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77-692: It has advanced climate change denial and blocking of climate legislation to defend the interests of its constituent organizations . The association describes its mission as "to promote safety across the industry globally and influence public policy in support of a strong, viable U.S. oil and natural gas industry ". API's chief functions on behalf of the industry include advocacy , negotiation and lobbying with governmental, legal, and regulatory agencies; research into economic, toxicological, and environmental effects ; establishment and certification of industry standards ; and education outreach . API both funds and conducts research related to many aspects of

154-654: A general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since April 2018. He previously served for ten years as head of the American Petroleum Institute (API), the petroleum and natural gas industry lobby group in the United States. Gerard was raised in Mud Lake, Idaho . His father was a salesman of John Deere tractors. For a year out of high school Gerard was

231-538: A taxonomy of climate change skepticism . Later the model was also applied to denial: The National Center for Science Education describes climate change denial as disputing differing points in the scientific consensus, a sequential range of arguments from denying the occurrence of climate change, accepting that but denying any significant human contribution, accepting these but denying scientific findings on how this would affect nature and human society, to accepting all these but denying that humans can mitigate or reduce

308-640: A carbon tax 'is not gonna happen'. In February 2015, it was revealed that climate denier Willie Soon had been paid by several fossil fuel interest groups. Over the course of 14 years, he had received a total of $ 1.25m from Exxon Mobil , Southern Company , the American Petroleum Institute (API) and a foundation run by the ultra-conservative Koch brothers , the documents obtained by Greenpeace show. The scientist described his studies to fossil fuel executives as "deliverables", and permitted anonymous pre-publication reviews. Soon advanced

385-419: A century that even this small proportion has a significant warming effect, and doubling the proportion leads to a large temperature increase. Some groups allege that water vapor is a more significant greenhouse gas, and is left out of many climate models. But while water vapor is a greenhouse gas, its very short atmospheric lifetime (about 10 days) compared to that of CO 2 (hundreds of years) means that CO 2

462-545: A changing climate. Some climate change deniers claim that there is no scientific consensus on climate change, that any evidence for a scientific consensus is faked, or that the peer-review process for climate science papers has become corrupted by scientists seeking to suppress dissent. No evidence of such conspiracies has been presented. In fact, much of the data used in climate science is publicly available, contradicting allegations that scientists are hiding data or stonewalling requests. Some climate change deniers assert that

539-468: A food policy analyst at the Hudson Institute . Avery's list was immediately called into question for misunderstanding and distorting the conclusions of many of the named studies and citing outdated, flawed studies that had long been abandoned. Many of the scientists on the list demanded their names be removed. At least 45 of them had no idea they were included as "co-authors" and disagreed with

616-502: A global scientific conspiracy or engaged in a manipulative hoax. The Great Global Warming Swindle is a 2007 British polemical documentary film directed by Martin Durkin that denies the scientific consensus about the reality and causes of climate change, justifying this by suggesting that climatology is influenced by funding and political factors. The film strongly opposes the scientific consensus on climate change. It argues that

693-455: A loud message at [20 different] states," including Florida, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. Gerard went on to assure recipients of the memo that API will cover all organizational costs and handling of logistics. In response to the memo, an API spokesman told media that participants will be there (at protests) because of their own concerns, and that API is just helping them assemble. To help fight climate control legislation that has been approved by

770-793: A powerful group's secret plot or plan. People with certain cognitive tendencies are also more drawn than others to conspiracy theories about climate change. Conspiratorial beliefs are more predominantly found in narcissistic people and those who consistently look for meanings or patterns in their world, including believers in paranormal activity. Climate change conspiracy disbelief is also linked to lower levels of education and analytic thinking. Scientists are investigating which factors associated with conspiracy belief can be influenced and changed. They have identified "uncertainty, feelings of powerlessness, political cynicism, magical thinking, and errors in logical and probabilistic reasoning". In 2012, researchers found that belief in other conspiracy theories

847-573: A scientific controversy where there is none. Climate change denial includes unreasonable doubts about the extent to which climate change is caused by humans , its effects on nature and human society , and the potential of adaptation to global warming by human actions. To a lesser extent, climate change denial can also be implicit when people accept the science but fail to reconcile it with their belief or action . Several studies have analyzed these positions as forms of denialism , pseudoscience , or propaganda . Many issues that are settled in

