This is a presentation given by Exxon Research and Engineering Company’s Brian P. Flannery, who became one of Exxon’s primary climate researchers after joining the company in 1980. His initial research for Exxon on the relationship between CO2 and climate change confirmed the results that other scientists were finding at the time, predicting that doubling […]
This 1984 patent filed by Shell Oil Company for an Arctic offshore drilling structure is part of a larger collection of documents assembled by the Smoke & Fumes project of the Center for International Environmental Law. The patent demonstrates Shell’s efforts to fortify its offshore platforms for extreme ice flow in the Alaska region. Based […]
This is a speech to a 1982 gathering of climate scientists at the Lamont-Doherty Geophysical Observatory by Dr. E. E. David, Jr., president of the Exxon Research and Engineering Company, regarding the “greenhouse effect,” i.e. climate change, and the importance of scientific research in figuring out how to respond to it – how to “invent […]
This “Evolution of Mobil’s Public Affairs Programs 1970-1981” report outlines oil major Mobil Corporation’s public affairs (PA) strategy to influence opinion leaders and the public through their advertorial program, media blitzes, and think tank collaboration. First released on Amy Westervelt’s podcast Drilled, and featured in her Washington Post editorial, this document further elucidates how the fossil fuel industry convinced media […]
On May 15, 1981, Henry Shaw, a manager with Exxon Research & Engineering’s Technology Feasibility center, sent a “Preliminary Statement of Exxon’s Position on the Growth of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide” to Edward. E David Jr., president of the Exxon Research and Engineering Company. The inter-office correspondence outlined Exxon’s “current position on the CO2 Greenhouse effect” […]
As first brought to light by Nathaniel Rich’s NYT magazine article “Losing Earth,” this document is a transcript of a 1980 meeting held by the National Commission on Air Quality (NCAQ). The meeting, requested by Congress, was held to discuss the societal implications of climate change in order to address problems “from increased carbon dioxide emissions.” […]
June 9, 1980 internal memorandum from Exxon Research and Engineering’s H.N. Weinberg to H. Shaw and N.R. Werthamer about Exxon’s CO2 research initiative, the “Greenhouse Program.” Shaw was a manager of the Environmental Area in Exxon Research & Engineering and an early advocate for the company’s research of atmospheric CO2. Werthamer was Shaw’s boss. This […]
February 29, 1980 the American Petroleum Institute hosts a meeting with its CO2 and Climate Task Force comprised of fossil fuel industry representatives from Exxon, Texaco, and Standard Oil. The meeting was called to discuss research needs regarding the rise in atmospheric CO2, to establish API’s position on “climate matters,” and to edit API’s technical […]
This 1980 edition of TREND, a bimonthly Shell Chemical Company (Shell) publication, featured a series of articles on issues concerning the company, including: “Emerging techniques for effective corporate response to public issues,” The Chemical Manufacturers Association “Communication Action Plan,” “Individualism,” “Gasohol,” “The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on OSHA’s Benzene standards,” and “Chemical feedstocks from synfuels.” […]
At the request of President Carter’s Executive Office, the National Academy of Sciences convened the Climate Research Board to assess the scientific basis for “future climatic changes resulting from man-made releases of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.” The study concludes that at the present rate of carbon emissions the global surface will warm 2 to […]