People still buy real estate that will be underwater in a few decades. Think about that.
The reason we don't take global warming seriously in America is because ExxonMobil has been spending millions and millions of dollars funding a PR campaign designed to shift our attention away from the problem. This has been very good for business for them, but it has caused each and every one of us to behave in ways that are counter to our OWN - and society's - interests.
One day this will change. One day the consequences of global warming will become too serious to ignore. One day ExxonMobil will stop paying the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Center for Defense of Free Enterprise and Citizens for a Sound Economy and the American Enterprise Institute and the Frontiers of Freedom Institute and the Heritage Foundation and the Hoover Institution and the National Center for Policy Analysis and the hundreds of other right-wing "think tanks" they pay to tell us global warming is a hoax (read the report), and then the fog will start to lift and we will start to see the world as it is -- the "reality-based" world we live in rather than the one we see on TV.
Think about what will happen to real estate prices in coastal areas when we do start taking global warming seriously. How much will people pay for real estate that is going to be under water in a few decades?
Comments (3)
I'm waiting for the lawsuits to start. When lung cancer and emphysema patients and bereaved relatives realized that the tobacco companies had LIED about the harmful effects of smoking, they started corrective action. That means using the tort system to get the perps to pay for the harm they did.
How long is it going to take for homeowners to start suing ExxonMobil and its cronies for perpetrating the lies that have delaying dealing with global warming, and thus led to coastal flooding, catastrophic storms, and loss of the market value of beachfront property? What about Hilton Head Island real estate? Downtown Manhattan?
Keep your eyes open for pro-active, self-protective maneuvers by the energy companies & their political allies--further undermining of tort law (including trial lawyers, class action suits, punitive damages), and laws that prevent injured parties from suing for harm from "acts of nature." No way--those forces are the result of unrestrained greed and out-of-control capitalism.
The lawsuits will have a better chance if they address the whole causal chain--the specific scientific evidence that can link specific events to global warming, as well as the deceitful actions of ExxonMobil, et al. That will be the equivalent of showing that tobacco causes bronchial cell mutations that in turn become cancer, as well as the fact that the tobacco companies knew & lied about it.
Posted by Kate Forrest![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://blog.commonwealinstitute.org/nav-commenters.gif)
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January 9, 2007 11:59 AM
Posted on January 9, 2007 11:59
Just last week I saw that Exxon Mobil is signalling they are backing away from the global warming skeptics and they are starting to meet with environmentalists. It seems like they've realized they can't stop the coming regulations, so they want a seat at the table in shaping them. Nevertheless, we need to make sure they are held accountable for what they've done.
Posted by Mary![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://blog.commonwealinstitute.org/nav-commenters.gif)
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January 21, 2007 10:41 PM
Posted on January 21, 2007 22:41
ExxonMobil has used the laudable goal of improving scientific understanding of global warming—under the guise of "sound science"—for the pernicious ends of delaying action to reduce heat-trapping emissions indefinitely. ExxonMobil also exerted unprecedented influence over U.S. policy on global warming, from successfully recommending the appointment of key personnel in the Bush administration to funding climate change deniers in Congress.
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Marine Engineers Beneficial
Posted by galin![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://blog.commonwealinstitute.org/nav-commenters.gif)
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August 3, 2007 10:09 AM
Posted on August 3, 2007 10:09