Despite overwhelming scientific evidence

Jul 2, 2009 08:42 GMT  ·  By
Exxon continues to fight against the current. Maybe it's time that money went into renewable projects
   Exxon continues to fight against the current. Maybe it's time that money went into renewable projects

It would appear that the big corporations have taken an active interest in fighting for lost causes. In the last such battle, the oil giant Exxon was proven to still be supporting conservatory lobby groups, which advocate that global warming is not real. Or if it is, it's not caused by us. And if it is, it's not that bad. You've all heard the same line of pathetic reasons and excuses over the course of the years, but, alas for them, the scientific community has proven once and for all that climate change is ours to deal with, The Guardian informs.

In an upsetting turn of events (for the fossil fuel industry), Bush and his gang of conservatives were ousted from power by the people, who voted for Obama in part because his agenda included points referring to stem cell research, economic stimulus plans and environmental protection. The latter point gained him a lot of support from the scientific community, and it's now beginning to show that the political will is there. Legislation regulating carbon emissions and classifying carbon dioxide (CO2) as a pollutant is already in the works, and could soon be adopted.

But, despite all this, and the fact that the science on the issue is clearly against them, oil companies continue to fund lobby groups whose sole purpose is to slow down the decision process in the federal government, and to interfere, essentially, with what the vast majority of the population wants. Among the groups that received funding from Exxon are the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA), in Dallas, Texas ($75,000), the Heritage Foundation, in Washington DC ($50,000), as well as the infamous Heartland Institute, a so-called Chicago-based "think-tank," which advocates, alongside the fact that coal and oil are good for the atmosphere, that smoking is good for your health, and so on.

It's centers such as these that keep the American public in doubt about global warming. Rather than listening to long-time studies and recognized scientists, some members of the audience prefer taking the short route, and believe results coming from biased and paid-for studies, financed by either the tobacco or the oil industry, which are the exact opposite of what's happening in reality. Additionally, in previous Exxon-related scandals in which internal memos got leaked, the company was associated with a number of lobbyists against global warming, as well as with the Republican Party. And that is just one of the reasons why everyone was happy to see Bush go.