ExxonMobil, the Rockefellers and Antarctic climate

FORCE team members at Mt. Bitgood.

Photo © Steve Tucker 

Now that we are getting a new U.S. president it’s worth asking how Trump sees the science of climate change. On the campaign trail, he called it a hoax. And he vowed to tear up the Paris Climate Agreement. He may be waffling a bit now – we’ll see, but the question I have is how did we get here? How did a man who will lead us and the world end up thinking so little if at all of climate science and climate change? It turns out he’s not the only one who got fooled. Here’s the story.

The New York Review of Books published an essay this week¹ (first of two parts) authored by two members of the Rockefeller Family Fund (RFF). The essay charges that ExxonMobil (Exxon) scientists knew about the rising threat of climate change and warned senior management that the company needed to heed these warnings. Instead ExxonMobil buried the findings under artificial argument, casting doubt on the science behind the findings – by their own scientists.

The RFF commissioned a group at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism to look into the public record of what Exxon knew and when, and what they then did. The Columbia group found that Exxon scientists first reported the threat of climate change to their business and our planet in 1977. Several other Exxon studies and reports reinforcing these findings followed through the decades. The article gives some powerful quotes from these scientists, that show they found and understood the threats, and passed them on to Exxon executives. A 1982 internal report by Marvin Glaser specifically warned of the melting of the Antarctic Ice Sheet in the twenty-first century.

Mount Luyendyk, Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica

Mount Luyendyk. Photo © Christine Siddoway 

Faithful Followers.

I have been absent for quite a while now working on revisions to my book White Ocean. One of the interesting things that happened in the last year was the naming of a mountain in Antarctica for me! What an honor! I owe it my my former student and now Professor Christine Siddoway who nominated my name to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Such a warm feeling I have for a truly frigid place!

Our team camped at the foot of Mount Luyendyk over Christmas 1989. At that time the mountain was named “1070” on a reconnaissance map. The photo on this page was taken by Christine during a fly-in on a subsequent visit in 2010.

Our 1989 visit was notable for the dramatic scenery and stunning weather - that didn’t last long. We were hit by a ferocious blizzard followed by a whiteout that kept us tent-bound for several days.

Here are details:

Geographic Names Information System

Mount Luyendyk

76 29 20.63 S; 146 01 37.05 W

1070 meters (approx.)

“A summit, the northern portion of the Mount Iphigene massif in the northwestern part of Fosdick Mountains of the Ford Ranges, 2.5 miles south of Thompson Ridge between Marujupu Peak and Birchall Peaks. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names for Bruce P. Luyendyk, professor (emeritus) at the University of California Santa Barbara who has been active in international Antarctic research for 25 years. He was responsible for two expeditions and was principal investigator for five marine geophysical expeditions focusing on the Ross Sea area. His cumulative research, findings, and publications have significantly increased scientific knowledge in Antarctica.”

A news release from UC Santa Barbara about Mt. Luyendyk is here!