Science
Most scientists are, in fact, against climate alarmism. The Oregon Petition against global warming alarm in general and the Kyoto pact in particular was signed by more than 31,000 American scientists and experts, including more than 9,000 PhD’s, between 1998 and 2008. This is as close to scientific consensus as anything can be.
Marc Morano has assembled a more recent collection of quotes, representing scientists all over the world: MORE THAN 1,000 INTERNATIONAL SCIENTISTS DISSENT OVER MANMADE GLOBAL WARMING CLAIMS. This updates the 2009 U.S. Senate Report: “More Than 700 International Scientists Dissent Over Man-Made Global Warming Claims.”
Private Lawyers and Attorneys General
Collusion between environmental lawyers to subcontract “sympathetic AGs” to dig up dirt on ExxonMobil and other energy companies is already known. Here are some quotes from a “workshop” held in 2012 by the Climate Accountability Institute, a gathering of trial lawyers and environmentalists:
“While we currently lack a compelling public narrative about climate change in the United States, we may be close to coalescing around one.”
Translation: we are liars, but we are going to be successful liars.
“says ‘one of the most important lessons to emerge from the history of tobacco litigation’ was the ‘value of bringing internal industry documents to light.’”
Translation: we are liars, but if we put our hands on a large enough trove of documents, we will be able to cherry pick something that supports our narrative. So, how they were going to do that? By subcontracting the work to state Attorneys General!
State attorneys general can also subpoena documents, raising the possibility that a single sympathetic state attorney general might have substantial success in bringing key internal documents to light.
This is what is going on now. And now the most chilling part:
“Even if your ultimate goal might be to shut down a company, you still might be wise to start out by asking for compensation for injured parties.”
Yes, they want to shut down our energy producers after having looted them.
The immediate impetus to the current frenzy apparently came from a secret meeting of veteran environmental activists with the goal of falsely “establish[ing] in [the] public’s mind that Exxon is a corrupt institution that has pushed humanity (and all creation) toward climate chaos and grave harm.”
By the way, the purported Attorney General of the US Virgin Islands issued his infamous subpoena through a private law firm, which is hired on a contingency basis, is being paid by USVI in another matter, and has a conflict of interest.
The “sympathetic Attorneys General” were in continuous communication with trial lawyers and other special interests in the weeks leading up to the March 29 press conference with Al Gore, on the conference day, and after it. They have tried to hide this coordination.
General
The Leftstream media has made the word “corporation” almost derogatory. In fact, corporations are simply organizations of the productive class – workers and investors – created for the benefit of workers, investors, and customers. Further, corporations have enormous expertise in their areas of activity, while politicians, activists, journalists, etc. have no expertise. Corporations represent the financial interests of their shareholders and, to varying degrees, interests of the workers and customers. The activists and journalists represent only themselves, no matter how many times they claim that they represent the public interest. Large public corporations also pool the financial interests of ordinary people, especially those of older age, many of whom are widows. Thus, those who want to rob the widows and muzzle the voice of reason in society naturally go after corporations.
This is Part I of the supplemental material for Climate Alarmism and the Muzzling of Independent Science, published in American Thinker on 04/21/2016. Part II is the Tobacco Precedent Background. Part III is about Defunding Climate Realists.