The Climate Killers Part Four - The Powerful Unknowns
ByThis is part four of an eco-friendly look into the controversial Rolling Stone story by political columnist Tim Dickinson aptly titled “The Climate Killers: Meet the 17 polluters and deniers who are derailing efforts to curb global warming”. So far we have delved into 8 of the 17 “Climate Killers” in this series of blogs. We hoped to try and ask a few questions that weigh public perception vs. the findings of the list, however, as previously stated, in some cases the facts seem to speak for themselves. So for those of you who have missed out on the article, here is a recap that will hopefully continue to spark dialogue.
Number nine, Dick Gephardt CEO of Gephardt Group. Unfortunately it seems that the first line from Dickinson’s entry says it all “the former House majority leader now uses his considerable political clout as a lobbyist for Peabody Energy, the world’s largest private-sector coal company.”
ABC pundit and Climate Killer George Will
Tenth on the list is George Will, a commentator on ABC. Dickinson claims he is the most recognizable pundit and he is known now for giving disinformation on climate change. Though he may be able to sway public opinion and spread harmful misinformation, this is not the most aggressive of eco-friendly crimes.
Number 11 is Tom Donohue President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce an eco-friendly offender because he is “the biggest lobbying presence on Capital Hill” and is using that power to block the implementation of “ limits on carbon pollution”. The interesting aspect of this entry is that “The extreme anti-climate position staked out by Donohue runs counter to the position of his own members. Of the 23 companies on the Chamber’s board that made their position on climate legislation public, only four are against it — and three of those are coal companies.” As a result of his stance on the environment many companies have resigned from the board - one of them being Nike.
Next is Don Blankenship, CEO of Massey Energy. This is one CEO who does not even pretend to have an eco-friendly conscience. One quote from his entry on the list should give a fairly apt portrayal of him “He enjoys inveighing against the “greeniacs” — including Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Al Gore — who are “taking over the world.” And he has even taken to tweeting about climate change: “We must demand that more coal be burned to save the Earth from global cooling.”
Next is Fred Singer, a retired physicist who invited the idea of “fake science” manipulating and misinforming people about everything from tobacco to the ozone layer.
Following that is Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, Dickinson says “as ranking Republican on the House energy committee, Barton is a mini version of Sen. James Inhofe.”
An eco-friendly outlook is extremely important; having those in a position of power blatantly acting in a way that is contrary to the public good is mind-boggling. This situation reminds many of the often quoted line “with great power comes great responsibility” from the Spiderman movie. The power players have to understand the weight that they wield and must put the interest of others ahead of their own selfish gain.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!