Exon's tabacoo company strategy

The strategy I don't think is all that old.  I think it requires both an acceptance of the scientific mindset, a market place in which you can buy scientific opinion, and a broad non-fact-checked mass media in which to broadcast your desired outcome.  Could you even do it before World War 1?

Exxon knew of climate change in 1981, email says – but it funded deniers for 27 more years
The Guardian (U.K.), 8 July 2015 (hat tip: NC)

A newly unearthed missive from Lenny Bernstein, a climate expert with the oil firm for 30 years, shows concerns over high presence of carbon dioxide in enormous gas field in south-east Asia factored into decision not to tap it

...ExxonMobil, the world’s biggest oil company, knew as early as 1981 of climate change – seven years before it became a public issue, according to a newly discovered email from one of the firm’s own scientists. Despite this the firm spent millions over the next 27 years to promote climate denial.

 If the cigarette companies were willing to kill their customers, than Exon comes pretty close to being willing to kill, or at least injure, everyone.

My personal opinion, is that if the rather odd person, Al Gore, had not become a polarizing champion for the global warming crowd, the results might have been different.  But maybe not.  I recall William Buckley trying to get natural conservation back into the conservative ideology without a lot of success.  He had a lot more success marrying Catholicism to the conservative cause.  As I recall , the original ideas of carbon taxes came from that time period of the National Review.