Ian BrookeIan Brooke owned and managed Australia's highest altitude horse riding school, raised the profile of the world's biggest fund manager, and was under contract to write How Not to Commit Suicide when he became angered by inertia in the climate change dbate: Believers waved science papers under the noses of those who didn't believe. The Didn'ts viewed the paper as one more hoax. Governments let doubt prevail. Didn'ts won. The debate needed new blood and so he initiated Building Bridges, the first Australian forum bringing blue-chip business and environment heavyweights together. Business media covered it. Then nothing. Next came Australian Business for the Environment, a venture that brought environmentalist rock star Peter Garrett on board. A better initial result, but it too trailed off. Forces at work other than his own poor planning weren't yet known to him. Today, fossil fuel funding to stop climate action flows into every corner of our lives. It corrupts governments and media, suppresses democracy, curtails civil freedoms, and now warning signals it may be fostering the growth of end-times religions because they discourage climate change action. He says, "'Liars for hire', misnamed think tanks who do exactly as they're told, slurp up some of that funding. Many have tax-free status and misleading titles, 'Heartland', 'Independent', 'Public Affairs' - breeding grounds for people who care more about their ideology than they do about people. We've seen that movie before. "It is laughable, but not funny. Credible scientists, fire chiefs, and the informed 'get into trouble' if they speak out. The right to protest narrows. "Honest debate is exhausted. They have the money. Protestors have the science, but not enough protestors. Money wins. "The most potent threat to fossil fuel funding is the growth of peaceful protests for climate change action. There's good evidence that governments capitulate when 3.5 percent of a democratic population passively protests. "Is there hope in this book? That's up to you. You'll know what to do. You might have to change. They won't. They'll just keep lying." Read More Read Less