissuade politicians from taking action to prevent climate change. Chief among these early groups were the Global Climate Coalition, the Climate Council and the Information Council on the Environment (ICE).

The report also provides a brief history of the attacks launched against each of the IPCC’s scientific assessment reports dating back to 1990, noting the key players involved in each successive attack leading up to the present day attempts to tarnish the IPCC’s reputation and to falsely suggest that a debate still exists among climate scientists.

Personal attacks endured by climate scientists, especially key contributors to the IPCC reports, are also discussed in some detail, including the virulent attacks by the climate denial industry against reputed scientists like Michael Mann, Ben Santer, and Kevin Trenberth.

Greenpeace also calls out Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) and other members of Congress who are beholden to polluting industries through campaign contributions, and who regularly aid and abet the climate denial industry by promoting the false and misleading claims of deniers and skeptics on Capitol Hill.

Finally, “Dealing in Doubt” notes the escalation of the denial campaign during the administration of George W. Bush, when key White House and regulatory agency positions were filled with polluter lobbyists.

The placement of Philip Cooney, a lawyer and lobbyist who spent 15 years at the American Petroleum Institute before he was picked as chief of staff in the Bush White House Council on Environmental Quality, serves as a key example. Days after the New York Times broke the story that Cooney had made extensive edits on government scientific reports on global warming, Cooney resigned to go work for ExxonMobil.

“Dealing in Doubt” is recommended reading for anyone looking for a brief primer on the history of the denial industry’s relentless campaign against science and reason.

DeSmogBlog: Greenpeace Releases 20-Year History of Climate Denial Industry
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2009 Coldest Winter Ever?

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Dave in SETX,

re: "Coldest. Winter. Ever."

We've always been big fans of NOAA & its National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) & National Weather Service (NWS) & all the honest, dedicated scientists who work diligently to inform concerned citizens about the weather & climate change, Dave.

As far as the "coldest winter ever", as you say, Dave, you may want to check with your Texas State Climatologist instead of cherry-picking unnamed, unlinked sources again (puleez tell us it's not Scooter Libby).

The coldest winter ever came in 1977-1978, he said, which averaged 6.3 degrees below normal. Nielsen-Gammon said the 13-county southeast Texas climate region has averaged between 5 and 6 degrees below normal since Dec. 1. Second-coldest ever

Or try Dr. n-g @ his TAMU office.

February 2010 was a month of record breaking events for the state of Texas, and National Weather Service meteorologists believe this winter has been the coldest winter Texas has seen in 25 years. Current Texas Monthly Summary: February 2010

And while you're there, Dave, be sure to checkout the Societal Impacts of Climate on Texas.

NOAA: U.S. Winter and February Cooler Than Average

And you & your greenhouse furnaces & propane tanks can expect lots more extreme hot & cold weather events, floods & fires, & higher storm surges from stronger hurricanes as you continue to release carbon emissions into the atmosphere & hydrosphere which continue to heat up & destabilize SETX climate, if not the entire planet.

U.S. Climate Change Science Program: Weather and Climate Extremes in a Changing Climate

But fret not, Dave, as another notable local recently wrote in a SETX newspaper:

"Summer's coming. Some preliminary outlooks show July, August and September being a bit warmer than normal."

Back to the Dark Ages

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re: The Dark Ages return: Texas Board of Education rewrites the Enlightenment

We should be very clear about this. Not only do many, if not most, deniers believe passionately & stupidly that changes can be avoided, but that they can return Texas, if not the rest of the continent, to the booming 1950's when a godfearing white America dominated the world. They believe fervently & partisanly that global warming is a hoax conjured up by socialist, if not communist, forces of anti-American liberal leftists funded by Soros' billions & proseytized by high priest AlGore to overthrow Texas' (aka ExxonMobil) energy supremacy & steal away their well-paid oil jobs along with their guns & god-given freedoms.

And make no mistake, to accomplish this, Texan deniers are willing to trash, if not secede from, this nation which to them has become hopelessly godless & all too colored, if not anti-white, esp. now with the blacks in control of the White House & the dems of Congress.

Texas deniers & their bronze-age god are willing to sacrifice science, education, & their children's standard of living to maintain the primacy of ultra-conservative, if nor fundamentalist, religious "family values", so-called free-market ideology, and, perhaps most importantly, white dominance, if not supremacy.

They have been hoodwinked & disinformed by their own self-serving, power-mad, religious & libertarian leaders and teabagged by Fox News, Glenn Beck, & Rush Limbaugh, all liberally -- excuse the expression -- funded by ExxonMobil foreign oil profits & taxpayer subsidies & other ultra-conservative & business-as-usual interests. God, guns, oil, & Texas.

So who needs education anyway?
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Texas climate scientists stick it to EXXOM-funded deniers.

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Bravo Zulu! Texas climate scientists stick it to EXXOM-backed deniers.

Texas' challenge to the EPA's endangerment finding on carbon dioxide contains very little science. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott admitted that the state did not consult any climate scientists, including the many here in the state, before putting together the challenge to the EPA. Instead, the footnotes in the document reveal that the state relied mainly on British newspaper articles to make its case.

Contrary to what one might read in newspapers, the science of climate change is strong.

• The global climate is changing
• Human activities produce heat-trapping gases.
• Heat-trapping gases are very likely responsible for most of the warming observed over the past half century.
• The higher the levels of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere, the higher the risk of potentially dangerous consequences for humans and our environment.

The national academies of science of 32 nations, and every major scientific organization in the United States whose members include climate experts, have issued statements endorsing these points.... In fact, to the best of our knowledge, there are no climate scientists in Texas who disagree with the mainstream view of climate science.

