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Page added on April 14, 2016

Secret meeting by environmentalists to target Exxon, oil industry

Environmentalists backing a Big Tobacco-style government probe of oil companies plotted their strategy for targeting companies like ExxonMobil at a closed-door meeting in Manhattan earlier this year, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The report sheds new light on an evolving campaign against the fossil fuel industry that has drawn in several attorneys general who are now investigating ExxonMobil.

According to the Journal, the January meeting in Manhattan was a key moment and brought together several veteran environmental activists to discuss how to “establish in [the] public’s mind that Exxon is a corrupt institution that has pushed humanity (and all creation) toward climate chaos and grave harm.”

Critics described the meeting as proof of “collusion” in the campaign against ExxonMobil.

That push has developed as several AGs — most recently in Massachusetts and the U.S. Virgin Islands — have launched their own investigations into claims that oil companies misled the public about the risks of global warming.

The company went to court Wednesday to try to block a subpoena by the Virgin Islands attorney general.

“The chilling effect of this inquiry, which discriminates based on viewpoint to target one side of an ongoing policy debate, strikes at protected speech at the core of the First Amendment,” the company’s court filing said, according to the Journal.

The newspaper reported that environmentalists want to encourage state prosecutors, as well as the Justice Department, to launch investigations.

“It’s about helping the larger public understand the urgencies of finding climate solutions,” Lee Wasserman, head of the Rockefeller Family Fund which hosted the January meeting, told the Journal. “It’s not really about Exxon.”

While the state investigations utilize different laws, they all aim to replicate the success of the federal government’s 1999 case against Big Tobacco, in which the industry was accused of misleading the public about smoking and nicotine risks.

Exxon representatives say the accusations against the oil giant are “laughable” and “not credible.”

Fox News

43 Comments on "Secret meeting by environmentalists to target Exxon, oil industry"

Dredd on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 6:27 am

.It is way past the time for Oil-Qaeda to be prosecuted for depraved heart murder.

They have been conspiring against the public health and well being since 1946 (Oil-Qaeda & MOMCOM Conspire To Commit Depraved-Heart Murder – 5).

New documents detail the conspiracy and deceit.

Apneaman on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 8:25 am

ROLFLMAO

Oooooooo a “Secret meeting”! – sounds very conspiratorial.

That should get the conspiratards juices flowing right from the get go.

Oooo they “plotted”!

“Critics described the meeting as proof of “collusion” in the campaign against ExxonMobil.”

Ooooooo an unnamed critic. How spooky and clandestine.

Critics are safer to remain anonymous lest these evil environmentalists have you whacked.

What amazes me is that so many adults fall for these cheesy amateur tactics.

Toby Toby on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 8:57 am

Really Apneaman? Who is ridiculous? The biggest snow job in history is how these green turds are selling us this huge scare story to convince us to spend trillions on energy that doesn’t make any economic sense so they can get rich on their “green” energy gambles. The Earth had 7000 ppm CO2 during development of life on Earth, and suddenly going from 270-370ppm is going to bring about the end of days? PLEASE… You people are the biggest suckers of all buying into that nonsense. I love how your “science” says sea level will raise somewhere between 3-6 ft, you know, just in case it wasn’t scary enough you threw in the +1km thickness in ice at the caps as a ridiculously bloated and inflated error value. Such a joke.

PracticalMaina on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 8:58 am

If Fox tells me climate change is not real, I believe them, they tell me Obamas a Muslim from Kenya, I believe them, they tell me Mexicans are going to take my job and rape my pets, I believe them. They tell me Rupert Murdoch had families of victims of 9-11 spied on, well they would never say anything so ludicrously based on fact.

makati1 on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 9:02 am

Faux news… what can you expect? LMAO

PracticalMaina on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 9:22 am

But they paid for so many commercials saying they were fair and balanced…. could it all have been a lie..?? I just gasped so hard I nearly passed out.

