Exxon lobby group named "year's most influential" in global climate change

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The US Weather Channel’s โ€œclimate change mission statement โ€ reads: โ€œThroughout the world, people are confused about climate change and global warming, [the Weather Channel] will provide a place where sound science can be heard.โ€ As regular DeSmog readers know, much of the confusion and doubt in the general public around the issue of climate change and the discussion around โ€œsound scienceโ€ has been at the hands of industry and oil company funded frontย groups.

Such groups serve the purpose of doing and saying the things a modern day corporation cannot get away with saying, like โ€œC02, some call it pollution, we call it life. โ€ That’s the laughable tagline used by one such industry front group called the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a so-called US โ€œthinkโ€ tank that has received over $2 million dollars from ExxonMobil, the largest oil company in theย world.

Now back to the Weather Channel and their valiant mission on climate change. The Weather Channel today announced their โ€œ2006 Hot List,โ€ which in their own words โ€œwill bring focus to the people and organization (sic) who in 2006 most influenced climate policy, science and public opinion.โ€ One would assume, based on their stated mission that their idea of a โ€œhot listโ€ would be chosen among the thousands of people, organizations and corporations effecting the climate change issue in a positive way. Not so, coming in at number 3 on the Weather Channel’s 2006 โ€œhot listโ€ is none other than the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

If the Weather Channel decides to promote such organizations as โ€œinfluencing climate policy,โ€ that’s fine, but at least look past the teflon coating of the CEI and list the group who is really influencing climate policy,ย ExxonMobil.

Just because I love the video so much, here’s CEI‘s climate guru Myron Ebell getting hammered in a recent BBC interview. If bumbling and stumbling over your oil industry interests makes you a โ€œ2006 Hot Listโ€ winner, then Ebell should have won the lifetime achievementย award.

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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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