Heard the one about “BushCo paying off climatologists to change their views on global warming,” or “the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) paying climatologists $10,000 (from Exxon-Mobil) to change their views.”
Whooops!
It’s a LIE...a smear campaign cooked up by the folks at Greenpeace.
They’ve been peddling this scam for months and finally hooked and reeled in the folks at the UK Guardian, from there it was taken up by the British Independent, before it jumped “the pond” to the WaPo and CNN Money!
According to the Wall Street Journal, "What AEI did was send a letter to several leading climate scientists asking them to participate in a symposium that would present a "range of policy prescriptions that should be considered for climate change of uncertain dimension." Some of the scholars asked to participate, including Steve Schroeder of Texas A& M, are climatologists who believe that global warming is a major problem."
Exxon's director of its Washington office, Lauren Kerr has said that "none of us here had ever heard of this AEI climate change project until we read about it in the London newspapers."
Whooops!
It’s a LIE...a smear campaign cooked up by the folks at Greenpeace.
They’ve been peddling this scam for months and finally hooked and reeled in the folks at the UK Guardian, from there it was taken up by the British Independent, before it jumped “the pond” to the WaPo and CNN Money!
According to the Wall Street Journal, "What AEI did was send a letter to several leading climate scientists asking them to participate in a symposium that would present a "range of policy prescriptions that should be considered for climate change of uncertain dimension." Some of the scholars asked to participate, including Steve Schroeder of Texas A& M, are climatologists who believe that global warming is a major problem."
Exxon's director of its Washington office, Lauren Kerr has said that "none of us here had ever heard of this AEI climate change project until we read about it in the London newspapers."
Even so the policy of commissioning such research is also standard practice at NASA and other government agencies and at liberal groups such as the Pew Charitable Trusts, which have among them spent billions of dollars attempting to link fossil fuels to global warming.
Worse still, several members of the U.S. Senate have taken these reports on face value without ever even contacting the AEI to vet them. Yesterday Senators Bernie Sanders, Patrick Leahy, Dianne Feinstein and John Kerry sent a letter to AEI President, Mr. DeMuth complaining that "should these reports be accurate," then "it would highlight the extent to which moneyed interests distort honest scientific and public policy discussions. . . . Does your donors' self-interest trump an honest discussion over the well-being of the planet?"
According to the WSJ, "Every member of AEI's board of directors was graciously copied on the missive. We're told the Senators never bothered to contact AEI about the veracity of the reports, and by repeating the distortions, these four Democratic senators, wittingly or not, gave credence to falsehood."
Currently Exxon-Mobil is demanding a full retraction from the Independent.
Worse still, several members of the U.S. Senate have taken these reports on face value without ever even contacting the AEI to vet them. Yesterday Senators Bernie Sanders, Patrick Leahy, Dianne Feinstein and John Kerry sent a letter to AEI President, Mr. DeMuth complaining that "should these reports be accurate," then "it would highlight the extent to which moneyed interests distort honest scientific and public policy discussions. . . . Does your donors' self-interest trump an honest discussion over the well-being of the planet?"
According to the WSJ, "Every member of AEI's board of directors was graciously copied on the missive. We're told the Senators never bothered to contact AEI about the veracity of the reports, and by repeating the distortions, these four Democratic senators, wittingly or not, gave credence to falsehood."
Currently Exxon-Mobil is demanding a full retraction from the Independent.
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