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The Heartland Institute
This billboard was up for a day in the Chicago area last week.
Some corporate giants are caught in the middle of a battle between a think tank skeptical of manmade global warming and an environmental group that it is trying to undermine its financial health.
On one side is Forecast the Facts, which was founded this year and claims to have 20,000 members ready and willing to use e-mail and social media to counter criticism of mainstream climate science that points to a warming world.
On the other is The Heartland Institute, a Chicago-based group that's been around for 28 years. It has called global warming a "fringe theory" and covers not only climate issues but also budget policy, education, insurance, health care and telecom issues.
Forecast the Facts has been after Heartland since February, when documents were released purporting to show donors to the think tank. Peter Gleick, a climate scientist/activist, came under fire from various sides for posing as a Heartland board member to obtain the documents.
Heartland felt the heat again last week when it launched -- and 24 hours later halted -- a billboard campaign comparing mainstream climate scientists to "madmen". The billboard used Unabomber Ted Kaczynski's image and the words: "I still believe in Global Warming. Do You?"
Meteorologist Paul Douglas joins the conversation on climate change - along with former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, podcast host Sam Seder, Victoria deFrancesco Soto of Latino Decisions, and former New York Times columnist Bob Herbert - as they track extreme changes in weather and how lawmakers in Congress are responding to climate issues.
Forecast the Facts seized on the billboard, urging Pfizer, several insurers, Microsoft and Comcast -- whose external affairs director, Mike Rose, is on Heartland's board of directors -- and other corporations to cut financial ties even if those donations were for non-climate programs at Heartland.
(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and Comcast’s NBC Universal unit.)
Comcast did not comment on the issue, but other companies have issued statements since the billboard campaign and after Forecast the Facts started lobbying them online.
Among them:
- State Farm Insurance, on its Facebook page, said it "is ending its association with the Heartland Institute" due to the billboard.
- In a blog post over the weekend, Steve Lippman, Microsoft's director of corporate citizenship, said the donations were in the form of free software available to any nonprofit. "The Heartland Institute’s position on climate change is diametrically opposed to Microsoft’s position," he added. "And we completely disagree with the group’s inflammatory and distasteful advertising campaign."
- Beverage giant Diageo told London's The Guardian over the weekend that it has no plans to work further with Heartland, after a donation two years ago for a tax policy program.
- Pfizer spokesman Peter O'Toole told msnbc.com that "we do not agree with the Heartland Institute’s position on climate change and have said so publicly a number of times. We also review our engagement with outside organizations regularly."
- The Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers, in a letter to Heartland, said that "we write to disavow any future relationship with your organization. Recent revelations of the Heartland Institute’s radical position on climate change as portrayed on the new billboard featuring Ted Kaczynski made our association with other parts of your organization untenable."
Forecast the Facts said a few other insurers pulled out as well.
The heat from the climate controversy is accelerating a "divorce" between Heartland's Chicago headquarters and its Washington, D.C.-based insurance unit, and that a split is "imminent," according to a report Wednesday by PropertyCasualty360.com, an insurance underwriting website.
At a rally last March, Pat Robertson claimed that the science of global warming 'has been debunked as not valid'. This shows a change in attitude, as Rev. Al Sharpton shares a video the two did together in support of taking care of the planet.
Even before the billboard campaign, Forecast the Facts was pressuring Heartland donors.
"General Motors was the first to respond ... ending its 20-year relationship with Heartland on March 28," said Johnson. GM spokesman Greg Martin later confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that the company "decided to discontinue" its ties to Heartland. "GM's operating its business as if climate change is real," he added.
Pepsi last month stated it had been a Heartland member but had only engaged on taxation issues, not climate science.
Heartland, for its part, remains strong with 1,800 donors, including foundations and corporations, spokesman Jim Lakely told msnbc.com.
The billboard campaign ended "after 24 hours because it offended many of Heartland’s friends and supporters," he said. "If we had it to do over, we wouldn’t, and that billboard will not be appearing again."
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Leave a Comment:
"skeptical"?? They're full blown deniers. "undermine their financial health"?? okay - thanks for making your bias clear from the first paragraph... who did write this article anyway?
What do you expect from a bunch of Tea Bagging, Birthing, ignorant Nut Jobs. This is nothing but big energy playing on the stupidest in America, just like the GOP, getting idiots to vote against their best interest.
The GOP is on the wrong side of this argument no matter if global warming is real or not. They are protecting big industries that pollute the air and water which is nothing short of criminal.
@Larue Lindsay
Your comment was the most honest comment from a liberal in a long time. To explain my thoughts let me quote what you just stated and then decipher it. You said "The GOP is on the wrong side of this argument """"no matter if global warming is real or not."""" " Do you understand just how ignorant a comment that is? You are saying that anyone who disagrees with you or the left leaning nutjobs are wrong EVEN IF THE LEFTWING NUTJOBS ARE FACTUALLY WRONG. I cant believe you were honest enough to actually submit that post.
Baxterdude,
She has a point. Two people have an argument. One of the two uses the tactic of spotlighting the truth (even if they have to be sneaky to get at the truth) while the other uses the tactic of spreading smokescreens of misinformation and lies, appealing to the lowest common denominator of the human psyche with fear tactics, and doing so only for the financial interests of their supporters. By the way, do they know that the unibomber believes in global warming? These are the kinds of tactics Rove uses in election ads.
So of those two, who is "on the wrong side".
BAX, Thanks for your honest attempt of adding something smart. First of all, I'm a Ron Paul Republican. I should have said that MY party is on the wrong side of this argument because pollution is harmful to the planet even if it does not cause Global Warming! The argument that preventing pollution or forcing companies not to pollute will some how hurt the economy and prevent job creation is absolutely wrong. We have the technology to curb our pollution and eliminate a lot of it. The health care cost that arise from pollution are far exceeding any savings realized by the polluters who are not forced to curb their polluting for fear of the expense.
Pollution is bad for the economy and the environment, thus arguing not to curb or slow down pollution because there is not enough scientific proof about global warming, is retarded at worst and lacks common sense at best.
Ron Paul 2012
While I agree that
Pollution is bad for the economy and the environment, thus arguing not to curb or slow down pollution because there is not enough scientific proof about global warming, is retarded at worst and lacks common sense at best.
On the Other hand what sense does it make to impose Regulation that will be so stringent it forces manufacturing out of the United States. I am not aware of any one in my industry that is blatantly ignoring problems and most everyone is CLEANING UP their act. The pressure the clean air regulations are putting on the metals industry will only force the business elsewhere.
Here is a fact you should consider when you pose some of the PIE IN THE SKY remarks. Just because Obama and the GREEN people are forcing the coal burning industry in to extinction doesn't mean to coal mining will stop. Just like to excess inventory and capacity available in the petroleum industry it will just end up on a boat headed for another country. I believe we should be doing everything to get the most out of our Natural Resources and do itin the Ecological manner we still need to use the Resources WE have. If you think you are going to force another Country to do the same you are naive and don't understand Business.
Climate change is rapidly killing this planet and we won't wake up to this fact until it's to late!
However, this planet will survive and most likely we will not!!
DON"T FOOL WITH MOTHER NATURE,,,,,does anyone remember that commerical?
Calling the Heartland Institute a think tank is an oxymoron. Their operations amount to nothing more than a propaganda ministry that, if they were honest, would have a "Junk Science for Sale" sign on their entrance. Their ties to the tobacco lobby are well-documented and an immoral assault on reason, common sense, and this country's health as well as that of the rest of the world.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Heartland_Institute_and_tobacco
And while the following may seem to drift into conspiracy theories and hyperbole, it is substantially accurate and details the ties with ALEC. These are not individuals who consciously sought to subvert democracy and the free exchange of information; they are corporate gnomes who elected silence the cries of their own consciences by slamming the door because they found the screams too troubling. Then, having achieved a bit of smugness from the ensuing silence, they seek out others with similar demons and join in a ritual dance they believe will permanently exorcise them.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Heartland_Institute
I'm nervous about putting that "junk science" line out there. That's liable to be their catch phrase next year.
aaah, you're just a bunch of mamby pamby do gooding responsible citizens of the earth.
Knuckle dragging right wing deniers unite!!!
I believe some Scientist with a personal agenda about as much as I believe you. Democrat, Republican, and Scientist, like you have their own opinion. Mine is not to punish the masses for the wrongs of the few.
Someone please explain to me how a group such as yours has a legitimate function when from what I can see all you do is to try to get meteorologists who dont drink your coolaid unemployed? Sounds very much like a crusade to me. Almost like alquaeda.
But science is mainly statistics. Number crunching. But with computer technology today, number crunching is soooo easy. It has made science a lot more powerful too. Perhaps there are some who cannot believe what science is telling them. Believe that it cannot be true. But science is all about facts. About independent verification. Science is not like politics or history which can be rewritten. No. No. Science works because of statistics and number crunching and computers. And nowadays anybody can do that.
But i tell you it is because there is some hope to reducing co2 emissions. In the first three years, obama has reduced co2 by 30%. And he has just begun. But it does set up things with cheap electricity with natural gas falling far below 1/2 of their prices when obama took office. With that cheap manufacturing which cannot be duplicated by europe or asia. No. No. They are stuck with expensive co2 producing coal at the cheapest.
I think climate change is just another cycle that our planet will go through...if you think about it, our planet has gone through so many changes throughout history. Anyway, on the topic, I think the billboard pushed it a little. For one, they compare anyone who believes in global warming to a psycho...yea, smart move! No one can really argue this situation as we have no fact that global warming can or does happen. Well, I hope everyone breaks away from that company.
Sharethatbud,
No one can really argue this situation as we have no fact that global warming can or does happen.
Really? It's one of the hottest topics in the scientific community, and the scientists have been gathering the facts for many years now. And the numbers on how many scientists agree the earth is warming is probably in the 90% range. Get a grip.
