What do tobacco, lead paint, leaded gasoline, and fossil fuels have in common? Besides the fact that they hurt people.
Here’s what: Each has been the subject of a massive, well-funded campaign of denial by an industry that cares far more about profits than people.
Now a group of U.S. senators is calling them out. Led by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), nineteen U.S. senators are taking to the Senate floor today and tomorrow to highlight the web of climate science denial and draw a parallel to the deception campaigns on the now well-known harms of tobacco and lead products (mostly lead paint and leaded gasoline).Several senators are also introducing a resolution disapproving of the deniers in each industry. Senate supporters of the resolution include Whitehouse, Boxer, Markey, Merkley, Schatz, and Warren. Public interest supporters include Public Citizen, Clean Water Action, the League of Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club, and the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Today’s climate denial follows a script written decades ago by lead-related companies and Big Tobacco: Fund a network of phony think tanks, research institutes, and policy shops that sell lies and deception about a clear and present danger to the public. The goal is to seed doubt and to stall policy responses. The web of denial on climate science is similar to these earlier campaigns, only bigger. Much bigger.
It’s also more dangerous. Tobacco and lead products have killed or poisoned millions. That’s no small amount of harm. But unchecked climate change would bring about heat, drought, famine, disease, mass migration, and violence on a scale that would do much more terrible damage, potentially ending human civilization as we know it.
It’s dastardly work, denying the biggest problem facing humanity. And it’s laudable work calling out the deniers and trying to solve the problem.
In fact, there may be no greater patriotism in America today than fighting climate change, and no greater disservice than denying the problem and blocking solutions.
If you feel the pull of climate patriotism, here’s how you can start helping to call out the deniers:
- Sign up to be a citizen cosponsor of the resolution calling out deniers.
- Watch the Senate floor speeches on C-SPAN2 from roughly 4:00 to 6:45 p.m. on Monday, July 11 and 5:00 to 7:30 on Tuesday, July 12.
- Support the effort on social media with #WebofDenial and #TimetoCallOut.