In the 1960s, the ability to dominate and overcome nature still infused the ethos of American capitalism. In this LIFE magazine advertisement for Humble Oil Corporation (which eventually merged with Standard Oil to create the global petroleum Leviathan, Exxon-Mobil) melting glaciers was presented as an index of success, something to brag about. Today, the glaciers are melting rapidly, but oil industry propaganda takes no credit for the impending catastrophe. Greenwashing is the order of the day.
Click on the image to make it readable. We invite readers to download and distribute this remnant of the once buoyant ideology that helped lead the world towards its current predicament.