Climate disinformation leaves lasting mark as world heats
2 years, 4 months ago

Climate disinformation leaves lasting mark as world heats

Associated Press  

In 1998, as nations around the world agreed to cut carbon emissions through the Kyoto Protocol, America’s fossil fuel companies plotted their response, including an aggressive strategy to inject doubt into the public debate. there may be no moment when we can declare victory.” The memo, later leaked to The New York Times that year, went on to outline how fossil fuel companies could manipulate journalists and the broader public by muddying the evidence, by playing up “both sides” of the debate and by portraying those seeking to reduce emissions as “out of touch with reality.” Nearly 25 years later, the reality of a changing climate is now clear to most Americans, as heatwaves and wildfires, rising sea levels and extreme storms become more common. Starting in the 1980s and 1990s, as public awareness of climate change grew, fossil fuel companies poured millions of dollars into public relations campaigns denouncing the accumulating evidence supporting the idea of climate change. “The debate was manufactured by the fossil fuel industry in the 1990s, and we are living with that history right now.” The impact of that history is reflected in public opinion surveys that show a growing gap between Republicans and other Americans when it comes to views on climate change. Fossil fuel companies deny any intent to mislead the American public and point to investments in renewable energy as evidence that they take climate change seriously.

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History of this topic

“An exclamation point on global warming”: Climate scientists warn 2024 was marked by broken records
4 days, 18 hours ago

“An exclamation point on global warming”: Climate scientists warn 2024 was marked by broken records

Salon  

The year 2024 is on track to be the hottest in recorded history, as humanity has officially exceeded the 1.5º C threshold established by the 2015 Paris climate accord. Dr. Peter Kalmus, a NASA climate scientist who emphasized his opinions are his own, noted that heating is accelerating “and is now substantially more rapid than it was a decade ago.” …

Opinion | Climate Activists Need to Radically Change Their Approach Under Trump
2 weeks, 1 day ago

Opinion | Climate Activists Need to Radically Change Their Approach Under Trump

New York Times  

Donald Trump’s return to Washington might seem like a terrifying moment for the fight against climate change. The incoming administration is not just hostile to the energy transition; it’s also expected to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, roll back a wide range of pollution regulations and promote domestic fossil fuel production — decisions likely to …

Why do so many people ignore major threats like climate change?
2 weeks, 3 days ago

Why do so many people ignore major threats like climate change?

Salon  

Earlier last month, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service announced that Earth’s average temperature in 2024 had been on average 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels. “For too long now, scientific and media communications have presented the subject of climate change in ways that have failed to trigger an adequate threat warning among readers and viewers, and have also …

US signals it will push for widening pool of climate finance contributors
Trending News
1 month, 1 week ago

US signals it will push for widening pool of climate finance contributors

Hindustan Times  

The United States has signalled it will push for widening the pool of climate finance contributors at COP29, all but confirming what is feared to be turning into a major clash with developing nations over funding responsibilities. White House Senior Advisor for Clean Energy and International Climate Policy, John Podesta, holds a press conference during the United Nations climate change …

The climate stakes of the Harris-Trump election
1 month, 3 weeks ago

The climate stakes of the Harris-Trump election

Salon  

Helene and Milton, the two massive hurricanes that just swept into the country — killing hundreds of people, and leaving both devastation and rumblings of political upheaval in seven states — amounted to their own October surprise. With early voting already underway and two weeks before Election Day, when voters will decide between Vice President Kamala Harris, who has called …

What has worked to fight climate change? Policies where someone pays for polluting, study finds
4 months ago

What has worked to fight climate change? Policies where someone pays for polluting, study finds

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — To figure out what really works when nations try to fight climate change, researchers looked at 1,500 ways countries have tried to curb heat-trapping gases. “The key ingredient if you want to reduce emissions is that you have pricing in the policy mix,” said study co-author Nicolas Koch, a climate economist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact …

Poll finds fewer Americans are concerned about climate change
7 months, 2 weeks ago

Poll finds fewer Americans are concerned about climate change

Salon  

Even though humans are experiencing the hottest months in recorded human history, and scientists warn our species is living on "borrowed time," a recent poll found a notable dip in the number of people who view climate change as an urgent issue. Concern about the urgency of addressing climate change — characterizing it as "very serious" — has dropped among …

Climate change concerns grow, but few think Biden’s climate law will help, an AP-NORC poll finds
8 months ago

Climate change concerns grow, but few think Biden’s climate law will help, an AP-NORC poll finds