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924-810: A serious problem for the planet. It has many front groups , including the NH Energy Forum that in August 2011 hosted a New Hampshire event for Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry . In March 2022, the Climate Committee of the API reportedly approved a draft proposal urging Congress to pass a carbon tax on fossil fuels. The draft proposal is subject to further approval by the API Executive Committee. The proposal calls for gasoline wholesalers, power plants and others to pay

1001-584: A single repetition of a claim was sufficient to increase the perceived truth of both climate science-aligned claims and climate change skeptic/denial claims—"highlighting the insidious effect of repetition". This effect was found even among climate science endorsers. Many of the climate change deniers have disagreed, in whole or part, with the scientific consensus regarding other issues, particularly those relating to environmental risks, such as ozone depletion , DDT , and passive smoking . Jack Gerard Jack Noel Gerard (born December 15, 1957) has been

1078-631: A stark shift for the Bush administration, the United States has sent a climate report [ U.S. Climate Action Report 2002 ] to the United Nations detailing specific and far-reaching effects it says global warming will inflict on the American environment. In the report, the administration also for the first time places most of the blame for recent global warming on human actions—mainly the burning of fossil fuels that send heat-trapping greenhouse gases into

1155-638: A student at the University of Idaho . He then served as a missionary for the LDS Church in Sydney, Australia . He later graduated from George Washington University (GWU). Following college, he worked on the staffs of George V. Hansen and James A. McClure , who served in the U.S. Congress and Senate respectively, representing Idaho . In 1990, when McClure left the Senate, Gerard followed him into

1232-399: A tax of $ 35 to $ 50 per ton of carbon dioxide generated by the fossil fuel they sell or use. The proposal drew criticism amid coincident high prices at the pump and elsewhere. In June 2021, in a sting operation carried out by Unearthed , Keith McCoy, senior lobbyist for ExxonMobil , revealed that the company was 'for a carbon tax' because 'it gives us a talking point'. In reality, McCoy stated,

1309-677: A website, Classroom Energ y. API spent more than $ 3 million annually during the period 2005 to 2009 on lobbying ; $ 3.6 million in 2009. As of 2009, according to API’s quarterly “Lobbying Report” submitted to the U.S. Senate, the organization had 16 lobbyists lobbying Congress. According to an investigation conducted by the International Business Times , API lobbied the Department of State for all of 2009 on "legislative efforts concerning oil sands" and " Canadian Oil Sands ." The American Petroleum Institute also lobbied

1386-406: A widespread and systematic climate change denial campaign to seed public disinformation, a strategy that has been compared to the tobacco industry 's organized denial of the hazards of tobacco smoking . Some of the campaigns are even carried out by the same people who previously spread the tobacco industry's denialist propaganda. Climate change denial refers to denial, dismissal, or doubt of

1463-573: Is a greenhouse gas saturation effect that significantly decreases the warming potential of further gases released into the atmosphere. Such an effect does exist in some form, as Happer's research demonstrates, but is likely negligible with respect to net global warming. Climate change denial literature often features the suggestion that we should wait for better technologies before addressing climate change, when they will be more affordable and effective. Climate denial groups often point to natural variability, such as sunspots and cosmic rays, to explain

1540-453: Is caused solely by the burning of fossil fuels, restricting their use would damage the world economy more than the increases in global temperature. Conversely, the general consensus is that early action to reduce emissions would help avoid much greater economic costs later, and reduce the risk of catastrophic, irreversible change. Earlier, climate change deniers' online YouTube content focused on denying global warming, or saying such warming

1617-586: Is debated: most of those actively rejecting the scientific consensus use the terms skeptic and climate change skepticism , and only a few have expressed preference for being described as deniers. But the word "skepticism" is incorrectly used, as scientific skepticism is an intrinsic part of scientific methodology. In fact, all scientists adhere to scientific skepticism as part of the scientific process that demands continuing questioning. Both options are problematic, but climate change denial has become more widely used than skepticism . The term contrarian

