The American Petroleum Institute (API) just got caught astroturfing.   The biggest fossil fuel trade organization now wants to stage events to undermine the climate bill.

They want to further prop up carbon fuel usage prior to the climate change treaty in Copenhagen in December.   API President Jack Gerard sent out a memo to their members - oil, gas and coal companies - that was so blatant that one member leaked it to Greenpeace. API said they will provide API the up-front resources to contract “a highly experienced events management company that has produced successful rallies for presidential campaigns, corporations and interest groups.”  

API is acting parallel to the work of American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) who forged letters to Congress and has started teabagger efforts to disrupt Town Hall meetings   We do not know how long or how deep this goes or whether they share the services of the DC lobbying firm Bonner & Associates.   After a long and effective history of astroturfing, Bonner has been caught falsifying lobbying letters using the name and stationery of others - in this case the NAACP.

Not content to just deliver energy products, the fossil fuel industry has tasked trade organizations and PR firms with funding deceptive scams to fraudulently lobby against the pending energy bill.

These domestic oil, gas and coal companies deserve blame, having delivered most of the CO2 emissions responsible for our catastrophic global warming.   For decades they have intentionally cultivated scientific ignorance and now the latest fraudulent public relations deception demonstrates a treasonous disregard for the future of all humans.

The carbon fuel industry has been lying, cheating, defrauding Congress. deceitfully manipulating public opinion - and now appears to be in an active conspiracy.  Now ethical discussions seriously address reducing green house gas emissions.   The carbon fuel industry - as represented by API - is morally bankrupt.   Jack Gerard, the president of the American Petroleum Institute, should resign immediately.

The carbon fuel industry continues to poison our future, yet seeks to increase our carbon consumption, and worse - now runs an AstroTurf scam to oppose energy reform.   At no other time in history has one industry so blatantly and dangerously traded the future of all humans for a short term commercial gain of a few.   This is worse than any industrial mass murder, this is global genocide.   All the globe will suffer for their actions, including the fossil fuel industry leaders themselves - making their action both evil and stupid.

By their actions, they have lost their right to do any future business.

The only course now is for all carbon fuel industries to be immediately nationalized.   Henceforth, carbon fuels should be used only for the manufacture and deployment of non-polluting energy systems.   Any other use of carbon fuels should be severely regulated, restricted and heavily taxed.   Only this scientifically ruthless action can address the pressing emergency need.

For decades, the fossil fuel industry has run a deceptive campaign of disinformation and delay.   The problem is far, far worse because of their contemptible duplicity, misinformation and secret manipulation.   The fossil fuel industry, as represented by API has lost the privilege of doing business-as-usual.   They have corrupted our will and stolen the future of the planet.

With worsening climate changes looming - despite CO2 curbs, API should listen to its own members and stop promoting a carbon-caused doom.

Addendum 9-2010 This is the subject of serious ethical discussion.

Contrary to that Other Web Site

Presenting contrary arguments to Petroleum Industry propaganda site.

A study guide for interpreting that other web site

That other web site: energytomorrow.org - seems to have one purpose: to promote and secure the use of fossil fuels far into the future.   This is a time when we are about to decide to stop further carbon dioxide emission.   Our future depends on minimizing CO2 emmisions immediately.

For decades now, energy companies have funded PR campaigns that try to deny global warming, deny the science and actively inject confusion into the discussion.   Now that the science is well settled - their tactic is changing.   They accept that global warming exists, then dodge the question of whether it is clearly human caused or can be mitigated. Then they move directly to a message that might be re-stated as:  “While we look for a solution, lets keep using oil and coal.”   They ask us to ignore the more aproper action which is to immediately lower all usage, and halt all fossil fuel usage as soon as possible.

They craft a deceitful message saying they want to be part of the solution.   Their strategy is to prolong the widespread use of carbon fuels.  Right now all climate science and engineering dictates the only real solution is to halt all the CO2 emissions - and carbon fuel is the biggest source.   Since the flow of carbon fuels is so highly profitable, their quandary is how to continue the heavy flow and heavy profits.

The way they choose to de-demonize their carbon commodity by connecting carbon fuels as the main way to save the economy - hence our future.   And following classic propaganda principles, they will discuss alternative energy - but never permit the difficult discussion of the most daunting solution: the immediate halt to all carbon fuel combustion.

