Letter: Corporate disinformation at fault in climate change
Why is it that 30 years after climate change was widely recognized as a threat, there still is very little response by the government? Fossil fuel companies still receive billions in subsidies. Legislatures still impose restrictions on renewable energy approaches.
The answer is very straightforward. The fossil fuel companies have sent out thousands of lobbyists. One the climate-change deniers receiving payments from these companies was Fred Singer.
Singer was a Ph.D. physicist. From Wikipedia, “He was known for rejecting the scientific consensus on several issues, including climate change, the connection between UV-B exposure and melanoma rates, stratospheric ozone loss being caused by chlorofluoro compounds, often used as refrigerants, and the health risks of passive smoking.” Singer’s opinion pieces appeared in newspapers across the country, and he relished providing that perfect contrarian quote to a reporter who needed to “balance” a story about environmental regulations.
Singer admitted under oath that he’d been funded by coal interests, and had consulted for Exxon, Shell, and the American Gas Association on topics including climate change. Lying was lucrative.
That we still are without significant response to climate change means this disinformation campaign was arguably the best investment fossil fuel companies ever made.
Norm Holy, Bloomington
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Letter: Corporate disinformation at fault in climate change
