Confirming Climate Change
Climate change is a topic of debate for tens of millions of Americans. The premise of this book is that oil companies were aware of the potential for their business to impact climate change since at least the middle of the previous century. Many of the predictions about climate change raised at that time have since come to pass. One of the overarching themes of the book is based upon this factual confirmation that man-made climate change is not theoretical, but demonstrable fact.
Big Business Lies
The revelation that the oil industry was made aware of the science of climate change going all the way back to the 1950s brings the other major theme into focus. The oil company is situated as being akin to the tobacco industry which knew of the health dangers of smoking and covered it up. The theme of how big businesses are inherently willing to sacrifice the health of the population in order to protect profits is the driving force behind the book. The willingness of the oil industry to ignore, hide, and lie about scientific warnings of the damage their business practices were causing becomes indicative of a systemic failure within the capitalist system.
Power of Disinformation
The oil industry did not just play a defining role in the current climate threat facing the planet. One of the reasons that climate change remains a topic for debate despite overwhelming factual evidence is the existence of a well-funded and robustly targeted campaign of disinformation. The funds supporting this campaign derive in large part from the companies that have been aware they are causing climate change for more than half a century. The book pursues the theme that the oil industry is not just complicit in creating the climate crisis already threatening millions, but is equally complicit in delaying action to address the threat by creating unfounded suspicions about the reality of the problem.