Associated Press  

Like many Americans, Ron Theusch is getting more worried about climate change. “It’s like, what’s our grandkids’ world going to be like?” A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that 45% of adults in the United States say they have become more concerned about climate change over the past year, including roughly 6 in …

The untold story behind climate change: we've known about the crisis for a while
10 months ago

The untold story behind climate change: we've known about the crisis for a while

Hindustan Times  

There is no particular moment in history when the threat of a changing climate moved from academics to public consciousness. The report made claims that “turned out to be correct”, Naomi Oreskes, professor of history of science at Harvard University, said during a podcast, “Scientists warned about climate change in 1965. The report found resonance just a few years later, …

Big Oil just gifted us a lump of coal
11 months, 4 weeks ago

Big Oil just gifted us a lump of coal

Raw Story  

Watching Republicans ignore climate change while the planet cooks is like being trapped in the backseat of a car, windows rolled up and locked, with a chain-smoking uncle. The U.S. special envoy for climate change, John Kerry, called the pact “the most important decision since the Paris agreement.” The UN describes the agreement as “the beginning of the end of …

A climate conference hosted by an oil-rich country. That’s just one of the contradictions at the Dubai talks
1 year ago

A climate conference hosted by an oil-rich country. That’s just one of the contradictions at the Dubai talks

Associated Press  

The world is heading for considerably less warming than projected a decade ago, but that good news is overwhelmed by much more pain from current climate change than scientists anticipated, experts said. “So things aren’t as bad as they could have been or as we worried they might be 20 years ago, but they’re still far from where we need …

‘Every bit matters’: Six key takeaways from the latest U.S. climate report
1 year, 1 month ago

‘Every bit matters’: Six key takeaways from the latest U.S. climate report

LA Times  

The dire effects of human-caused climate change are worsening and they threaten to bring more extreme heat waves, droughts, floods and wildfires unless urgent actions are taken, scientists warned in a major national report. Efforts to adapt to climate change and curb the burning of fossil fuels have expanded since the last assessment was issued in 2018, the report says, …

Where the Republican presidential candidates stand on climate change
1 year, 1 month ago

Where the Republican presidential candidates stand on climate change

NPR  

Where the Republican presidential candidates stand on climate change Enlarge this image toggle caption Anna Moneymaker, Brandon Bell, Win McNamee, Michael M. Santiago, Robyn Beck/AFP, Ethan Miller/Getty Images Anna Moneymaker, Brandon Bell, Win McNamee, Michael M. Santiago, Robyn Beck/AFP, Ethan Miller/Getty Images The climate is changing. Here is where Republican presidential candidates stand on the nuances of climate change. Regardless …

Opinion: How climate research is polluted by fossil fuel money — and how to fix it
1 year, 1 month ago

Opinion: How climate research is polluted by fossil fuel money — and how to fix it

LA Times  

When Sultan Al Jaber, the president-designate of COP28, unveiled plans for a first-ever Day of Health at the upcoming United Nations- But it was also ironic: The man promising to “shine a light” on the deadly effects of fossil fuel pollution heads an oil company that’s raking in profits while ramping up emissions. Many medical schools require publicly accessible faculty …

After summer’s extreme weather, more Americans see climate change as a culprit, AP-NORC poll shows
1 year, 2 months ago

After summer’s extreme weather, more Americans see climate change as a culprit, AP-NORC poll shows

Associated Press  

Kathleen Maxwell has lived in Phoenix for more than 20 years, but this summer was the first time she felt fear, as daily high temperatures soared to 110 degrees or hotter and kept it up for a record-shattering 31 consecutive days. New polling from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research indicates that extreme weather, including a summer that …

Editorial: No more half measures on climate change. The next generation is right to demand an end to fossil fuels
1 year, 3 months ago

Editorial: No more half measures on climate change. The next generation is right to demand an end to fossil fuels

LA Times  

Thousands of people are mobilizing for what could be the biggest climate march in the U.S. in years in New York City on Sunday. It’s one of many protests across the globe over the next few days with a simple demand: President Biden and other world leaders must phase out fossil fuels. You have to respect the uncompromising clarity of …

Boiling Point: The climate change challenge is ours
1 year, 3 months ago

Boiling Point: The climate change challenge is ours

LA Times  

Farmworker Leticia Jimenez, 61, inside her home at the Oasis Mobile Home Park in August in Thermal, Calif. Edited by Alice Short, “Our Climate Change Challenge” focuses on what must be done to slow down and ultimately reverse global warming, and who needs to do it: not just government and business, but every one of us. More particularly, how are …

GOP candidates on climate change: How can Republicans meet the public?
1 year, 3 months ago

GOP candidates on climate change: How can Republicans meet the public?

