After setting up the initial post on global warming I had a further chat with my wife. She points out that the ice core samples go back thousands of year and make perfectly clear that there has been a dramatic acceleration of the rise of the temperature of water in recent times. My son then chipped in with the following piece which is worth reading—

Global Warming Skeptics: A Primer
Guess who’s funding the global warming doubt shops?

In 1998, Exxon devised a plan to stall action on global warming. The plan was outlined in an internal memo that promised, “Victory will be achieved whenuncertainties in climate science become part of the conventional wisdom” for “average citizens” and “the media.” (Read the memo [PDF].)

The company would recruit and train new scientists who lack a “history of visibility in the climate debate” and develop materials depicting supporters of action to cut greenhouse gas emissions as “out of touch with reality.”

While there is no indication that ExxonMobil paid the climate skeptics directly and the scientists may have their own motivations for participating, the company poured millions of dollars into spreading its message worldwide. Here’s where some of that money went.

The following information is from Exxon documents and the organizations’ web sites. (Specific sources and links are listed below the table.)
Organization Receiving ExxonMobil Funding 2002-2003 2004 2005
Competitive Enterprise Institute $870,000 $270,000 $270,000
American Enterprise Institute $485,000 $230,000 $240,000
American Council for Capital Formation $444,523 $255,000 $360,000
Frontiers of Freedom $282,000 $250,000 $140,000
George C. Marshall Institute $185,000 $170,000 $115,000
National Center for Policy Analysis $105,000 $75,000 $75,000
Tech Central Station Science Foundation $95,000*
Heartland Institute $92,500* $100,000 $119,000
Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow $72,000* $125,000 $90,000
Fraser Institute $60,000* $60,000
International Policy Network $50,000* $115,000 $130,000
Center for Study of Carbon Dioxide & Global Change $40,000* $25,000
American Council on Science and Health $35,000 $15,000 $25,000
Annapolis Center for Science-Based Public Policy $27,500* $75,000 $30,000
Cato Institute $25,000* $15,000
Consumer Alert $25,000 $25,000
Independent Institute $20,000 $30,000
Advancement of Sound Science $20,000 $10,000

*These numbers are for the year 2003 alone.

The information above is from Exxon documents and the organizations’ Web sites: Exxon’s 2002 contributions [PDF], Exxon’s 2003 contributions [PDF], Exxon’s 2004 contributions [PDF] and Exxon’s 2005 contributions [PDF].

Find Out More
They’re taking their act on the road: Global warming skeptics shower their climate denials onto the U.K., according to the Guardian (1/27/05)

For more information on the science of global warming and the politics of combating climate change, go to our Global Warming issue page

You may find further information on ExxonMobil’s funding of global warming skeptics by visiting the Exxonsecrets.org database web site.

For details on the McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act, the most effective bipartisan legislation to reduce America’s emissions of greenhouse gases, visit www.undoit.org.

This particular piece which I have reprinted here can be found at http://environmentaldefense.org/article. cfm?ContentID=4870.

The further point needs to be stressed. In the specialized field of climate scientists there is almost no debate on the topic of global warming. There is a near unanimity on the topic. Guess where you find most of the doubters– they work for companies like Exxon. Hmmmm…… I don’t suppose that might reflect a conflict of interest.

Here’s my point for Evangelicals. Do you want to be a good witness to people who do care about this world and our ecosphere? If you don’t you should. Thus I would suggest that you accept, for the sake of argument, that there is such a thing as global warming (remember that hole in the ozone and what was said to cause it?). Assume that we have some serious responsibility for causing this problem. How then would be the best way to witness to people who do care about the environment. I would suggest that one way is to show we also care about it and about things like global warming because we have a theology that says God has given us a big beautiful world and called us to take good care of it until he returns. ‘Nuff Said.