Aera wants us to
green light their plan to radically ramp up oil operations in Cat Canyon. The
company is jointly owned by Exxon and Shell. As you read this, Exxon is
awaiting, probably in vain, a major court verdict in a suit that charges it has
lied to the public for decades.
Exxon knew that
its business was altering the climate, bringing us more destructive wild fires,
among much else. But they repeatedly deceived the public, just as the tobacco
companies knew their cigarettes caused cancer but denied it.
Rather than act
ethically and honestly, Exxon spent millions on climate-denying think tanks and
researchers to confuse the public about climate science. Exxon now concedes
that climate change is happening because of the burning of fossil fuels. Still
the company plans to increase its oil output by 25 percent by 2025 at a time
when the world should be sharply reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.