Oil Company Admits To Global Warming In 53-Year-Old Advertisement

Humble Oil and Refining Company printed an advertisement in 1962 they did not expect to be perceived so differently just half a century later.

According to the David Suzuki Foundation, the debate is over about whether or not climate change is real. Irrefutable evidence from around the world—including extreme weather events, record temperatures, retreating glaciers and rising sea levels—all point to the fact that climate change is happening now and at rates much faster than previously thought.

Still, debate on the topic persists. Perhaps, then, one should review an advertisement shared in the early 60’s by an oil company already aware of the effect their actions were having on the environment. 

As The Plaid Zebra summarizes, Humble Oil and Refining Company printed an advertisement in Life Magazine in 1962 that, at the time, certainly seemed harmless enough. 53 years later, however, that advertisement is perceived in a much different way.

According to the EPA, fossil fuel use is responsible for 57% of the American contribution to Global Greenhouse Gas emissions. And in Canada, energy sector emissions dwarf other contributors at 70%. This is largely due to a precedence put on oil-sands expansion. Action needs to be taken on an individual level to curb the excessive use of fossil fuels and slow the effects caused byclimate change.

As President Obama recently stated in Alaska:

“We know that human activity is changing the climate. We know that human ingenuity can do something about it. We’re even starting to see that we might actually have the political will to succeed. So the time to heed the critics and cynics is past. The time to plead ignorance is surely past. The deniers are increasingly alone, on their own shrinking island.”

To continue denying climate change is to support realities like the one shared in this harsh photo. It is past time every individual hold themselves accountable for their actions and the effect they have on the environment. Joining together in unison and sharing articles like this one is a great first step.

What are your thoughts? Comment below. 

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