The Bell Labs of Energy: How Exxon Led Early Climate Research
Drilled
Pushkin Industries
4.6 • 2.4K Ratings
🗓️ 14 August 2016
⏱️ 16 minutes
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Summary
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Exxon wanted to be the Bell Labs of energy, hiring brilliant scientists to conduct cutting-edge research on the "greenhouse effect" and renewable energy. At the time, there was bipartisan support around the idea of tackling global warming and a sense that American innovation was up to the task.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is probably the most sophisticated approach to trying to modify policy outcomes |
| 0:17.3 | that corporations and public relations companies engage in. |
| 0:22.2 | That's Bob Brul, an environmental sociology researcher at Brown University. |
| 0:27.8 | For the past few years, Brul has been looking into how the anti-climate science movement |
| 0:32.5 | began, who was involved, who worked with who, how much money they spent, and how and |
| 0:37.2 | why it was effective. |
| 0:39.4 | This is a story that's been told a few different times in a few different ways, but always |
| 0:43.5 | with some key pieces missing. |
| 0:45.5 | And let's just say we've found the pieces. |
| 0:48.9 | There is no question in the scientific community of people who published and peer reviewed |
| 1:00.0 | journals. |
| 1:01.0 | That climate change is real. |
| 1:02.8 | So Tom is talking about all of this with a global warming and that is a lot of it's |
| 1:08.0 | a hoax and some money making industry, okay? |
| 1:11.0 | Excellent. |
| 1:12.0 | I'm past a golden opportunity to leave. |
| 1:14.3 | The mere fact that a climate modeling group was established and that the tanker project |
| 1:20.2 | was funded in the late 70s into the start of 1981 or two indicates that upper management |
| 1:29.4 | felt this is a good idea in one episode. |
| 1:31.8 | Funded. |
| 1:32.8 | Simply making all-based prediction and then calling for solutions before you see whether |
| 1:37.8 | your predictions pan out. |
... |
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