Why Exxon Didn't Sponsor the International Conference on Climate Change

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."

Daniel Patrick Moynihan





Under the headline "A Smashing Success," the www.ontherborderline.net bootlickers of anything label "free mareket," have a current post trumpeting the just-concluded The 2008 International Conference on Climate Change. Sponsored by the Heartland Institute, the conference ran from March 2 - March 4 and was held at the Marriott New York Marquis Times Square Hotel in New York City.

What is the International Conference on Climate Change?

It's sponsored by the Heartland Institute. What is the Heartland Institute?

According to Exxon Secrets.com, Heartland was founded in the early 1990s, Heartland Institute claims to apply "cutting-edge research to state and local public policy issues." Additionally, Heartland bills itself as "the marketing arm of the free-market movement."

The Heartland Institute created a website in the Spring of 2007, www.globalwarmingheartland.org, which asserts there is no scientific consensus on global warming and features a list of experts and a list of like-minded think tanks, many of whom have received funding from ExxonMobil and other polluters.

The Heartland Institute networks heavily with other conservative policy organizations, and is part of the State Policy Network, a member of the Cooler Heads Coalition (as of 4/04), and co-sponsored the 2001 Fly In for Freedom with the Wise Use umbrella group, Alliance for America. Heartland also co-sponsored a New York state Conference on Property Rights, hosted by the Property Rights Foundation of America. The Institute puts out several publications, including "Environment & Climate News" which frequently features anti-environmentalist and climate skeptic writing. They also published "Earth Day '96," a compilation of articles on environmental topics. The publication, distributed on college campuses, featured "Adventures in the Ozone Layer" by S. Fred Singer, and "the Cold Facts on Global Warming" by Sallie Baliunas. The articles denied the serious nature of ozone depletion and global warming.

Walter F. Buchholtz, an ExxonMobil executive, serves as Heartland's Government Relations Advisor.

The Heartland Institute formerly sponsored and hosted www.climatesearch.org, a web page ostensibly dedicated to objective research on global warming, but at the same time presenting heavily biased research by organizations such as the American Petroleum Institute as an FAQ section.

Conference host Joseph L. Bast is the president of the Heartland Institute and he gave the opening address. According to Exxon Secrets Bast was Heartland's first employee. He is a prolific writer on a range of subjects, including the environment and global warming. He is a co-author of "Eco-Sanity--A Common Sense Guide to Environmentalism" which argues, among other things, that global warming is not a problem. Bast "studied economics at the University of Chicago."

Note that Bast is an economist...

Heartland Institute, sponsor of the conference, has received $791,500 from ExxonMobil since 1998.

Who co-sponsored the conference?

Americans for Tax Reform:
Does the name Grover Norquist ring a bell?

Americans for Tax Reform opposes all income tax increases on principle, and urges lawmakers to sign a pledge that they will not raise taxes. ATR claims that since 1986 hundreds of U.S. House members, dozen of U.S. Senators, President G.W. Bush and more than 1200 state legislators have signed its pledge not to increase taxes. ATR supports a flat tax. ATR is a member of the Cooler Heads Coalition. ( 9/03) ATR runs an affiliated 501c3 organization, Americans for Tax Reform Foundation.

Business & Media Institute:
Dan Gainor, The Boone Pickens Free Market Fellow and the Director of the Business & Media Institute, is a veteran editor with two decades’ experience in print and online media. He has served as an editor at several newspapers including The Washington Times and The Baltimore News-American.

Gainor also has extensive experience in online publishing – holding the position of managing editor for CQ.com, the Web site of Congressional Quarterly, and executive editor for ChangeWave, published by Phillips International. He has worked in financial publishing in his last two positions, launching new services for ChangeWave and Agora Inc. Mr. Gainor holds an MBA from the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business and a master’s in publications design from the University of Baltimore.

As an undergraduate, he majored in political science and history at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Mr. Gainor lives in Alexandria, Va., and volunteers as a media and issues speaker with the Close-Up Foundation. Gainor has made hundreds of radio and TV appearances including appearances on: Fox News’ “Hannity & Colmes” and “Fox & Friends.” He has appeared on local or national shows in every state including: the Jerry Doyle Show, the Chuck Harder Show, Battleline with Alan Nathan, The Right Balance, Janet Parshall’s America, the Thom Hartmann Show, Money & More, the Gordon Liddy Show, America at Night, Dateline Washington, the Lars Larson Show, the Jim Bohannon Show, Home Talk USA, The Weekend, Money Dots on Main Street USA, American Family Radio, and Entertainment USA.

He has been published in a wide variety of conservative publications, including: Investor’s Business Daily, The Washington Times, the Orange County Register, the New York Post, the Baltimore Examiner, Canada’s National Post's Financial Post & FP Investing, the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Augusta Free Press, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the Houghton Daily Mining Gazette, the Port Clinton, Ohio Beacon, Contacto Magazine, the Caribbean Voice, the Newtown Bee, the Frederick News-Post, The High Point Enterprise, the Easton Star Democrat, the Midland Daily News, the Findlay, OH, Courier, and the Simi Valley, Calif., Acorn.

Cascade Policy Institute

Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise has received $230,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998.

Alan Gottlieb, a former tax felon, founded CDFE in 1974 along with two gun groups: Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and the Second Amendment Foundation. Other Gottlieb ventures include the Free Enterprise Press (book publisher), American Press Syndicate, and American Broadcasting Network. CDFE's Free Enterprise Press has published several books by CDFE executive vice president Ron Arnold, including Ecology Wars (1987) which includes a chapter "Defeating Environmentalism" and Ecoterror: The Violent Agenda to Save Nature, the World of the Unabomber (1997).

Ron Arnold is considered originator of the term "Wise Use," and Arnold has credited himself with starting the back-lash campaign against environmentalists. In 1991 Arnold told the New York Times, "We [CDFE] created a sector of public opinion that didn't used to exist. No one was aware that environmentalism was a problem until we came along."

Arnold, a former Dow Chemical consultant, was also head of Washington State chapter of the American Freedom Coalition, the political arm of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church from 1989-91 (Western States Center fact sheet). CDFE organized the first Multiple Use Strategy Conference (now Wise Use Leadership Conference) in Reno, NV in 1988 which led to the twenty-five point "Wise Use Agenda."

Included in the agenda was "Immediate wise development of the petroleum resources of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge" and "Passage of the Global Warming Prevention Act to convert in a systematic manner all decaying and oxygen using forest growth on the National Forests into young stands of oxygen producing, carbon dioxide-absorbing trees to help ameliorate the rate of global warming." CDFE executive veep Ron Arnold has since been quoted saying "There isn't any such thing" as global warming (CLEAR fact sheet).

The CDFE website features categories such as "EPA-probe" and "co-imperialism" and the latest headlines from the bastion of right-wing journalism, Fox News. CDFE runs two other websites: Undue Influence - "racking the environmental movement, money, power, and harm" (http://www.undueinfluence.com/), and the anti-Rainforest Action Network site "RANamuck" where they talk about Rainforest Action Network's ties to other radical groups and "their anti-capitalist ideology, and their lawless and dangerous activities."

Among other things, the site features a link to send email to the Turner Foundation asking it to stop funding RAN. Known funders have included the Coors Foundation, Georgia Pacific, Louisiana-Pacific, MacMillan Bloedel, Pacific Lumber, ExxonMobil Education Foundation, DuPont, Agricultural Products Division, Boise Cascade, Seneca Sawmills, Sun Studs, Burkland Lumber and the F.M. Kirby Foundation.

Citizens Alliance for Responsible Energy:
The Citizens' Alliance for Responsible Energy was founded by Mark E. Mathis, its executive director, a former TV anchor, a radio talk show host and a consultant to the Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico. A disclosure statement with an opinion column stated that "Citizens' Alliance for Responsible Energy is funded by more than 250 members including New Mexico oil and gas producers." In March 2006 Mathis was a co-signatory on a letter, initiated by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, in support of an expansion of oil drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge.

Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow has received $542,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998.
CFACT is a free-market policy organization, was created to offer a "new voice" on consumer and environmental issues. CFACT, established in 1985, is a member and organizer of the Cooler Heads Coalition and the National Consumer Coalition. According to its website "CFACT is...working to promote free-market and safe technological solutions to such growing concerns as energy production, waste-management, food production and processing, air and water quality, wildlife protection and much more." The free market think tank focuses on campus organizing and getting their message to the public through research, media exposure, and a national radio commentary called "Just the Facts" that is broadcast on 300 stations daily.

CFACT's Board of Academic and Scientific Advisors is a who's who of climate skeptics and industry-funded scientists. Their semi-monthly newsletter, "Citizen Outlook," includes an update on news from the environmental movement called "From the Dark Side," a title indicative of the contempt CFACT's members have for all facets of environmentalism. CFACT's President and Executive Director, David Rothbard and Craig Rucker "are two of the primary voices seeking to provide a positive alternative to major environmental groups like Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, and Friends of the Earth." according to the CFACT website. CFACT received $710, 000 between 1991 and 2002 from Richard Mellon Scaife controlled foundations, the Carthage Foundation and the Sarah Scaife Foundation.

