PRCG’s client Hugh Helferty, President of Producer Accountability for Carbon Emissions (PACE), published a new op-ed on NJ.com and in The New Jersey Star-Ledger, on the 1924 Standard Oil lead crisis in Bayway, NJ. The deadly tragedy has lessons to teach us today as we face the problem of climate change. From the article:

“The argument that even an unmistakable danger must be scientifically certain to curtail its use was used again in 1997 by Exxon, when it resisted the call to reduce fossil fuel burning because of climate change.

Of course, proving beyond a doubt that climate change is real – just like proving that TEL in gasoline was a danger to the public – took time and much study to prove. And, from Exxon’s perspective, the longer it took, the better.

Eventually, the realities of climate change became undeniable. The UN has declared the crisis the “defining issue of our time,” estimating that over 3 billion people live in areas that are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Yet even when faced with the disastrous effects of climate change – most recently demonstrated by the death and destruction brought by hurricanes Helene and Milton – Exxon wants to increase oil and gas production.

Despite overwhelming evidence of harm, it took government regulation for oil companies to phase out [leaded gasoline]. It is increasingly urgent that governments do the same for the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Governments must establish a requirement that if producers extract carbon from the earth, they must capture and store an equivalent amount.”

The full article can be found here:

For lessons on climate change, look to New Jersey’s own toxic history