State of Fear

“We must all be aware that there are disinformation groups funded by industry—petroleum, automotive—who will seize on the report that some glaciers are growing, and use it to argue against global warming. That is what they always do. They snatch at anything to paint a false picture.” 

Early in the novel, Drake remarks that the interests of industrial corporations and other powerful groups constantly threaten the presentation of information about climate change. To present the truth, he asserts, pro-environmentalists must resist their manipulation, even if this means they have to manipulate information in turn. Drake justifies asking Einarsson to alter the results of his research in to obscure the fact that they do not actually support the theory of global warming, an early sign of his nefarious motivations. 

“Our AV team. They prepare visuals for the jury. Some of the data is extremely complex. And we’re trying to find the simplest and most forceful way to present it.” 

Drake claims global warming is not a uniformly accepted idea because of industrial interests’ corrupting influence. Jennifer’s position in this passage is less contentious; she opens Evans’ eyes to the fact that the science behind global warming is neither unanimous nor easy to understand. Shortly afterwards, Balder proves this by showing how little Evans understands about the theory. In the context of a major environmental case, the Vanutu lawsuit, Jennifer mentions the importance of presenting information in a clear and compelling way to convince the public.

“‘If there’s anything worse than a limousine liberal,’ Morton said, ‘it’s a Gulfstream environmentalist.’”

By this point in the novel, Morton is undergoing a major transformation. He goes from trumpeting the theory of global warming to criticizing himself and his entourage for not “walking the walk” when it comes to environmentalism.