Competitive Enterprise Institute...has received $2,005,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998.

CEI was founded in 1984, CEI is a Washington - based conservative think tank "whose research on public policy reflects the principles of free enterprise, individual liberty and limited government." CEI is at the center of the global warming misinformation campaign.

CEI has tackled tough and contentious scientific issues such as global warming, carbon dioxide and fuel-economy standards, most recently expanding into the politics of food. It has become the go-to think tank in the fight against excessive federal government regulations, supporters say. (Beyond the Theories: Think Tank Debunks Popular Myths; Audrey Hudson, May 18, 2004, Washington Times)

The organization mixes free-market ideas with the anti-regulation and environmental movements, but unlike most institutes that are content just to think and speak, the CEI does not shy away from forcing action through the courts or the legislative process.

CEI, among many other statements denying the seriousness of global warming, has argued that climate change would create a "milder, greener, more prosperous world" and that "Kyoto was a power grab based on deception and fear" (R. Brunet, "It Just Ain't So, Say These Reputable Scientists" Alberta Report, 10 November, v.24(48) 1997 p20-21). In addition to leading the campaign to convince the public that global warming is uncertain, CEI has weighed in on pesticide risk and endocrine disrupting chemicals - both of which pose no threat to human health, in CEI's view - and has supported regulatory "takings" measures.

CEI supports eventual elimination of the Superfund and has advocated the complete privatization of the Endangered Species Act, arguing that species protection would meet the level of "demand," based on how much citizens are willing to pay for habitat preservation (CLEAR fact sheet). CEI has a long anti-environmental pedigree. CEI is a member of the State Policy Network and the Cooler Heads Coalition. CEI was a sponsor of the first Wise Use conference in 1988 and has had membership in the Get Government Off Our Backs coalition, the wise use umbrella group. CEI is also a network member of The Heritage Foundation, Alliance for America, and the anti-Endangered Species Act group, Grassroots ESA Coalition. CEI was also a co-sponsor of the 1998 NY State Property Rights Conference.

With more than a $3 million annual budget, CEI is supported by both conservative foundations and corporate funding. Known corporate funders in addition to ExxonMobil include the American Petroleum Institute, Cigna Corporation, Dow Chemical, EBCO Corp, General Motors, and IBM. One of CEI's prominent funders is conservative Richard Scaife who has provided money through the Carthage and Sara Scaife Foundations. CEI is also heavily supported by the various Koch brother foundations. (http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Competitive_Enterprise_Institute

Congress of Racial Equality...has received $275000 from ExxonMobil since 1998.

Frontiers of Freedom Institute...has received $1,037,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998.

FoF calls itself the "antithesis" of the green movement. In 1996, former Senator Malcolm Wallop (R-WY) started Frontiers of Freedom to fight environmental regulations, particularly the Endangered Species Act and any law seen as infringing on "property rights." But increasingly, it has focussed on the issue of global warming.

After a $100,000 grant from ExxonMobil in 2002, FoF set up the Center for Science and Public Policy in 2003 (ff.org/centers/csspp/misc/index.html) . The CSPP concentrates on two areas: trashing global warming science, and also questioning the scientific evidence on the dangers of mercury emitted from coal-fired power plants.

FoF also runs The Center for Free Market Environmentalism and Conservation (ff.org/centers/cfmec.html) both of these centers are forums for the promotion of industry-friendly "sound science."

FoF operates several associated websites, including OpinionEditorials.com and SpinFreeNews.com, which it describes as "one-stop-shopping for daily news about lawsuit abuse, energy, the environment, and other topics that too often end up on the cutting room floor of traditional media."

Myron Ebell joined Wallop at FoF in 1996. Previously, Ebell had worked for the staunchly "wise use" American Land Rights Association. Ebell left FoF in 1999 and is now Director of Global Warming and International Environmental Policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Ebell currently chairs the Cooler Heads Coalition, of which FoF is a member.

In addition to grants from conservative foundations, Frontiers of Freedom receives money from tobacco and oil companies, including Philip Morris, ExxonMobil and RJ Reynolds Tobacco. According to the New York Times: "Frontiers of Freedom, which has about a $700,000 annual budget". George Landrith, President of FoF told the New York Times, says of its funders: 'They've determined that we are effective at what we do'" (J. Lee, "Exxon Backs Groups That Question Global Warming," The New York Times, 28 May 2003).

