Why We Need to Mobilize Against Exxon

From New Democratic Agenda:

Eric Larsen and Lonnie Dupre, of Greenpeace, who began their trek to the North Pole on May 1, reached their destination over the holiday weekend, and they report their own shock at the degree to which the ice is breaking up due to the effects of global warming:

Over the last 60 days, we have seen many signs of global warming, and the ice conditions have been much worse than we ever anticipated. The closer we got to our destination, the more the ice broke up. We spent more and more time in our canoes, and we really believe that we may be the first and last people on Earth who will ever reach the North Pole in summer by foot. Unless we all do something now to combat global warming, those who follow in our footsteps may not be walking at all, but may arrive here by sailboat instead. The scientists from the National Snow and Ice Data Center, who have helped guide our progress during this expedition, tell us this summer could be a record breaking year for melting ice in the Arctic.

Meanwhile, ExxonMobil continues to use the power of its money and lobbying to combat the attempts of citizens across the globe to take action to reduce global warming. Until ExxonMobil joins with us to battle against global warming, rather than battle against us, we must turn their own battle against the citizens and enviroment of the world against them, and "mobilize against Exxon."

From Greenpeace, here are 5 reasons why ExxonMobil is even worse than other oil companies:

1. ExxonMobil tries to convince the public that global warming isn't happening even though ExxonMobil is one of its main causes. It spends millions of dollars on misleading propaganda every year.

2. ExxonMobil has played a leading role in sabotaging international attempts to stop global warming. It would rather sell more gasoline than protect future generations.

3. ExxonMobil doesn't believe renewable energy has a future. "With no readily available economic alternatives on the horizon, fossil fuels will continue to supply most of the world's energy needs for the foreseeable future." --Lee Raymond, ExxonMobil CEO, 1997

4. ExxonMobil is the biggest oil company in the world - its profits totalled more than US$12 billion in 2000. If anyone can afford to help stop global warming it's ExxonMobil.

5. ExxonMobil was one of the main financial contributors to George Bush's election campaign. As soon as George Bush became president, he announced that the U.S. would pull out of international agreements to stop global warming - exactly the position that ExxonMobil was promoting.