And the other thing about scientists is that they are not really, really dumb. And there is another thing about statistics. It can prove correlation between things and also prove that there is no correlation between things. That is they can disprove things as well as prove things. It's all part of the scientific method. Just about every excuse that mr grover, the gop, & the rushbo have thought about scientists have reviewed, sent data through their computers and disproven. The cause of the climate change being the sun, undersea volcanoes, inner warming from the earth's core - disproven. No statistical correlation to the real world. It's all done with computers.
Marshal,
And even without the scientists people have only to look around at the changes happening to their local environments to get the picture. Take the devastation of the forests due to the pine beetle. The beetles moved north because the temps rose. Take the boggy roads in the tundra that used to be like solid rock. Guess it got a little warmer up there, huh? Take the plants blooming a good two weeks earlier or in some cases more. Hmmm, do you think they might bud when it warms up to just the right temp? Take the migration of bird species from Mexico up into Texas. Only happened because it warmed up some. This list could go on and on and on. It only takes looking at what's happening without political blinders.
Space Captain you are right the planet is warming up but only because that is what id does normally..I am sure prior to the ice age our little blue marble was a toasty place to be in, once that was over the ice reseeded and the planet once again warmed up once again and that was definitely not by our doing. and i am sure by the time that you and I are feeding some tree in our respective home towns another ice age will be back.
i honestly feel what we are seeing is something that has taken place well before our species walked the earth and now everyone is in a panic mode thinking that the approximately 200 years or so of industrialization has caused this out of the millions of years of natural deviation this planet has gone through..do we need to house keep a little better..absolutely but let us not go into such a knee jerk reaction that we are the sole cause of this with out looking at the simple fact that this is just what this planet does..change...
Swabbydude,
You are right on so many points. This happens with or without us in cycles. I do not think any scientist would disagree with that. Point we are making is that it is happening more rapidly than our ecosystems can absorb, and also that it is well proven that at certain points in this change it can have a sudden flipping and cause overnight changes that are very drastic, civilization shattering if you will. Also, I do not believe you will find an honest scientist that disagrees that greenhouse gases are one of the major causes of warming, if not THE major cause. So why in hell are we holding the pedal to the metal and speeding up what will probably cause our world to collapse around us? A little off topic, but not really, is that the last catastrophic climate change event took place at the same time the Mayan Calender started this long count. And that this long count of theirs is fast approaching. According to them each one of these cycles is a new and different world. It looks to me like they might be on to something. Cycles, yes cycles.
And thinking that man's actions on his environment cannot have devastating effects, just look at what happened to the Easter Islanders who had to start eating long pig to survive because there wasn't much else to put on the table. All due to their not paying attention to what effects their actions on their environment were causing.
My personal take on all this is that the world is NOT going to get away from fossil fuels. That the warming process from the greenhouse gasses will only get worse. And that those lucky enough or smart enough will maybe survive it all. The Egyptian priests told Plato's uncle that "God" punishes/cleans the world alternately through fire and water. First one, then the other, in a never ending "cycle". Hmmm, last one we know of was supposedly the flood. That means the next one is what? Oh yeah, fire. Hmmm, fire makes things warm I think. Warm? Global warming? Oooops.
For those of you who aren't as crazy as I am you can disregard the part about the Mayan calendar and that last paragraph about Egyptian priests.
Spacecaptain... I actually found your post to be the most intelligent one on here yet. Nothing crazy about it at all. It should be everyone's personal responsibility how we handle our debri. Have you ever thought about the amount of garbage we (at least in America) put in the landfills? If you follow one person from cradle to grave, you would be amazed. Heck, just look at the disposable diabper industry and all of those dirty diapers in the landfill; covered in plastic that has a slow erosion period. I do, however, believe that everything is cyclical.
Excellent!! If the EPA was really interested in making an impact on the way our culture behaves maybe it would consider the life cycle of products we use. Regulating Industry seems to be the only consideration to them and, How much energy does it take and what percentage of plastic is NOT going to the landfill.
It takes 14 time less gas or electricity to recycle aluminum. I know because I work in that Industry and just like the Coal Burning Utility Plants we are under EXTREME pressure.
Navy. You still do not get it. Yes, the earth is warming up and if it did it in a gradual manner, no problem. The problem is the rate of change. Prior to the industrial revolution the earth 5,000 years before, had gone through some warming up but also small iceages. Throwing in the small iceages the rate of change from a cold climate to a warm climate was very small. Since about 100 - 150 years ago the rate of change has jumped and continues to increase. The majority of scientists in the world believe that human beings are responsible for the increase in rate of climate change. Are there ones that do not, yes but they are a small minority. Corporations and individuals who have a vested interest in not curtailing pollution will do their best to try to convince everyone and anyone that science is wrong or that the scientists have some "liberal" agenda. Wake up and stop being a sap. Read the scientific reports and then make your conclussion. Maybe all these scientists are wrong and the corporations are right, but I do not think I want to take that risk.