If any of this sounds familiar, it’s because it is. The tactics used to spread doubt and confusion over the science were the same as those being used today. Those who argue on behalf of the science on climate change are frequently attacked as part of a global conspiracy, with communists or radical environmentalists often being identified as the culprits. Other, subtler critics say the links are unproven and that it would be premature to act.
Yet these tactics are hardly new, and go back even further. In the 18th and 19th centuries, as abolitionists in Britain fought to ban the slave trade, many of the same arguments were trotted out. Some said that the economy would collapse without the cheap energy the slaves provided. Others said it was a pointless measure because competitors in France, America or Brazil would simply keep trading, and British traders would relocate. As public opinion turned against the trade, ship-owners and investors fought back, arguing that conditions had improved and they were becoming responsible industrialists. They smeared their enemies as socialists and agitators but, in the end, they lost.
The man who helped alert the world to a looming disaster - EIAhttps://eia-international.org/blog/the-man-who-helped-alert-the-world-to-a-looming-disaster/