Fossil Fuel Companies Have a Hot New PR Message

Environmental activists rally for accountability

The marketing and PR tactics of Big Oil have changed over the past few years, at least according to the author of the article linked above.

For one, no more climate denial.  The world is now living with the effects of climate change, and the average citizen is well aware that the warming of the Earth’s atmosphere is producing droughts, wildfires, and more powerful hurricanes than ever before.  The fossil fuel industry’s ad agencies know that pretending that “the science isn’t settled” will only further infuriate the public.

So, what’s the new tactic?  It’s promoting all the wonderful things that the ExxonMobils of the world are doing.  Some have climate ramifications, e.g., carbon capture and sequestration, but mostly it’s just an ongoing reminder of how much nicer our lives are due to cheap, abundant, and reliable energy, and how reliant we are upon it.  Some of it is even broader, for instance, hiring women to perform jobs traditionally done by men.

These people are in it for the long haul.  They want the 21st Century to look exactly like the 20th did: ongoing subsidies, and complete market domination with no impediments in terms of government regulation.  And at all costs, the need to avoid consumers’ regarding them with nothing but the pure hatred they deserve for lying about global warming and destroying our home.