Thursday, February 16, 2017

Guest Post: More on Harris' Fossil Fuel Association Deception

The below submission addresses the picture that was released on the DeSmogUK post,


From left to right, Marc MoranoTom HarrisCraig RuckerChristopher Monckton, [Teddy Bear?], Bob CarterChristopher EssexFred SingerWillie SoonPatrick Moore  Source: DeSmogUK
Terry, a frequent commenter on climate change issues, posted the following on my post concerning Tom Harris' attempts to hide his associating with the fossil fuel industry. I thought it was significant enough to warrant being a guest post.



Terry

Regarding the photo of Tom keeping company with the polar bear group:
Here's some info on Tom's buddies in that pic:
Nice photo of Tom Harris keeping company with an oil funded group. There’s Craig Rucker (director for Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, or CFACT, a fossil fuel-funded group which has received over $4.1 million in funds from Donor’s Trust and Donor’s Capital Fund between 2002-2011 and an additional $582,000 from ExxonMobil between 1998-2012. His climate expertise? None. Quoted as saying "The Obama administration's war on coal is a disaster in the making for the U.S. economy."
…and there is Christopher Monckton, a roving speaker, who claims to have been the former science advisor to Margaret Thatcher, but never was. He also claims to be a member of the House of Lords but isn’t and never has been. He's a contributor to the reports of the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC), which is a project sponsored by The Heartland Institute (which is funded by fossil fuel industries). He's a Chief Policy Advisor, Science and Public Policy Institute for Heartland. According to George Monbiot at The Guardian, Monckton "has a degree in classics and a diploma in journalism and, as far as I can tell, no further qualifications." Quoted as saying "The right response to the non-problem of global warming is to have the courage to do nothing."
…and there’s Robert M. Carter, Science Policy Advisor at Australia's Institute of Public Affairs, which has received funding from oil companies and whose directors sit on the boards of companies in the fossil fuel sector. He's also an "expert" at the Heartland Institute and Chief Science Advisor to the International Climate Science Coalition. A geologist by tr aining, Carter wrote a book titled, Climate: The Counter-Consensus. Quoted as saying "The role of peer review in scientific literature is overstressed, and whether or not a scientist had been funded by the fossil fuel industry [i]s irrelevant to the validity of research." Really, he did!
…and there’s Dr. S. Fred Singer, President of the Science and Environmental Policy Project. He’s affiliated with The Cato Institute, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation, Heartland Institute and others. He has also done consulting work for major oil companies including Texaco, Arco, Shell, Sun, Unocal, the Electric Power Institute, Florida Power and the American Gas Association. Has previously worked for the tobacco industry to debunk the "junk science" linking their products to cancer. Quoted as saying "Let's face it. People like warmer climates.". Really!!
…and there’s Patrick Moore, Canadian public relations specialist; Chair of the Nuclear Energy Institute an d founder of Greenspirit Strategies and frequently described as "co-founder of Greenpeace", which he never as. He has been a spokesman for fossil fuel-intensive industries for more than 20 years. On The Real Story With Gretchen Carlson, Carlson touted "a stunning admission about climate change" from "the co-founder of Greenpeace, who says there is no scientific proof that man is contributing to climate change." His climate expertise? None.
Quoted as saying "Weather is just weather, like the cold weather we're getting this year. It has not warmed for the last 17 years. We know that for sure. And that brings into question the whole hypothesis."
…and then there’s Dr. Willie Soon, an aerospace engineer. According to documents obtained by Greenpeace through a freedom of information request, nearly all of Soon's climate research over the last 14 years was funded by the energy industry. He is shown to have taken more than $1.25-million from the likes of Exxon Mobil, the Amer ican Petroleum Institute and a foundation run by the oil baron Koch brothers.
The New York Times revealed that Soon promised “deliverables” including scientific papers and Senate testimony when negotiating terms with energy companies. Many of Soon's articles are not published in peer-reviewed journals, but by organizations skeptical of climate change such as the Fraser Institute, The George C. Marshall Institute and in the skeptical science journal Energy & Environment. One paper that Soon authored and was published in two peer-reviewed journals received research funding from the oil lobbying group, American Petroleum Institute.
Now back to Tom Harris, Executive Director of the International Climate Science Coalition, a “group of climate change skeptics that has received funding from the Heartland Institute." He was Director of Operations of the High Park Group, a lobbying organization for the energy industry until 2006. This has apparently been deleted from their website.
His Climate Expertise? None. He was quoted as saying "All the companies want is to see information coming out about research that supports their side. They wouldn't have to if all sides were covered (by the media).... If we got to half a million (dollars), I'd be thrilled."
So now we know who Tom Harris likes to chum around with…liars and anthropogenic climate change deniers who have been funded by fossil fuel industries.

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