Twenty nine years ago, on this day, June 23rd, 1997
American Petroleum Institute US newspaper advert in run up to Senate Vote, addressed to Clinton…
The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was 364ppm. As of 2026, when this post was published, it is 430ppm. This matters because the more carbon dioxide in the air, the more heat gets trapped. The more heat, the more extreme weather events. You can make it more complicated than that if you want, but really, it’s not. Fwiw, I have a tattoo of the Keeling Curve on my left forearm.
The broader context for this was that the American Petroleum Institute had been funding research into atmospheric pollution for a loooong time – see Rebecca John’s New Evidence Reveals Fossil Fuel Industry Sponsored Climate Science in 1954. And from 1965 onwards, the API knew, but then so did everyone, because Lyndon Johnson’s PSAC committee had released a report called “Restoring the Natural Environment”, and the API president had name-checked it in a speech in 1965.
The API had then been involved in a carbon dioxide task force in 1980 along with Texaco Chevron and Exxon. The API knew about the issue. And the API did what Texas Exxon did, which is resist action on climate change.The API will also have been involved, I’m sure, in the Global Climate Coalition.
The specific context was that the US had signed up to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change, and had also agreed to the Berlin mandate in 1995 which said that the world’s industrialised nations would turn up at the third COP with concrete plans for reducing their own emissions.
That conference, the Kyoto conference, was due to be held in December of 1997 and a proper shit storm of propaganda and legislative blocking had been underway. I.e.he Byrd-Hagel resolution, which had passed 95 to zero, further efforts to fire warning shots across Clinton’s bows, and this, of course, was after Clinton had won his election against Bob Dole in 1996.Clinton had then given a speech at the Great Barrier Reef shortly after being re-elected.
What I think we can learn is this: is that the API has been a force for evil for a very long time, as you’d expect.
What happened next: Although the US turned up to Kyoto and made the right noises, in 2000 the Supreme Court handed the election to George W Bush; and Al Gore therefore did not become President. It would have been a little bit more interesting on climate if he had, possibly not that much more interesting though.
Anyhoos, the API kept doing what the API does. We as a species, kept burning fossil fuels, for warmth, for locomotion, for light, for you, name it, convenience.
And therefore the emissions continued to grow, and therefore the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere continued to grow, and therefore the amount of heat from the sun trapped by that carbon dioxide continued to grow, and therefore the ice caps continued to melt, and the heat waves continued to become sharper, and all the other consequences that flow on from that.
You can see the chronological list of All Our Yesterdays “on this day” posts here.
What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.
If you want to get involved, let me know.
If you want to invite me on your podcast, that would boost my ego and probably improve the currently pitiful hit-rate on this site (the two are not-unrelated).
Also on this day:
June 23, 1969 – Cuyahoga river catches fire. Again –
June 23, 1980 – G7 in Venice aims to sink Venice…
June 23, 1988 – it’s time to stop waffling and say the greenhouse effect is here
June 23, 1989 – Richo gonna save the world…
June 23, 1991 – Japanese propose pledge and review