Climate change is a significant threat to the planet, and climate change denial has slowed down efforts to combat it. Throughout history the oil industry has fueled this denial. In this paper, I will explain the basics of what climate change is, the history of climate change and climate change denial, as well as propose solutions.
Climate change - also known as global warming - is the result of fossil fuels (natural gas, oil, and coal) being released into the atmosphere. Those gasses get trapped within the atmosphere and trap heat from the sun's rays. The trapped gasses cause the earth's surface temperature to rise at an extremely fast rate. The effects of climate change are often seen in weather patterns, such as more frequent and intense hurricanes, floods, downpours, and winter storms. Glaciers are melting due to warming ocean temperatures, and at the same time, sea levels are rising. These changes have been in effect since the mid-20th century, and are driven by human activities. Humans have increased the average temperature by 1 degree Celsius, and that number is still increasing by 0.2 degrees every year. By 2030 it is estimated that at the current rate of emissions, the number will reach up to two degrees of warming.
Fossil fuels - the biggest cause of greenhouse gasses - are compound mixtures that are made up of fossilized plants and animal skeletons from millions of years ago. Coal is made of plants that were alive during the Carboniferous period. The plants fell into bodies of water, which caused them to never decompose due to a lack of oxygen. Today those plants are buried deep underground on land and offshore. Oil and natural gas come from microscopic plankton that were preserved similarly, and today they are also buried deep underground. Over millions of years underground those compounds began turning into fossil fuels. Today humans are extracting them through coal mining, drilling for natural gas, and oil wells onshore and offshore. This extraction has of course contributed to the releasing of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, resulting in the warming of the planet. This clear threat has not been met with action and climate change denial has played a significant role.
Climate denial began with the fossil fuel company Exxon in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Exxon was the first company to suppress climate science and information. The oil company's scientists discovered the effects on the climate that the company was making, the fossil fuels their oil was releasing into the atmosphere, and in turn adding to greenhouse gasses. The company elites knew that if they accepted the scientifically proven facts, trillions of dollars would be on the line. So they formed a countermovement, the sole goal of which was to ensure the company did not lose its profits. For example, Exxon funded two researchers Dr. Fred Siez and Dr. Fred Singer, both of whom had previously worked on the campaign to deny the dangers of smoking tobacco. Exxon funded these two “researchers” as a way to make their claims against climate change seem more scientifically possible.
In addition to hiring denial scientists, Exxon and Mobil along with other oil companies used many other strategies, such as working with conservative think tanks, and tobacco companies to create advertising and propaganda. They also strategically placed information, and framed fossil fuel use as patriotic or ”American”. Mobil for example, put an ad in the New York Times, where the company claimed there was not enough research to prove that climate change was “real”. Exxon and Mobil (now combined), have a history of repeatedly spreading misinformation on climate change.
Associations that worked with the oil companies often helped spread misinformation about the warming climate. Western Fuels Association posted a series of videos within their campaign, stating the positive benefits of carbon dioxide. In total, the company gave about 30 million dollars to conservative think tanks, all to spread more misinformation to protect their profits and reputation.
All this information-spreading had significant effects. In 2013, a study by Richard Heede revealed that 90 companies are responsible for producing up to two-thirds of carbon emissions. This means that due to the oil industry denying fossil fuels, the effect on the environment is the biggest contributing factor to climate change. In addition, the US has among the highest rates of climate change denial in the world (see chart). While we can’t prove causation at this point, it seems clear that oil companies’ efforts influenced Americans’ views.
To summarize, Exxon-Mobil – with the help of think tanks, lobbyists, hired help, and associations – powered a huge movement of climate denial. While the oil industry mostly affected the citizens themselves, they also affected the government's actions to reduce carbon emissions.
