In a new Greenpeace investigation of more than 500 congressional lobbying records of the chemical industry and allied businesses researchers identified 238 lobbyists who registered to lobby against strong chemical security legislation in 2007. With at total lobbying budget of $130 million dollars, Greenpeace estimates that the industry averaged about $1 million a month to forestall strong chemical security legislation.

The Greenpeace report, as well as supporting documents, can be found here

The report documents multiple layers of a quiet but extensive lobbying campaign to prevent strong regulations and to keep chemical users from switching to safer, more secure chemicals and processes. The report includes 20 trade associations such as the chemical manufacturer's American Chemistry Council (ACC) as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and 30 companies including Dow Chemical Company, and ExxonMobil and high priced lobby firms such as Hogan & Hartson.


Since 9/11, the chemical industry lobby has succeeded in delaying the enactment of permanent, comprehensive chemical security legislation. In 2006 a 740 word temporary law was enacted with the expectation that Congress would revisit the issue in 2007.

Jack Gerard, CEO of the ACC summed up the chemical lobby's agenda, “We believe the Department of Homeland Security should have the ability to put these regs in place. Let's let the dust settle, and then a few years down the road let's take a look at it."

In contrast the Association of American Railroads recently issued a strong statement on ultra-hazardous chemicals: "It is time for the nation’s big chemical companies to stop making the dangerous chemicals that can be replaced by safer substitutes or new technologies currently in the marketplace…And if they won’t do it, Congress should do it for them in the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2008."

On March 6th, the House Homeland Security Committee adopted a comprehensive bill (H.R. 5577). The House Energy and Commerce Committee which is expected to take up this legislation soon and has scheduled a hearing for May 15th. To avoid a renewal of the hopelessly weak temporary statute, Congress must pass a permanent law this year.

Over at DeSmogBlog today they picked up on the news of Exxon's quarterly earnings report...something we all look forward to...

The profiteers fiddle while the economy crumbles

DeSmog's details and fine calculator work:

ExxonMobil, everyone's favorite oil company, is set to announce 4th quarter
earnings of $10.37 billion - a paltry $111 million a day.

Expected annual earnings for ExxonMobil in 2007 are a whopping $39 billion -

or about $106 million a day,

$4.4 million an hour and

$73,000 a second.

And now Bush and the Congress want to put a "Economic Stimulus Package" in your pocket - $600 per person - so you can go put it right in Exxon's pocket the next time you fill up... hmm Exxon's economy seems to be stimulated quite nicely already

As the Fish and Wildlife Service misses its deadline this week to finish its decision on listing the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act... we wonder if the Exxon-funded study published last summer and referenced by the State of Alaska in its opposition to FWA action might have slowed them up...shame if indeed that is the case.

Speaking of which, the Governor of Alaska published a Op-Ed in the NY Times over the weekend vigorously opposing listing the polar bear with an inaccurate assessment of things.  A nice editorial last week by the Times must have triggered the Governor's response...

We did an expanded treatment of the Exxon Polar Bear mess here, including Rep. Brad Miller of North Carolina's request for information from Exxon on its funding of skeptic science. Don't miss the suggested unanswered questions at the end...

One additional nugget was the quote by an Exxon spokes recently.  In response to Gore pointing out Exxon funding of the network that supports climate denial scientists, the Washington Times reported:

"Exxon Mobil spokesman Gantt H. Walton dismissed the accusation, saying the company is concerned about climate-change issues and does not pay scientists to bash global-warming theories. " Walton stated, "Recycling of that kind of discredited conspiracy theory is nothing more than a distraction from the real challenge facing society and the energy industry..."

Distractions indeed...some people create distractions for a living...and maybe Mr. Walton should check with the Exxon Secret Payroll department before making such declarative statements next time.

See Inhofe post below this one for more on that episode....

Now that Bali is done, things are moving forward on the global policy front.  The Bush Administration was sent packing back to Washington, tail firmly between legs but not without weakening the agreement.  The fight now comes back to Capitol Hill where there are efforts afoot to try to craft more global warming legislation in 2008. And apparently the Denial Machine has also come back to DC where it tries to dig trenches in front of any potential momentum and progress.

Sen. James "Hoax" Inhofe, the Archbishop of Denial, and his alter boy Marc Morano (formerly of the Exxon funded Media Research Center), today released a report through the Environment and Public Works minority website, with the headline:

Over 400 Prominent Scientists Disputed Man-Made Global Warming Claims in 2007 - Senate Report Debunks "Consensus"

Looking through Inhofe's list of disputers we find a large number of familiar names.

 
Here's an interactive ExxonSecrets map of the 35 plus we have already data on. 

These individuals have been linked through the years with:

Competitive Enterprise Institute

Tech Central Station - set up by Exxon's operatives at DCI Group

Heartland Institute

Cato Institute

Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow

Frasier Institute

The Annapolis Center

The George Marshall Institute

...and numerous other Exxon-funded groups who have together received millions of dollars since 1998 from the corporation.

We'll now have to start researching the others named here and see who and what makes them tick.  Its interesting that the Inhofe list includes a String Theorist and a slew of TV weathermen, they have recruited far and wide.  For many of the folks listed and their words quoted, one wonders if they are outright skeptics, or just questioning certain conclusions or lines of reasoning - the normal scientific process as DotEarth noted today. 

 
We also wonder if the Inhofe 400 share the conclusions of this report or the author's overt agenda to delay and derail political action on climate.  Time will tell as they Google themselves and find their names linked to the tail end of Exxon's Denial Machine.

An op-ed is making the rounds in papers today penned by veteren global warming denier David Deming, Adjunct Scholar of the National Center for Policy Analysis. 

The op-ed catalogs a long list of unusual cold weather events in 2007, including the recent giant ice storm that crippled the central US.  These extreme weather events are cited as solid evidence that global warming is bunk, and since cold weather is obviously bad for humans, therefore policies to control global warming are misguided. 

Clearly behind the curve in reading his latest copy of the Deniers' fashion magazine, Deming doesn't realize that it's no longer vogue to deny the science outright, and that most of his pals are taking more of a bumper shot approach - admitting that warming is happening, but that it might not be that bad or that we should focus on adaptation...

Well thank goodness for old-school deniers like Deming still sticking to their guns! 

The last line of Deming's essay, "Global warming has long since passed from scientific hypothesis to the realm of pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo."  really sums up how completely and dangerously out of touch with reality this crowd is.  Wow, we have a lot of work left.

The reality, again, is global warming doesn't mean uniform "warming" everywhere on earth.  In fact, what scientists have come to know, is adding heat to the weather system means chaotic and unpredictable weather, with average temps that trend warmer overall.

NCPA has received at least $465,900 from Exxon since 1998, including $75,000 per year for the past several years.

Speaking of animals that like things cold...we expect an answer out of the Bush Administration any day on their plan to protect (or not) the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act.  The NCPA chimed in on polar bears this past May with a "Brief Analysis" by H. Sterling Burnett, citing "A new NCPA study by Dr. David Legates" which turns out to be an inaccurate assessment of ice dynamics combined with a weak analysis of bear population dynamics...Funny how the former State Climatologist of Delaware is suddenly a polar bear expert... how convenient.  Legates was also a co-author of the polar bear study we discussed here.