What the oil industry hides from the public - Stephanie Honchell Smith episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 15, 2026 · 9 MIN

What the oil industry hides from the public - Stephanie Honchell Smith

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Uncover the oil industry’s decades-long campaign to discredit climate change science regarding the danger of fossil fuels.--Throughout the 1980s, oil industry reps discussed the dangers of burning fossil fuels, acknowledging the risk their product posed to the future of humanity. However, instead of warning the public or pivoting towards renewable energy sources, they doubled down on oil — and launched a decades-long campaign to discredit climate change science. Stephanie Honchell Smith digs into Big Oil's tactics.Lesson by Stephanie Honchell Smith, directed by Sofia Pashaei.This video made possible in collaboration with Speed & ScaleLearn more about how TED-Ed partnerships work: https://bit.ly/TEDEdPartnerData and graph shown at 5:43 by Statista: https://www.statista.com/chart/11673/the-soaring-costs-of-climate-changeSupport Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-the-oil-industry-doesn-t-want-you-to-know-stephanie-honchell-smithDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-the-oil-industry-doesn-t-want-you-to-know-stephanie-honchell-smith/digdeeperMusic: https://www.campstudio.co----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Jaspar Carmichael-Jack, Michael Burton, VIVIANA A GARCIA BESNE, The Vernon's, Olha Bahatiuk, Jesús Bíquez Talayero, Chels Raknrl, Sai Pranavi Jonnalagadda, Stuart Rice, Jing Chen, Vector-Dopamine math, Jasper Song, Giorgio Bugnatelli, Chardon, Eddy Trochez, OnlineBookClub.org, Eric Shear, Leith Salem, Omar Hicham, Adrian Rotaru, Brad Sullivan, Karen Ho, Niklas Frimberger, Hunter Manhart, Nathan Nguyen, Igor Stavchanskiy, James R DeVries, Grace Huo, Diana Huang, Chau Hong Diem, Orlellys Torre, Corheu, Thomas Mee, Maryann H McCrory, Blas Borde, John Hellmann, Poompak Meephian, Chuck Wofford, Adam Pagan, Wes Winn, Conder Shou, ntiger, Noname, Hansan Hu, David D, Mac Hyney, Keith Ellison, robin valero walters, Lynne Truesdale and Gatsby Dkdc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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