It's always nice to find out if those who are greenhouse skeptics, such as the Idso brothers of "The Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change" are being objective, or are paid to say what some in the oil industry want them to say. It appears to be the latter...
heatisonline.org
EXXONMOBIL EMERGES AS MAJOR FUNDER OF "GREENHOUSE SKEPTICS"
ExxonMobil has become a major funder of the most visible "greenhouse skeptics", most of whom who have traditionally been funded by the coal industry -- including S. Fred Singer, Patrick Michaels, Robert Balling and Sherwood Idso.
ExxonMobil is the world's third largest corporation with annual profits of about $17 billion. The company is using some of those profits to confuse the public discussion of global climate change. ExxonMobil is sabotaging the work of more than 2,000 scientists from 100 countries by funding the most visible "greenhouse skeptics" -- one of whom, S. Fred Singer, publicly denied receiving oil industry money as recently as February, 2001.
According to 1998, ExxonMobil documents, the company directly funds:
S. Fred Singer's institute, The Science and Environmental Policy Project as well as another foundation that promotes Singer's activities; and,
Craig Idso, Keith E. Idso and Sherwood Idso's institute: The Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change.
ExxonMobil grants have indirectly funded Patrick Michaels and Robert Balling.
In its own documents, ExxonMobil is quite clear about why it funds the tiny handful of dissenting "greenhouse skeptics": "ExxonMobil provides support to selected organizations that assess public policy alternatives on issues with direct bearing on the company's business operations and interests."
snip
ExxonMobil funds the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change, Tempe, Arizona.
This center, which has been closely affiliated with Western Fuels Association, has Craig Idso as president, Keith E. Idso as vice president and Sherwood Idso as its scientific advisor.
Sherwood Idso created a $250,000 video for Western Fuels in 1991 titled "The Greening of Planet Earth" which touts the virtues of global warming. The highly misleading video – which claims that global warming is good for humanity was paid for by the coal industry and was the subject of Congressional Hearings in the early 1990s.
Keith E. Idso has published the results of the center's work, among other places, in the John Birch Society magazine, "The New American."
While The Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide has tried to distance itself from the coal industry and Western Fuels Association, a look at the Western Fuels website indicates otherwise. westernfuels.org
It is always possible to find a few people who are willing to be paid for their opinion, but surely their opinions shouldn't carry the same weight as the thousands of scientists who say that global warming is a real threat, should they?
Del |
