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Exxon CEO: Warming Happening, But Fears Overblown

Freshly Exhumed writes "In a speech Wednesday, ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson acknowledged that burning of fossil fuels is warming the planet, but said society will be able to adapt. The risks of oil and gas drilling are well understood and can be mitigated, he said. And dependence on other nations for oil is not a concern as long as access to supply is certain, he said. Tillerson blamed a public that is "illiterate" in science and math, a "lazy" press, and advocacy groups that "manufacture fear" for energy misconceptions in a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations."

16 of 288 comments (clear)

  1. C'mon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Tillerson blamed a public that is "illiterate" in science and math, a "lazy" press

    Yes, the public is about as smart as a rock. But that doesn't mean you need to spin it. Desertification of wide swaths of land as well as the acidification of the oceans will be pretty hard to deal with.

    And dependence on other nations for oil is not a concern as long as access to supply is certain

    Not a concern for Exxon, he means.

    1. Re:C'mon by MightyMartian · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Indeed. We are now at the point in the anti-science strategy where you admit some minimalistic version of what the science is saying, but spin it so that the admission isn't a big deal.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    2. Re:C'mon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The 1% should care because if recent history is a guide, anarchy tends to lead to communism. And communists like to put those of the 1% that they don't execute into labor camps.

    3. Re:C'mon by Schmorgluck · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Actually, Tillerson cleverly attacks the weakest part of research about climate change: the prospective part, about its consequences. Remember it was in that part of the IPCC report that there was reviewing issues.

      Since the hard sciences part turned out to be rock solid, staying in denial of it would have been disingenuous.

      --
      There's nothing like $HOME
    4. Re:C'mon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      In other words, we're at stage two.
      (For the uninitiated:
      - In stage one we say nothing is going to happen.
      - Stage two, we say something may be about to happen, but we should do nothing about it.
      - In stage three, we say that maybe we should do something about it, but there's nothing we *can* do.
      - Stage four, we say maybe there was something we could have done, but it's too late now.)

    5. Re:C'mon by Dahamma · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Tillerson blamed a public that is "illiterate" in science and math, a "lazy" press

      The irony is the majority of people who are *literate* in science and math (including, what, about 95% of climate scientists?) agree that global warming is real and we need to do something about it. It's the scientifically illiterate who keep trying to claim (with their scientifically illiterate arguments, of course) that it's all a big conspiracy with no scientific support...

    6. Re:C'mon by kermidge · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "....society will be able to adapt."

      really means, "I've got mine. Screw everybody else."

  2. Standard PR by geekoid · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Deny
    Undervalue impact
    Disassociate
    Imply fix.

    On the plus side,now that the CEO of Exxon has also said that the increase in temperatures over standard cycles i.e. Global Warming, is man made, I'm sure all you deniers will now apologize fro being wrong.

    haha, of course you want. You entrenched into an emotional opinion, so actual facts will never change you mind.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    1. Re:Standard PR by TapeCutter · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yes it's a fact that nobody has a good ice cap model. Simarly nobody has a solution to the N-body problem, so does that mean the theory of gravity is wrong?

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    2. Re:Standard PR by Schmorgluck · · Score: 5, Insightful

      So you are pretending that deforestation has been reversed? I didn't get the memo.

      --
      There's nothing like $HOME
  3. Amazing! by SoftwareArtist · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The CEO of an oil company tells us that burning oil isn't such a big problem! Well, I guess we can all stop worrying about that then.

    --
    "I'm too busy to research this and form an educated opinion, but I do have time to tell everyone my uninformed opinion."
  4. No, no, no! by StefanJ · · Score: 5, Insightful

    4. Huh . . . well, look at that. Hurricanes in January. Hey, this is not a time to play the blame game. No one could have foreseen this would happen.
    5. Something must be done. Level headed people like us. Introducing Exxon Atmospheric Engineering Associates.
    6. OK, that didn't work. But hey, neon green sunsets . . . cool!
    7. Look you'all knew for decades that our product could lead to this, but you CHOSE to ignore the warnings by scientists rather than taking responsibility and choosing to use renewable energy. We were just selling a product people wanted and freely chose to use.

  5. relocation by Phoenix666 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Can we relocate this guy's mouth to 1 inch above sea level? If sea level remains the same, he has nothing to worry about. If not, well, the world will be less one asshole.

    --
    Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
  6. ExxonMobil's science education ads by ErnoWindt · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What's really nutty about ExxonMobil is that on the one hand, they are spending millions on TV, radio and print ads on how the US needs to improve math and science education, but at the same time roughly two-thirds of their political contributions (corporation and employees) are to Republican candidates. To a person, Republicans have conducted an all-out war on free public education, teachers, and teachers unions over the last 30 years. The leading US scientists over the last 100 years did not, in general, attend tony prep schools or come from wealthy families. If ExxonMobil is actually serious about improving math and science education in the US, they'll stop funding Republican candidates and start funding Democrats, as well as making targeted gifts to grammar and high school math and science programs around the country.

  7. Have you stopped driving your car yet? by Charliemopps · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We're going to hear lots of lamenting and hating of Exxon, but they're just a business providing what their customers want. And sad to say... all of you that are bitching about them ARE their customers. I've got one question for you: Have you stopped driving you car yet? Stopped using busses? Stopped using electricity? No? The problem isn't Exxon, the problem is we the people. We WILL use all of the fossil fuels. We'll burn them till their gone. Even if the US and Europe banned their use tomorrow, China, Russia, and Africa would gladly take up the slack.

    So the question isn't "How do we find alternatives to fossil fuels" because we aren't going to find anything nearly as cheap and easy in the near future. The question is "how can we deal with whatever problems using them is going to cause?" If they really are going to cause so much damage it ends the world, then we're fucked. Cause it's going to happen. If, instead, it's going to gradually raise the tempureture of the planet over the next 200 year, then we'll likely be able to come up with some technology to help mitigate the effects. If we can't we'd better at least learn to deal with them... because the fact is, it's going to happen... no matter how much you complain on an internet forum using your computer with it's 500 watt power supply that you left on all day while you were at work.

  8. Of course not... by The+Master+Control+P · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And dependence on other nations for oil is not a concern as long as access to supply is certain, he said.

    Of course not, it's not as if it's your boys who are going to get sent off to get killed, maimed for life, and left with memories that will haunt them forever, you goddamn plutocrat fuck. It's not as if nearly all of our current national security headaches (and nearly all the people killed by terrorism in the world for the last 20 years) can be traced to our meddling in the middle east AT YOUR BEHEST AND ON YOUR BEHALF. Sweet Jesus on a pogo stick, don't you people pay handlers to prevent us from seeing just what massive assholes you are?

    Notice how we never, ever hear this kind of despicable statement from people like Joe Biden, or the English royals, both of of whom have family serving? You will find no record of President Eisenhower blithely insulting the difficult job the men in Korea faced (I wonder why!). Yet there is a word that specifically refers to the kind of twunts who don't serve, then loudly cheer to have others sent to die (especially if they use privilege to avoid serving after being called to): chickenhawks. They are despicable and should be loudly shamed at every opportunity.