In 1968, a group of researchers warned that increasing carbon dioxide emissions were certain to cause significant temperature changes by 2000, and beyond.
But as subsequent research verified that finding — including research by Exxon’s own scientists — the fossil fuel industry as a whole countered scientific findings with “fake research” that undermined growing scientific consensus as well as policy to address the problem.
What resulted were decades of inaction in the face of ever-growing emissions that have led to:
- Worsening ocean acidification
- More intense, increasingly damaging storms
- Rising sea temperatures that threaten marine life
As Richard Wiles notes, anyone born after 1985 has never experienced a month with average temperatures below the historical norm. Executive director of the Center for Climate Integrity, Wiles, in his opinion piece in The Guardian, argues the fossil fuel industry must contribute to the cost of mitigating the true cost of climate change.
- Read Wiles’s full opinion piece
- Historical Trends of Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (NOAA)
And to keep tabs on how your representatives are voting on bills related to climate change and greenhouse gases:
