# E. Bruce Harrison > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/E._Bruce_Harrison > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/E._Bruce_Harrison.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Bruce_Harrison > Source revision: 1336862273 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Public relations professional (1932–2021) E. Bruce Harrison Born (1932-04-03)April 3, 1932 Alabama, United States Died January 16, 2021(2021-01-16) (aged 88) Occupation Public relations Known for Greenwashing, climate change denial Spouse Patricia Harrison **E. Bruce Harrison** (April 3, 1932 – January 16, 2021)[1] was a [public relations](/source/Public_relations) expert who organized several campaigns for U.S. industry against [environmental legislation](/source/Environmental_law) from the 1970s to the 1990s. Harrison's company is credited with industry opposition to the [Kyoto Protocol](/source/Kyoto_Protocol) and preventing the United States from ratifying it.[2] ## Career The publication of [Rachel Carson](/source/Rachel_Carson)'s *[Silent Spring](/source/Silent_Spring)* in 1962 created the first wave of environmental action, and caused concern amongst industrial corporations across the United States. Harrison, who was then working for the [Manufacturing Chemists' Association](/source/American_Chemistry_Council), led a campaign to defame Carson and prevent new regulations to restrict pesticides and industrial pollution, a campaign that Harrison and the association ultimately lost.[3] He ran his eponymous PR firm, which he co-founded with his wife [Patricia Harrison](/source/Patricia_Harrison), from 1973 until 1997, when he sold it.[2] Harrison pioneered the use of economic analysis in opposing environmental action. He developed a messaging strategy which promoted the balance of "the three Es": Environment, Energy, and Economy. Following the creation of new environmental legislation and the creation of the [Environmental Protection Agency](/source/Environmental_Protection_Agency), Harrison was employed by the [American Petroleum Institute](/source/American_Petroleum_Institute) as a lobbyist and PR representative. In this role he created the National Environmental Development Association (NEDA), a lobby group that represented a coalition of chemical, mining, oil and gas companies which sought to limit further regulation and sow misinformation about the environmental and climate impacts of fossil fuels.[2] NEDA was the first client of his PR firm. In the early 1990s, he conducted a comprehensive PR campaign for the [Global Climate Coalition](/source/Global_Climate_Coalition), an industrial lobby opposing action to reduce [greenhouse gas emissions](/source/Greenhouse_gas_emissions).[4] In 1995 he wrote that the "GCC has successfully turned the tide on press coverage of global climate change science".[2] ## Legacy In 1999, *[PRWeek](/source/PRWeek)* included Harrison into its hall of fame, and followed this in 2000 by naming him as one of the '100 Most Influential Public Relations Professionals of the 20th Century'.[5] Harrison and his agency are acknowledged as the creators of modern [greenwashing](/source/Greenwashing), producing misinformation and disinformation campaigns for companies including [General Motors](/source/General_Motors), [Monsanto](/source/Monsanto) and [BP](/source/BP). His work has had a lasting impact on promoting misinformation about [climate change](/source/Climate_change),[4] particularly in misleading the public about the economic costs of mitigating the impacts of climate change.[6][7][8] Media historian [Melissa Aronczyk](/source/Melissa_Aronczyk) considered Harrison "a master at what he did".[2] [Al Gore](/source/Al_Gore), former U.S. vice president, described the GCC campaign as the worst moral crime since the world wars.[2] ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["E. Harrison Obituary (1932–2021)"](https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/e-harrison-obituary?id=6124930). *[Washington Post](/source/Washington_Post)*. 22 January 2021. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220724033837/https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/e-harrison-obituary?id=6124930) from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022 – via Legacy.com. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-bbc_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-bbc_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-bbc_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-bbc_2-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-bbc_2-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-bbc_2-5) Jane McMullen (23 July 2022). ["The audacious PR plot that seeded doubt about climate change"](https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62225696). [BBC News](/source/BBC_News). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220723034755/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62225696) from the original on 23 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-westervelt-2021_3-0)** Westervelt, Amy (6 July 2021). ["E. Bruce Harrison: The godfather of greenwashing"](https://drilled.media/news/harrison-1). *Drilled*. - Westervelt, Amy (27 October 2021). ["There can be no compromise on a burning planet"](https://www.thenation.com/article/environment/climate-change-compromise/). *[The Nation](/source/The_Nation)*. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-brulle-2019_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-brulle-2019_4-1) Brulle, Robert J. (11 April 2022). ["Advocating inaction: a historical analysis of the Global Climate Coalition"](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09644016.2022.2058815). *[Environmental Politics](/source/Environmental_Politics_(journal))*. [Taylor & Francis](/source/Taylor_%26_Francis): 1–22. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1080/09644016.2022.2058815](https://doi.org/10.1080%2F09644016.2022.2058815). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [248112482](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:248112482). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220704021217/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09644016.2022.2058815) from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022. - Brulle, Robert; Aronczyk, Melissa (2019). "Environmental countermovements: Organised opposition to climate change in the United States". In Kalfagianni, Agni; Fuchs, Doris; Hayden, Anders (eds.). *Routledge Handbook of Global Sustainability Governance*. Taylor & Francis. pp. 218–230. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781351691291](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781351691291). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [1125109561](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1125109561). - Dreyfuss, Robert (19 November 2001). ["Toxic Cash: How Lobbyists Poisoned the EPA"](https://prospect.org/2001/11/19/toxic-cash-lobbyists-poisoned-epa/). *[The American Prospect](/source/The_American_Prospect)*. Retrieved 5 January 2025. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Beltway PRSA inducts 50 into hall of fame"](https://www.prweek.com/article/1231530/beltway-prsa-inducts-50-hall-fame). *[PRWeek](/source/PRWeek)*. 4 October 1999. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Aronczyk, Melissa (21 February 2021). ["Spin doctors have shaped the environmentalism debate for decades"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/02/21/spin-doctors-have-shaped-environmentalism-debate-decades/). *The Washington Post*. Retrieved 5 January 2026. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Cottle, Michelle (September 1994). [""Hellbound""](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/1994/09/hellbound/). *Mother Jones*. Retrieved 5 January 2026. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** McMullen, Jane; Taddonio, Patrice (19 April 2022). ["'Truth has nothing to do with who wins the argument': New details on Big Oil's campaign to defeat climate action"](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/video-big-oil-campaign-against-climate-change-action/). *Frontline*. [PBS](/source/PBS). --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [E. Bruce Harrison](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Bruce_Harrison) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Bruce_Harrison?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.