James Hoggan - Climate Cover-Up: The Crusade to Deny Global Warming

PRAISE FOR CLIMATE COVER-UP

Absolutely superbone of the best dissections
of the climate information war I have ever
seen. This is one terrific piece of work!

ROSS GELBSPAN
author of The Heat Is On

Through impeccably documented analysis, Climate Cover-Up
exposes the well-oiled propaganda campaign designed
to manufacture dissent and uncertainty about the science
of global warming. It is essential reading for anyone
who cares about the future of democracy.

ANDREW WEAVER
author of Keeping Our Cool: Canada in a Warming World

A clear and courageous battle cry against
those who, for profits sake, would lead us to
environmental and, ultimately, economic ruin.

LESTER R. BROWN
author of Plan B 3 .0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization

An important and disturbing book about the lies and
corrupt language that government and industry
still employ to dismiss the facts on global warming.

ANDRE WNIKIFORUK
author of Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent

To those of us who have been unknowingly made
to turn a blind eye to the terrifying and true facts about
global warming, theres no time left for ignorance. Please
read this shocking and incredible book, learn how
weve been manipulated, get angry, and take action.

NEVE CAMPBELL
actress and producer

Climate Cover-Up reveals how strategic corporate public relations,
an unwitting media, and feckless scientists have created a
rhetoric-driven public conversation about climate change that
defies logic and reason. If you are interested in positive social
change on climate issues, this book is a must-read.

FRANKLIND. GILLIAM JR.
dean, School of Public Affairs, and professor of public policy
and political science, University of California, Los Angeles

Jim Hoggan in this essential book illuminates
our folly, even as he points a way forward with hope.

WADE DAVIS
author of The Serpent and the Rainbow

Climate Cover-Up clears the way for a
new era of honesty and climate progress.

TZEPORAH BERMAN
campaign director and founder, Forest Ethics

CLIMATE COVER-UP

THE CRUSADE TO DENY
GLOBAL WARMING

JAME SHOGGAN
with RICHARD LITLEMORE

CLIMATE
COVER-UP

D&M PUBLISHERS INC.
Vancouver/Toronto/Berkeley

Copyright 2009 by James Hoggan with Richard Littlemore

09 10 11 12 13 5 4 3 2 1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a license from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For a copyright license, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800 -893-5777.

Greystone Books
A division of D&M Publishers Inc.
2323 Quebec Street, Suite 201
Vancouver BC Canada V5T 4S7
www.greystonebooks.com

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Hoggan, James, 1946
Climate cover-up : the crusade to deny global warming/
James Hoggan and Richard Littlemore.
Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-55365-485-8

1. Climatic changes. 2. Climatic changesGovernment policy.
I. Littlemore, Richard II. Title.

QC903.H63 2009 363.73874 C2009 - 903508-1

Editing by Susan Folkins
Copy editing by Eve Rickert
Cover design by Martyn Schmoll
Cover illustration by Martin Barraud/Getty Images
Text design by Naomi MacDougall
Printed and bound in Canada by Friesens
Printed on acid-free paper that is forest friendly (100% post-consumer
recycled paper) and has been processed chlorine free
Distributed in the U.S. by Publishers Group West

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the British Columbia Arts Council, the Province of British Columbia through the Book Publishing Tax Credit, and the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) for our publishing activities.

In thanks and as a tribute to ROSS GELBSPAN,
whose early scoops and dedicated journalism exposed the
climate change denial campaign and inspired this book.

CONTENTS

one LEMMINGS AND LIFEGUARDS
Keeping humankind from crashing on the rocks

two THE INCONVENIENT TRUTH
Who says climate change is a scientific certainty?

three FROM BERNAYS TO TODAY
A brief history of private prophets and public lies

four THE AGE OF ASTROTURFING
In which industry steals credibility from the people

five INTERNATIONALIZING UNCERTAINTY
Taking the doctrine of doubt on the road

six MANGLING THE LANGUAGE
Making doubt reliable and science unbelievable

seven THINK TANK TACTICS
Moving public policy into private hands

eight DENIAL BY THE POUND
Many wrongs dont make a right,
but they sound better

nine JUNK SCIENTISTS
An expert for every occasion;
an argument for every position

ten FROM DENIAL TO DELAY
A more reasonableand more dangerous
trend in obstructing action on climate change

eleven SLAPP SCIENCE
Using courts and cash to silence
critics of climate confusion

twelve MANIPULATED MEDIA
An industry overwhelmed in the age of information

thirteen MONEY TALKS
Calculating the heavy weight of political capital

fourteen WHITEWASHING COAL
In coal country, cleanliness is relative,
but profit is absolute

fifteen LITTLE COAL
Salvaging a future thats stuck in the tar sands

sixteen NOBODY WANTS TO BE A CHUMP
How the debate cripples public policy
and paralyzes private action

seventeen SAVING THE WORLD
Tactics for turning back the clock on global disaster

I t is a rare privilege to have a friend like John Lefebvre, without whose courage, insight, and generosity this book could never have come to pass. We are all deeply indebted to John for his guidance, his constant encouragement, and his ongoing support for the operations of DeSmogBlog.com.

I am also grateful to everyone involved in the DeSmogBlog, especially Richard Littlemore and Kevin Grandia, for their efforts and their research. Many of the details in this book were reported originally on the blog.

The whole community owes a vote of thanks to the scientists and advocates who have worked so hard to catch our attention and build our understanding on the topic of climate change. The Nobel Committee has already offered appropriate praise for former U.S. vice president Al Gore and the scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. But some of those scientists have taken a particularly public position and have endured unconscionable abuse as a result. Brave and outspoken scientists such as NASAs James Hansen, Penn States Michael Mann, UC San Diegos Naomi Oreskes, Stanfords Stephen Schneider, and the University of Victorias Andrew Weaver are among those we know best and respect the most.

There are also scientists and journalists who deserve credit and acknowledgment. Ross Gelbspan, formerly of the BostonGlobe, was among the first reporters in North America to uncover the extent of the climate cover-up. ABCs Bill Blake-more and the New York Timess Andrew Revkin reported the climate change story accurately when many others were getting it wrong.