63. Climate Memo Mondays, February 21, 2022
Public Relations and FF Companies
Rise of Authoritarian Rule: Hett’s Book on Hitler
Mother Jones’s Commitment to Cover War on Democracy
No War with Russia: Spend that Money on the Climate Emergency
Fossil Fuels “Public Relations”: Edelman
Why Fossil Fuels Companies Have Been Able to Continue
Extracting Oil, Coal, Gas? Public Relations Is One Explanation. From 350.org
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For decades, fossil fuel companies have used public relations (PR) firms to fabricate their image, protect their reputation, greenwash their activities, and spread disinformation to the public.
These PR firms operate in the shadows, but they are a key element of Big Oil’s success in deceiving the public and stopping any progress on climate action. It’s time to bring them out of the shadows and put a face to their deception.
The world’s largest PR firm, Edelman, is one of the top offenders – taking $439.7 million from the American Petroleum Institute (the U.S.’s largest oil and gas trade group) all while claiming they promote ‘climate-friendly values.', , , ,
.We need to increase the pressure on the PR giant in order for them to drop their oil and gas industry clients. Sign our petition to Edelman today? Sign the petition »
Danger of Death of US Democracy Increasing:
Big Oil’s success in deceiving the public and stopping any progress on climate action is one force of many undermining the essential needs of people. We can learn from aglance back at Hitler’s success.
It reminds us of Hitler’s takeover of the Weimar Republic by taking over the institutions of that state: By late summer of 1934, all effective political opposition to Nazi rule had decisively failed. The political parties, the labor unions, the corporations, the Reichstag, the cabinet, the federal states, and the SA had been brought under control. The remaining source of resistance, the army, was made content by its expansion and Hitler’s shredding of the Treaty of Versailles. From August 1934, “the switches were set for war” to become an economic superpower “by seizing a massive land empire in Eastern Europe.” (Benjamin Hett, The Death of Democracy, 231).
The war on the US democracy reported in Mother Jones:
Monica Bauerlein. “Break the Glass: It’s Time to Cover the War on Democracy like the Emergency It Is.” Mother Jones (March-April, 2022). Several articles report on the growth of the right wing:
Ari Berman. “The Coming Coup.” “The insurrectionists failed to topple a fair election. But Republican legislators are succeeding at seizing control of how—and if—votes are counted.”
Kathryn Joyce. “Holy War.” Militant right-wing are seeking to remake the Catholic Church.
Dan Friedman. “The Influencer.” Guo Wengui, the fugitive Chinese tycoon, Steve Bannon, and other MAGA luminaries have joined forces to blanket the web with far-right propaganda.
And a chapter in a book: Bill Fletcher Jr.: “Trump and the Danger of Right-Wing Populism in the U.S.,” New Polarizations, Old Contradictions, ed. Greg Albo, et al. 2022.
RELATED FROM VETERANS FOR PEACE: WAR AND WARMING
“CLIMATE JUSTICE AND THE NEED FOR PEACE” VFP Weekly E-News (2-9-22).
Allies joined Veterans For Peace on Saturday, February 5, the national day of action to say No War With Russia! Sixty concerned citizens gathered in front of Senator Wyden’s office building and along nearby Lloyd Boulevard. Wyden, along with Senator Merkley, is a co-sponsor of the “Rush and Crush” Senate Bill 3488, to rush $500 million for weapons to the Ukrainian government and crush the Russian economy with sanctions. Where’s the urgency about getting billions of dollars to deal with the climate crisis? Read More!