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1694-495: Is more specific but less frequently used. In academic literature and journalism, the terms climate change denial and climate change deniers have well-established usage as descriptive terms without any pejorative connotation. The terminology evolved and emerged in the 1990s. By 1995 the word "skeptic" was being used specifically for the minority who publicized views contrary to the scientific consensus . This small group of scientists presented their views in public statements and

1771-510: Is not caused by humans burning fossil fuel. As such denials became untenable, content shifted to asserting that climate solutions are unworkable, that global warming is harmless or even beneficial, and that the environmental movement is unreliable. A 2016 article in Science made the case that opposition to climate policy was beginning to take a "rhetorical shift away from outright skepticism" and called this neoskepticism . Rather than denying

1848-525: Is that adaptation will protect present and future generations from climate-sensitive risks far more than efforts to restrict CO 2 emissions." The adaptation-only plan is also endorsed by oil companies like ExxonMobil. According to a Ceres report, "ExxonMobil's plan appears to be to stay the course and try to adjust when changes occur. The company's plan is one that involves adaptation, as opposed to leadership." The George W. Bush administration also voiced support for an adaptation-only policy in 2002. "In

1925-444: Is the electronic business standard as of 1978. API RP 500 and RP 505 classify the locations for electrical equipment in hazardous areas . API has entered petroleum industry nomenclature in a number of areas: In addition to training industry workers and conducting seminars, workshops, and conferences on public policy, API develops and distributes materials and curricula for schoolchildren and educators. The association also maintains

2002-475: Is the primary driver of increasing temperatures; water vapor acts as a feedback, not a forcing , mechanism. Climate denial groups may also argue that global warming has stopped, that a global warming hiatus is in effect, or that global temperatures are actually decreasing, leading to global cooling . These arguments are based on short-term fluctuations and ignore the long-term pattern. Some groups and prominent deniers such as William Happer argue that there

2079-711: Is the study of why people deny climate change, despite the scientific consensus on climate change . A study assessed public perception and action on climate change on grounds of belief systems, and identified seven psychological barriers affecting behavior that otherwise would facilitate mitigation , adaptation , and environmental stewardship : cognition, ideological worldviews, comparisons to key people, costs and momentum, disbelief in experts and authorities, perceived risks of change, and inadequate behavioral changes. Other factors include distance in time, space, and influence. A study published in PLOS One in 2024 found that even

2156-630: The Columbia Graduate School of Business for the centennial of the American oil industry, the physicist Edward Teller warned then of the danger of global climate change . Edward Teller explained that carbon dioxide "in the atmosphere causes a greenhouse effect " and that burning more fossil fuels could "melt the icecap and submerge New York". In 1969, the API decided to move its offices to Washington, DC . API Standards Committees are made up of subcommittees and task groups that works and maintain these standards. API also defines

2233-541: The State Department every quarter in 2009. In three of four quarters, the group listed “legislative efforts concerning oil sands” as one of the areas it was focusing on in its lobbying, and in the final quarter, it listed “Canadian Oil Sands.” Among API’s members are ExxonMobil , which has invested in Canadian oil sands. API lobbies and organizes its member employees' attendance at public events to communicate

2310-525: The Times was increasingly using denier when "someone is challenging established science", but assessing this on an individual basis with no fixed policy, and would not use the term when someone was "kind of wishy-washy on the subject or in the middle". The executive director of the Society of Environmental Journalists said that while there was reasonable skepticism about specific issues, she felt that "denier"

2387-567: The consensus on climate change is the product of "a multibillion-dollar worldwide industry: created by fanatically anti-industrial environmentalists; supported by scientists peddling scare stories to chase funding; and propped up by complicit politicians and the media". The programme's publicity materials claim that man-made global warming is "a lie" and "the biggest scam of modern times." The film received strong criticism from many scientists and others. Journalist George Monbiot called it "the same old conspiracy theory that we've been hearing from

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2464-463: The scientific consensus on the rate and extent of climate change , its significance, or its connection to human behavior, in whole or in part. Climate denial is a form of science denial . It can also take pseudoscientific forms. The terms climate skeptics or contrarians are nowadays used with the same meaning as climate change deniers even though deniers usually prefer not to, in order to sow confusion as to their intentions. The terminology

