Posted on 10/12/2005 11:50:13 PM PDT by nickcarraway
"How much money did you receive from ExxonMobil in 2005?" When energy expert Indur Goklany gave a National Press Club briefing about his recent paper, "Living With Global Warming," he probably expected inquiries about his findings and research. But that's the accusation he was hit with during the Q&A from David Tuft, an official of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "We know you received $315,000 [from Exxon] through 2004; we're wondering what it is in 2005."
The National Center for Policy Analysis, which published Goklany's research, did receive funding from ExxonMobil, but Goklany rightly responded that he received no Exxon money. Still, he was forced to publicly confront a left-wing smear tactic. Unable to win the public policy debate fair and square, environmental groups are falling back on an old stand-by -- they attack the integrity of their opponents by dragging a corporate bogeyman out of the closet. Disgruntled green groups failed to win passage of global warming regulations in the recently passed energy bill, so they are resorting to claims that ExxonMobil buys off everyone who doesn't take their side. Some strategy.
The Exxpose Exxon campaign (Exxpose, get it?) was launched by some of the biggest guns in the environmental movement: Defenders of Wildlife, Friends of the Earth, Environmental Action, Greenpeace, National Environmental Trust, Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club, U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) and the Union of Concerned Scientists. True Majority, the creation of leftist ice-cream maker Ben Cohen (of Ben & Jerry's), and MoveOn.org, whose members played such a large part in Howard Dean's attempt to capture the Democratic presidential nomination, also are part of the anti-Exxon group. They charge (correctly) that Exxon favors opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling and opposes restrictive global warming legislation, and they argue (questionably) that Exxon refuses to invest "enough" money in alternative energy sources.
However, the thrust of their report "ExxonMobil Exxposed" is as hollow as a Halloween pumpkin: "In 2004, ExxonMobil gave $1.9 million to 26 organizations specifically to challenge the scientific consensus on global warming," it says. Does the report then compare the Exxon amount to the amount that foundations give to groups that believe global warming is an imminent threat to the environment? No. Fortunately, the George C. Marshall Institute has done just that. It examined funding trends for 2000-2002 and discovered that among the twenty top grant-makers on the issue, ExxonMobil was the only one not hyping global warming and it only ranked 14th in the amount of money it gave away. The top two givers, the Energy Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts, gave over $43 million and $12 million, respectively, for programs on climate change. Both are strong supporters of the argument that the world is growing warmer because Americans use too much oil.
Indeed, looking at the funding patters of the groups in Exxpose Exxon reveals that they have a vested interest in promoting global warming hype. In fact, some groups raked in more money in one year for their own global warming campaigns than ExxonMobil doled out in total. According to the Marshall Institute, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Union of Concerned Scientists each took in over $2.4 million just in 2002. From 2000-2002, they took in $6.7 million and $6.3 million, respectively, for activities promoting the global warming hypothesis. Other big grants went to the National Environmental Trust ($2,150,000), U.S. PIRG ($1,015,000), Sierra Club ($405,000), Greenpeace ($385,000), and Friends of the Earth ($150,000).
One Greenpeace website called "Exxon Secrets" claims to have discovered more shady information about ExxonMobil's support for policy groups that question the global warming argument. But there are no "secrets" here. ExxonMobil's grantmaking is public information, and it is available from the company's 2002 Annual Report and its 2003 and 2004 Corporate Giving Reports. They are all posted on ExxonMobil's website.
Like other activist groups, the anti-Exxon coalition arrogantly demands a boycott. Americans can help "by refusing to work for ExxonMobil, refusing to invest their hard-earned dollars in ExxonMobil, and refusing to buy ExxonMobil products" [italics added]. But guess what? Some of the foundations that support these groups invest their own money in ExxonMobil! The Ford Foundation gave $150,000 each to the Natural Resources Defense Council and Friends of the Earth in 2003. According to its most recent tax return, the foundation owned about 2.2 million shares of ExxonMobil stock that was then valued at about $82 million. The Surdna Foundation handed out $125,000 to Defenders of Wildlife (in 2001) and $75,000 to the National Environmental Trust (in 2003), and it owned about 15,000 shares of ExxonMobil stock. The Wallace Global Fund gave $490,000 to the Sierra Club Foundation (2001-2003), $200,000 to the Union of Concerned Scientists (2001-2003), and $100,000 to Greenpeace (2001), and it owned 20,000 shares of ExxonMobil. Because those "hard-earned dollars" are invested in ExxonMobil, will the green groups return the tainted money?
Few debates have been as one-sided as the one over whether the scientific evidence backs up arguments for global warming and what American public officials should do about it. Environmental groups have gone overboard in attacking the integrity of anyone who questions their assertions. Leftist groups never hesitate to argue that having a "national debate" means all sides need to be heard. Funny, though, how that doesn't apply to ExxonMobil's support for the other side of the climate debate.
Argument over.
Short version: If you want your grant money, hype up the Global Warming Hoax for the Lefties.
Don't oil companies fund a lot of these environmental groups?
also the newest tactic by the environmental wackos:
Claim that global warming is causing (insert animal/mammal name here) numbers to dwindle.
Their latest one is they want polar bears to be listed as an endangered specis, even though there is 30,000 of them in Canada and Alaska.
are the watermelons by any chance suggesting that the oil companies are bribing, say... the Sun?
Yes, but not a single polar bear sighting has been reported in Texcas or New Mexico in over ten years. That pretty much cinches it, eh?
ping
A bit, but it's mostly protection money. It's the foundations belonging to major stockholders that put up the heavy cash.
Energy Foundation??? LOL, I love how liberals always name their groups to be the polar opposite of what the name inplies. The Energy Foundation is all about stopping people from using energy.
Yeah, in reality there is probably more oil money going towards pro-globull warming propaganda.
I spotted one in texas...at the zoo.
FReepmail me to be added or removed to the ECO-PING list!
I think it's corrupt on all fronts- plenty of nuts screaming the gloom and doom AND plenty of nuts completely denying that anything is going on. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle but all these groups are trying to make this a political issue to drive their hidden agendas.
Thanks for ping. Interesting article.
Given the evidence of a warmer observed area and the unmonitored vastness a consensus would seem to be premature by most regimens; yet we keep hearing about this consensus and we are subject to pleadings to act before it is too late.
Where is the consensus on what should be done and by whom beyond the obvious finger-wagging in the face of Uncle Sam?
The most conservative action would be easy to decide, everyone just use a lttle less of what's available until we understand a bit more about what it is that is really at work here; unfortunately, that won't line the pockets of the green-shirt crowd since they fear that this iron will never again be quite this hot.
If it were proposed that all the studies be financed by a surtax on the energy producers, these mill-tilters would be searching the ground over a few years down the road for old-growth fellings to crab between the vanes.
The reality is they enjoy being miserable and simply want as much company as they can get.
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