Once upon a time lead paint was promoted as a “clean and healthy” alternative to dusty wallpaper. This was part of a PR campaign by the lead industry after the medical community began sounding the alarm that the metal was a neurotoxin that was damaging and even killing children. The lead industry’s campaign delayed regulation to protect families and children for 50 years.
Putting profit over the public good is nothing new. Today Exxon and other oil companies are spending millions to cast doubt on climate change — with the full knowledge of the role their industry plays in heating up the planet. The fact that Exxon is being investigated for its deception by the attorneys general from New York and California isn’t likely to halt its deceptive, delaying tactics.
Climate change, and the fossil fuel industry’s continuing efforts to sabotage our response to it, is the largest environmental crime ever perpetrated. Fifteen of the 16 warmest years ever recorded have occurred since 2001, with last year topping the record. The Earth’s climate is changing faster than species can evolve and adapt, and scientists believe we are at the onset a mass extinction event. Our changing climate will continue to challenge all our expectations and assumptions about rainfall, crop production, and weather-related health and safety issues.