Deniers propping up carbon sequestration as political lip service

onSep 4, 2007 @ 11:40 PDT

Ever wonder why so many former climate change “skeptics” are now saying that global warming is real and we should think about doing something?

For many it’s a delay tactic. Lacking the scientific evidence to continue to deny what is so obviously a reality, some people are moving on to new PR tactics.

One such tactic has been uncovered by Dave Roberts at Grist. In an email back-and-forth from a “Skeptical Climate Science” discussion group, Richard S. Courtney, a coal industry defender, writes:

“Firstly, the value of carbon sequestration is political: n.b. it is not technological or economic.

There is opposition to power generation systems that emit CO2 as waste (this is similar to opposition to nuclear power systems that emit radioactive waste). A response to the opposition is needed until the AGW scare is ended. And claims of carbon sequestration (cs) provide that needed response although everybody knows cs would be too expensive for it to be used.” [Dave’s my emphasis]

This is the new age of global warming denial spin and its more desperate than ever. Now in a corner, having no science to stand on, people like Courtney are suggesting that it is now time to pay lip service to the public (who are genuinely concerned) and offer solutions that really aren’t solutions.

By Kevin Grandia

Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmog. He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a “Green Hero” by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the “Top 50 Tweeters” 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, Kevin’s research into the “climate denial industry” 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 Koch’s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea party networks. Kevin is the first person to be designated a “Certified Expert” on the political and community organizing platform 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 world’s best e-Content and innovative ICT 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.