The following is the text of a letter written by a number of scientists asking for a federal investigation of climate science denial under the RICO statute.<\/p>\n
Letter to President Obama, Attorney General Lynch, and OSTP Director Holdren<\/strong><\/p>\n September 1, 2015<\/em><\/p>\n Dear President Obama, Attorney General Lynch, and OSTP Director Holdren,<\/p>\n As you know, an overwhelming majority of climate scientists are convinced about the potentially serious adverse effects of human-induced climate change on human health, agriculture, and biodiversity. We applaud your efforts to regulate emissions and the other steps you are taking. Nonetheless, as climate scientists we are exceedingly concerned that America\u2019s response to climate change \u2013 indeed, the world\u2019s response to climate change \u2013 is insufficient. The risks posed by climate change, including increasing extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and increasing ocean acidity \u2013 and potential strategies for addressing them \u2013 are detailed in the Third National Climate Assessment (2014), Climate Change Impacts in the United States. The stability of the Earth\u2019s climate over the past ten thousand years contributed to the growth of agriculture and therefore, a thriving human civilization. We are now at high risk of seriously destabilizing the Earth\u2019s climate and irreparably harming people around the world, especially the world\u2019s poorest people.<\/p>\n We appreciate that you are making aggressive and imaginative use of the limited tools available to you in the face of a recalcitrant Congress. One additional tool \u2013 recently proposed by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse \u2013 is a RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) investigation of corporations and other organizations that have knowingly deceived the American people about the risks of climate change, as a means to forestall America\u2019s response to climate change. The actions of these organizations have been extensively documented in peerreviewed academic research (Brulle, 2013) and in recent books including: Doubt is their Product (Michaels, 2008), Climate Cover-Up (Hoggan & Littlemore, 2009), Merchants of Doubt (Oreskes & Conway, 2010), The Climate War (Pooley, 2010), and in The Climate Deception Dossiers (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2015). We strongly endorse Senator Whitehouse\u2019s call for a RICO investigation.<\/p>\n The methods of these organizations are quite similar to those used earlier by the tobacco industry. A RICO investigation (1999 to 2006) played an important role in stopping the tobacco industry from continuing to deceive the American people about the dangers of smoking. If corporations in the fossil fuel industry and their supporters are guilty of the misdeeds that have been documented in books and journal articles, it is imperative that these misdeeds be stopped as soon as possible so that America and the world can get on with the critically important business of finding effective ways to restabilize the Earth\u2019s climate, before even more lasting damage is done.<\/p>\n Sincerely,<\/p>\n Jagadish Shukla, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA The following is the text of a letter written by a number of scientists asking for a federal investigation of climate science denial under the RICO statute. Letter to President Obama, Attorney General Lynch, and OSTP Director Holdren September 1, 2015 Dear President Obama, Attorney General Lynch, and OSTP Director Holdren, As you know, an … Continue reading Letter To President Obama: Investigate Deniers Under RICO<\/span>
\nEdward Maibach, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
\nPaul Dirmeyer, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
\nBarry Klinger, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
\nPaul Schopf, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
\n(continued on page 2)
\nLetter to President Obama, Attorney General Lynch, and OSTP Director Holdren
\nDavid Straus, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
\nEdward Sarachik, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
\nMichael Wallace, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
\nAlan Robock, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
\nEugenia Kalnay, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
\nWilliam Lau, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
\nKevin Trenberth, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO
\nT.N. Krishnamurti, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
\nVasu Misra, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
\nBen Kirtman, University of Miami, Miami, FL
\nRobert Dickinson, University of Texas, Austin, TX
\nMichela Biasutti, Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY
\nMark Cane, Columbia University, New York, NY
\nLisa Goddard, Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY
\nAlan Betts, Atmospheric Research, Pittsford, VT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"