Friends of Science; Friends of Tobacco
It seems that the professional pasts of some members of Canadian climate change spin machine “Friends of Science” go well beyond the oil and gas industry.
Dr. Fred Seitz, listed as a member of the Friends of Science at the inaugural oil industry funded Ottawa kick-off, has admitted to helping tobacco giant RJ Reynolds spread out million of dollars in health research grants during the 1970’s and 80’s. Seitz’s role was to assist Big Tobacco in creating the illusion that there was still some debate over whether tobacco was a proven danger to health.
Which coincidentally is the same PR technique that Friends of Science is using to delay action on climate change; creating the public perception of a scientific debate in order to undermine support for the Kyoto accord or for any real public policy action.
Same techniques. Same experts And, we would argue, same degree of credibility.
