EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
CEI:
Carbon dioxide: they call it pollution, we call it life.
BP:
[C]arbon dioxide emissions, the chief gas implicated in global warming.
FULL STORY BELOW THE FOLD:
By now, most folks here have heard about the
laughable ads from CEI, an Exxon/Mobil front group that is attempting to undermine Al Gore's new movie by promoting the wonders of carbon dioxide. According to
CEI, the ads are targeted at:
Global warming alarmism and the call by some environmental groups and politicians to reduce fossil fuel use and carbon dioxide emissions.
Got that? Only crazy folks want to reduce carbon emissions -- global warming alarmists, environmental groups, politicians and . . . British Petroleum?
It's time to go on a low-carbon diet.
- Headline, BP Print Ad
What's that all about?
Our latest print advertisement outlines some of the BP projects aimed at reducing the emissions that may cause global warming.
The emerging consensus is that climate change is, at least in part, linked to the production and consumption of carbon based fuels. As a major energy supplier it's only right that we at BP play a part in finding and implementing solutions to one of the greatest challenges of this century.
Our latest print advertisement outlines just some of our key projects that are aimed at reducing carbon emissions.
Oh, come on, that must be some ad they put together for the Village Voice and the Nation -- they wouldn't say that in a publication read by real DC movers and shakers.
But wait . . . what's this screaming ad headline I see in the latest Foreign Affairs (no link available):
How do we take the carbon out of carbon-based energy?
I read on:
. . . The power sector is currently the largest single source of carbon dioxide emissions, which have been linked to climate change. . . . By increasing the availability of low-carbon power, we think these technologies can significantly reduce carbon dioxide emission in the energy sector. In fact, BP Alternative Energy aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 24 million metric tons . . .
And dig a little deeper into the BP site and you find this straightforward explanation of the link between carbon dioxide and carbon emissions:
Whether in coal, oil or gas, carbon is the essential ingredient of all fossil fuels. When these fuels are burned to provide energy, carbon dioxide (CO2), a "greenhouse gas", is released to the Earth's atmosphere.
As we've become more dependent on carbon-based fuels, we've seen a rapid increase in the atmospheric concentration of CO2; from around 280 parts per million (ppm) before the industrial revolution, to 370 ppm today. If current trends of fossil fuel use continue the concentration of CO2 is likely to exceed 700 ppm by the end of this century.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), this could lead to global warming of between 1.4 and 5.8°C, more frequent severe weather conditions and damage to many natural ecosystems.
Paging CEI . . . clean up in aisle 5 . . . one of the world largest oil companies has admitted that the entire premise of your ad campaign is false.
EPILOGUE:
CEI:
Our `carbon footprints' have become the environmentalist version of criminal fingerprints.
BP:
CARBON FOOTPRINT CALCULATOR
What size is your carbon footprint?
The first step to lowering carbon emissions is to understand your carbon footprint. This tool helps you to estimate your household CO2 emissions and shows how different lifestyle choices, household features and new technologies affect the size of your footprint.
NOTE: This diary is not intended to leave the impression that BP actually lives up to the rhetoric in its enviro-friendly advertisements. It's merely intended to reveal that even BP -- one of the world's largest oil companies -- isn't willing to peddle the line CEI is pushing on behalf of Exxon-Mobil.