Slate  

About 20 minutes into Wednesday’s Republican presidential nominee debate, the Fox News anchors turned things over to a college student with a pertinent question. “How will you, as both president of the United States and leader of the Republican Party, calm their fears that the Republican Party doesn’t care about climate change?” It was, honestly, a remarkable moment. As John …

Climate change made it in the GOP debate. Some young Republicans say that's a win
1 year, 3 months ago

Climate change made it in the GOP debate. Some young Republicans say that's a win

NPR  

Climate change made it in the GOP debate. "The climate change agenda is a hoax," said former tech and finance executive Vivek Ramaswamy, in the night's clearest answer. "It is an issue that is mainstream for conservatives, swing voters and Democrats, and I am glad we got to see the candidates speak to it," said Danielle Butcher Franz, CEO of …

Presidential debate shows how GOP candidates are struggling to address concerns about climate change
1 year, 3 months ago

Presidential debate shows how GOP candidates are struggling to address concerns about climate change

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — The eight Republican presidential candidates on the debate stage were asked to raise their hands if they believed human behavior is causing climate change. Ambassador Nikki Haley, said during Wednesday night’s debate in Milwaukee that climate change “is real.” A day later, frustrated leaders in the GOP’s small but growing movement of environmental activists said their party …

Editorial: Five takeaways from the first year of America’s biggest climate law
1 year, 4 months ago

Editorial: Five takeaways from the first year of America’s biggest climate law

LA Times  

President Biden drives a Cadillac Lyriq through the showroom during a tour at the Detroit Auto Show last year. One year ago, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, the nation’s most significant action yet to combat climate change. The law dedicated $369 billion to boost renewable energy production and manufacturing, help homeowners install rooftop solar panels, switch to efficient …

Climate Catastrophes Await Us. All Conservatives Can Do Is Embarrass Themselves.
1 year, 4 months ago

Climate Catastrophes Await Us. All Conservatives Can Do Is Embarrass Themselves.

Huff Post  

First, why are Republicans opposed to capitalism that pursues new and innovative ways to make money? But you know how this works: Republican lawmakers and their “Make America Great Again” cohorts hear “climate change,” or “the Second Amendment,” or “give women free choices,” and that turns into “woke liberals are coming to steal your money, take your guns, kill your …

Editorial: Hoping fossil fuel giants will see the light on climate hasn’t worked. Change only comes with mandates and force
1 year, 5 months ago

Editorial: Hoping fossil fuel giants will see the light on climate hasn’t worked. Change only comes with mandates and force

LA Times  

One of the most demoralizing things about the world’s response to the climate crisis is the fossil fuel industry’s continued success in blocking the pollution-cutting actions that are in the interest of all of humanity. It’s a little late for powerful voices from older generations to come to the realization that fossil fuel companies aren’t operating in good faith and …

House Republicans propose planting a trillion trees as they move away from climate change denial
1 year, 5 months ago

House Republicans propose planting a trillion trees as they move away from climate change denial

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — As Speaker Kevin McCarthy visited a natural gas drilling site in northeast Ohio to promote House Republicans’ plan to sharply increase domestic production of energy from fossil fuels last month, the signs of rising global temperatures could not be ignored. “We need to manage our forests better so our environment can be stronger,” McCarthy said, adding, “Let’s replace …

Editorial: We’re cementing climate denial with every fossil fuel project
1 year, 9 months ago

Editorial: We’re cementing climate denial with every fossil fuel project

LA Times  

A coal-fired power plant in Germany. A United Nations climate report warns that global warming is on track to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius by the early 2030s without swift reductions in greenhouse gas pollution. The U.N’s scientific assessment, approved by 195 nations, says that existing and planned fossil fuel infrastructure — all of the coal-fired power plants, oil wells and …

US panel accuses ‘Big Oil’ of disinformation over climate plans
2 years ago

US panel accuses ‘Big Oil’ of disinformation over climate plans

Al Jazeera  

House Oversight Committee says oil companies are ‘lying’ about promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “It’s time for the fossil fuel industry to stop lying to the American people and finally take serious steps to reduce emissions and address the global climate crisis they helped create.” The panel said a “key part” of the oil companies’ climate plans has been …

On climate action: books that tell us what is happening and what can be done
2 years, 1 month ago

