- “There has been a long campaign by power, coal and oil companies to mislead the public about the science of global warming,” the suit says. The campaign, it says, contributed “to the public nuisance of global warming by convincing the public at large and the victims of global warming that the process is not man-made when in fact it is.”
- A spokesperson for Exxon, Gantt Walton, dismissed the charge that the oil giant had contributed to a disinformation campaign, saying "The recycling of this type of discredited conspiracy theory only diverts attention from the real challenge at hand..."
- Exxon's hefty contributions to climate change denialists are a matter of public record. And some day, the company's efforts to forestall action on greenhouse emissions will come back to haunt it. Perhaps not in this case, but when enough oxen have been gored, legal responsibility for the damage inflicted upon the earth will be assessed. Exxon will be at the front of the line.
- ....energy giant Exxon Mobil accounts for roughly 1 percent of global emissions and has aggressively lobbied against any efforts to reduce greenhouse gases. 'So,' said Walker, 'we might go to them and say, "Since you don't think climate change is a problem, we're sure you won't mind if we exclude climate-related lawsuits and penalties from your [Directors & Officers] insurance.'" ( from Eugene Linden's "Winds of Change")
What would you do if you were a Kivalina resident?
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At what point will we recognize the need for all to pay the external costs of the energy we use, when we use it??
It is ridiculous to blame Exxon for climate change. WE are the cause. What are WE doing about it? Here is a letter I plan to send to the local papers.
Climate change and Madison
The most recent report on green house gas induced climate change claims that the problem is even worse than previously thought. Drastic steps must be taken soon to avert a major crisis, yet the US Congress has other priorities, and the Wisconsin legislature can do little beyond a few mostly symbolic gestures. Closer to home, could Dane county and the city of Madison do anything that would make a difference? The answer is YES, and the steps are obvious if we were to look.
Wind turbines in city parks or solar panels on city buildings and parking ramps? Nonsense; too expensive and ineffective. But the city and county could have a major impact with policies that would cost them little money, and would have the added benefit of cleaning the air and reducing traffic congestion. How?
By taking steps to make the buses free, as they are for example in Steamboat Springs Colorado. But how to pay for providing free bus service? By raising down town daytime parking rates. Many ramps are now controlled entrance with the fee subject to time of day charges, and the other ramps could easily be so converted. Make parking free for the first hour to benefit shoppers, library patrons, etc., but increase the hourly charge after the first hour enough to encourage those who park all day to use a bus instead. And add a surcharge for entering any ramp before 9 AM. But make parking in the ramps free after 6 PM, both to encourage people to come down for meals and entertainment, and to keep the streets clear for plowing during winter.
Those changes, combined with providing adequate parking near the bus transfer hubs, could quickly reduce driving and gasoline consumption in the city without much expense to the city or county. Surface parking lots could be built or bought on the edges of the city near bus stops. Instead of building future parking ramps downtown, put them near the bus transfer hubs and selected bus stops away from downtown.. These changes could be phased in gradually by raising the "before 9 AM" surcharge from a few dollars to whatever it takes, while raising the hourly rate and reducing the bus fair in stages, using the increased parking revenue to offset the reduced bus revenue and to expand peripheral parking.
I know that the idea of increased bus use and reduced city car traffic sounds too radical for Madison, but I think it is something that should be considered if we were to get serious about green house gas emissions. Reply to this
I think you're making an incorrect leap here. I don't think they are 'blaming' Exxon for climate change - neither am I. If I was CEO of Exxon I'd be seeing what tax breaks I could get for my company (it would be interesting to learn what arguments were actually effective in obtaining billions of dollars in tax breaks for the oil industry (OK, I'm not that naive, probably the 'argument' was re-election-related cash -- a shame) and drilling for oil wherever we thought it was. The problem with Exxon's (and others) actions was making huge contributions to global warming deniers.
************************* On your letter - what a GREAT idea. Other benefits: - as bus ridership increases significantly via a plan like this, bus service could expand starting a snowball effect increasing riders and routes even more; and, - would reduce air pollution downtown.
And, "phased-in" is the way to go - as you say for both decreases in bus fares and increases in parking fees. Ideally, changes would be revenue neutral for the Madison Metro. If parking fees are not enough to make meaningful reductions in bus fare, other revenue sources that discourage driving and/or non-renewable energy use should be considered.
With oil hitting an all time record $110 per barrel today, this will also save drivers large dollars on their commute.
...need to look beyond just downtown for increased parking fees to support buses. And, <<If parking fees are not enough to make meaningful reductions in bus fare, other revenue sources that discourage driving and/or non-renewable energy use should be considered.>>
The Packers would lose their "cold weather home field advantage" if the temperatures in Green Bay were to increase. So it is time to take Global Warming seriously in Wisconsin Reply to this
3/12/2008 11:15 PM
Jim Blair wrote:
<<"The problem with Exxon's (and others) actions was making huge contributions to global warming deniers.">>
Hi,
Punishing someone for expressing or supporting a political opinion is not the way to go. First Amendment and all that. Reply to this
Not on this topic, but I discovered an interesting Wisconsin connection to CO2 Climate-Change. The literature on this cites Swedish chemist Savante Arrhenius and American geologist T.C. Chamberlin as having published articles during the 1890's on the effect of CO2 on climate, based on theory.
Everyone who took a chemistry class in high school knows the name Arrhenius, but I wanted to know about Chamberlin.
Turns out he is from Wisconsin and was president of the UW-Madison during the 1880's. There is a building on campus named after him (on University avenue between Mills and Charter).
