I. Exxon's Denial of Climate Change
In 2015, a pair of researchers independently uncovered proof that as early as 1977, Exxon executives knew that carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels were contributing to global climate change. "In a 1982 memo that circulated among company executives, Exxon's environmental affairs manager reported that addressing the greenhouse effect 'would require major reductions in fossil fuel combustion' and that without the reductions, 'there are some potentially catastrophic events that must be considered.' " [1]
Greenhouse gases are increasing due to "the burning of fossil fuels," an ice researcher with Exxon's Canadian division told a group of engineers at a 1991 conference. The researcher noted that "Nobody disputes this fact."
Peter Leherer, with Earthjustice, says that "Exxon's private acceptance of climate science elevates its pattern of public climate denial from a case of negligence to one of intentionally."
By the mid-1980s, Exxon scientists had repeatedly informed company managers that burning oil, gas and coal would raise global temperatures, bringing changes to food and water supplies and other essentials of civilization. [2]
II. Newborn Carbon Footprint
In a 2009 report, statisticians at Oregon State determined that giving birth to one more American adds about 9,441 metric tons of carbon dioxide to the carbon legacy of an average female. "Factoring in grandchildren and great-grandchildren, it multiplies her lifetime emissions by a factor of six." "40 percent of Americans fear that climate change will harm their family members, and a majority under the age of 40 believe it will affect them over the course of their lives." [3]
III. Hopeful Developments on Coal Mine Closures and California Renewables
On January 15, 2016, U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced a 3-year moratorium on new coal-mine leases on publicly owned land, as well as a comprehensive review of the "environmental and public health impacts" of coal mining. This is big news, because publicly owned coal in Wyoming's Powder River Basin alone, accounts for ten percent of the country's annual greenhouse-gas emissions. [4]
China will halt coal mine approvals for three years and close roughly 1,000 existing mines, the head of the National Energy Administration , Neu Beleri, announced on December 29, 2015. Together, China and the U.S. account for about 60 percent of global coal consumption. [5]
California is in first place in just about every renewable energy category: largest wind farm and largest solar thermal plant. In June 2016, Solar Star began sending 579 megawatts of electricity -- making it the most powerful solar farm in the world -- across Southern California, the equivalent of a quarter of a million homes. SB 350, the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act, says that by 2030, California must get half of its electricity from renewables and double the energy efficiency of its emissions by 5.5 percent, while increasing its GDP by 17 percent -- under the nation's most stringent energy regulations. By 2025, 16 percent of all new vehicles sold in the state would have to be zero-emissions. In 15 years, Mary Nichols, California's energy czar, wants new car buyers to only be able to shop for zero-emission vehicles. [6]
The transportation sector accounts for 37 percent of California's greenhouse-gas emissions. Remarkably, California is the 8th-largest economy in the world but accounts for about one percent of global emissions.
ADDENDUMS:
*"So-called light pollution has gotten so bad that by one estimate, 8 of 10 children born today, will never encounter a sky dark enough for them to see the Milky Way." [7]
Footnotes
[1] Jason Mark, "Bit Oil in the Hot Seat," Sierra, May/June 2016.
[2] Mark Hertgaard, "Exxon and the Climate Fight After Paris," The Nation, February 22, 2016.
[3] Madeline Ostrander, "Child of Hope and Disaster," The New Yorker, April 4, 2016.
[4] Hertsgaard.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Sarah Begley, "Night of a Thousand Stars," Time, May 30, 2016.
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