2541-586: The 1995 IPCC Second Assessment Report , alleging corruption in the peer-review process. Scientists rejected his assertions; the presidents of the American Meteorological Society and University Corporation for Atmospheric Research described his claims as part of a "systematic effort by some individuals to undermine and discredit the scientific process". In 2005, the House of Lords Economics Committee wrote, "We have some concerns about

2618-602: The Associated Press announced "an addition to AP Stylebook entry on global warming" that advised "to describe those who don't accept climate science or dispute the world is warming from human-made forces, use 'climate change doubters' or 'those who reject mainstream climate science'. Avoid use of 'skeptics' or 'deniers'". In May 2019, The Guardian also rejected use of the term "climate skeptic" in favor of "climate science denier". In addition to explicit denial , people have also shown implicit denial by accepting

2695-505: The Bush administration, which has fought to avoid mandatory cuts in emissions for fear it would harm the economy. 'We're welcoming a focus on more of a balance on adaptation versus mitigation', said a senior American negotiator in New Delhi. 'You don't have enough money to do everything. ' " Some find this shift and attitude disingenuous and indicative of a bias against prevention (i.e. reducing emissions/consumption) and toward prolonging

2772-533: The Muir Russell report, the scientists' "rigor and honesty as scientists are not in doubt", the investigators "did not find any evidence of behavior that might undermine the conclusions of the IPCC assessments", but there had been "a consistent pattern of failing to display the proper degree of openness." The scientific consensus that climate change is occurring as a result of human activity remained unchanged at

2849-499: The Nineteenth Century: Two Titans (Lexington Books Publisher, November, 2022). - 182 p. Climate change denial Climate change denial (also global warming denial ) is a form of science denial characterized by rejecting, refusing to acknowledge, disputing, or fighting the scientific consensus on climate change . Those promoting denial commonly use rhetorical tactics to give the appearance of

2926-468: The U.S. More than 90% of papers that are skeptical of climate change originate from right-wing think tanks. Climate change denial is undermining efforts to act on or adapt to climate change , and exerts a powerful influence on the politics of climate change . In the 1970s, oil companies published research that broadly concurred with the scientific community's view on climate change. Since then, for several decades, oil companies have been organizing

3003-613: The U.S. House, API supports the Energy Citizens group, which is holding public events. API encouraged energy company employees to attend one of its first Energy Citizen events held in Houston in August 2009, but turned away Texas residents who were not employed by the energy industry. Fast Company reported that some attendees had no idea of the purpose of the event. In December 2009, Mother Jones magazine said API and Energy Citizens were promulgating climate disinformation. In

3080-493: The United Kingdom government. On 10 December 2008, the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works minority members released a report under the leadership of the Senate's most vocal global warming denier, Jim Inhofe . It says it summarizes scientific dissent from the IPCC. Many of its statements about the numbers of people listed in the report, whether they are actually scientists, and whether they support

3157-465: The article's conclusions. The Heartland Institute refused these requests, saying that the scientists "have no right—legally or ethically—to demand that their names be removed from a bibliography composed by researchers with whom they disagree". Deniers have generally attacked either the IPCC's processes, scientist or the synthesis and executive summaries; the full reports attract less attention. In 1996, climate change denier Frederick Seitz criticized

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3234-452: The atmosphere." The report "does not propose any major shift in the administration's policy on greenhouse gases. Instead it recommends adapting to inevitable changes instead of making rapid and drastic reductions in greenhouse gases to limit warming." This position apparently precipitated a similar shift in emphasis at the COP 8 climate talks in New Delhi several months later; "The shift satisfies

3311-527: The denial industry for the past ten years". The climate deniers involved in the Climatic Research Unit email controversy ("Climategate") in 2009 claimed that researchers faked the data in their research publications and suppressed their critics in order to receive more funding (i.e. taxpayer money). Eight committees investigated these allegations and published reports, each finding no evidence of fraud or scientific misconduct. According to

3388-422: The end of the investigations. In 2012, Clive Hamilton published the essay "Climate change and the soothing message of luke-warmism". He defined luke-warmists as "those who appear to accept the body of climate science but interpret it in a way that is least threatening: emphasising uncertainties, playing down dangers, and advocating a slow and cautious response. They are politically conservative and anxious about

3465-399: The existence of global warming, neoskeptics instead "question the magnitude of the risks and assert that reducing them has more costs than benefits." According to the authors, the emergence of neoskepticism "heightens the need for science to inform decision making under uncertainty and to improve communication and education." There is a range of possible mitigation policies. Disagreement over

3542-481: The federal and local levels and make decisions in favor of domestic energy on Election Day. The main components of the Vote 4 Energy campaign include the website – Vote4Energy.org – and social media communities, along with a series of advertisements and events around the country. The Vote 4 Energy campaign was criticized for presenting misleading arguments about the relationship between oil production and jobs whilst ignoring

3619-457: The full spectrum of risks associated with global warming. In political terms, soft climate denial can stem from concerns about the economics and economic impacts of climate change , particularly the concern that strong measures to combat global warming or mitigate its impacts will seriously inhibit economic growth . Climate change denial is commonly rooted in a phenomenon known as conspiracy theory , in which people misattribute events to

3696-602: The industry standard for the energy conservation of motor oil . As of 2020 API SP is the latest specification. It supersedes API SN . SP specifies more stringent engine oil performance requirements for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. These include a chain wear test and a test for very low-viscosity engine oils. The standards also include a test designed to protect against a phenomenon experienced by some gasoline engines known as Low-Speed Pre-Ignition (LSPI). API also defines and drafts standards for measurement for manufactured products. Crude Oil Data Exchange (CODE)

3773-412: The industry's position on issues. A leaked summer 2009 memo from then API President Jack Gerard asked its member companies to urge their employees to participate in planned protests (designed to appear independently organized) against the cap-and-trade legislation the House passed that same summer. "The objective of these rallies is to put a human face on the impacts of unsound energy policy and to aim

3850-400: The lobbying campaign was in progress, leading to accusations of hypocrisy. Furthermore, the API's campaigns have been criticized for advocating policies that are likely to exacerbate global warming and its associated problems. The API has repeatedly funded conservative groups that deny the reality of anthropogenic global warming in spite of the overwhelming scientific consensus that it presents

3927-545: The media rather than to the scientific community. Journalist Ross Gelbspan said in 1995 that industry had engaged "a small band of skeptics" to confuse public opinion in a "persistent and well-funded campaign of denial". His 1997 book The Heat is On may have been the first to concentrate specifically on the topic. In it, Gelbspan discusses a "pervasive denial of global warming" in a "persistent campaign of denial and suppression" involving "undisclosed funding of these 'greenhouse skeptics'" with "the climate skeptics" confusing

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4004-453: The objectivity of the IPCC process, with some of its emissions scenarios and summary documentation apparently influenced by political considerations." It doubted the high emission scenarios and said that the IPCC had "played-down" what the committee called "some positive aspects of global warming". The main statements of the House of Lords Economics Committee were rejected in the response made by

4081-513: The oil industry's profits at the environment's expense. In an article addressing the supposed economic hazards of addressing climate change, writer and environmental activist George Monbiot wrote: "Now that the dismissal of climate change is no longer fashionable, the professional deniers are trying another means of stopping us from taking action. It would be cheaper, they say, to wait for the impacts of climate change and then adapt to them". Climate change deniers often debate whether action (such as

4158-482: The opinion of the public, legislators and the media, in contrast to legitimate science. Pope Francis groups together four types of respondents rejecting climate change: those who "deny, conceal, gloss over or relativize the issue". The conservative National Center for Policy Analysis , whose "Environmental Task Force" contains a number of climate change deniers , including Sherwood Idso and S. Fred Singer, has said, "The growing consensus on climate change policies

4235-460: The organization's public outreach efforts to include the AFL–CIO and Congressional Hispanic Caucus , while trimming the number of API's employees and narrowing the scope of API's lobbying priorities. He also led efforts to fund and support citizen rallies in support of API's legislative priorities, drawing accusations of astroturfing from critics after a leaked memo from Gerard to local API organizers

