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EXXON Contradicts its Own Scientists

Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 11:09 am
by _Gunnar
100% of EXXON's own scientists agree with the global warming consensus, yet, despite that, EXXON has spent millions of dollars on a misinformation campaign to cast doubt on that consensus.

Two-faced Exxon: the misinformation campaign against its own scientists!

One has to commend the honesty and courage of EXXON's own scientists while acknowledging and condemning EXXON's duplicity and dishonesty in trying to create unwarranted doubt about them.
Dana Nuticcelli wrote:Investigative journalism by Inside Climate News (ICN) into Exxon’s internal documents revealed that the company was at the forefront of climate research, warning of the dangers posed by human-caused global warming from the late-1970s to the late-1980s. As Harvard climate historian Naomi Oreskes noted,

But Exxon was sending a different message, even though its own evidence contradicted its public claim that the science was highly uncertain and no one really knew whether the climate was changing or, if it was changing, what was causing it ... Journalists and scientists have identified more than 30 different organizations funded by the company that have worked to undermine the scientific message and prevent policy action to control greenhouse gas emissions.

I reviewed all 53 of the papers referenced by Exxon’s spokesman, and they indeed consist of high-quality scientific research. Most of them implicitly or explicitly endorsed the expert consensus on human-caused global warming; none minimized or rejected it. This means that there is a 100% consensus on human-caused global warming among Exxon’s peer-reviewed climate science research – even higher than the 97% consensus in the rest of the peer-reviewed literature.

Exxon’s two faces
In short, Exxon’s own scientists have been publishing top-notch research on the dangers of human-caused global warming for 35 years, but for the past several decades, the company simultaneously engaged in a multi-pronged campaign to cast doubt on the expert consensus of which its own scientists were part.

Exxon funded outside scientists to publish shoddy research contradicting that of its own scientists, funded think tanks and other organizations to use that research to manufacture doubt about the consensus, and donated money to politicians and Alec to obstruct efforts to pass critically important climate legislation.

There is a sharp contrast between what Exxon knew and what Exxon did. As Bill McKibben imagined, just think of how the world would be different if Exxon had told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth on climate change.
It appears that the only difference between the behavior of Exxon and the tobacco industry is that cigarette companies didn’t publish their research linking smoking and adverse health effects. Exxon’s scientists have published research in scientific journals on the human causes and dangers of global warming. However, in both cases, the industries funded an extensive multi-pronged campaign to misinform the public about the expert scientific consensus and the dangers associated with their products.

It remains to be seen whether the investigations into the actions of Exxon and the rest of the fossil fuel industry will yield the same results as the investigations into the tobacco industry racketeering.

Also see.

Re: EXXON Contradicts its Own Scientists

Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 12:16 pm
by _Gunnar

Re: EXXON Contradicts its Own Scientists

Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 4:27 pm
by _Res Ipsa


Thanks for posting this, Gunnar. The explainer is excellent!

Re: EXXON Contradicts its Own Scientists

Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 5:29 pm
by _The CCC
gunnar:

Thank you. But we also have to add in the paid shills for right wing media in the country.
SEE http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/12/21 ... hil/207631

Re: EXXON Contradicts its Own Scientists

Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2016 2:13 am
by _Gunnar
The CCC wrote:gunnar:

Thank you. But we also have to add in the paid shills for right wing media in the country.
SEE http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/12/21 ... hil/207631

Yes, of course! Thanks for pointing that out as well.

Re: EXXON Contradicts its Own Scientists

Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2016 2:28 am
by _Gunnar
Ldsfaqs probably won't even look at the links I provided, but will probably make a fool of himself (again) by trying to refute it anyway, and displaying in the attempt that he is either unfamiliar with what is alleged in the article, or doesn't understand its real importance and implications.

Re: EXXON Contradicts its Own Scientists

Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2016 7:35 am
by _Tobin
Gunnar wrote:100% of EXXON's own scientists agree with the global warming consensus, yet, despite that, EXXON has spent millions of dollars on a misinformation campaign to cast doubt on that consensus.
That is a ridiculous claim, but let's suppose it is true. If 100% of EXXON's own scientists agree that you should kill yourself Gunnar, will you? Argumentum ad populum is never impressive. Even less so when the new religious nuts of global warming start using it.

Re: EXXON Contradicts its Own Scientists

Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2016 8:34 am
by _Gunnar
Tobin wrote:
Gunnar wrote:100% of EXXON's own scientists agree with the global warming consensus, yet, despite that, EXXON has spent millions of dollars on a misinformation campaign to cast doubt on that consensus.
That is a ridiculous claim, but let's suppose it is true. If 100% of EXXON's own scientists agree that you should kill yourself Gunnar, will you? Argumentum ad populum is never impressive. Even less so when the new religious nuts of global warming start using it.

Obviously you didn't even bother to look at the links, or honestly consider the evidence presented there. More likely still is that you are simply trolling for attention and couldn't care less about making a serious contribution to the discussion.

Besides that, those EXXON scientists have actual expertise in climatology, acquired through years of careful and diligent research, so it is not merely argumentum ad populum. They don't have any expertise on whether it is advisable for me to kill myself. Your argument is as asinine as it could possibly be!

Re: EXXON Contradicts its Own Scientists

Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2016 8:50 am
by _Gunnar
Additionally, given who funded the research the EXXON scientists did, if anything they would have been biased or pressured towards the opposite conclusions than they actually came to, if they were dishonest. Don't you see that the fact they were funded by an organization that had a vested interest in them coming to the opposite conclusion actually enhances their credibility? I think you probably do see that but couldn't care less.

Re: EXXON Contradicts its Own Scientists

Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2016 9:16 am
by _Tobin
Gunnar wrote:Obviously you didn't even bother to look at the links, or honestly consider the evidence presented there. More likely still is that you are simply trolling for attention and couldn't care less about making a serious contribution to the discussion.

Besides that, those EXXON scientists have actual expertise in climatology, acquired through years of careful and diligent research, so it is not merely argumentum ad populum. They don't have any expertise on whether it is advisable for me to kill myself. Your argument is as asinine as it could possibly be!
Obviously you don't get it. Argumentum ad populum is a fallacy. One you continue to engage in. My example highlights the problem. If 100% of EXXON's own scientists agree that you should kill yourself Gunnar, will you?

Now, you introduced a new logical fallacy. You are engaging in argumentum ad verecundiam or Argument from authority. You really need to educate yourself about such fallacious arguments and that is why religious beliefs have no place in science.