On this day in 2006 Australian academic Clive Hamilton gave a speech in an Australian country town called Adelaide. In it he named his “dirty dozen” of polluters who were preventing climate action. The list included South Australian Senator Nick Minchin, Prime Minister John Howard, journalists and business figures.
Hamilton was, at that time one of scandalously few academics trying to talk about we’re one of the few academics trying to talk about the capture of the Australian state by fossil interests. He had also co-edited a volume called “Silencing Dissent.”
There was no comeback to his speech. Nobody sued.
Why this matters
For a long time, from the early 90s through to the mid-2000s, climate change – and especially resistance to climate policy – was a very very niche area. There really were not that many people trying to keep tabs on who was slowing down what, and how.
What happened next
The Dirty Dozen continued to be dirty. The moment of concern was hijacked and wasted. Australia has had an horrific time of it with climate policy, gridlock and mayhem. Carpe the diems.
Here’s an account
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/dirty-dozen-accused-over-fossil-fuels/2006/02/20/1140284009877.html