Big Oil and Climate Change: An Ongoing PBS FRONTLINE Three-Part Series...

Intro narrative by Patrice Taddonio, April 12, 2022:

In The Power of Big Oil, a new three-part documentary series, FRONTLINE examines the fossil fuel industry’s history of casting doubt and delaying action on climate change, tracing decades of missed opportunities and ongoing attempts to hold Big Oil to account.

The documentary series comes on the heels of a new report by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) saying that rapid action is needed in order to reduce planet-warming emissions of greenhouse gases and limit climate disaster, and outlining possible ways in which the world can take action to cut such emissions in half by 2030.

“We are at a crossroads,” IPCC chair Hoesung Lee said in an announcement about the report. “The decisions we make now can secure a livable future. We have the tools and know-how required to limit warming.” FRONTLINE has been covering climate change and other environmental threats for years and across platforms. With the premiere of The Power of Big Oil, revisit more than a decade’s worth of reporting (PBS, 2022).

Part One: Denial, premiered April 19 and charts the fossil fuel industry’s early research on climate change, investigating industry efforts to sow seeds of doubt about the science. Part Two: Doubt premieres April 26, and Part Three: Delay premieres May 3 (PBS, 2022).

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The Global Climate Coalition (GCC) (1989–2001) was an international lobbyist group of businesses that opposed action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and publicly challenged the science behind global warming. The GCC was the largest industry group active in climate policy and the most prominent industry advocate in international climate negotiations. The GCC was involved in opposition to the Kyoto Protocol, and played a role in blocking ratification by the United States. The coalition knew it could not deny the scientific consensus, but sought to sow doubt over the scientific consensus on climate change. While the coalition disbanded in 2002, some members including the National Association of Manufacturers and the American Petroleum Institute continue to lobby against emissions reductions (New York Times, 2009).

NASA, NOAA, and WMO Global Climate Change weblinks provide an extensive collection of global warming resources for media, educators, weathercasters and public speakers. Browse by topic and by media type, including videos, social media shareables, infographics, and interactives.
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https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/the-power-of-big-oil/
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/resources/press/press-release/
https://www.ipcc.ch/working-group/wg1/
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-cycle/
https://climate.nasa.gov/
https://www.noaa.gov/climate
https://www.climate.gov/
https://public.wmo.int/en/our-mandate/climate
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Climate_Coalition
https://www.desmog.com/global-climate-coalition/
https://climateinvestigations.org/global-climate-coalition-industry-cli…
https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/science/earth/24deny.html
https://www.energyandpolicy.org/global-climate-coalition-utilities/

Soul Stirring...

Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn't mean he lacks vision. Stevie Wonder

The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision. Helen Keller

Where there is no vision, there is no hope. George Washington Carver

Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes. Carl Jung

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. Eleanor Roosevelt

Visionary builds what dreamers imagined. Toba Beta

Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake. Henry David Thoreau

The act of fishing – for fish, dreams or whatever magic is available – is enough. It transports us to a special world, and a state of mind, where we are free. Fennel Hudson

We have become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams. Jimmy Carter

The eyes of the soul of the multitudes are unable to endure the vision of the divine. Plato

Enhance and intensify one's vision of that synthesis of truth and beauty which is the highest and deepest reality. Ovid

Each of us has a vision of good and of evil. We have to encourage people to move towards what they think is good...That would be enough to make the world a better place. Pope Francis
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https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/aurora-image-gallery/index…

Germany Investing in Natural Climate Protection

Why does the word "Degrowth" scary us so much?

Read this insightful article written by the talented Erin Remblance to explore the idea that degrowth doesn't mean regression but it is rather a vision (and a plan) for a more equitable and sustainable planet.

At Stockholm+50, we need to be brave and talk about all the solutions available to us, not just the ones that are acceptable in the current economic-environmental discourses.

Swedish Water Calculating Water’s Carbon Footprint

"From the global to the local to the personal, the circular transition should be ushered in by policies and processes that protect and promote a circular society—where no one is left behind".

Read these insightful article to explore how equity concerns must be put at the centre of the sustainable transition.

Thank you Ana Birliga Sutherland!

Washington DC’s Environmental Impact Bond Greening the City

Towards Stockholm+50 is a new podcast and webinar series from the Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future and the Norwegian Forum for Development and Environment.

Upcoming sessions focus on:

Strengthening Environmental Governance and Law (20 April 2022)
Environmental Diplomacy and Multilateralism (25 April 2022)
Environmental Rights, Human Rights and Environmental Justice (28 April 2022)
Making a Forceful Canon of the Rio Conventions and the Multilateral Environmental Agreements (2 May 2022)
Environment and Education (3 May 2022)
Civil Society, the Environment and UNEP (4 May 2022)