Are We Feeling Global Warming? [VIDEO]

After a 70 degree day in NY this weekend, a record-breaking absence of snow, and a generally warm winter, questions have been roiling: Is it global warming? The answer is a complicated one, but more or less: yes.

While temps rise slowly, incrementally on the average over long periods of time, scientists tell us that we will also experience sharp spikes and trends toward broken records -- even if we do snap back and only see gradual warming in the overall numbers...

In this video excerpt Amy Goodman talks to Greenpeace's John Passacantando who discusses the recent heat wave, the effort to get Polar Bears put on the endangered species list, and ExxonMobil's scandalous efforts to drive the environmental policies of the world's most influential nation.

The most dumbfoundingly predictable part is that in addition to ExxonMobil having simply misinformed the public about global warming, as Tara lays out beautifully HERE, they also effectively sicced the IRS on Greenpeace, via their front groups, to punish them for their public disagreements. That, according to Passacantando. Watch the video, upper right.

Here's the money excerpt (full transcript HERE):

AMY GOODMAN: Right now, Greenpeace has experienced an IRS audit. Can you talk about what you went through and who you think was behind what happened to you?

JOHN PASSACANTANDO: Well, it's very clear, and it ties to the larger story about global warming. Why has the United States been so far behind the other industrialized nations in recognizing that global warming is from our emissions, CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels, and so far behind taking actions? It comes down to a concerted effort by companies like ExxonMobil. Our records at Greenpeace show -- and this is all documented on a research website called exxonsecrets.org -- that between 1998 and 2005, ExxonMobil funded groups that were going to be skeptical of global warming, in some cases lie about the truth about global warming, gave them almost $20 million to confuse the American public about global warming.

Greenpeace, being one of the groups that was exposing these lies, ExxonMobil -- it was later found -- created a small group called Public Interest Watch. Public Interest Watch in 2004 wrote a completely erroneous report that said Greenpeace was...