why spend $1 billion spreading climate change denial?

The Guardian carries this piece.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/20/conservative-groups-1bn-against-climate-change

 The anti-climate effort has been largely underwritten by conservative billionaires, often working through secretive funding networks. They have displaced corporations as the prime supporters of 91 think tanks, advocacy groups and industry associations which have worked to block action on climate change. Such financial support has hardened conservative opposition to climate policy, ultimately dooming any chances of action from Congress to cut greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet, the study found.

It made me ask this question?

What is it about action on climate change that so frightens corporations and the ultra wealthy?

I think the answer is that action to tackle climate change will start a tsunami of change for the neoliberal rulers of the modern era.

Think about it readers. What’s the one thing the neoliberal crowd always tell us? T.I.N.A. – There Is No Alternative. We must bow before the wishes of the financial elites and the corporations or risk everywhere becoming like North Korea or some equally awful vague place.

So the current world order continues – we turn the earth’s resources into stuff and throw 90% of that stuff away within two years. The vast majority of the money rests with 1% of the population and every corner of the globe echoes to the same cry “more growth in order to produce even more stuff”

But climate change is a direct threat to all that. Not only does it raise the question “Is there an alternative?” to endless growth and stuff – it insists there MUST  be an alternative.

From the point of view of powerful corporations, banks and ultra-wealthy,  climate change has the potential to open up a Pandora’s Box of questions about our monetary system, distribution of wealth, consumerist society and democratic processes.

There are some very powerful people who can already see the outcome of starting these debates.

Once we start talking about alternatives, the debate will sweep away the prevailing manta of “there is no alternative” and a power transfer will begin.

Power will move away from private money, private corporations and neoliberal free market chaos and move towards the only kind of embedded truly democratic progressive state that can deliver meaningful action on climate change.

In order to prevent that I’m not surprised that wealthy people will spend enormous sums and go to any lengths to hide the truth about climate change.

In doing so the elite ruling classes demonstrate their breath-taking selfishness and cynicism. This co-ordinated operation to spread climate change lies and smears is done so knowingly and with calculated malice. They are happy to sacrifice the environment upon which we and all future generations depend just to defend their own privilege and grotesque wealth.

It is therefore absolutely vital that the courageous efforts of the scientific community to keep telling the truth about climate change is not buried under a deluge of mendacious propaganda that is commissioned by the selfish rich, propagated by shills and repeated by the weak minded.