In the 1980s, the
scientific consensus on
global warming had begun to form: the planet was warming as a result of humans burning
fossil fuels, and this would be a problem for humanity. By the early 1990s, public awareness of the issue had grown, and the coal industry's
Western Fuels Association sought to present a counterargument that increased carbon emissions would be beneficial, rather than harmful, to the environment. To do this, they created the
Greening Earth Society and ICE. To maximize the impact of their campaigns, the Western Fuels Association carried out extensive market research. Indeed, the acronym ICE was chosen before the organization was named. Other potential names included: "Informed Citizens for the Environment", "Intelligent Concern for the Environment", and "Informed Choices for the Environment." Focus groups showed that American citizens trusted scientists more than politicians or activists, so the technical-sounding name "Information Council for the Environment" was selected. Its publicity plan called for placing these three scientists, along with fellow
climate change denier S. Fred Singer, in broadcast appearances, op-ed pages, and newspaper interviews. The statements made in the advertisements were false or exaggerated. For example, an officer of the
American Meteorological Society noted that Minneapolis had actually warmed 1.0 to 1.5 degrees in the twentieth century. An embarrassed Michaels hastily disassociated himself, citing what he called its "blatant dishonesty." Following the collapse, he, Balling, Idso, and Singer continued to express their denial about the scientific facts of global warming. They joined organizations similar to ICE and were prominent in public discussions of climate change despite their positions being widely out of sync with the rest of the scientific community. Industry representatives continued to push the narrative that carbon dioxide emissions were good, with Palmer declaring that fossil fuels were a "gift from God". He stated at a coal industry conference in 1996 that government action to inhibit global warming was the first step in a
slippery slope towards socialism, and continued his lobbying and PR work with the re-launch of the Greening Earth Society in 1998. ==See also==