On climate action: books that tell us what is happening and what can be done

The Hindu  

Climate change is no longer a subject of discussion for scientists alone. The COP27, this year’s most important climate conference underway in Egypt right now, has been described as the make-or-break moment for global action to get the Earth’s rising temperature under control. Losing Earth: The Decade We Could Have Stopped Climate Change is Nathaniel Rich’s ground breaking chronicle of …

The long fight against climate change deniers
2 years, 2 months ago

The long fight against climate change deniers

Al Jazeera  

A string of climate change deniers have sought to downplay the significance of global warming and humanity’s role in driving it. “He was using scientists as tools in his propaganda war,” said Stott, who specialised in identifying man-made and natural causes of climate change at the United Kingdom’s Met Office and the University of Exeter. Over time, Stott said he …

Celebrity private jets, insidious new expressions of climate change denial.
2 years, 3 months ago

Celebrity private jets, insidious new expressions of climate change denial.

Slate  

Here is a neat encapsulation of a common approach to climate denial. At a press conference on Monday, a reporter asked the coach of Paris St. Germain—one of the largest soccer clubs in the world, and funded by Qatar—about the club’s decision to take a private jet the 240 miles from Paris to Nantes. That laugh inadvertently reveals a great …

AP News Digest 3:25 am
2 years, 4 months ago

AP News Digest 3:25 am

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. ———————— TOP STORIES ———————— TAIWAN-US-LAWMAKERS — Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen met with a delegation …

US House poised to pass sweeping climate bill to push American energy to go green
2 years, 4 months ago

US House poised to pass sweeping climate bill to push American energy to go green

Firstpost  

The crux of the long-delayed bill, singularly pushed by Democrats in a closely divided Congress, is to use incentives to spur investors to accelerate the expansion of clean energy such as wind and solar power, speeding the transition away from the oil, coal and gas that largely cause climate change Washington: After decades of inaction in the face of escalating …

Politicians, energy experts, advocates on climate bill
2 years, 4 months ago

Politicians, energy experts, advocates on climate bill

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. — “It is going to force Biden’s hand …

Greenwashing is the new climate misinformation battleground
2 years, 5 months ago

Greenwashing is the new climate misinformation battleground

Live Mint  

Fossil fuel firms are misleading the public about their moves to cut greenhouse gases and curb climate change -- and social media are hosting ads that perpetuate this "greenwashing", researchers say. Talking the talk Many companies have vowed to reach the "net zero" level of greenhouse gas emissions needed to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius under the Paris …

Calls for shift from fossil fuels as UN prepares to release new climate report
2 years, 8 months ago

Calls for shift from fossil fuels as UN prepares to release new climate report

The Independent  

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The latest report from UN science body the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change sets out solutions needed to curb …

‘Who’s talking climate change now?’ energy producers say
2 years, 8 months ago

‘Who’s talking climate change now?’ energy producers say

Al Jazeera  

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine boosting energy costs and reducing availability, proponents are pushing back against fossil fuel eradication. It rang out at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum, the World Government Summit, and a UAE- OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo said at the upcoming UN climate talks, known as COP27, in Egypt and next year’s COP28 in the …

Editorial: Misinformation is blocking climate action, and the U.N. is finally calling it out
2 years, 9 months ago

Editorial: Misinformation is blocking climate action, and the U.N. is finally calling it out

LA Times  

A landmark U.N. climate report on the escalating effects of global warming broke new ground by finally highlighting the role of misinformation in obstructing climate action. The assessment describes an atmosphere in which public perception about climate change is continually undermined by fossil fuel interests’ peddling of false, misleading and contrarian information and its circulation through social media echo chambers; …

Jordan Peterson says he got his climate info from an Exxon-funded climate denir
2 years, 10 months ago

Jordan Peterson says he got his climate info from an Exxon-funded climate denir

The Independent  

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “And that’s a huge problem when you’re trying to model over 100 years because the errors compound just like …

Editorial: 1 in 3 Americans now ‘alarmed’ by climate change. Why aren’t our leaders?
2 years, 11 months ago

Editorial: 1 in 3 Americans now ‘alarmed’ by climate change. Why aren’t our leaders?

