Portsmouth filmmaker Tom Jackson works on a new documentary exposing how the fossil fuel industry continues to stifle action on climate change.

First they denied it was happening. Then they admitted it was happening but denied it was human induced. Then they admitted it was human induced but denied it was bad for us. Now they admit it’s bad for us but say it’s too late to do anything about it. 

That summary of the fossil fuel industry’s ever-shifting stance on climate change was provided by attorney Matthew Pawa during an interview for Tom Jackson’s forthcoming documentary, “At Any Cost: Big Oil, Big Coal, the Lies They Tell and How They Tell Them.” The film documents ongoing attempts by industry leaders and their political lackeys to keep reeling in billions, even at the cost of global catastrophe. 

“They don’t care about the science, they don’t care about the moral arguments, they don’t care about the environment or things like that. What they care about is keeping those record profits coming in, and they’ll do that for as long as they possibly can,” said Jackson, a Portsmouth resident and founder of Joe Public Films.

The media blitz surrounding climate change reached its peak in 2006. In April of that year, on the cover of Time magazine, a polar bear peeked over the edge of a small raft of ice near a headline that read, “Be Worried. Be Very Worried.” About six weeks later, Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” premiered in L.A. 

A number of independent documentaries followed, including Jackson’s “Out of Balance: ExxonMobile’s Impact on Climate Change.” The film described how the oil and gas conglomerate deliberately prolonged the debate on whether climate change was happening and whether it was caused by human activity. 

In 2007, for the first time ever, polls showed that more than half the population believed climate change was a serious issue caused by humans, and that something had to be done about it. Barack Obama was elected the following year, bringing a promise of new, clean energy exploration to the White House. 

It appeared substantial action would finally be taken to move away from fossil fuels, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and curb the detrimental effects of climate change. But, within another year, public outcry had died down and talk of change had quieted.

“Just when it seemed as though things were going to be changing, if anything, in the last couple of years, the American public’s understanding and concern over the issue has slid backwards,” Jackson said. “I wanted to take a really close look at why that was.”

Jackson hopes to complete “At Any Cost” this summer, in time for the N.H. Film Festival in the fall. Although “Out of Balance” made a significant splash five years ago, he saw the need to bring the issue front and center once again. 

“You know that the individuals who work either directly or indirectly on behalf of the fossil fuel industry are not going to give up just because things start to change a little bit,” he said. 

In recent years, the industry has found its saving grace in the economic crisis, which has distracted attention away from environmental issues. Fossil fuel supporters have shifted their argument to hinge on the feasibility of drastically changing the nation’s energy infrastructure during a time of economic turmoil, Jackson said.

Meanwhile, television and radio personalities like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity have reintroduced the debate on whether climate change is really happening, inviting skeptics onto Fox News and other programs while attacking scientists who insist the issue is real. 

“At Any Cost” includes interviews with several climate scientists who have been attacked by mainstream media. Jackson also recently interviewed author and environmentalist Bill McKibben, whose latest book “Eaarth” deals with climate change.

The film alleges that many of the most outspoken skeptics of climate change, including Okalahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe and Fox commentator Steven Milloy, have personal interests in the fossil fuel industry (Inhofe’s top campaign contributor is Koch Industries, and Milloy has lobbied on behalf of the American Petroleum Institute).

The threat of climate change has become even more daunting since last fall, when a flood of right-wing Republicans won state and federal offices. The N.H. House recently approved a bill to withdraw from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

“You suddenly got an influx of Tea Party Republicans coming into the House and becoming a majority in the House, many of whom are full-on deniers of climate change,” Jackson said. “They’re dragging it even further back and recreating this so-called debate that’s gone on for years and years unnecessarily.”

Jackson and others have been disappointed with President Obama’s “lackluster” efforts to stem climate change. Economic woes aside, he said, the time to act is now.

“We’re seeing the effects of climate change now,” Jackson said. “It’s here and we’re seeing it and it’s only going to get worse. And the longer we put off doing something about it, the worse it will be in the future.” 

For a preview of “At Any Cost,” visit www.joepublicfilms.com.