I’ve had a change of heart. I’ve been sent some new data, after seeing it, I’ve decided that The Heartland Institute is actually a terrible threat to science in the USA. As “Deep Throat” famously said (in the movie), “follow the money”. Well here it is, all laid out. I hope the public relations experts at DeSmog run this.
Oh, wait.
And actually, if you look at Heartland’s Gleick-grabbed budget plan, the actual numbers spent on climate programs are a fraction of that 6.5 million total budget.
No wonder our friends are so scared of Heartland, they are effective for next to nothing by comparison to US government climate programs. Thanks to Josh at cartoonsbyjosh.com for the artwork.
So, the truth is a positive feedback. No wonder the AGW crowd is missing heat.
http://www.iea.org.uk/publications/research/canada-leaves-greenpeace-red-faced
The SADDEST aspect of all this is the “alternate reality” that relatively intelligent people live in.
Alas, I’ve dealt with them. Lawyers, MD’s, professional orchestra musicians, high level people, alas with “power positions”….they actually BELIEVE that “big oil” and nasty “industry” sponsor us skeptics.
My fondest wish is for such folks to have to “pay” for their stupidity and “brain in a bucket” approach…motivated by their POLITICS. Can we get them to play “clean up” after Mr. “I’manutjob” (IRAN) lays one in on NYC or D.C.? (Reality check…a REAL threat to humanity, not an imagined one.)
Curious thought, are the commissioned research studies managed from a central database to ensure the same research isn’t being requested by multiple US agencies and or a duplication of past studies from one or more of the agencies?
Robert Brown says: March 1, 2012 at 7:36 am
[Hey, BP! Look, I’m your man!]
Sorry British Petroleum already have a dance partner, The Climate Research Unit at the University of East Angela.
The CRU also dances to the tune of other pipers: Royal Dutch Shell (Petroleum), UK Nirex Ltd (Nuclear Waste), Tate and Lyle (Food to Ethanol), Broom’s Barn Sugar Beet Research Centre (Food to Ethanol), Greenpeace International (Political Action), World Wildlife Fund for Nature (Political Action), United States Department of Energy, Sultanate of Oman (Liquefied Methane), Norwich Union (Insurance), Reinsurance Underwriters and Syndicates (Insurance) , KFA Germany (Nuclear Power), National Power (Rechargeable Exotic Batteries), etc.
See for yourself: http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/about/history/
Sultanate of Oman ????
Why is a Middle Eastern Monarch funding a British Climate Research Business?
I would really like to see someone prominent challenge the “Big Oil-funded anti-science conspiracy” meme that is so popular with the Greenies.
Let’s force them to prove it, or shut it.
@ur momisugly More Soylent Green
Someone should do a follow up the the story on how the GM killed off the electric car 15+ years ago by controlling the patents for big cheap batteries…then selling the patents to Big Oil…ultimately to Chevron…that used to be Standard Oil, that allegedly killed of the electric streetcar in LA…
The patents just got sold to BASF, http://www.basf.com/group/corporate/us/en/news-and-media-relations/news-releases/news-releases-usa/P-12-037
ISELIN, NJ, February 14, 2012 — BASF today announced that it has acquired Ovonic Battery Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER).
Based in Rochester Hills, Mich., Ovonic is the global leader in Nickel-Metalhydride (NiMH) battery technology, including the production of cathode active materials (CAMs) for this battery type. The company also has a battery materials research facility in Troy, Mich.
“Follow the Money”….
(I don’t recall if that quote was attributed to Mark Felt or Linda Lovelace…but if Anthony says it was in the movie…I trust him!)
1. I’ve had enough of this. When is Exxon and BP and Mobil and Gulfstream Jet Co. (Al Gore’s Favourite!?), Cadillac, and BlackWater, and the US Dept. of Defense and the DC Congressional limo pool, and Boeing, and the Hollywood Lighting Company, and everyone else who benefits from the inherent organic natural qualities of mother oil going to get in the game. So they fear it’ll be a Tobacco type war but I DO NOT see that they are analagous. As long as this is kept in the ‘Science’ realm-arena (AGW departed some time ago I know but is being dragged back into the ring) and not the corrupt litigation realm (see OJ’s jury) then there is nothing….NOTHING to fear. They can say …” you say that because of big oil!” meanwhile, they say what they do because of “big Govt. Funding” and dominate us. To me, it’s analagous to WWII. The Brits won the Battle of Britain and a long time later(with thanks in part to the Russian second front) eventually, jointly with friends, won the war. Getting the war ended and done in a lot shorter time required the might of the U.S. WUWT and the other band of bros has done the impossible and kept the Science in the arena and delivered some blows. Now we need big everything to push over the Pisa like AGW tower of babel. We need the big ‘quality of life’ players except you GE!!) to marshall a D-Day and get these………_________________……….buried!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(BTW—All Tobacco litigation is filed, I believe, by plaintiffs, in a small county near Chicago. Anyone know why??)
Science is the answer to all this; not litigation, but,when the Science is corrupt; we’re going to need some big power to straighten the corrupt Science, and, dismantle the down stream corrupt politic industry axis!!!