LA Times  

New results from a long-running public opinion survey show that about 1 in 3 Americans is now “alarmed” by global warming. The share of the U.S. adult population alarmed by global warming nearly doubled over the last five years from 18% to an all-time high of 33%, with about half of that increase occurring between December 2020 and September 2021, …

We write about climate change. Here's what gives us hope
3 years ago

We write about climate change. Here's what gives us hope

LA Times  

This is the Nov. 25, 2021, edition of Boiling Point, a weekly newsletter about climate change and the environment in California and the American West. California’s attorney general is watching, filing legal actions against local governments that approve heavily polluting projects in communities already struggling with some of the state’s lowest air quality and highest poverty rates. It’s not just …

GOP push to shake label of climate crisis denier runs into Trump
3 years, 1 month ago

GOP push to shake label of climate crisis denier runs into Trump

CNN  

CNN — As global temperatures rise, some congressional Republicans are feeling the pressure to show they’re embracing climate change and offer up their own plan for how to deal with it. “It’s kind of a recent phenomenon in conservative politics, and really has developed well in the last few years,” said Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas, one of the Republicans …

Democratic chair issues subpoenas to oil executives
3 years, 1 month ago

Democratic chair issues subpoenas to oil executives

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The chairwoman of the House Oversight Committee issued subpoenas Tuesday to top executives of ExxonMobil, Chevron and other oil giants, charging that the companies have not turned over documents needed by the committee to investigate allegations that the oil industry concealed evidence about the dangers of global warming. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., said she tried hard to obtain …

House panel plans to subpoena oil companies as executives are grilled on climate disinformation
3 years, 1 month ago

House panel plans to subpoena oil companies as executives are grilled on climate disinformation

LA Times  

Democratic lawmakers denounced the leaders of the some of the world’s largest oil companies Thursday, accusing executives of Exxon Mobil, BP, Shell and Chevron of spending decades downplaying, or outright denying, the scientific consensus that burning fossil fuels causes climate change. But, he said, “any suggestion that Chevron is engaged in an effort to spread disinformation and mislead the public …

Majority in US concerned about climate: AP-NORC/EPIC poll
3 years, 1 month ago

Majority in US concerned about climate: AP-NORC/EPIC poll

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden heads to a vital U.N. climate summit at a time when a majority of Americans regard the deteriorating climate as a problem of high importance to them, an increase from just a few years ago. As Biden struggles to pass significant climate legislation at home ahead of next week’s U.N. climate summit, the new AP-NORC/EPIC …

Majority in US concerned about climate, blame oil firms: polls
3 years, 1 month ago

Majority in US concerned about climate, blame oil firms: polls

Al Jazeera  

The data comes as President Joe Biden has struggled to pass climate change legislation and before UN’s COP 26. A majority of people living in the United States view climate change as an issue of a high priority, and many blame big oil firms, according to two new polls. The polls released on Tuesday came as US President Joe Biden …

On climate change, Biden $3.5T plan making up for lost time
3 years, 2 months ago

On climate change, Biden $3.5T plan making up for lost time

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — As President Joe Biden visited one disaster site after another this summer — from California wildfires to hurricane-induced flooding in Louisiana and New York — he said climate change is “everybody’s crisis” and America must get serious about the “code red” danger posed by global warming. “This is a ‘code red’ moment, but Democrats are answering the call,’’ …

The Antidote To Climate Dread
3 years, 3 months ago

The Antidote To Climate Dread

Huff Post  

The reality of the climate crisis is dire — and it can be overwhelming. “We are now in an all-hands-on-deck moment,” said Anthony Leiserowitz, director of Yale University’s program on climate change communication. There are small things we can do, but governments and corporations have much more power than single researchers and individual communities.” Rivera-Collazo said she’s “particularly worried” for …

The new report on climate change is dire. What can I do about it?
3 years, 4 months ago

The new report on climate change is dire. What can I do about it?

LA Times  

Jenna Collier of San Bernardino sets up a Nest smart thermostat using an app on her mobile phone. “Something is wrong here.” Vote If there’s one tried-and-true way that individuals can contribute to change on a societal scale, it’s by voting for people who take climate change seriously, several experts said. That includes a recognition, he said, that “this is …

“Code red for humanity”: Most dire climate report in history poised to be ignored
3 years, 4 months ago

“Code red for humanity”: Most dire climate report in history poised to be ignored

Salon  

A United Nations-backed panel of climate experts issued its starkest warning yet in a report on Monday detailing irreversible climate change caused by human activity but expressed hope that there is still time to prevent its most devastating effects. But the IPCC report said that though humans' influence on climate change was once a scientific hypothesis it is now "established …

Opinion: Stop blaming yourself for the climate crisis
3 years, 4 months ago

Opinion: Stop blaming yourself for the climate crisis

CNN  

Editor’s Note: John D. Sutter is a CNN contributor, National Geographic Explorer and MIT science journalism fellow. These numbers sound abstract, but they are the keys to how the world looks and feels for us and for future generations – the keys to whether New York is underwater or whether the Amazon dries up; to whether the West remains habitable …

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