“Global Warming is a Myth” equals Flat Earth Society

Just try to imagine this wacky scenario: the Flat Earth Society is receiving mega-funding from some of the world’s most powerful industries. Think tanks and focus groups are coming up with ever more sophisticated propaganda methods for conveying the group’s message — The Earth Is Flat! — and slandering everyone who disagrees.

If this were the case, millions of gullible Americans would be saying “that Loony Left. Now they're trying to tell us the world is round. What are those treehuggers gonna come up with next?” “The world is round?? Looks flat to me. What a bunch of moonbats.”

Well, how different is this? A rightwing think tank — funded by ExxonMobil — has been offering $10,000 to scientists who are willing to write “reports” that deny or downplay global warming. As the author says, “the denial machine is running at full throttle—and continuing to shape both government policy and public opinion.”

According to 600 scientists from over 40 countries, there is a 90% certainty that the release of greenhouse gases — from the burning of fossil fuels — is causing longer droughts, more flooding and worse heat waves. This is widely recognized by vast majorities in Europe and Japan.

But in the United States, the Denial Machine’s propaganda tactics are working. Their methods are patterned after the tobacco industry’s tactics in the 1990s: Create doubt. Sow confusion. “We don’t know.” “The results are uncertain.” “Let’s not go overboard yet; we need more research.”

And here are the results: nearly two thirds of Americans think there's “a lot of scientific disagreement” on climate change. Only one third believes global warming is “mainly caused by things people do.” Do they still teach Critical Thinking in American high schools and colleges? Or any kind of thinking?

So far this year there have been eight bills introduced in Congress to reduce greenhouse gases. But the Democratic “leadership” hasn’t taken much action on them; and they aren't getting much pressure from the public either. Rush Holt, a New Jersey Congressman (also a physicist) said “every time the scientific case got stronger, the American public yawned and bought bigger cars.”