MANUFACTURING CLIMATE DOUBT

Leaked docs offer insight into how climate-skeptic groups operate
Brad Plumer, February 16, 2012 (Washington Post)

"…[D]ocuments from the Heartland Institute, a Chicago-based nonprofit that spends a fair bit of time disputing mainstream climate science…[reinforce the well-known fact that] skeptic groups spend a lot of money trying to call into question the scientific consensus on man-made global warming…[and] offer some fuller insight into how these organizations operate…

"1) There’s still a lot of money in climate skepticism…[The documents show] the group has spent at least several million dollars attacking climate science over the past few years…[I]t took nearly two years for the Heartland Institute to [repond to the 2007 IPCC report on climate change]…[but] Heartland is trying to raise at least $200,000 to make sure that it has its “Climate Change Reconsidered” report ready as soon as the IPCC releases its next big assessment in 2013…"

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"2) Big oil companies seem to be increasingly minor players in the skeptic arena…[M]uch of the money comes from individual donors, particularly a person referred to as “the Anonymous Donor,” who gave $14.26 million over the past six years…That’s one possible signal that climate skepticism…[has] become a self-sustaining ideological endeavor…3) Many firms don’t like being associated with climate denial…[Donors] were quick to distance themselves from Heartland’s stance on global warming…

"4) Skeptic money doesn’t necessarily corrupt, but it can amplify marginal viewpoints…Craig Idso, a skeptical scientist…says that he has long opposed the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change — even before he was getting paid by Heartland…It’s doubtful that many skeptics meaningfully alter their views in order to receive money…5) The climate wars are moving to the classroom…[Heartland] plans to spend $100,000 per year to develop a curriculum for schools that would call basic climate science into question…[B]attles over the teaching of evolution in public schools…[could be replaced by] fights over climate science…"