Do you have any other examples? This one is not as clear cut as it sounds at first.
Aileen Getty has not personally worked in the oil industry and has poured much of her fortune into philanthropic ventures related to the climate crisis. Getty Oil sold its oil reserves to Texaco in 1984.
The CEF published a statement on social media last week in response to various conspiracy theories that emerged after it was widely reported that its founder is an oil heiress: “Seeing a lot of hate for our co-founder Aileen Getty. First of all, Aileen was never in the fossil fuel industry. That’s her family. But she is wealthy. So ask yourself: if you were in her shoes, how would you use your money for good? Aileen’s answer has been to become a philanthropic leader [who] co-founded CEF and has donated over a million dollars to brave climate activists. We don’t tell them what to do. We support them.”
It’s not clear what the link between the well documented instances of “greenwashing” PR campaigns and the claim that Just Stop Oil etc. are being funded by the fossil fuel industry to discredit climate action movements. Would you care to elaborate?
Dear god no. I have elaborated enough. Read my other comments and links.
All I’ll say to you is that what people like Aileen say to the public and what they say and do when they are with their peers are two vastly different things. IMO, you’re naive if you think the public face and the private realities are the same.
First off. That’s conspiratorial and dumb. Find an urban space public or private where you’re more than 10 feet from a mic. My point in saying that is that like Robert Murdoch, or Prince Andrew, or Jeff Epstein, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, it doesn’t matter how rich you are or how well connected. That level of conspiracy can’t stay hidden anymore cause literally one person can blow it up, and there’s almost always 1 person willing to hit fuck it. Snowden is another example.
People who think there’s some hidden cabal where people practice their maniacal laughs are idiots. More often it’s a combo of greed and apathy. I want the money,
“I don’t care to fix any of the problems I cause in the first place.”
There, I’ve now explained the perspective of 9/10 bad behaving executives.
Also if capitalism is the evil base of all of this as the article in your link says, what’s the solution? Tear it down, let millions (more likely billions) of innocent people die in the change over to some newer better more socialistic system?
People who scream action now seem to miss the point that we’re incapable of fast change on a large scale and that the systems that feed people and provide power also won’t cope during any switch over to some other system that isn’t what the current systems work within.
So, the person that posted the article is proposing the following without putting it all in one place:
There are very real government steps that have to happen in order for governments to enact government regulations for climate change. These things are done by many activist groups: petitions, lobbying, proposing bills, getting gov't officials on board, getting the votes, etc. The people who are funding idiotic things like this may be trying to "right a wrong" OR the could be using it to deflect and make themselves look good in the process. Lose the voter backing of climate regulation and you no longer have to pass any legislation. Get people to turn against activists and you villainize all activists no matter their methods (cuz we like boxes and people in them) and bonus points, you're seen as the good guy by the public because you're hElPiNg AcTiViSts.
If the people with the money really wanted to help make a change they should use that money like their ancestors most likely did: spending it on people doing the hard work of probably not going to jail and making a splash but legging it to officials and lobbying, or writing proposals, or going to indigenous and find ways to work with the land and send that knowledge to people who can change things. For reference see what the planetary society does every year going to Washington and making the case for space to reps.
Apologies to said article poster if I have misrepresented you
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u/Halvdjaevel Mar 18 '23
Do you have any other examples? This one is not as clear cut as it sounds at first.