Ken Berwitz
Dear President Obama, Attorney General Lynch, and OSTPDirector Holdren,
As you know, an overwhelming majorityof climate scientists are convinced about the potentially serious adverseeffects of human-induced climate change on human health, agriculture, andbiodiversity. We applaud your efforts to regulate emissions and the other stepsyou are taking. Nonetheless, as climate scientists we are exceedingly concernedthat America\’s response to climate change – indeed, the world\’s response toclimate change – is insufficient. The risks posed by climate change, includingincreasing extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and increasing oceanacidity – nd potential strategies for addressing them – are detailed in theThird National Climate Assessment (2014), Climate Change Impacts in the UnitedStates. The stability of the Earth\’s climate over the past ten thousand yearscontributed to the growth of agriculture and therefore, a thriving humancivilization. We are now at high risk of seriously destabilizing the Earth\’sclimate and irreparably harming people around the world, especially the world\’spoorest people.
We appreciate that you are makingaggressive and imaginative use of the limited tools available to you in theface of a recalcitrant Congress. One additional tool – recently proposed bySenator Sheldon Whitehouse – is a RICO (Racketeer Influenced and CorruptOrganizations Act) investigation of corporations and other organizations thathave knowingly deceived the American people about the risks of climate change,as a means to forestall America’s response to climate change. The actions ofthese organizations have been extensively documented in peer reviewed academicresearch (Brulle, 2013) and in recent books including: Doubt is their Product(Michaels, 2008), Climate Cover-Up (Hoggan & Littlemore, 2009), Merchantsof Doubt (Oreskes & Conway, 2010), The Climate War (Pooley, 2010), and inThe Climate Deception Dossiers (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2015). Westrongly endorse Senator Whitehouse\’s call for a RICO investigation.
The methods of these organizations arequite similar to those used earlier by the tobacco industry. A RICO investigation(1999 to 2006) played an important role in stopping the tobacco industry fromcontinuing to deceive the American people about the dangers of smoking. Ifcorporations in the fossil fuel industry and their supporters are guilty of themisdeeds that have been documented in books and journal articles, it isimperative that these misdeeds be stopped as soon as possible so that Americaand the world can get on with the critically important business of findingeffective ways to restabilize the Earth\’s climate, before even more lastingdamage is done.
Sincerely,
