Wonder no longer – Rolling Stone has made a list: 12 Politicians and Execs Blocking Progress on Global Warming.
It’s far from exhaustive, but gives a pretty representative sample of the main players in the US, as well as some more familiar faces.
Rupert Murdoch takes the (coveted?) #1 spot, thanks to the continued efforts of The Australian and Fox News to obscure debate and promote doubt in climate science (but it’s always important to consult the experts when reporting on serious matters).
The Koch brothers’ bankrolling of last year’s Proposition 23 (later defeated by a a 23% margin) in California prompted then-Governer Schwarzenegger to aggressively defend the state’s climate legislation, prompting this response to the oil companies’ claims they were trying to protect jobs:
“This is like Eva Braun selling a kosher cookbook. It’s not about jobs at all. It’s about their ability to pollute and protect their profits,” he said.
Bjørn Lomborg now seems to think that climate change is a problem, but just don’t ask how his new film fared.
And then there’s Sarah Palin.
Who would make it onto an Australian-flavoured list? I have a few ideas.
1. Rupert Murdoch –CEO, News Corporation
2. Charles and David Koch –CEO and Executive VP, Koch Industries
3. Sarah Palin –Retired half-term governor, Alaska
4. Gregory Boyce – CEO, Peabody Energy
5. Tom Donahue – President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
6. Rex Tillerson – CEO, ExxonMobil
7. Tim Phillips – President, Americans for Prosperity
8. Ken Cuccinelli – Attorney general, Virginia
9. Sen. Jay Rockefeller – Democrat, West Virginia
10. Rep. Darrell Issa – Republican, California
11. Bjørn Lomborg – Author, “Cool It”
12. Rep. Fred Upton – Republican, Michigan
They only go so far – I suspect they only needed to get the doubt snow ball rolling and now, as we see in pop media and on the blogosphere, everyone’s a climate science expert only too willing to tell us why it’s flawed.
We can only hope that the work we do at least assists the resilience of ecosystems as climate shifts and try to provide some guidance to increasing urban sustainability, while the slower members finally catch up.
No mention of Kevin Rudd, Julia or Mr Obama. Just who is running the ship at present?