>Those outside the consensus shrink in number.
But here I have to ask, have I passed through the looking glass?
Presumably the consensus is so strong that the Kyoto agreement has been signed by everyone (not Rumania alone) and the US president has not denounced it.
Presumably the consensus is so strong that Ralph Nader was mistaken when he told Newsnight last night that Kyoto would never have passed congress, being opposed by the overwhelming majority not just of republicans but also democrats.
Presumably the consensus is so strong that individual Americans (including those on this list) have massively reduced their consumption of energy, not increased it by around ten per cent in the last ten years.
Or perhaps, more likely, the consensus that energy consumption must be reduced is one of those religious beliefs that one never expects to be realised. Oh yes, Americans tell the rest of the world, its terrible having our standard of living, you really wouldn't want it you know. We'd give it up ourselves if we weren't so weak. Maybe you think the rest of us were born yesterday.
>Business Week writes in
>its April 9 issue:
>
>"Where there's smoke... Evidence that human activity causes global
>warming is ever more convincing, and many executives feel that curbs
>are inevitable... Multinationals like Dupont and Alcoa worry that
>other countries might move ahead on climate change without the U.S.,
>thus hurting competitiveness...."
But why would you be surprised that environmentalism is favoured by big business? The modern environmental movement is a creation of big business. Its founding document, Limits to Growth was commissioned by the Club of Rome industrialists' association. Its key figures like Lord Peter Melchett, Oliver Goldsmith, Dennis Meadowes and Paul Ehrlich were all right wingers.
Look who funds environmentalism today:
World Wildlife Fund Annual Budget $60,791,945 (1993) Staff 244 Major Donors: Chevronm, Exxon, Philip Morris, Mobil and Morgan Guaranty
Nature Conservancy Annual Budget $278,497,634 (1993) Net Assets $885,115,125 (1993) Staff 1,150 Main backers Rockefeller Trust, Mellon Trust
National Wildlife Federation Annual Budget $82,816,324 (1994) Staff 608 Contributors: Arco, Du Pont, Ciba Geigy
Greenpeace Annual Budget $11,411,050 (Greenpeace Fund Inc, 1992); $37,805,230 (Greenpeace Inc, 1993) Staff: 250. Offices in 30 countries.
Sierra Club Annual Budget: $41,716,044 (1992) Staff 325
In 1992, the Club made $156,322 in interest on temporary investments and $654,624 in dividends and interests from securities, had $7,979,267 in investments, and estate bequests of $348,938.
National Audobon Society Annual Budget $40,081,591 (1992) Staff 315
Contributors include: Bank of Boston, The Ford Foundation, General Electric, HJ Heinz Co., Monsanto [yes, Monsanto], New York Times, Proctor and Gamble,
Environmental Defence Fund Annual Budget: $17,392,230 (1993) Staff 110
Contributors include: Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Ford Foundation, the Fund for New Jersey, Richard King Mellon Foundation, Rockefeller Family Fund, Rockefeller Foundation, Streisand Foundation.
-- James Heartfield