FoF has strong ties to the western "wise use" movement, and is part of the Alliance for America Network and the Grassroots ESA Coalition.

George C. Marshall Institute...has received $715,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998.

Founded in 1984, The George Marshall Institute primarily focused on defense issues, advocating funding for Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative and Star Wars. GMI has since branched out and is one of the leading think tanks trying to debunk climate change.

GMI works on a range of issues, including civic environmentalism, climate change, national defense, bioterrorism, and missile defense. GMI publishes papers and holds "roundtables." Many of these roundtables have featured climate change skeptics such as Roger Bate, Willie Soon, Margo Thorning, and GMI's own Sallie Baliunas.

In 1989, the Marshall Institute released a report arguing that "cyclical variations in the intensity of the sun would offset any climate change associated with elevated greenhouse gases." Although it was refuted by the IPCC, the report was used by the Bush Sr. Administration to argue for a more lenient climate change policy. GMI has since published numerous reports and articles attacking the Kyoto protocol and undermining the climate science. GMI is a former member of the Cooler Heads Coalition.

GMI used to restrict its funding sources to private foundations and individual donars to avoid conflict of interest, but in the late nineties, then GMI President Jeffrey Salmon wrote, "when the Institute turned its attention to the science of global warming, it decided it would appeal successfully to industry for financial support." This fall, the Institute received its first-ever grant from a corporate foundation-- the Exxon Education Foundation. (http://web.archive.org/web/20020913050409/http://www.marshall.org/funding.htm)

According to Media Transparency.org, the Institute received $5,757,803 since 1985 from conservative foundations including the Castle Rock Foundation (Coors), Earhart Foundation, John M. Olin Foundation, the Sarah Scaife Foundation, Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, and the Carthage Foundation.

Conservative Independent Institute...has received $70,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998.

Founded in 1985, The conservative Independent Institute is "a non-profit, non-politicized, scholarly research and educational organization which sponsors comprehensive studies of major economic, social and environmental problems."

The Institute has sponsored climate skeptic Fred Singer and has been a member of the Cooler Heads Coalition. The Institute's Web site quotes praise from many luminaries, including Ronald Reagan, Edwin Meese, and William Niskanen of the Cato Institute. In 1999, the Independent Institute came under fire for being not so independent. A 18 September New York Times piece outlined how the Independent Institute put out full paged newspaper ads bank-rolled by Microsoft. The ads supported Microsoft's claim of innocence in the face of federal anti-trust charges. According to The New York Times, Microsoft paid for the ads and was also the largest individual donor to the organization that year (David Callahan, "The Think Tank as Flack," Washington Monthly, November 1999).

International Climate Science Coalition

International Policy Network...has received $390,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998.

Established in 2001, the North American branch of the UK-based International Policy Network works closely with groups such as the Heritage Foundation, Cato Institute, and Competitive Enterprise Institute.

IPN maintains a network of free-market think tanks around the world and supports the development of new organizations. Roger Bate and Julian Morris, IPN's directors, both work for the Institute for Economic Affairs in London. Bate is also a fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), where another IPN staff member, Kendra Okonski used to work. Disinfopedia reports that in 2003 the address and phone number for CEI and the US office of the IPN were identical. IPN has apparently moved down the hall to Suite 1032 and acquired its own phone number. (http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=International_Policy_Network)

National Center for Policy Analysis...has received $465,900 from ExxonMobil since 1998.

Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine

Science and Environmental Policy Project...has received $20,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998.

Science and Public Policy Institute: Executive director, Bob Ferguson set up the Center for Science and Public Policy in early 2003, after a $100,000 grant from ExxonMobil in 2002 - specifically tagged for the center. Exxon has continued to fund the Center each year since then, to the tune of at least $50,000 a year. The Center's chief scientific researcher is sceptic Willie Soon.

Ferguson spent years working for various Republicans on the Hill, most recently as chief of staff for congressman John Peterson (R-PA). Peterson is a global warming denier, and is on the board of the National Center for Public Policy Research.

Sovereignty International:
Henry Lamb is the chairman and co-founder of Sovereignty International. Lamb is a central figure in the spread of United Nations conspiracy theories throughout the anti-environmental movement. Lamb has testified before congress and regularly has articles posted on World Net Daily and other right-leaning websites. Lamb does not believe global warming is a problem. Lamb, along with John Bircher Michael Coffman, founded Sovereignty International in March, 1997, to promote concern over the perceived erosion of US. sovereignty at the hands of United Nations environmental policies.

Most of the financial and background information for this post came from Exxon Secrets. The site is maintained by Greenpeace.