WR - Put oil firm chiefs on trial?

06-23-2008, 09:20 AM

shiiboi

pimp

Join Date: Dec 2005

Location: Oort Cloud

Posts: 6,593/5.90

Threads: 16

Friends Network

Put oil firm chiefs on trial?

click on one of our sponsors! OR REMOVE ADS

Quote:

Put oil firm chiefs on trial, says leading climate change scientist
Ed Pilkington in New York
The Guardian, Monday June 23, 2008

James Hansen, one of the world's leading climate scientists, will today call for the chief executives of large fossil fuel companies to be put on trial for high crimes against humanity and nature, accusing them of actively spreading doubt about global warming in the same way that tobacco companies blurred the links between smoking and cancer.

Hansen will use the symbolically charged 20th anniversary of his groundbreaking speech (pdf) to the US Congress - in which he was among the first to sound the alarm over the reality of global warming - to argue that radical steps need to be taken immediately if the "perfect storm" of irreversible climate change is not to become inevitable.

Speaking before Congress again, he will accuse the chief executive officers of companies such as ExxonMobil and Peabody Energy of being fully aware of the disinformation about climate change they are spreading.

In an interview with the Guardian he said: "When you are in that kind of position, as the CEO of one the primary players who have been putting out misinformation even via organisations that affect what gets into school textbooks, then I think that's a crime."

He is also considering personally targeting members of Congress who have a poor track record on climate change in the coming November elections. He will campaign to have several of them unseated. Hansen's speech to Congress on June 23 1988 is seen as a seminal moment in bringing the threat of global warming to the public's attention. At a time when most scientists were still hesitant to speak out, he said the evidence of the greenhouse gas effect was 99% certain, adding "it is time to stop waffling".

He will tell the House select committee on energy independence and global warming this afternoon that he is now 99% certain that the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has already risen beyond the safe level.

The current concentration is 385 parts per million and is rising by 2ppm a year. Hansen, who heads Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, says 2009 will be a crucial year, with a new US president and talks on how to follow the Kyoto agreement.

He wants to see a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants, coupled with the creation of a huge grid of low-loss electric power lines buried under ground and spread across America, in order to give wind and solar power a chance of competing. "The new US president would have to take the initiative analogous to Kennedy's decision to go to the moon."

His sharpest words are reserved for the special interests he blames for public confusion about the nature of the global warming threat. "The problem is not political will, it's the alligator shoes - the lobbyists. It's the fact that money talks in Washington, and that democracy is not working the way it's intended to work."

A group seeking to increase pressure on international leaders is launching a campaign today called 350.org. It is taking out full-page adverts in papers such as the New York Times and the Swedish Falukuriren calling for the target level of CO2 to be lowered to 350ppm. The advert has been backed by 150 signatories, including Hansen.

Just some more fuel for the fire (pun intended).
Interesting how oil (and big oil companies) are at the center of the 2 largest worldwide debates today.

| quote |

Sponsored Links
REMOVE ADS

06-23-2008, 10:11 AM	#2
joerockhead Erica Ownz me! Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: 5280' Posts: 8,373/5.67 Threads: 343 Friends Network Gold Member	Re: Put oil firm chiefs on trial? Wow, that is just a bit crazy. Yes, there is a problem. But it is not just the Oil Companies. Maybe he should also chase the leaders of the big countries... China, Russia, India, and of course the USA. They should ALL be tried for these horrible crimes.
	___________________________________________ US Navy - Exotic lands, Exotic beers and Exotic diseases! Visit the worlds best website - www.badass67.com - Black Sunshine
	\| quote \|

06-23-2008, 04:26 PM	#3
FattyJJ Join Date: May 2005 Location: Georgia Posts: 797/0.59 Threads: 30 Friends Network	Re: Put oil firm chiefs on trial? We need more people doing stuff like this to raise awareness. He may not (probably will not) make the change he is looking for, but he will do something to help. We still have to many people in the government making a lot of money off of destroying the planet as we know it, so they will shut him down. Nice article though, thanks.

	\| quote \|

06-23-2008, 06:00 PM	#4
fmb bitch Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: SC Posts: 2,435/3.36 Threads: 73 Friends Network	Re: Put oil firm chiefs on trial? This is made for consumption in America: hysterical, screaming, and pointing fingers. Hell, at least he can get some time in front of our political leaders. Accusing folks of crimes because you think it's a crime makes you seem like a weirdo. I say don't say BS like this; this behavior eats away at the positive gains many others have made. Screaming about stuff? It may be seen as too emotionally charged by many to spend time thinking about it. Finger pointing? Yes, the lobbyists are assholes, but they assholes for practically everything they're pushing for or against. I'd like to see some serious, reasonable debate. I guess I'm just more comfortable with lower key things.

	\| quote \|