Exxon CEO Toes Party Line

The CEO of ExxonMobil, Rex Tillerson, might as well have used the 'I'm not a scientist, but...' line at the shareholders meeting last week. When challenged about climate change, he stated,

“What if everything we do, it turns out our models are lousy, and we don’t get the effects we predict?” Tillerson said. “Mankind has this enormous capacity to deal with adversity, and those solutions will present themselves as those challenges become clear.”

This is really unfortunate, especially considering the hope attached with some developments with Exxon. It turns out, it was just a ruse. Exxon is still a denier organization and there are indications it still provides funds to denier organizations, using entities such as Donor Trust to funnel funds with orders to undermine climate science. 

That wasn't enough, though. He also mocked renewable energy and said the company intentionally does not invest in renewables, stating, “We choose not to lose money on purpose.”

But, it gets even worse. His comments also included this jewel:

“Mankind has this enormous capacity to deal with adversity. Those solutions will present themselves as the realities become clear,” he said. “I know that is a very unsatisfying answer for a lot of people, but it’s an answer that a scientist and an engineer would give you.”

Tell us, Mr. Tillerson, just how do you expect the rest of the world to 'adjust?' Things such as massive change in ocean life, not to mention the ocean acidification. Or, how about the mass extinction that is in progress? Or, how about all of the world's poor that will suffer reduced living standards because of climate change? If you're dead, you can't adjust. Of course, I guess that would actually qualify as 'adjusting' under Mr. Tillerson's definition. I mean, why should he care? He makes tens of millions of dollars a year. He can afford to pay for his personal costs due to climate change. Let everyone else worry about themselves.

One last thing, Mr. Tillerson, the only scientists that would give that answer are ones that have been bought and paid for by the fossil fuel industry. But, since ExxonMobil made over $32 billion last year, I guess you can afford a few.