Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Climate Denial Machine Financing Exposed

Koch Industries, a huge privately-owned U.S. multinational oil company, has been exposed as the mastermind behind much of the climate change denial propaganda disseminated over the past number of years.

Between 2005 and 2008, Koch dwarfed even the  $8.9 million ExxonMobile has poured into climate denial groups. According to an in-depth study released today by Greenpeace, Koch Industries has spent $25 million.

Groups funded by Koch include the Mercatus Center, which received nearly $10 million between 2005 and '08, the Cato Institute, the Heritage Foundation and the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, all of which are deeply involved in the climate denial industry, as well as numerous other groups.

“...the biggest hoax our world has ever seen”

Remember that line?

How they operate: For example, it seems that the so-called "Climategate" scandal, timed precisely to coincide with last December's climate conference in Copenhagen, was nothing more than an illusion generated by numerous Koch-supported groups repeating the same message.

Americans For Prosperity (received over $5 million from Koch since 2005) Steve Lonegan, AFP’s New Jersey Director, said “ClimateGate” could have uncovered “the biggest hoax our world has ever seen”

The Heritage Foundation (received over $1 million from Koch since 2005) has posted several articles on its website regarding “ClimateGate.” The blogs run the gamut of possible climate-denier angles on the incident

The Cato Institute (received over $1 million in grants from Koch since 2005) is the frontgroup for climate-denier Patrick Michaels, who has been a vocal spokesperson regarding “ClimateGate”. Within two weeks following the email breach at East Anglia University, Patrick Michaels had appeared in over twenty media interviews on shows including CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, NBC’s Nightly News, FOX’s Fox & Friends, C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, and BBC’s Have Your Say.

No comments: