Exxon hypocritically backs global warming naysayers

As the popularity of gas continues to tumble due to fears of emissions creating global warming and hybrid cars creating a better alternative, Exxon has interestingly backed lobby groups who discredit climate change in an attempt to change public perception.

Oil companies have a history of hiding and distorting truths in order to accelerate profits and stimulate demand. Unethical behavior ends up under the table because the public cannot discern the hidden truths from the publicized fallacies. That is, however, until financial records leak and spending patterns seize to line up with advertising campaigns promoting alternative energy and reduced emissions.

ExxonMobil, for years, has been promoting its brand according to current trends in an effort to appeal to the masses. As trends shift, so do Exxon's corporate stances and statements. Words like "environmental footprint" and "climate change" are currently being thrown around on their web site to boost their green image.

The issue is, ExxonMobil's money is not where their mouth is.

A recent article published by Guardian notes not one, but two groups that ExxonMobil funds that lobbies against global warming. Both the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) and the Heritage Foundation have been given ample amounts of money from Exxon and in turn, have produced statements that suggest the unlikelihood of climate change being a reality.

The NCPA claims the economic difficulties that would result from trying to "reduce emissions" would only lead to "environmental destruction" and therefore not change global warming trends whether they were happening or not, and the Heritage Foundation takes a different approach altogether by trying to disprove global warming with statistics of a colder 2007.

Different approaches, but the same result: discredited global warming claims backed by a big oil company.

The funding is hypocritical considering ExxonMobil's firm commitment on their web site and commercials to "reduce greenhouse gas emissions."  In fact, Exxon is not afraid to proclaim it efforts to support "major climate research projects at a number of major institutions."

Now, it is important to note that ExxonMobile has made claims of retracting spending from several organizations, but as is, the word is from these organizations about global warming and it is all just a little too late.

Ultimately, it is a tale of two stories: the one the public gets fed and the one that is designed to be kept under the table. Exxon can only hope people get the messages that are spoon fed by large amounts of money.