Davy on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 9:42 am

More energy chapter 11’s:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-14/more-energy-defaults-energy-xxi-files-chapter-11-gulf-keystone-delays-bond-payment

Davy on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 9:44 am

More banks with “oops” exposure:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-14/wells-fargo-has-problem-32-billion-junk-rated-energy-exposure

Kenz300 on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 9:50 am

The elderly were brought up to believe in news correspondents and thought that they were being told the truth……..

It is a shame to tell half truths, lies and misinformation told as “opinion” rather than “NEWS” as FAUX NOISE does……

Now the elderly are being lied to on a daily basis and do not realize it………

Faux is not News — It is the spokesperson for the RepubliCON party, fossil fuels, NRA and the top 1%………..

Kenz300 on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 9:50 am

The top 1% want it all….. and the RepubliCON party will give it to them………..

What do RepubliCONS believe…….. depends who is paying….. follow the money……. fossil fuels….. NRA………the top 1%

Are RepubliCONS the real EVIL DOERS………..they want to end Social Security, Medicare and access to contraception…….

Kenz300 on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 9:51 am

Climate Change is real….. we will all be impacted by it.

Oil Giants Spend $115 Million A Year To Oppose Climate Policy

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/oil-companies-climate-policy_us_570bb841e4b0142232496d97

New Documents Show Oil Industry Even More Evil Than We Thought

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/oil-cover-up-climate_us_570e98bbe4b0ffa5937df6ce

August Braun on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 10:05 am

It is absolutely HILARIOUS that the Rockefellers are in on this. It is they and their grandfather, John D., who should be on trial as it is John D. Rockefeller who got the world hooked on hydrocarbons. They are GUILTY!

GregT on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 10:51 am

Rockefeller family lashes out at Exxon Mobil

“The philanthropic arm of the Rockefeller family said the “morally reprehensible conduct” of Exxon Mobil was in part behind a decision to divest from fossil fuels.”

“We would be remiss if we failed to focus on what we believe to be the morally reprehensible conduct on the part of Exxon Mobil,” the fund said in a statement.”

The Rockefellers are the pinnacle of morality, in an otherwise unjust world.

We should all look up to them, our benevolent owners. 🙂

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Industry/2016/03/24/Rockefeller-family-lashes-out-at-Exxon-Mobil/5411458823082/

Plantagenet on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 11:26 am

I wonder if anybody is holding secret meetings to plan how to get the UN to pass a binding climate treaty to force the world to reduce its CO2 emissions. The accord Obama signed in Paris in 2015 won’t do it—-the much ballyhooed Paris Accord actually requires ZERO reductions in CO2 emissins—in fact it allows unlimited increases!!!!

Cheers!

adam c18 on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 11:27 am

Just let me get this right; this is a highly biased report on Fox News (owner Rupert Murdoch) about an equally biased article in The Wall Street Journal (owner Rupert Murdoch). Murdoch gives acres of space to arch science-deniers Bjorn Lomborg and Matt Ridley to help them mislead the public.

So who is most guilty; ExxonMobil who, like the earlier Tobacco companies, undoubtedly spend a lot of money on trying to convince the public that their products are harmless? – or Murdoch and his cronies who don’t turn out any products at all – apart from genocidal lies.

geopressure on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 12:05 pm

Huge Push to shift profits from the pockets of right-leaning Oil & Gas Companies into the pockets of left-leaning environmental firms…

dohboi on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 12:52 pm

(Mostly) good, spot-on responses to this ridiculous story.

I’m frankly shocked that Big Enviro could organize itself well enough to come up with any coherent plan. Generally, they/we have been monumentally ineffectual at attacking the root problems (though Sierra and others did seem to do a pretty good job at stopping lots of proposed coal plants over the last few years).