The U.S. government has repeatedly tried to take steps to pass legislation to reduce emissions, but oil companies have stopped or slowed down that legislation. Climate change evidence became obvious and was put forward by the environmental movement, but this threatened oil companies. In 1992, oil companies created a coalition that put so much pressure against reducing emissions, that it made legislation basically impossible. On the first Earth Day that was celebrated on the streets of New York City in 1970, participants donned face masks to draw attention to air pollution. They were powered by the sudden acknowledgment of climate change within the government, by making laws around protecting the environment. However, the oil industry saw this as a huge threat to their profits.
In another example, in 2009, Congress was considering another bill to reduce greenhouse gasses, but conservative think tanks and media (which have been influenced by and given money by the oil industry) convinced the people that this bill was a tax. Because of this, the legislation was unable to even reach the House floor. On multiple occasions, the government tried to pass regulations to stop or lower the amount of CO2 emissions being released into the atmosphere. Almost every time, those same regulations have somehow failed to pass. This is a repeating problem of our response to climate change.
When passing legislation hasn’t been possible, Democratic Presidents have also tried to use executive orders and regulations to reduce emissions. However, Republican Presidents have overturned many of these positive regulations. For example, Obama attempted to pass many regulations focused on reducing CO2 emissions but Trump removed those regulations once he became president. This is possible because regulations are not laws; they can be reversed by the next president. Obama made countless climate-related regulations during his time as president and close to all of those regulations were reversed by the Trump administration.
In the most recent period, Joe Biden has tried to pass significant climate legislation. However, legislators who receive money from the oil industry are making this difficult. The most striking example is the Clean Electricity performance program. The program was brought to the table by Biden and is focused on paying utilities 150 billion dollars to produce, clean carbon-free electricity and penalize those who don’t. Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, said he was against the program. He claimed that the oil industry was already paying and invested in clean energy, he believed that the federal government should not have to pay. While he is correct that the oil industry and utilities are making the transition to clean energy, they are making that transition way too slowly. Science shows the oil industry and utilities must commit to completely reducing carbon emissions or we won't meet the president's 2030 deadline. Manchin has made around 500,000 billion dollars from investments in the fossil fuel industry and has received 400,000 billion from fossil fuel companies helping with his campaign. This is a clear example of how fossil fuel companies make sure that legislation against fossil fuels cannot be passed.
From this history, we see that oil industries have profoundly affected climate change denial. From advertising to misinformation campaigns to political donations and disagreements, they have drastically slowed the progress to curb emissions and protect the planet. With their influence, governmental legislation has been stalled, and executive orders overturned. As a result of government inaction, people have formed local groups, organizations, and social movements to try to fight climate change. Those movements have taken action at the individual, local, state, country, and even international levels. From as small as individual actions such as reducing household energy use, to joining worldwide climate movements, like the Sunrise Movement, people are trying to create solutions to combat the climate crisis.
Reducing one’s energy use overall is one of the best things to do individually. This includes reducing water use, reducing oil and gas use, as well as using alternatives to fossil fuels. Suppose your family can afford electric vehicles, which reduces the amount of fossil fuels that are released into the atmosphere from gasoline. Induction stoves use electricity, unlike gas stoves, and can be on the cheaper side. Using a solar panel will reduce the energy used to do things such as lighting your house and running your microwave. You can also decide to take fewer plane flights, and my family does this. This challenges climate denial in one’s personal life, and you can talk to your friends about smaller-scale solutions and share ideas.
In Vermont, a local organization that works on environmental issues has recently started a new campaign that is particularly relevant to climate change denial. This campaign is called “Make Big Oil Pay”, and it focuses on holding oil companies accountable for their actions regarding Climate Change. With this campaign, VPIRG (Vermont Public Interest Research Group) hopes to enact legislation that would require the largest oil companies, for example, ExxonMobil and Chevron, to pay into a Vermont Climate Superfund. Those funds would be used to mitigate and protect Vermont from the financial costs of climate change; from future disaster clean-up to state infrastructure. Make big oil pay has started a petition for Vermonters to sign, this petition will show the government how much support this campaign has from Vermonters themselves.
