Mark Ruffalo is angry about the lies spread by oil companies — and you wouldn't like him when he's angry.
"Big Oil has a new playbook, but we're on to it," the actor begins a video he posted to Instagram.
For decades, dirty energy companies have denied that the climate is rapidly changing, and burning fuels like oil, coal, and gas are the primary drivers behind it. As Ruffalo pointed out, "Big Oil" has moved on from trying to deny climate change and is focusing its sights on another form of misinformation.
The actor explained that researchers for the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that the messaging has shifted after analyzing countless hours of climate-denier talking points on YouTube.
"They're going after the solutions we need to transition to a safer future, like renewable energy and electric vehicles. And they're waging personal attacks against accomplished scientists."
How long have dirty energy companies been lying to us? Recently unearthed documents show it goes back to at least 1954 when fossil fuel industry-funded research into climate science showed Earth's rising carbon dioxide levels.
Then, in 1977, a senior scientist from Exxon delivered a message to oil executives that carbon dioxide produced by burning oil and coal would overheat the planet. The company spent significant resources over the next decade studying the climate's reaction to the buildup of carbon in the air, so those within the organization had a clear understanding of the devastating impact burning oil has on our environment, according to Inside Climate News.
However, that did not stop the company from launching a decades-long misinformation campaign that criticized the science of climate change.
Exxon and other dirty energy companies worked together to create the Global Climate Coalition. Documents gathered by the Climate Investigations Center show that DCC worked to "carefully pick apart established climate science, emphasize uncertainty, and advocate for regulatory inaction to the public, media, lawmakers, and government representatives."
It's getting more difficult to deny the reality behind climate change. The science is so overwhelming, and people are experiencing it in their lives as more intense storms, wildfires, and droughts wreak havoc around the globe.
That's why we need to leave dirty energy in the past and move forward with cleaner energy sources like solar, wind, water, and nuclear power — it's key to cooling down our planet.
"Big Oil is doing this because they know we're winning. They're getting their a**** handed to them," Ruffalo said at the end of his video. "Let's keep winning and let's keep spreading the truth about climate change."
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