Apneaman on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 12:58 pm

geo, want to explain how that works? Maybe back it up? Identify exactly who is doing this pushing? Identify these “environmental firms”.”environmental firms”, I don’t even know what that means. Is that a corporation that sells the environment? If so how do they sell it, by the barrel or foot or what? You make many accusations and assertions, yet rarely provide any evidence. You don’t seem to get the difference between being suspicious of something or someone and proving it. You make many leaps and dubious connections too. Kinda like this piece of shit article.

geopressure on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 1:38 pm

How it works??? Regulation… If you need an example, look at the coal industry…

Exactly who is behind it??? The People who are in charge of the Regulatory Agencies – The Obama Administration…

Identify these Environmental Firms??? ALL Environmental Firms – not any one in particular…

—
I think we would all agree that the overwhelming majority of Oil & Gas Companies & Royalty Owners, etc (the benefactors of oil sales) are Right-Leaning… Therefore profits from Oil sales are more likely to find their way to funding Republican Campaigns than Democratic Campaigns…

On the other hand, an overwhelming majority of the benefactors of Environmental Firms are Left-Leaning… Therefore profits that stem from environmental regulation is more apt to find it’s way toward funding Democratic Campaigns…

The Obama Administration has made a active effort to minimize the Profits of Right-Leaning Companies & as oil prices start to climb, you will see new regulations applied to the oil & gas industry to try & shift that profit toward Left-Leaning entities…

Just like we have already seen executed in the coal industry… However, Oil has no alternatives like coal has…

—
You don’t seem to get the difference between being suspicious of something or someone and proving it… Proof is only required in the court of law…

Apneaman on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 3:29 pm

geo, as I thought you are full of shit and grasping at straws. If Obama is such a thorn in the side of oil why has US extraction reached new heights on his watch? You’re right, you are under no obligation to provide proof for your claims on this board or anywhere outside of a court of law. Just don’t expect to be taken seriously. You are well within your rights to continue to make vague accusations and make a fool out of yourself all you like – free country and all that.

How can you be so self assured and not give the name of even one of these so called environmental firms?

Again what exactly is an environmental firm? I have never heard of such a thing.

bug on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 5:32 pm

You know environmental firms, they want people to suffer with no lights and refrigerators. The CEO’S are leftist and commies and wear Sandler and like whales.
They have planned to destroy all the people worked for.

Coals demise had nothing to do with the 100 year old coal fired plant (think obsolete) near me that was converted to Nat gas, or Chinese economy (furnace coal) for steel shit itself.

onlooker on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 5:59 pm

A case of Capitalism eating its own tail. Municipalities want money from the corporations as corporations have always sought subsidies from govt. Careful about bankrupting Exxon. Poof their goes the Economy down the drain.

geopressure on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 7:13 pm

Apneaman;

Your argument: “If Obama is such a thorn in the side of oil why has US extraction reached new heights on his watch?”

Come on, Apneaman, you are smarter than this… had it not been for the high US Production rates, Oil would have over $200/BBL from 2011 through 2014…

This is a complicated topic that we have stumbled upon… it requires thinking…

—
Apneaman: “How can you be so self assured and not give the name of even one of these so called environmental firms?”

it is the entire industry… Increased environmental regulations shift profits from the Oil & Gas (or Coal) Companies, into the pockets of the environmental firms who handle the regulatory work…

—
All your questions are self explanatory if you would just think about it a bit…

Apneaman on Thu, 14th Apr 2016 7:31 pm

bug, I’m a Boiler Maker by trade and I was erecting a Natgas Cogen in northern Alberta (Tar sands) back in the late 1990’s before fracking really took off. Alberta has plenty of coal. It just made more sense economically for them on every aspect – construction, maintenance fuel,environment. You know those picture of coal miners at the end of their shift – all black and grimy? That’s what I used to look like at the end of mine when doing a maintenance shut down on an old coal fired boiler. 50 -30 years of coal dust in every nook and cranny in the power house. I’ve seen it up to an inch thick on an I beam I had to walk out on to hang a snatch block on it.

GregT on Fri, 15th Apr 2016 12:16 am

For the younger posters here, a snatch block has nothing to do with chastity.

