Protection of shareholders has dire consequences for ‘expendables’

Archived notes of presentations made to senior executives in the ’70s and early ’80s establish beyond reasonable doubt that Exxon were ahead of the posse, when it came to having an undertanding of climate change, writes Terry Prone

IT IS the most fantastic material, let’s admit that, for starters. It’s a mineral, with the property of fire-resistance. Extreme fire resistance. In the ancient world, once the thing was mined, it was woven into table cloths and table-napkins. Had a messy dinner party with food ground into the fibre and red wine spills? No problem. The slaves would just strip the table and toss the cloths in to the fire. A few minutes later, with all stains burned off, the coth would be back to its pristine white state.

Similarly, wrapping the dead in the white cloth before placing them on the funeral pyre was good housekeeping because the white cloth kept the ashes of the corpse from mingling with the ashes of the wood making up the fire.