Nearly 50 years ago, Marathon Petroleum‘s corporate predecessor warned in its company magazine, Marathon World, that global temperature rise is linked to “industrial expansion” and could one day cause “widespread starvation and other social and economic calamities.”
The article, dated back to 1977, cites insights from experts, including a scientist affiliated with a prominent US agency.
“Although climatologists disagree on the underlying reasons, many see a future climate of greater variability, bringing with it areas of extreme drought,” said the magazine, previously published by Marathon Oil Company, which later split into Marathon Petroleum as well as the exploration and production company Marathon Oil.
Marathon Petroleum, along with Exxon, Shell, and BP, is one of several oil and gas companies being sued by the city of Honolulu.
Also read: US Supreme Court seeks government’s views on lawsuit against oil companies
The lawsuit claims these companies collaborated in communications to “conceal and deny their own knowledge” of catastrophic climate impacts by burning their products.
The magazine article discusses potential consequences for the company due to increasingly severe climate conditions.
Although it’s uncertain how widely the article was circulated within Marathon Petroleum, it mentions key figures such as James H. Brannigan, who at the time served as vice president for corporate planning and assistant to the president.
Brannigan notes that the oil industry employs weather forecasting methods to anticipate consumer fuel demand.
Marathon Petroleum has largely escaped the historical scrutiny faced by companies such as Exxon and Shell.
These companies privately researched catastrophic climate risks as early as the 1970s and subsequently orchestrated public relations and advertising campaigns to discredit the science.
