No Ebell till Bali

The COP-13 Bali Conference is open, just in time to welcome the new government of Australia, after the lying, cheating, Bush-lite, waste of space premiership of John Howard got resoundingly kicked out of office by a public who was no longer able to be ignorant of the desperate facts. There is some feeling of hope in the world, although it is probably too little too late.

Ever willing to be unhelpful, Myron Ebell put out a false statement that he is a "Global Warming Expert" available for interview, adding the quote:

"With many European countries failing to meet their Kyoto targets and major developing world emitters like China and India refusing to make any concessions, it has become clear that the United Nations’ global warming strategy has failed. Another round of promises to reduce emissions may make the delegates feel good, but the Kyoto Protocol has demonstrated that meaningless symbolism can be very expensive."

I'm not sure what he means by "very expensive", but I do know that Exxon paid the salaries for lot guys like Myron Ebell whose job was to make sure that the Kyoto Protocol failed, so he probably has the figures.

Myron also has the figures for the state of American journalism today, by the number of reporters who phoned him up on 202-320-6685 for his set of predictable lies and harmful garbage with which to derange the general public.

Meanwhile, Exxon was only yesterday taking out its full page ads in places like the International Herald Tribune to tell us about their battery powered cars in 5 words or less. You don't even need to be fooled when they publish their outrageous op-ed on-line confirming the a policy of on-going wars for oil with:

"Most of the world's major economies import oil and natural gas to meet their energy needs... Some have argued for closing doors to oil and gas imports and pursuing 'energy independence.' This approach would reduce Americans' choices and weaken the international system of energy trade and investment that enables the development of additional supplies."

There is a long way for this to go. The Climate is here to remind people that this mixed PR is not good enough. The crimes have gone too deep. Nothing less than public statement apologizing for the funding of Myron Ebell and his pals over the last ten years, plus a complete, unequivocal account and refutation of everything he's said on their behalf, can be accepted. This is a matter of community service; just as a person who gets caught dropping litter has to clean the streets for seven days, the corporate PR industry must be obliged to undo the mess they have deliberately imprinted onto the public consciousness.

The Myron Ebells of this world need to be seen to be humiliated. They can't just sink away like a nuclear waste spill.