Dear William George, Public Issues committee chairman,

I'm writing to you because of your important role as an ExxonMobil Board member and because you now chair of the Board's Standing Committee on Public Issues. I am extremely concerned with the corporation's negative role in the global warming policy discussion.

I am sure you read the recent NEWSWEEK cover story (August 13, 2007 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20122975/site/newsweek/) detailing Exxon's ongoing campaign of denial and deception around climate change. The company has faced ongoing pressure over the past year from environmental organizations, the Royal Society of London, Senators Snowe and Rockefeller and the media over its funding of front groups. In response ExxonMobil public relations officials have told reporters that the company has been "misunderstood" on global warming and have given the impression that it has stopped funding organizations that engage in global warming denial.

Why, then, did Exxon spend over $2 million in 2006 funding organizations working against action on global warming? You are a Board member of a company that is still funding many climate denial front groups. Please do not sit by as ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson says the company has changed its position on global warming when the Exxon Foundation gave hundreds of thousands of dollars just last year to groups like the George Marshall Institute, the Heartland Institute and Frontiers of Freedom who are attacking Al Gore and the scientific consensus on global warming?

Even worse, as the ExxonMobil Foundation gave out a number of grants to these groups in 2005 that were very specifically related to work on climate change, but did not include this information in its World Giving Report, though it did tell the IRS. Why not full disclosure on the purpose of these grants?

Acting on global warming requires more than just PR spin - it requires real action. This is a big public issue and one which I think you, as chairman of the Public Issues committee should take very seriously. A board has to hold a company accountable - and it is up to you to do this.

It's not just me - Congressman Brad Miller certainly has come concerns as you can see in his letter to Mr Tillerson: http://democrats.science.house.gov/Media/File/AdminLetters/miller_exxon_5.17.07.pdf

If ExxonMobil is truly serious about global warming, then it should come clean on why it has been funding the climate change denial industry over the past decade. It should drop the funding to those groups, but also apologize for its massive $22 million campaign to distract attention around climate change science which has held back U.S. policy for years.

At every opportunity when you meet with representatives of the company and other Board members, I urge you to push ExxonMobil to own up to the damage it has done, and drop funding to the climate denial industry.

Sincerely,

Paul Malouf
(source: Greenpeace USA)

Thats funny... Are you Paul, going to next question the motives of Greenpeace and their funding to science that turns out pro-environmental policy? I didn't think so.

hi i have a big question...? im doing a project on them and i wanted to know if there is anything that we can help.. besides stop driving cars... please write back!!!!