Manitoba Wildlands  
Oil Companies Knew About Climate Change 27 May 16

It turns out the oil industry has known about climate change for decades. The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) republished a 1968 document written by two scientists at the Stanford Research Institute. The study, presented to the American Petroleum Institute detailed the environmental dangers associated with burning fossil fuels. As as we all know by now, the industry chose to keep those dangers to themselves.

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) launched a searchable online database of more than 100 documents that bring to light new information on how the oil industry responded – and failed to respond – in the face of climate change.

"We now know that the oil industry was engaged in climate science by the 1950s and on notice of climate risks by the 1960s. The question arises: What did they do with that information?" said CIEL President Carroll Muffett. "Our research suggests the oil companies invested more in explaining away climate risks than in confronting them."

Even as its understanding of climate risks increased, the oil industry funded research into sother pollutants that would offset warming; potential carbon sinks that would reduce the need to control emissions; and alternate theories of climate change that continue to be used by climate deniers.

View May 19, 2016 Center for International Environmental Law article
View April 13, 2016 The Guardian article
View April 13, 2016 Grist article
View February 8, 2016 Huffington Post article
View October 26, 2015 Scientific American article
View Major Fossil Fuel Companies Knew about Global Warming...and Did Worse than Nothing

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Manitoba Wildlands2002-2014