TAKE US NOW BACK TO THE

BEGINNING OF THIS.

WHY IS THE UNITED STATES SORT OF

AN OUTLIER WHEN IT COMES TO THIS

ALMOST OFFICIAL POLICY IN THE

REPUBLICAN PARTY OF CLIMATE

DE

DENIALISM?

>> IT'S REMARKABLE ESPECIALLY

GIVEN THAT AS EARLY AS 1979 WE

HAD TOTAL SCIENTIFIC CONSENSUS

ON CLIMATE CHANGE, NOT JUST

WITHIN THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY,

BUT AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF THE

U.S. GOVERNMENT, THE

INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES, AND, OF

COURSE, THE OIL AND GAS

INDUSTRY.

THE FIRST EFFORTS, AND THIS IS

THE STORY OF "LOSING EARTH",

SCIENTISTS AND ACTIVISTS AND

BUREAUCRATS WHO TRIED TO MOVE

FROM THEORY TO ACTION, AND OVER

THE COURSE OF THE DECADE, '79 TO

'89, IT WAS NOT A PARTISAN

ISSUE.

THERE WERE SETBACKS, BUT BY THE

END OF THE DECADE THEY MOVED IT

THROUGH THE THRESHOLD OF A

SOLUTION, A BINDING RETREAT TO

REDUCE EMISSIONS THAT WOULD HAVE

BEEN SIGNED BY EVERY COUNTRY IN

THE WORLD, BUT AT THE LAST, NO,

I DIDN'T, U.S. DROPPED OUT.

IN RETROSPECT, THAT'S THE

CLOSEST WE'VE GOTTEN.

THAT'S ALSO THE MOMENT IN WHICH

THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY STARTED

TO WORK ON THIS PROPAGANDA AND

INFLUENCE CAMPAIGN THAT WE ARE

STILL IN THE GRIPS OF 40 YEARS

LATER.

>> YOU JUST TALKED ABOUT THE

INDUSTRY.

INDEED, IN THE LATE '80s THE

AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE

STARTED PAYING CERTAIN

SCIENTISTS TO WRITE OP-ED THAT

QUESTIONED GLOBAL WARMING.

HOW DID THAT GAIN TRACTION IN

THE MAINSTREAM?

>> IT'S A REMARKABLE STORY.

THE DIRECTOR OF THE

ENVIRONMENTAL UNIT AT API TOLD

ME ALL OF THIS WHEN I WAS DOING

MY RESEARCH THAT IN '89, AS IT

SEEMED THAT THERE WAS SURE TO BE

SOME KIND OF REGULATORY POLICY

AND SOME KIND OF GLOBAL RETREAT,

THE INDUSTRY STARTED TO FIGURE

OUT WHAT ITS PUBLIC STANCE

SHOULD BE.

THEY PUT TOGETHER A WORKING

GROUP AND THE CONCLUSION AT

FIRST WERE ESSENTIALLY WE SHOULD

TALK ABOUT THE UNCERTAINTY IN

THE SCIENCE, WHERE IT EXISTS,

THEY WEREN'T SAYING THAT THE

WHOLE SCIENCE WAS UNCERTAIN, AND

WE SHOULD MAKE SURE NO POLICY --

WE ENDORSE NO POLICY THAT

AFFECTS THE BOTTOM LINE.

THAT'S THE BEGINNING OF IT.

THEY START TO FIND A FEW

SCIENTISTS AND IT'S A VERY SMALL

FEW, ABOUT THREE OR FOUR PEOPLE

ORIGINALLY WHO ARE CLOSE TO THE

INDUSTRY AND CAN BE TRUSTED TO

WRITE EDITORIALS, OFTEN FOR A

FEE, $2,000 A POP AT THE TIME,

AND START TO SPEAK TO REPORTERS.

AND ALL OF A SUDDEN AN ISSUE

THAT AT THAT POINT WAS GAINING A

HUGE AMOUNT OF ATTENTION

NATIONALLY AND WAS NOT -- THERE

WEREN'T TWO SIDES.

EVERYONE WAS JUST CONCERNED IN

TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO

ABOUT IT.