{"id":849,"date":"2015-12-09T17:06:17","date_gmt":"2015-12-09T17:06:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/?p=849"},"modified":"2015-12-09T17:14:34","modified_gmt":"2015-12-09T17:14:34","slug":"corporate-denial-of-climate-change-risks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/2015\/12\/09\/corporate-denial-of-climate-change-risks\/","title":{"rendered":"Corporate Denial of Climate Change Risks"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_850\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-850\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.exxonsecrets.org\/html\/index.php\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-850\" src=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/files\/2015\/12\/Screen-Shot-2015-12-09-at-11.03.21-AM-600x367.png\" alt=\"ExxonSecrets.org uses data visualizations to trace the company's influence on legislation and scientific research groups.\" width=\"600\" height=\"367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/files\/2015\/12\/Screen-Shot-2015-12-09-at-11.03.21-AM-600x367.png 600w, https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/files\/2015\/12\/Screen-Shot-2015-12-09-at-11.03.21-AM-300x183.png 300w, https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/files\/2015\/12\/Screen-Shot-2015-12-09-at-11.03.21-AM.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-850\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">ExxonSecrets.org uses data visualizations to trace the company&#8217;s influence on legislation and scientific research groups.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>New York&#8217;s State Attorney <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/11\/06\/science\/exxon-mobil-under-investigation-in-new-york-over-climate-statements.html?_r=0\">has opened an investigation<\/a> into whether ExxonMobil lied to the public and investors about the risks of climate change and funded outside groups to question climate science, even as the company\u2019s own expert researchers found\u00a0that fossil fuel emissions do, indeed, contribute to rising temperatures.<\/p>\n<h5>The Exxon investigation reflects the broader politicization of climate change and the role of corporations in shaping public perceptions. Surveys have found that the U.S. public is poorly informed about the science of climate change. A climate change countermovement flush with funds from business and conservative organizations works to create skepticism and distort public understanding. These efforts mirror other controversies over science and risk, and past corporate campaigns to create doubt about the harmful impacts of chemicals such as tobacco, DDT, or holes in the ozone layer.<\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/drexel.edu\/now\/experts\/Overview\/brulle-robert\/\">Robert J. Brulle<\/a>. 2014. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.drexel.edu\/~\/media\/Files\/now\/pdfs\/Institutionalizing%20Delay%20-%20Climatic%20Change.ashx\">\u201cInstitutionalizing Delay: Foundation Funding and the Creation of U.S. Climate Change Counter-Movement Organizations.\u201d <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.drexel.edu\/~\/media\/Files\/now\/pdfs\/Institutionalizing%20Delay%20-%20Climatic%20Change.ashx\"><em>Climatic Change<\/em><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.drexel.edu\/~\/media\/Files\/now\/pdfs\/Institutionalizing%20Delay%20-%20Climatic%20Change.ashx\"> 122(4):681\u201394.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/sociology.msu.edu\/faculty\/profile\/dietz-thomas\/\">Thomas Dietz<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.seri-us.org\/content\/paul-c-stern\">Paul C. Stern<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/elliott.gwu.edu\/rycroft\">Robert W. Rycroft<\/a>. 1989. <a href=\"http:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007%2FBF01112616\">\u201cDefinitions of Conflict and the Legitimation of Resources: The Case of Environmental Risk.\u201d <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007%2FBF01112616\"><em>Sociological Forum<\/em><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007%2FBF01112616\"> 4(1):47\u201370.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/sociology.okstate.edu\/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=61&amp;Itemid=86\">Riley E. Dunlap<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/politicalscience.cos.ucf.edu\/ecology\/members\/dr-peter-jacques\/\">Peter J. Jacques<\/a>. 2013. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3787818\/\">\u201cClimate Change Denial Books and Conservative Think Tanks: Exploring the Connection.\u201d <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3787818\/\"><em>American Behavioral Scientist<\/em><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3787818\/\"> 57(6):699\u2013731.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.iup.edu\/page.aspx?id=98989\">Valerie J. Gunter<\/a>. 2005. <a href=\"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/j.1533-8525.2005.00031.x\/abstract\">\u201cNews Media and Technological Risks: The Case of Pesticides after \u2018Silent Spring.\u2019\u201d <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/j.1533-8525.2005.00031.x\/abstract\"><em>The Sociological Quarterly<\/em><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/j.1533-8525.2005.00031.x\/abstract\"> 46(4):671\u201398.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/histsci.fas.harvard.edu\/people\/naomi-oreskes\">Naomi Oreskes<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.merchantsofdoubt.org\/authors.html\">Erik M. Conway<\/a>. 2010. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.merchantsofdoubt.org\/index.html\"><em>Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming<\/em><\/a>. New York: Bloomsbury Press.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5>Climate change denial is not simply the result of well funded public relations campaigns, however. It also reflects collective and individual anxieties and the difficulties of coming to terms with abstract and long-term risks. Everyday experiences, cultural norms, political beliefs, and religion shape how people come to terms with problems like climate change.<\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/sociology.ucsd.edu\/faculty\/bio\/_baks\/evansj.shtml.0045.0b4a.bak\">John H. Evans<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/sociology.ucsd.edu\/graduate\/JustinFeng.shtml\">Justin Feng<\/a>. 2013. <a href=\"http:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s10584-013-0946-6?no-access=true\">\u201cConservative Protestantism and Skepticism of Scientists Studying Climate Change.\u201d <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s10584-013-0946-6?no-access=true\"><em>Climatic Change<\/em><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s10584-013-0946-6?no-access=true\"> 121(4):595\u2013608.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/sociology.uoregon.edu\/profile\/norgaard\/\">Kari Marie Norgaard<\/a>. 2011. <a href=\"https:\/\/mitpress.mit.edu\/index.php?q=books\/living-denial\"><em>Living in Denial: Climate Change, Emotions, and Everyday Life<\/em><\/a>. MIT Press.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sscnet.ucla.edu\/soc\/faculty\/zhou\/\">Min Zhou<\/a>. 2015. <a href=\"http:\/\/iss.sagepub.com\/content\/30\/1\/61.abstract\">\u201cPublic Environmental Skepticism: A Cross-National and Multilevel Analysis.\u201d <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/iss.sagepub.com\/content\/30\/1\/61.abstract\"><em>International Sociology<\/em><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/iss.sagepub.com\/content\/30\/1\/61.abstract\"> 30(1):61\u201385.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For more on echo chambers and how climate change denial narratives gain credibility, check out <a href=\"http:\/\/contexts.org\/articles\/snowball\/\">this new piece over at <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/contexts.org\/articles\/snowball\/\"><em>Contexts<\/em><\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New York&#8217;s State Attorney has opened an investigation into whether ExxonMobil lied to the public and investors about the risks of climate change and funded outside groups to question climate science, even as the company\u2019s own expert researchers found\u00a0that fossil fuel emissions do, indeed, contribute to rising temperatures. The Exxon investigation reflects the broader politicization [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2000,"featured_media":850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,15,85],"tags":[833,33645,65,38546,1877,665],"class_list":["post-849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","category-culture","category-politics","tag-climate-change","tag-corporate-culture","tag-environment","tag-politics","tag-risk","tag-science"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/files\/2015\/12\/Screen-Shot-2015-12-09-at-11.03.21-AM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2000"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":854,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849\/revisions\/854"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}