On a bigger scale, many climate activists join organizations and movements that solely focus on the climate crisis. The Sunrise Movement is one example. Those movements bring people together to share a message, powerful and well-rounded, to fight the injustices we face. Regarding climate change, one example of a movement is the “School Strike for Climate” which was started by Greta Thunberg. A Swedish activist and teenager at the time, she decided to skip school one Friday to bring attention to climate change. Her action inspired young people all around the world to skip school and walk in protest of climate change. Their actions brought light to the crisis and showed how truly bad climate change is becoming. Throughout history, teens have protested by organizing walk-outs, and they are one of the most powerful forms of peaceful protest. As a young person myself, I feel as if that’s sometimes the only thing my generation can do to get our voices heard. I have attended many youth rallies (with Youth Climate Lobby) in Vermont's capital, attended talks on climate change, and made posters calling for action on the climate crisis.
As my action step, I chose to make several different posters regarding the climate crisis and especially climate denial. A few explained ways individuals can fight this crisis, and others simply called out the oil industry. I placed these posters around Burlington High School, downtown Burlington, and various other locations. Each poster had a QR code for different local organizations, and one style had a QR code to the Make Big Oil Pay petition. My goal was to have people notice these posters and start to think about what they said or showed visually. I hope my posters placed around Burlington High School start up conversations about climate change, and make people aware of the impact that will become more prevalent as time goes on. I feel that it is important to not only say the problems we are facing, but also the ways we can adapt and address them as well.
In researching this paper, I also thought about providing a climate curriculum at Burlington High School. There are no classes about climate change at BHS, and while some classes mention the warming climate, none include climate as the main topic. I emailed the Burlington School District superintendent, regarding the adding of a climate curriculum to the city’s middle schools and high school. The hope is that he will reply, and seem interested in learning more. In the very least I will plant the idea in his head, for further thought in years to come. Climate education is an important solution, according to some leaders.
In conclusion, it is important to understand some of the history of climate change denial, because we have all been affected. The oil industry has spent years convincing the U.S and the world at large that they are not at fault. However, all evidence points in their direction. The industry worked very hard, making sure their profits were never at risk of disappearing. Why were they hiding the damage they caused? Because of their profit. The oil industry had many ties with elites, in government and other high up jobs. They used that benefit, while knowing what fossil fuels did to the planet. From this research, we know that the way to curb the current emissions that will at our current rate reach 7.2 degrees of warming by 2050 or earlier; is to fight climate change through revealing the impact the fossil fuel titans had on the warming planet, and put in place solutions.
Sources:
- Anonymous. “What Are Fossil Fuels?” Smithsonian Ocean, 25 Oct. 2023, ocean.si.edu/conservation/gulf-oil-spill/what-are-fossil-fuels.
- Cho, Renee. “Climate Education in the U.S.: Where It Stands, and Why It Matters.” State of the Planet, 17 Feb. 2023, news.climate.columbia.edu/2023/02/09/climate-education-in-the-u-s-where-it-stands-and-why-it-matters.
- Cook, John. “A Brief History of Fossil-fuelled Climate Denial.” The Conversation, theconversation.com/a-brief-history-of-fossil-fuelled-climate-denial-61273.
- Pierre, Jeffrey. “How Decades of Disinformation About Fossil Fuels Halted U.S. Climate Policy.” NPR, 27 Oct. 2021, www.npr.org/2021/10/27/1047583610/once-again-the-u-s-has-failed-to-take….
- Shaftel, Holly. “What Is Climate Change?” Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet, climate.nasa.gov/what-is-climate-change.
- Wade, Lisa. Terrible Magnificent Sociology: With Registration Card. W.W. Norton and Company, 2021.
- Watts, Jonathan. “Half a Century of Dither and Denial – a Climate Crisis Timeline.” The Guardian, www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2019/oct/09/half-century….
- VPIRG “MAKE BIG OIL PAY.” MAKE BIG OIL PAY, www.makebigoilpay.org.
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