Plantagenet on Fri, 15th Apr 2016 1:14 am

One of the ironies of the big push by the Obama administration to replace coal with natural gas is that the methane leaks from the natural gas are even MORE damaging to the climate then CO2 from the coal.

The dummies in the Obama administration have just made greenhouse warming even worse.

Cheers!

makati1 on Fri, 15th Apr 2016 5:35 am

geo, the economy would NOT have supported oil at anywhere near $200. You are full of bullshit as usual. It crashed the economy at $147.

onlooker on Fri, 15th Apr 2016 5:59 am

Absolutely, this is foolish to presume oil anywhere above $100 dollars could have been supported for a substantial period of time. In fact by virtue of the fact that this relatively low priced oil has not revved up the economy it demonstrates that even $50 or less oil is not super cheap now to consumers.

marmico on Fri, 15th Apr 2016 6:18 am

it demonstrates that even $50 or less oil is not super cheap now to consumers.

What an innumerate fuctard. 2015 U.S. gasoline spending @2.5% relative to total spending was the 4th lowest super cheap year compared to the last ~70 years.

https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/fredgraph.png?g=4aPF

onlooker on Fri, 15th Apr 2016 6:29 am

thanks for the compliment Marm. Do you take into account all other expenses non discretionary spending Americans now have? Also, if this is such a bonanza to the consumers why does the economy remain sluggish?

makati1 on Fri, 15th Apr 2016 6:46 am

onlooker, he forgets the underwater mortgages, the declining incomes, the 20+% unemployment, the 47,000,000 Americans in the soup lines, the constantly increasing health care costs, etc. These oily guys only think in terms of oil, not the real world.

GregT on Fri, 15th Apr 2016 6:54 am

That’s because he isn’t looking at the big picture, purposefully I suspect.

PRacticalMaina on Fri, 15th Apr 2016 8:03 am

Obama was selling a huge amount of coal off federal lands for $1 a ton, (subsidy). He encouraged fracking, had the EPA back off after his second election and not make drilling companys provide water for municipalities with their water supplies disrupted.
GregT had a great quote from a peabody exec saying coal was getting to expensive to mine, way back in 2013.

onlooker on Fri, 15th Apr 2016 9:31 am

Yes good points guys. Declining incomes as in part time low paying work. And of course those who outright lost jobs and live on govt subsistence. Yes,Marm is not looking at the whole picture which is basically saying that he is cherry picking his data.

geopressure on Fri, 15th Apr 2016 11:28 am

makati1, onlooker… You guys don’t really believe that a handful of bad sub-prime mortgages brought the whole economy down, do you???

onlooker on Fri, 15th Apr 2016 12:00 pm

I cannot speak for Mak, but I am not saying that. What I am saying is in 2008 an inflection point was reached. But the gradual decline was going on even before that. Hemorraging jobs overseas, purchasing power relentlessly declining, an education system not preparing students adequately for the 21st century workplace, the dwindling of the power of unions, and the onerous debt suffocating more and more people. So $147 dollars oil was just the straw that broke the camels back. Now relentless depletion and the dynamics of peak oil is just making things worse

Apneaman on Fri, 15th Apr 2016 2:05 pm

http://api.theweek.com/sites/default/files/59690_cartoon_main.jpg?resize=807×807

geopressure on Fri, 15th Apr 2016 2:23 pm

Apneaman is trying to say that Climate Change caused the 2008 market crash…

That would be incorrect… Climate Change only became popular after Obama took office in 2009…

PRacticalMaina on Fri, 15th Apr 2016 2:41 pm

More like for over 50 years since the fossil fuel industry began the cover up.

http://news.mongabay.com/2016/04/big-oil-covering-knowledge-climate-change-even-longer-thought/

Kenz300 on Sat, 16th Apr 2016 9:58 am

Faux Noise……. spokesman for the fossil fuel industry and the RepubliCON party…………

Kenz300 on Sat, 16th Apr 2016 9:59 am

New Documents Show Oil Industry Even More Evil Than We Thought