yet another reason ExxonMobil hates our planet

from Time's Milestones (June 27, 2005):

HIRED. PHILIP COONEY, 45, former oil-industry lobbyist who, as a White House environmental adviser, came under fire from environmentalists when it was revealed that he had edited government scientific reports on global warming to downplay ecological threats; by ExxonMobil, the world's largest oil company, days after he resigned from the Administration.

He manipulated government reports to downplay or blatantly hide specific scientific findings linking climate change to fossil fuel consumption - and is awarded with a cushy job by Exxon. Perhaps Exxon deserves an award, too: how about the "We Hate the Planet" award?

The May/June 2005 issue of Mother Jones focused on the environment and climate change. This story lays out the facts about Exxon's anti-earth crusade:

News: Forty public policy groups have this in common: They seek to undermine the scientific consensus that humans are causing the earth to overheat. And they all get money from ExxonMobil.
[also see accompanying chart]

Now, as I have determined not just to highlight certain events of the day but to speak to them from a religious/faith/theological/Christian conviction, let's ask the question, why is this important? An answer is found in the two accounts of creation in Genesis 1 & 2: in the first, God gives humanity dominion over the earth (1:28-30); in the second, God makes all of creation - plants, animals, and humans - from the dirt of the earth (2:7-9, 18-19). So humanity is put in charge of God's creation. However, this relationship is characterized by the fact that life is intricately linked to the earth: the word for man, adam (which becomes the first man's name), is derived from the word for ground, adamah. We have a special relationship with the earth.

In short, we are a people of the earth, given charge to take care of it in such a way that it can continue to produce and support life, just as it did in the beginning. A company that not only disregards such a charge but blatantly seeks to cover-up the truth about damage being done to God's creation by their product is a company that is seriously lacking in moral standards. ExxonMobil shows intentional disregard for our planet; we should return the favor.