Patrick J. Michaels exposed! He disses Gore's "Inconvenient Truth", but we have the dirt

[zulchzulu]

I put on my virtual rubber boots and went to Sludge's site...and lo and behold, a link to a story from the conservative National Review goes to a hit piece by Patrick J. Michaels, a conservative "climatologist", saying that Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" is fiction and not fact.

Do Nothings like Michaels would rather screed about global warming like it's only a few degrees here, a couple more inches of water there and not nearly the problem that even the Bush administration recently appeared to be alarmed about.

Well, as they always say, follow the money.



After a small Google, it turns out that Patrick J. Michaels, a self-proclaimed "global warming skeptic", is a member of the Cato Institute. This lovely institute is sponsored by Exxon and other petroleum interests with fantastic greenwashed names. Rupert Murdoch has his hands in this institute as well as the Coors family. A great site, Exxonsecrets (http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/personfactsheet.php?id=4) has some dirt on what Robert F. Kennedy calls a biostitute:

Michaels is the Chief Editor for the "World Climate Review," a newsletter on global warming funded by the Western Fuels Association. Dr. Michaels has acknowledged that 20% of his funding comes from fossil fuel sources: (http://www.mtn.org/~nescncl/complaints/determinations/det_118.html) Known funding includes $49,000 from German Coal Mining Association, $15,000 from Edison Electric Institute and $40,000 from Cyprus Minerals Company, an early supporter of People for the West, a "wise use" group. He recieved $63,000 for research on global climate change from Western Fuels Association, above and beyond the undisclosed amount he is paid for the World Climate Report/Review. According to Harper's magazine, Michaels has recieved over $115,000 over the past four years from coal and oil interests. Michaels wrote "Sound and Fury" and "The Satanic Gases" which were published by Cato Institute. Dr. Michaels signed the 1995 Leipzig Declaration. In July of 2006, it was revealed that the Intermountain Rural Electric Association "contributed $100,000 to Dr. Michaels." (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/GlobalWarming/story?id=2242565&page=1)

Hopefully, Al Gore wins an Oscar tonight for his efforts and the movie. And perhaps he can say something like "people who think global warming is not an issue are full of hot air."


Article: http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YjI4NTc0YWMzNTA3ZjRmYmJiMDRjNmI5MGEwZTFhM2E=

[MidwestTransplant]

1. They round up 2 scientists out of thousands and say their is a "debate"

You could probably find 2 historians to dispute the Holocaust so does that mean there is a debate as to whether it happened or not?

[zulchzulu]

2. More about the Cato Institute

You may notice on various PBS programs some of these names when they do the sponsors:

Castle Rock Foundation (Formerly Coors Foundation)
Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation
Earhart Foundation
JM Foundation
John M. Olin Foundation, Inc.
Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation
Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
Scaife Foundations (Sarah Mellon Scaife, Carthage)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cato_Institute

Another problem with the institute is how they claim to have Barry Goldwater as one of their major visionaries. Goldwater was a "conservationist", which is old school for "environmentalist" these days. I doubt Goldwater would be like an ostrich with his head in the sand when it comes to global climate change.

[KoKo]

3. Castle Rock has done a few PBS programs that seemed

to be slanted. One was about the Saudi's. Thanks for the post...

[zulchzulu]

4. The people who make Coors Beer....

I can't believe how many progressives don't know about the owners of that bubbly swill...

[SpiralHawk]

5. I'd bet he's a chickenhawk, too, like most republicons

He can take a place of dishonor with the Vast Brigade of republicons who would love to send other people off to fight an oil & munitions war profits conflict in Iraq and Iran -- but who have never served America themselves.

The republicon bird: