A friend sent me a link to this page on the Heartland Institute yesterday and I have to say it’s terrible. Don’t get me wrong, science will always have its skeptics and skepticism is necessary to keep science on the right path but what the oil industry is doing will destroy the planet as we know it.

That there is no convincing evidence that CO2 emissions from modern industrial activity has in the past, is now, or will in the future cause catastrophic climate change.

The blatant funding of organizations willing to release junk science is down right dangerous in our current climate situation. A little digging shows whom else but Exxon as a large contributor to the organization.

Anyone who’s read neutral science publications will know that climate change is the biggest threat to our civilization and that something must be done. Despite what the Heartland Institute may lead you to believe, there’s little doubt among scientists that climate change is real and is a problem that we brought upon ourselves. If you’re not familiar with the issues associated check out NewScientist’s excellent round up. Most articles discussed are peer reviewed which means they stack up to scientific scrutiny, a step that skeptics often skip.

What the oil industry is doing right now is exactly the same as what tobacco did in the 60s and 70s. At least back then if you chose not to believe you’re only harming yourself, now we have the whole world to think about. Oh coincidently, the Heartland Institute is also a defender of smoking that in itself should tell you much about its scientific know how.