Some claimed that you couldn’t show a causal relationship between smoking and lung cancer bc…
there was a 20 year lag in lung cancer development behind smoking
In 1953, …
a study was done with mice and cigarette tar that provided significant evidence that cigarettes cause cancer
Big Tobacco’s PR firm’s strategy
- generate/promote doubt in the media
- find/cultivate sympathetic voices in media
- deny, deny, DENY
fairness doctrine
two opposing views must have equal time and representation
C. C. Little
- geneticist
- hired by Big Tobacco to support their claims
- believed in eugenics and master races
- said that tobacco doesn’t change genes and genes control disease so tobacco doesn’t cause disease
- sends out a pamphlet to 176,000 doctors saying no causal relationship
In the 1960’s, tobacco companies’…
scientists find evidence that smoking causes cancer but don’t share these findings publicly
1964- it’s concluded anyways that smoking is the major cause of lung cancer
Frederick Seitz
- selected to head tobacco industry research council
- president of Rockefeller University, Big Tobacco gave them lots of money to make him sympathetic to their cause
- science advisor to NATO
- gave out $44 million in grants
Martin Cline
- UCLA scientist
- received $3 mil/10 years to do research
- said “I can envision many scenarios where smoking has nothing to do with it” in response to Q about smoking causing cancer for a flight attendant (2nd hand smoke)
1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement
- tell people that cigarettes cause cancer, means they can’t be sued anymore
- payments to states for healthcare costs
- no more youth marketing
acid rain
- sulfur dioxide and nitric dioxide are released into the atmosphere from power plants and deposited in rain
- Gene Likens finds rain of pH < 4 in New Hampshire
How can you be sure the acid rain is manmade?
study was done showing the isotopes of sulfur in the rain were the same as the ones being mined regionally
long range transboundary pollution convention
- US and Canada
- need to limit on both sides of border to be effective
- half of the acid rain in Canada was caused by US
report process on acid rain
- National Academy of Sciences concludes in 1981 that acid rain is a problem, but Reagan wants his own report done
- Will Nirenberg heads the panel, White House includes Fred Singer
- White House sends back suggestions on the report that says its bad, the panel refuses to do that
- Nirenberg doesn’t publish it until after the vote happened, measures to counteract it are voted against
John Tyndall
-showed climate change was caused by CO2 in 1863
report process on climate change
- Roger Revelle writes a report for Pres. Johnson in 1965, saying climate change is a problem
- Revelle writes a paper with Singer, Singer wants to downplay it much more than Revelle. Revelle has a stroke so Singer pushes for his version to be published, later referencing it as evidence that climate change isn’t happening
IPCC in 1988
-conclude that climate change is a problem & greenhouse gases are a problem
Heartland Institute
- hired Fred Singer
- run by the Koch brothers, who own a major oil company
