DeSmogBlog

At a recent dinner party the topics of global climate change, species loss and sustainability came up again and again. The thing that perplexed everyone was, "Why is no one taking the issue seriously?" Evidence of global warming has been mounting steadily for years and the general consensus of the scientific community is that the climate is warming, due at least in part, to humans releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Many people, this author included, feel that the issues of climate change and species loss are the most important ones before us today. We are risking our future by not actively addressing the unsustainable nature of human activities on earth today.

Jim Hoggan, founder of James Hoggan & Associates, one of Canada's leading public relations firms, thinks experts in his field are clouding the debate on climate change. Hoggan writes for the blog, DeSmogBlog, whose mission is to debunk the climate change deniers who use suspect science and a host of public relations trickery to confuse and mislead the public on this critical issue. He writes, "…it is infuriating - as a public relations professional - to watch my colleagues use their skills, their training and their considerable intellect to poison the international debate on climate change.

That's what is happening today, and I think it's a disgrace. On one hand, you have the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the largest and most rigorously peer-reviewed scientific consensus in history, advising that: climate change is real; it is caused by human activity; and it is threatening the planet in ways we can only begin to imagine.

On the other hand, you have an ongoing public debate - not about how to respond, but about whether we should bother, about whether climate change is even a scientific certainty.

This is a triumph of disinformation. It is a living proof of the success of one of the boldest and most extensive PR campaigns in history, primarily financed by the energy industry and executed by some of the best PR talent in the world. As a public relations practitioner, it is a marvel - and a deep humiliation - and I want to see it stop."

Link: DeSmogBlog Debate. Debunk. Decide.

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 2:01 PM on February 27, 2006

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