on Feb 3rd, 2007
Scientists offered cash to dispute climate study
As reported in the Guardian, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a group funded by Exxon Mobil is offering scientists and economists up to $10,000 to produce articles which discredit or emphasise the shortcomings of the report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The UN report was written by international experts and is widely regarded as the most comprehensive review yet of climate change science. It will underpin international negotiations on new emissions targets to succeed the Kyoto agreement, the first phase of which expires in 2012. World governments were given a draft last year and invited to comment.
The AEI has received more than $1.6m from ExxonMobil and more than 20 of its staff have worked as consultants to the Bush administration. Lee Raymond, a former head of ExxonMobil, is the vice-chairman of AEI’s board of trustees.
Climate scientists said that the offer by the AEI was “a desperate attempt by an organisation who wants to distort science for their own political aims”
On Monday, another Exxon-funded organisation based in Canada will launch a review in London which casts doubt on the IPCC report. Among its authors are Tad Murty, a former scientist who believes human activity makes no contribution to global warming. Confirmed VIPs attending include Nigel Lawson and David Bellamy, who believes there is no link between burning fossil fuels and global warming.
David Bellamy wrote an article in April 2005 in New Scientist which cast doubt on climate change. He said that glaciers were increasing, not retreating amongst other bizarre statements. Unfortunately, Dr Bellamy didn’t provide references for his calculations, and only when pressed did he mention that he got them from a website which contains incorrect and fraudulent data! For more information see George Monbiot’s site, Turn up the Heat.
Maybe in 25 years time when the debate is well and truly over, will the world make these deniers accountable for their crimes against humanity?
This week I watched a programme about the historic formation of our planet and how life started. Catastrophic events such as glacial coverage of most of the land mass, meteorite hits and volcanic hiatus’, periodically wiped out 70% of whatever life had evolved at various times. The longest living were the dinosaurs. Our brief span on this earth is miniscule in comparison. Maybe it is our turn to have 70% of life destroyed due to global warming and pollution and over population. Whatever,prevarication by economic giants will probably delay effective timely action to prevent massive problems until it is too late. We will no doubt do ‘our bit’ personally, but the signs are not good.