It's coming to light that for years the Global Climate Coalition, an industry funded group that has argued that global warming is a sham, ignored the advice of scientists on its own payroll, according to the New York Times.
Scientists told the coalition that the science behind global warming was irrefutable, according to a court document.
For years, the coalition, which is funded by the oil, coal and auto industries, touted its message that "the role of greenhouse gases in climate change is not well understood" and that "scientists differ," according to the story.
Yet, experts on the coalition's' payroll wrote in a 1995 internal report that “The scientific basis for the Greenhouse Effect and the potential impact of human emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO2 on climate is well established and cannot be denied.”
The coalition spent millions throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s spreading its message that global warming was not based on science.
By promoting doubt, the coalition took advantage of the news media reporting both sides of an issue, George Monbiot, a British environmental activist and writer, told the New York Times.
“They didn’t have to win the argument to succeed,” Monbiot said, “only to cause as much confusion as possible.”
The coalition disbanded in 2002, but former members, including the American Petroleum Institute and the National Association of Manufacturers, continue to promote their own messages that doubt global warming. Former member Exxon Mobil, however, has ceased supporting groups that promote an anti-global warming message, according to the article.