4312-596: The petroleum industry. Although some oil was produced commercially before 1859 as a byproduct from salt brine wells, the American oil industry started on a major scale with the discovery of oil at the Drake Well in western Pennsylvania in 1859. The American Petroleum Institute was founded on 20 March 1919 and based in New York City . In 1959, at a symposium organized by the American Petroleum Institute and

4389-456: The positions attributed to them, have been disputed. Inhofe also said that "some parts of the IPCC process resembled a Soviet-style trial, in which the facts are predetermined, and ideological purity trumps technical and scientific rigor." Some climate change deniers promote conspiracy theories alleging that the scientific consensus is illusory, or that climatologists are acting out of their own financial interests by causing undue alarm about

4466-477: The potentially catastrophic consequences of increased fossil fuel consumption on the Earth's climate. The API successfully pushed for an end to a ban on American oil exports on the grounds that the ban increased demand for Russian and Iranian oil, thereby benefiting the unfriendly regimes in these countries. Critics noted that many of its member companies continued to maintain ongoing business in these countries whilst

4543-618: The private sector, becoming part of the public relations firm McClure, Gerard & Neuenschwander. Gerard later ran a lobbying firm with McClure. He then was head of the National Mining Association (2000–2005) and then the American Chemistry Council (2005–2008). In his role as head of API, Gerard fought successfully to allow crude oil exports. He also opposed increased taxes and other measures that would hurt industry profits. Gerard expanded

4620-405: The problems. James L. Powell provides a more extended list, as does climatologist Michael E. Mann in "six stages of denial", a ladder model whereby deniers have over time conceded acceptance of points, while retreating to a position that still rejects the mainstream consensus: Climate change denial is a form of denialism . Chris and Mark Hoofnagle have defined denialism in this context as

4697-878: The public and influencing decision makers. In December 2014, an open letter from the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry called on the media to stop using the term skepticism when referring to climate change denial. It contrasted scientific skepticism—which is "foundational to the scientific method"—with denial—"the a priori rejection of ideas without objective consideration"—and the behavior of those involved in political attempts to undermine climate science. It said: "Not all individuals who call themselves climate change skeptics are deniers. But virtually all deniers have falsely branded themselves as skeptics. By perpetrating this misnomer, journalists have granted undeserved credibility to those who reject science and scientific inquiry." In 2015, The New York Times 's public editor said that

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4774-551: The report on the same inventory levels by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), it gives investors an early look at the information that may be coming from the EIA, although there is frequently some disparity between the two sets of figures. [REDACTED] Media related to American Petroleum Institute at Wikimedia Commons Vassiliou, Marius S. and Miryusif Mirbabayev. US and Azerbaijani oil in

4851-511: The restrictions on the use of fossil fuels to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions) should be taken now or in the near future. They fear the economic ramifications of such restrictions. For example, in a 1998 speech, a staff member of the Cato Institute , a libertarian think tank , argued that emission controls' negative economic effects outweighed their environmental benefits. Climate change deniers tend to argue that even if global warming

4928-454: The scientific community, such as human responsibility for climate change, remain the subject of politically or economically motivated attempts to downplay, dismiss or deny them—an ideological phenomenon academics and scientists call climate change denial . Climate scientists, especially in the United States, have reported government and oil-industry pressure to censor or suppress their work and hide scientific data, with directives not to discuss

5005-477: The scientific consensus but failing to "translate their acceptance into action". This type of denial is also called soft climate change denial . In 2004, German climate scientist Stefan Rahmstorf described how the media give the misleading impression that climate change is still disputed within the scientific community, attributing this impression to climate change skeptics' PR efforts. He identified different positions that climate skeptics argue, which he used as

5082-603: The scientific consensus on climate change is based on conspiracies to produce manipulated data or suppress dissent. It is one of a number of tactics used in climate change denial to attempt to manufacture political and public controversy disputing this consensus. These people typically allege that, through worldwide acts of professional and criminal misconduct, the science behind climate change has been invented or distorted for ideological or financial reasons. They promote harmful conspiracy theories alleging that scientists and institutions involved in global warming research are part of

