ExxonMobil slowly shedding its "skeptical" skin

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onJun 19, 2007 @ 13:51 PDT

ExxonMobil’s chief spokesman, Kenneth Cohen recently stated that, โ€œExxon Mobil Corp. never in the past decade doubted the risk from climate changeโ€ฆ [and] had simply firmed up, or โ€œevolved,โ€ its understanding of theย threat.โ€

If by firming up the science, Cohen means spending an estimated $23 million on think tanks and associations that have spent the better part of the last decade attacking the scientific evidence for human-induced global warming, then we couldn’t agreeย more.ย 

Bowing to public pressure late last year, Exxon announced that it was cutting funding toย  these think tanks. However, according to a recent report by Greenpeace, the oil giant spent $2.1 million in 2006 on 41 other thinkย tanks.ย 

No matter how much Cohen wants ExxonMobil to be green, it is going to have to show true leadership on the environment and a first big (and oh so obvious) step would be to end funding the think tank war on global warmingย science.ย 

Seriously, it’s a couple of million dollars to a handful of organizations that are doing Exxon’s image way more harm than good. How hard of a decision can it really be?ย ย 

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Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmog. He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a โ€œGreen Heroโ€ by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the โ€œTop 50 Tweetersโ€ on climate change and environment issues, Kevin has appeared in major news media outlets around the world for his work on digital campaigning. Kevin has been involved in the public policy arena in both the United States and Canada for more than a decade. For five years he was the managing editor of DeSmogBlog.com. In this role, Kevinโ€™s research into the โ€œclimate denial industryโ€ and the right-wing think tank networks was featured in news media articles around the world. He is most well known for his ground-breaking research into David and Charles Kochโ€™s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea partyย networks. Kevin is the first person to be designated a โ€œCertified Expertโ€ on theย political and community organizing platformย NationBuilder. Prior to DeSmog, Kevin worked in various political and government roles. He was Senior Advisor to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and a Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Asia Pacific, Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Kevin also worked in various roles in the British Columbia provincial government in the Office of the Premier and the Ministry of Health. In 2008 Kevin co-founded a groundbreaking new online election tool called Vote for Environment which was later nominated for a World Summit Award in recognition of the worldโ€™s best e-Content and innovative ICTย applications. Kevin moved to Washington, DC in 2010 where he worked for two years as the Director of Online Strategy for Greenpeace USA and has since returned to his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.

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