Figures

Cooney hired by Exxon

Philip A. Cooney, the former White House staff member who repeatedly revised government scientific reports on global warming, will go to work for Exxon Mobil this fall, the oil company said yesterday.

I have no doubt there will be very good jobs waiting for all the crooks and liars in this administration....even Kommamder KooKoo.

I don't think other oil companies are really any better, still I am proud that I have never filled up at an Exxon (or Mobil) station since March of 1989. I worked on damage assessment for the Exxon Valdez spill, and got hints of how it affected Native communities in the area around Prince William Sound. Many of these people are subsistence hunters and fisherfolk - even now obtaining a significant part of their food from subsistence activities. Our lab has done a lot of work over the years with people in Alaska and British Columbia who depend at least partially on "country foods," that is, traditional diets. They seem to be a lot more aware of where their food comes from, and the threats to their food supply, than those of us who just go to the market to obtain food. I have also begun to appreciate the importance traditional diets, and everything surrounding them, still has in the daily lives of Native peoples - from the knowledge needed for harvesting and using traditional foods, to the social networks the trading of food engenders and strengthens.

Exxon is still dragging it's feet regarding payouts for damage from the spill. In hiring Cooney, they further broadcast their contempt for all of us who care about the environment, about environmental stewardship and responsibility. Remember that next time you fill up.