The Amercian Petroleum Institute is killing our future - just to extend theirs.

ExxonMobil alone delivered $40 Billion to stockholders last year.   The API industry group spends millions on PR and marketing campaigns to keep the world burning carbon fuels and avoid facing the stark science of how CO2 damages our future.   That is so wrong, so unethical, shameful and such horrible corporate behavior - but that’s probably just business - stockholders expect a full effort to keep profits flowing.   Despite the science, they show little concern for dangerously increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere.   That’s not right.

As public policy better synchronizes with climate science, we can expect the petroleum industry to use new tactics to mold public opinion, forstall taxation and keep their trade moving.   We might anticipate their messages such as “extending dialog”, “exploring all the solutions”, “energy for our future”, etc.   All this as a way to deflect and delay anything that constrains their business.

“CEOs of fossil energy companies know what they are doing and are aware of long-term consequences of continued business as usual.  In my opinion, these CEOs should be tried for high crimes against humanity and nature.”  - Dr James Hansen to Congress 6-23-08

This is Planetary Treason. And they know it. They try to deny it.  Deflect it. Global Warming is here. Made worse by humans burning carbon fuels. Stop it. CO2 levels are out of control. They know they should turn around. Shame Change now.

Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas responsible for global warming and climate change.  Like no other number, the monthly CO2 reading is an objective and current indicator of how we are doing. The number speaks for itself.

Manufacturing Uncertainty:

“It’s all about questioning the science to gum up the works. The companies pose as if they are defending open debate and inquiry and are trying to make scientific data available to everyone. In reality, once they get the raw data, they spend the vast resources at their disposal to discredit independent research”

An excellent video is The Most Important Video You’ll Ever See

Just like an alcoholic who refuses to admit the problem, the API American Petroleum Institute is denying the danger of carbon dioxide emissions.

The legion of hydrocarbon fuel companies is terrified that civilization will soon take the big step of defending its future by seriously limiting CO2 emissions. 

The option they offer is that we can have some easy energy right now and drill for more later.  Lost is the option of a radical carbon fuel cut back.

We should be hyper suspicious of the message dispensed at energytomorrow.com... they seem to be saying "Keep using oil while we look for more"  and "Our oil helps the economy"

The science says all CO2 has to stop.  But their Marketing campaign avoids mention of carbon dioxide emissions.  But that is the most important issue of all.

Stabilizing climate requires near-zero emissions
H. Damon Matthews
Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Ken Caldeira Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Stanford, California, USA

Current international climate mitigation efforts aim to stabilize levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. However, human-induced climate warming will continue for many centuries, even after atmospheric CO2 levels are stabilized. In this paper, we assess the CO2 emissions requirements for global temperature stabilization within the next several centuries, using an Earth system model of intermediate complexity. We show first that a single pulse of carbon released into the atmosphere increases globally averaged surface temperature by an amount that remains approximately constant for several centuries, even in the absence of additional emissions. We then show that to hold climate constant at a given global temperature requires near-zero future carbon emissions.

Our results suggest that future anthropogenic emissions would need to be eliminated in order to stabilize global-mean temperatures. As a consequence, any future anthropogenic emissions will commit the climate system to warming that is essentially irreversible on centennial timescales.   http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2008/2007GL032388.shtml

Recent comment from RealClimate.org: 

  
...unabated CO2 emissions to the atmosphere would have climatic consequences that would persist for a thousand years, which they define operationally as "forever", as in the sense of "Irreversible".

It is not really news scientifically that atmospheric CO2 concentration stays higher than natural for thousands of years after emission of new CO2 to the carbon cycle from fossil fuels. The atmospheric CO2 concentration has a sharp peak toward the end of the fossil fuel era, then after humankind has gone carbon neutral (imagine!) the CO2 concentration starts to subside, quickly at first but after a few centuries settling in a "long tail" which persists for hundreds of thousands of years.
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2009/02/irreversible-does-not-mean-unstoppable/langswitch_lang/in

Big Oil knows it is enabling the problem and hastening our demise.  They know all about the CO2 elephant in the room.  They are just lying about it.