We are all aware of the news reports describing the stolen e-mails from climate scientists and the errors in the IPCC reports. While aspects of climate change impacts have been overstated, none of the errors or allegations of misbehavior undermine the science behind any of the statements made above. In particular, they do not alter the conclusions that humans have taken over from nature as the dominant influence on our climate.

On global warming, the science is solid
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Clear & Present Danger to Public Welfare

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If you haven't yet heard, the Texas State Climatologist, Dr. John Nielson-Gammon, is making his case over at The Wonk Room:

Texas State Climatologist Disputes State’s Denier Petition: Greenhouse Gases ‘Clearly Present A Danger To The Public Welfare’.

and at Joe Romm's Climate Progress:

Texas state climatologist disputes state’s anti-science petition: Greenhouse gases “clearly present a danger to the public welfare.”

Now those are some headlines we can all live by.

NIELSEN-GAMMON: Do I think that the EPA based its assessment on sound science? I think, by basing its assessments on the IPCC, USGCRP, and NAS reports, it was basing its assessments on the best available science. I have the expertise to independently evaluate the quality of these reports, and on the whole they constitute in my opinion the most comprehensive, balanced assessments of climate change science presently available.

WONK ROOM: Do you know of any particular reason to doubt that the planet is warming, that greenhouse gases are involved, and that sea levels are rising?

NIELSEN-GAMMON: No.

WONK ROOM: I’m also interested if there are any specific risks relevant to Texas.

NIELSEN-GAMMON: Potential Texas vulnerabilities include sea level rises, droughts, floods, estuarine ecosystems, and agricultural productivity. The possible adverse economic impact of future greenhouse gas emission control strategies on Texas industries also represents a risk associated with global warming.

Full text of email interview with Dr. Nielsen-Gammon

And please take note that the Texas State Climatologist is not the only South Texan to support the conclusions of the IPCC & the findings of the EPA.

Dr. Andrew Dessler, a climatologist at Texas A&M University and author of The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change, tells the Wonk Room in an email interview that the entire Department of Atmospheric Sciences agrees with the IPCC:

"I, along with all of the other faculty in the department, agree with the main conclusions of the IPCC."

Dr. Kenneth P. Bowman, the head of the Texas A&M University Department of Atmospheric Sciences, writes:

"I believe that EPA finding is based on good science, as do all of my colleagues in the Atmospheric Science Department here at Texas A&M."

UPDATES: Texas State Climatologist Disputes State’s Denier Petition: Greenhouse Gases ‘Clearly Present A Danger To The Public Welfare’

Dr. Nielson-Gammon also plays over at his Atmo.Sphere blog & sometimes, when a pleasant mood overwhelms him, the Houston Chron's SciGuy.

All you science savvy, biodiversity loving, intelligent citizens of planet Earth, bring friends, lots of 'em.
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GE to pump another $2-billion into green power

General Electric Co.'s energy investment business, buoyed by rising demand for alternative power, said yesterday it will increase its investment in renewable energy by 50 per cent, to $6-billion (U.S.) by 2010.

Alex Urquhart, president and chief executive officer of GE Energy Financial Services, cited record-high oil prices, an increased focus on environmental protection and improved technology for boosting interest in wind, solar, biomass, hydro and geothermal power.

In addition, large price spikes fade with the elimination of fossil fuels as an energy source, said Kevin Walsh, managing director and leader of renewable energy at GE Energy. "There are no fuel costs with wind and solar, no volatility," he said.

The most active investment in renewable energy for GE Energy is wind, representing about two-thirds of its portfolio, Mr. Urquhart said. The company's also invested in landfill gas-to-energy projects, solar power projects in California, a solar power plant in Portugal and other deals.

GE Energy also said yesterday it's investing in wind farm projects owned by Horizon Wind Energy LLC, a Houston-based developer that is a subsidiary of Energias de Portugal SA. The wind farms are in Illinois, Minnesota, Oregon and Texas.

The four wind farms will annually produce enough electricity to power more than 180,200 average homes in the United States and will avoid nearly 1.4 million tonnes a year in greenhouse gas emissions, compared with equivalent fossil fuel generation, GE Energy said.

With the Horizon deal, GE Energy has invested or committed to invest equity in 85 wind farms and increased its global wind equity holdings to more than 3,600 megawatts of generating capacity.

Texas: Still Number One, Baby

TEXAS #1 AGAIN AS WIND CAPACITY SURGES 59% IN 2007

Wind production capability now enough for 1 million homes.

"Texas' competitive market is succeeding in delivering results, both for our economy and for our environment," said Gov. Rick Perry. "By harnessing the energy potential of wind, Texans are utilizing a form of energy that is clean, affordable, and easily renewable. The result is as good for consumers as it is for the environment."

"Texas leaders have done an exceptional job in attracting the wind industry, and with steady federal support and access to new transmission lines, wind power can continue to thrive."

According to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), there were 3,064 MW of signed commitments made during 2007 to build new wind power plants – a level that is greater than for any other type of new power plant. ERCOT is currently developing plans and cost estimates for new transmission lines that could support much higher levels of wind power in the future as part of the Competitive Renewable Energy Zone (CREZ) process, which is expected to be finalized during 2008. Previous studies by ERCOT suggest that the wind on the drawing board combined with that now operating in Texas could reduce wholesale power costs by more than $1 billion per year while reducing statewide power plant emissions by as much as 5%.

Texas record-setting year of wind power development represents about 10% of all power plant capacity completed in the United States during 2007.