Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Drawing from hundreds of confidential oil industry documents spanning decades, this explosive work of investigative reporting reveals for the first time the far-right conspiracy that's stopped the world from preventing the climate crisis.
In The Petroleum Papers, investigative journalist Geoff Dembicki tells the story of how the American oil companies that founded the tar sands in Alberta, Canada--home to the third biggest oil reserves on the planet--ignored warnings about climate devastation as early as 1959. Instead of acknowledging their part in an impending global disaster--and alerting the world to act--these companies harnessed their billions to spread disinformation and climate denial, torpedo international treaties, and help elect Donald Trump, leaving the Joe Biden administration with a sprawling climate mess.
But Dembicki also tells the high-stakes stories of people fighting back: the Seattle lawyer who brought Big Tobacco to its knees and is now going after Big Oil, a young Filipino activist who saw her family drown in a climate disaster, and a former engineer at Exxon who was pushed out for asking too many hard questions. With experts now warning we have less than a decade to get global emissions under control, The Petroleum Papers provides a step-by-step account of how we got to this precipice and the politicians and companies who deserve our blame.
Synopsis
"Essential ... This book belongs on the shelf next to Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway's Merchants of Doubt, Jane Mayer's Dark Money, and Christopher Leonard's Kochland."--Roy Scranton, author of Learning to Die in the Anthropocene
Drawing from hundreds of confidential oil industry documents spanning decades, this explosive work of investigative reporting reveals for the first time the far-right conspiracy that's stopped the world from preventing the climate crisis.
In
The Petroleum Papers, investigative journalist Geoff Dembicki tells the story of how the American oil companies that founded the tar sands in Alberta, Canada--home to the third biggest oil reserves on the planet--ignored warnings about climate devastation as early as 1959. Instead of alerting the world to act on this impending global disaster, Exxon, Koch Industries, Shell and others created ad campaigns saying climate change isn't real and that alternatives to oil are an economic disaster. These companies built a global right-wing echo chamber to ensure tar sands could keep flowing into the U.S., which helped elect Trump and now leaves the Biden administration with a sprawling climate mess.
But Dembicki also tells the high-stakes stories of people fighting back: the Seattle lawyer who brought Big Tobacco to its knees and is now going after Big Oil, a young Filipino activist who saw her family drown in a climate disaster, and a former engineer at Exxon who was pushed out for asking too many hard questions. With experts now warning we have less than a decade to get global emissions under control, The Petroleum Papers provides a step-by-step account of how we got to this precipice and the politicians and companies who deserve our blame.
Published in Partnership with the David Suzuki Institute
Synopsis
"Essential ... This book belongs on the shelf next to Merchants of Doubt, Dark Money, and Kochland."--Roy Scranton, author of Learning to Die in the Anthropocene
The petroleum industry is guilty of a Big Tobacco-style public cover-up, according to this vivid expos ."--Publishers Weekly STARRED Review
Burning fossil fuels will cause catastrophic global warming: this is what top American oil executives were told by scientists in 1959. But they ignored that warning. Instead, they developed one of the biggest, most polluting oil sources in the world--the oil sands in Alberta, Canada. As investigative journalist Geoff Dembicki reveals in this explosive book, the decades-long conspiracy to keep the oil sands flowing into the U.S. would turn out to be one of the biggest reasons for the world's failure to stop the climate crisis.
In The Petroleum Papers, Dembicki draws from confidential oil industry documents to uncover for the first time how companies like Exxon, Koch Industries, and Shell built a global right-wing echo chamber to protect oil sands profits--a misinformation campaign that continues to this day. He also tells the high-stakes stories of people fighting back: a Seattle lawyer who brought down Big Tobacco and is now going after Big Oil, a Filipina activist whose family drowned in a climate disaster, and a former Exxon engineer pushed out for asking hard questions.
With experts now warning we have less than a decade to get global emissions under control, The Petroleum Papers provides a step-by-step account of how we got to this precipice--and the politicians and companies who deserve our blame.
Published in Partnership with the David Suzuki Institute
Synopsis
"An essential read."--The Washington Post
"Essential ... This book belongs on the shelf next to Merchants of Doubt, Dark Money, and Kochland."--Roy Scranton, author of Learning to Die in the Anthropocene
"The petroleum industry is guilty of a Big Tobacco-style public cover-up, according to this vivid expos ."--Publishers Weekly STARRED Review
Burning fossil fuels will cause catastrophic global warming: this is what top American oil executives were told by scientists in 1959. But they ignored that warning. Instead, they developed one of the biggest, most polluting oil sources in the world--the oil sands in Alberta, Canada. As investigative journalist Geoff Dembicki reveals in this explosive book, the decades-long conspiracy to keep the oil sands flowing into the U.S. would turn out to be one of the biggest reasons for the world's failure to stop the climate crisis.
In The Petroleum Papers, Dembicki draws from confidential oil industry documents to uncover for the first time how companies like Exxon, Koch Industries, and Shell built a global right-wing echo chamber to protect oil sands profits--a misinformation campaign that continues to this day. He also tells the high-stakes stories of people fighting back: a Seattle lawyer who brought down Big Tobacco and is now going after Big Oil, a Filipina activist whose family drowned in a climate disaster, and a former Exxon engineer pushed out for asking hard questions.
With experts now warning we have less than a decade to get global emissions under control, The Petroleum Papers provides a step-by-step account of how we got to this precipice--and the politicians and companies who deserve our blame.
Published in Partnership with the David Suzuki Institute
Synopsis
A WASHINGTON POST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
"An essential read."--The Washington Post
"Essential ... This book belongs on the shelf next to Merchants of Doubt, Dark Money, and Kochland."--Roy Scranton, author of Learning to Die in the Anthropocene
"The petroleum industry is guilty of a Big Tobacco-style public cover-up, according to this vivid expos ."--Publishers Weekly STARRED Review
Burning fossil fuels will cause catastrophic global warming: this is what top American oil executives were told by scientists in 1959. But they ignored that warning. Instead, they developed one of the biggest, most polluting oil sources in the world--the oil sands in Alberta, Canada. As investigative journalist Geoff Dembicki reveals in this explosive book, the decades-long conspiracy to keep the oil sands flowing into the U.S. would turn out to be one of the biggest reasons for the world's failure to stop the climate crisis.
In The Petroleum Papers, Dembicki draws from confidential oil industry documents to uncover for the first time how companies like Exxon, Koch Industries, and Shell built a global right-wing echo chamber to protect oil sands profits--a misinformation campaign that continues to this day. He also tells the high-stakes stories of people fighting back: a Seattle lawyer who brought down Big Tobacco and is now going after Big Oil, a Filipina activist whose family drowned in a climate disaster, and a former Exxon engineer pushed out for asking hard questions.
With experts now warning we have less than a decade to get global emissions under control, The Petroleum Papers provides a step-by-step account of how we got to this precipice--and the politicians and companies who deserve our blame.
Published in Partnership with the David Suzuki Institute