Billion-dollar climate denial network exposed

[jayfish]

Source: Ars Technica

An extensive study into the financial networks that support groups denying the science behind climate change and opposing political action has found a vast, secretive web of think tanks and industry associations, bankrolled by conservative billionaires.

"I call it the climate-change counter movement," study author Robert Brulle, who published his results in the journal Climatic Change, told the Guardian. "It is not just a couple of rogue individuals doing this. This is a large-scale political effort."

His work, which is focused on the United States, shows how a network of 91 think tanks and industry groups are primarily responsible for conservative opposition to climate policy. Almost 80 percent of these groups are registered as charitable organizations for tax purposes, and collectively received more than seven billion dollars between 2003 and 2010.

Among those named as key nodes of the network were the American Enterprise Institute, which claims to have no institutional position on climate change, and the Heritage Foundation, which campaigns on a number of issues.

Read more: http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/12/billion-dollar-climate-denial-network-exposed/

[Moostache]

1. *SHOCKED*....there's money behind the effort to deny science??? NO WAY!!!

The really sad thing to me is not the assholes who cash the checks and lie for money...humanity has always been infected with their ilk...the people I feel badly for are those who cannot tell the difference between truth and lies and are so guillible and willing to be used as pawns in someone else's (rich) games...

[certainot]

2. it treason & their most important weapon is talk radio, which depends heavily on college sport

this is a list of 70+ major colleges who crap on their own mission statements to make a few dollars in licensing fees in exchange for allowing 170 or so limbaugh stations to plaster local/state team logos on their global denying megaphones.

https://sites.google.com/site/universitiesforrushlimbaugh/

it's ridiculous that student activists and profs allow that to happen without protest. their own colleges endorse radio stations dedicated to anti science, teacher and union bashing, raising tuition, and public ed privatization- negating whatever those progressive activists do.

[Sanity Claws]

3. A billion dollars would be better spent actually fixing the problem

rather than denying the problem's existence.

[RC]

4. Now where's the profit in that?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. There's a lot of profit in fixing it & other countries are dominating markets, not USA. nt

[RC]

7. Can't really argue with that.

I was be DU sarcastic.

There is so much wrong with this country, it is hard to imagine where to even start. Some powerful people are trying to fix things, but their efforts are getting lost in the noise.

[certainot]

5. looks like it's pay-to-read. without reading it, if it doesn't refer to RW radio or doesn't identify

it as a major tool for denial, if not the most important tool for creating denial/doubt and sabotaging efforts to do something about it, it is not particularly useful. since there is no written record of the amount of denial those 1200 stations have been putting out for the last 25 years (to 50 mil a week) i suspect there's not much mention of it. and they hardly have to pay because local and national sponsors do it. those think tanks send out regular denial 'experts' to guest on local and national talk shows and sing the praises of fracking, etc and attack and distort climate science, etc., and i doubt there is any RW limbaugh wannabe who could accept accepted climate science on air and still keep the job.

[rocktivity]

8. Candidate for this year's "You Call This NEWS?" awards

And Ars Technica is supposed to be one of the good guys!


rocktivity

[tclambert]

9. Go on, name some names.

I'll get you started: Charles Koch, David Koch.
The Bush family.
Exxon Mobil Corp.
BP
Shell Oil
Chevron

[cosmicone]

10. All roads lead

to Koch brothers.

Eat your heart out Rome!

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

11. Secret, HA HA is this a joke?

The entire worldwide capitalist system is geared up to use as much resources as possible, with little regard for the outcome.
I thought we all understood that.

[cantbeserious]

12. Surprise Surprise

eom

[loudsue]

13. Here are the guilty parties:

"Almost 80 percent of these groups are registered as charitable organizations for tax purposes, and collectively received more than seven billion dollars between 2003 and 2010.

Among those named as key nodes of the network were the American Enterprise Institute, which claims to have no institutional position on climate change, and the Heritage Foundation, which campaigns on a number of issues."

This needs to be spread around the world for all to see.