MSNBC reports that Exxon-Mobil has “stopped funding groups skeptical of global warming claims.”
Whether because of Congressional pressure, or that from stockholders nervous about bad publicity, the change can be expected to harbinger bad news for some. (Exxon actually stopped funding CEI, a major critic of global warming claims, prior to receiving the infamous Snowe-Rockefeller letter.)
Larger companies like Exxon may see little effect – they have highly paid lobbyists to soften any effect of expected increased legislative control. Smaller companies may simply disappear, unable to compete as the price of generating energy is increased.
Those who advocate a free market in energy, supported by sound environmental science, should be concerned.