We can be right, but if we don’t have a relevant forum, and we don’t have power, and we don’t have influence, and they are not forced to listen; we’ll never get rid of this evil. –IMHO
It is all about control. The “discussion on global warming” as being transformed in “Fakegate” and “Denialgate” is witness of the success that controlling parties (follow the money INDEED) have in manipulating opinions. Hegel: thesis, anti thesis and not yet synthesis. As discussed before, it is not about the science, modern politicians are not interested in science, but in sales: how to survive the next election. Therefore subsidize a “tame” scientist, and use his/her sub-prime findings and work on your poltical survival. As stated in different sicles earlier, when politics and science are in the same bed, science ends the loser. Whether we like it or not, “mother nature” will tell us the science!!
There’s at least one group than will put even the DoE (shown on the chart) to shame.
Since the ClimateWorks Foundation started in 2008, their three funders have “granted” them a total of $610,662,975.
One group got that much, over a 4 year period from three original “founders”.
Follow the monkeys…
A monkey is an individual who goes to the trouble of earning a Ph.D. only to graduate and happily work as a researcher where their interest in earning money far exceeds their interest in their research.
The US government, using taxpayer money (what else could they use?), has become by far the largest money-laundering operation in global history. Al Capone and Baby-Face Nelson would be envious.
Maurizio Morabito @ur momisugly 7:44 am
“Can we get a coffee mug “Climate Skeptics Do It Better”?”
Using the graphic on this article plus that slogan – would be really good, I think.
Shhh! “Private” means… Oh. Nevermind.
Speaking of the disparity in environmental funding. From Alternet:
$10 Billion is a staggering amount of money for this one cause…
Why Heartland’s coin color is green? Shouldn’t it be, I don’t know, black (for oil), or light blue (for natural gas)?
Look at ARGO costs
“How much does Argo cost?
The total annual cost of Argo is about $20 million, or roughly $25 thousand per float-lifetime, which means that each profile costs around $200.”
How many floats does HI pay for?
How many pyrgeometer does HI deploy?
How many pyrheliometer does HI deploy?
How many satellites do they launch?
How much data do the collect which can then be debunked by scientists?
Do you not think it important that we know if climate is changing?
Should we not try to predict storms to warn residents?
Should undergradustes be taught climate science?
How much has HI spent on their form of education?
All that spending and they still have no direct link to human causation…..guess they just need to spend a few more trillions….Duh!
Sultanate of Oman ????
Why is a Middle Eastern Monarch funding a British Climate Research Business?
———————————————
Hands up who wern’t taken in way back by these AGW Scammers. CRU were supposed to represent ‘Science’ in all it’s splendour. World was getting warmer and climate was changing and when a Concensus of mandarins of the a arcane corn maze branch of Science says AGW is real, no one at that point knew enough to know it ain’t so.
Is it possible that WUWT doesn’t spend enough time emphasizing the positives? Anthony made it very clear that he supports definitive solutions that improve the environment and improve the human condition.
IMO, this debate isn’t about the unsettled science nor about the fact the current educated guesses aren’t completely accurate. The debate is about the Policy decisions and a rush to judgement without due diligence. The rush to judgement is the UN’s fault and isn’t about public opinion.
Of course funding to understand the climate system is important
Of course funding to deploy definitive solutions to resolve an energy policy and redefine the grid are important
The issue, the loons aren’t capable of definitive solutions and are simply perpetuating the illusion a problem that supports wasted tax dollars and a complete rush to judgement.
The IPCC reports go to great lengths to quantify degree of certainty but IMO are far to simplistic. The policy and work groups proposing solutions are the problem and thus far not the solution.
The amount the US is spending to resolve real issues isn’t the point, the rush to judgement is the issue related to policy decisions that effect US tax payers.
Speaking of funding, there was $10 Billion spent on the environment and climate from 2000 to 2009:
@JJThoms
“Do you not think it important that we know if climate is changing?
Should we not try to predict storms to warn residents?
Should undergradustes be taught climate science?
How much has HI spent on their form of education?”
1.
Climate is always changing, it’s nothing new. To understand how it works would be a noble cause, but such a cause needs rational people focused on reaching the goal rather than the money.
2.
At about the same time every year there’s about the same type of storm, all residents tend to know this.
3.
Undergraduets should be taught science.
4.
If they actually had a “form of education” then no more than 6.5 million dollars per year, obviously. :p
How embarrassing. 7 federal agencies spending money on the same thing. I am a federal employee and can guarentee no one in those agencies is going to come to the conclusion that CO2 is not causeing a catastrophy, as they would argue to eliminate their budget (and jobs). I am embarassed to be a federal employee in this day and age.
Sorry but this is starting to get really, really ridiculous.
One thing is, Heartland Institute does not do just global warming.
And another thing is, scientists paid by Heartland do use data acquired and released by government institutions such as NASA or NOAA. Large part of government funding does not go into looking for where it’s worse than we thought but simply into measuring what things are and making these measurements publicly available. And unless you succeed in separating what’s spent on data and what’s spent on propaganda, you can’t simply put them side by side.
Maybe it’s time to finger big oil’s part in supporting the CAGW scheme.
OK big oil, now it’s time to show us what you have to gain by supporting the cause. This could be interesting.
The way I see it is that through high taxes and government grants I am supporting the cause. By high fuel prices I am supporting the cause. By high food prices I am supporting the cause via ethanol.
Time to tear this web apart and starve the spiders.