5159-631: The second half of 2008, as the U.S. presidential election neared, API began airing a series of television ads where spokeswoman Brooke Alexander encourages people to visit their new website, EnergyTomorrow.org. In January 2012, the American Petroleum Institute launched the voter education campaign – Vote 4 Energy. The campaign says that increased domestic energy production can create jobs, increase government revenue, and provide U.S. energy security. The Vote 4 Energy campaign does not promote any specific candidate or party, but rather provides voters with energy information to equip them to evaluate candidates on

5236-546: The subject publicly. The fossil fuels lobby has been identified as overtly or covertly supporting efforts to undermine or discredit the scientific consensus on climate change. Industrial, political and ideological interests organize activity to undermine public trust in climate science. Climate change denial has been associated with the fossil fuels lobby, the Koch brothers , industry advocates, ultraconservative think tanks , and ultraconservative alternative media , often in

5313-542: The sufficiency, viability, or desirability of a given policy is not necessarily neoskepticism. But neoskepticism is marked by failure to appreciate the increased risks associated with delayed action. Gavin Schmidt has called neoskepticism a form of confirmation bias and the tendency to always take "as gospel the lowest estimate of a plausible range". Neoskeptics err on the side of the least disruptive projections and least active policies and, as such, neglect or misapprehend

5390-640: The threat to the social structure posed by the implications of climate science. Their 'pragmatic' approach is therefore alluring to political leaders looking for a justification for policy minimalism." He cited Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger of the Breakthrough Institute , and also Roger A. Pielke Jr. , Daniel Sarewitz , Steve Rayner , Mike Hulme and "the pre-eminent luke-warmist" Danish economist Bjørn Lomborg . Climate change skepticism, while in some cases professing to do research on climate change, has focused instead on influencing

5467-475: The use of rhetorical devices "to give the appearance of legitimate debate where there is none, an approach that has the ultimate goal of rejecting a proposition on which a scientific consensus exists." This process characteristically uses one or more of the following tactics: Some politicians and climate change denial groups say that because CO 2 is only a trace gas in the atmosphere (0.04%), it cannot cause climate change. But scientists have known for over

5544-522: The warming trend. According to these groups, there is natural variability that will abate over time, and human influence has little to do with it. But climate models already take these factors into account. The scientific consensus is that they cannot explain the observed warming trend. In 2007, the Heartland Institute published an article titled "500 Scientists Whose Research Contradicts Man-Made Global Warming Scares" by Dennis T. Avery ,

5621-401: The widely discredited theory that changes in solar activity are to blame for climate change, and called into question the severity and extent of climate change in all his studies, never revealing his backers. Every Tuesday (unless Monday is a holiday) at 4:30 PM the API releases a report on US inventories of crude oil , gasoline and distillates, to paid subscribers. As this information predates

5698-563: Was "the most accurate term when someone claims there is no such thing as global warming, or agrees that it exists but denies that it has any cause we could understand or any impact that could be measured". A petition by climatetruth.org asked signers to "Tell the Associated Press: Establish a rule in the AP Stylebook ruling out the use of 'skeptic' to describe those who deny scientific facts". In September 2015,

5775-697: Was also for a time the chairman of the National Capital Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America . He also for a time was co-chair and later a board member of GWU's Graduate School of Political Management . After becoming a general authority in the LDS Church, Gerard was appointed as the executive director of the Public Affairs Department. In July 2018, he spoke at the National Association for

5852-449: Was associated with being more likely to endorse climate change denial. Examples of science-related conspiracy theories that some people believe include that aliens exist, childhood vaccines are linked to autism , Bigfoot is real, the government "adds fluoride to drinking water for 'sinister' purposes ", and the moon landing was faked . Examples of alleged climate change conspiracies include: The psychology of climate change denial

5929-608: Was published by Greenpeace . In the 2012 U.S. presidential election, Gerard was a major backer of Mitt Romney 's bid for president. In the LDS Church, Gerard has served as a ward mission leader, scoutmaster, Young Men advisor, bishop , president of the McClean Virginia Stake , and area seventy in the church's North America Northeast Area (covering the US from Virginia north, and as far west as Indiana, and Canada from Ontario east) from 2010 to 2016. Gerard

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