The Cost of Cheap Lies

Money can't buy honesty (no surprise there), but apparently, it can't afford very good lies either.

Having already designated more than $20 million of its money to oppose Initiative 1631, the fossil fuel industry began sending out misleading mailers last month. That the industry would attempt to use its wealth to fund a misinformation campaign against an initiative seeking to regulate carbon emissions shouldn't shock anyone. It's totally consistent with the past actions of these corporations. What does catch my attention is the cheap quality of the lies against the initiative.

In the past, the fossil fuel industry concocted elaborate stories to stoke uncertainty about global warming. These stories were lies, and the coal, oil, and gas companies' own scientists told them so at the time, but at least, the industry put in some work to fabricate them. As a result, the deceptions worked for a long time and continue to impact us today. We're still paying for their cost with pollution that threatens our health, the environment, and the future of all species on this planet.

The truth is that promoting alternative energy through I-1631
is better than anything the fossil fuel industry has to sell.

By comparison, the industry's lies against I-1631 have such little substance, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) hardly had to break a sweat in refuting them here. To illustrate the flimsy nature of these lies, let me spotlight a few examples from the piece by the UCS. First, the fossil fuel industry argues that the initiative exempts a coal plant near Centralia, Washington. Pointing to this exemption, they suggest the initiative won't work. Yet they neglect to mention that the plant will close in 2025 and that the agreement to shutter it requires any climate legislation in the state to exempt it until its closure. The industry also says that the initiative calls for a "carbon fee" instead of a "carbon tax" to mislead voters. The truth is that it must be called a fee to ensure the money raised from it goes to the correct projects. If it were called a tax, the money would go to the state's general fund and could be used for anything, not just for projects like promoting renewable energy and helping low-income people deal with the effects of global warming. 

Though weak, those half-truths and false assertions aren't even the lamest of the bunch. The opponents of the initiative say it has no oversight. In truth, I-1631 would institute a 15-person public board to oversee its implementation. The oversight and accountability are right there in the language of the initiative! Make sure to read the whole article from the UCS to see each lie from the fossil fuel industry refuted.

By the fossil fuel industry's own standards, and despite the millions of dollars behind them, the lies these corporations spread against I-1631 are extremely cheap; but if they work, they'll be very costly for our planet and our health. Don't buy them.