Center for Grassroots Oversight

February 15-16, 2011: Minnesota Republican Advocates Restarting Coal Mining, Says God Provides ';Unlimited Resources';

mtuck — 2012-05-29T16:22:01+02:00

Michael Beard, a Republican state representative from Minnesota and an eight-year veteran of the Minnesota House Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee, advocates resuming coal mining in his state. His reasoning: God has created a planet that provides unlimited natural resources. "God is not capricious. He's given us a creation that is dynamically stable," he tells a reporter. "We are not going to run out of anything." Beard is drafting legislation that would overturn Minnesota's moratorium on coal-fired power plants. He says that God will not allow humans to destroy the planet, no matter what they do. He recalls working on his family farm in Pennsylvania, which he says was mined three times for coal and now produces barley, wheat, and pine trees. "Did we temporarily disrupt the face of the earth? Yes, but when we were done, we put it all back together again." He continues: "It is the height of hubris to think we could [destroy the earth]. ... How did Hiroshima and Nagasaki work out?" he asks, referring to the two Japanese cities destroyed by atomic bombs in World War II. "We destroyed that, but here we are, 60 years later and they are tremendously effective and livable cities. Yes, it was pretty horrible. But, can we recover? Of course we can." Beard's thesis is at odds with most climate scientists, who say that burning coal results in severe and perhaps irreparable harm to the planet, and contributes to widespread human suffering. According to columnist Dan Shelby, "Most of them are convinced that there is a point at which we will never be able to put it all back together again." John Abraham, a professor of thermal sciences, writes a response to Beard's statements noting the flaws in Beard's reasoning. Beard tells Shelby that he reads a lot about science, and cites a number of conservative blogs as his sources. His primary source is Dr. Patrick Michaels, who has admitted that he receives the bulk of his funding for research from fossil fuel producers. Shelby writes: "It is understandable. Mike Beard is a free-market conservative and pro-business. No one who calls himself those things can afford global warming to be true. There is a political belief that solving global warming will destroy American business. American business deplores government interference. Global warming regulation and legislation requires governments to act." Both Abraham and Beard have expressed a desire to open a dialogue on the subject.

December 8, 2009 and After: Fox News Managing Editor Orders News Staff to Question Validity of Climate Change Claims in All Pertinent Reporting

mtuck — 2012-05-18T13:51:15+02:00

Bill Sammon, the Washington managing editor for Fox News, sends an internal email instructing his journalists and producers to slant their coverage of climate change stories in favor of questioning the validity of climate change claims. Sammon's order is given during a series of global climate change talks, and less than 15 minutes after Fox News correspondent Wendell Goler told viewers that the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) had announced that 2000-2009 was "on track to be the warmest [decade] on record." Sammon's email says in part: "Given the controversy over the veracity of climate change data ... we should refrain from asserting that the planet has warmed (or cooled) in any given period without IMMEDIATELY pointing out that such theories are based upon data that critics have called into question. It is not our place as journalists to assert such notions as facts, especially as this debate intensifies." The email also comes amidst a steady promotion by the network of the so-called "Climategate" scandal, which hinges on misrepresentations of emails sent between climate scientists and supposedly casts critical doubts on the science behind the claims of climate change and global warming. Ultimately, all independent inquiries will clear the accused scientists of misconduct and manipulation, though these reports will receive less attention from Fox. And, though Sammon portrays his directive as an attempt to be fair and balanced, the "debate" is largely in the media, and fueled by conservative politics and by corporations and investors that would be impacted by regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. No national or international scientific body disputes that global warming is caused by human activities, and it is the consensus view of the vast majority of the world's climate scientists that greenhouse gas emissions are the cause of the rise in the Earth's average temperature since the 19th century. Goler had noted during his broadcast that in spite of "Climategate" claims, data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) prove that the climate is indeed heating up due to a man-made increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Despite the facts, minutes after Goler's report, Sammon sends his email to the staffs of Fox News's "straight" news shows and others, ordering them to report that claims of human-caused climate change are controversial. That evening, news anchor Bret Baier introduces another report by Goler by saying in part that as "Climategate-fueled skeptics continued to impugn global warming science, researchers today issued new and even more dire warnings about the possible effects of a warmer planet." After Goler's evening report, Baier tells viewers that "skeptics say the recordkeeping began about the time a cold period was ending in the mid 1800s and what looks like an increase may just be part of a longer cycle," and runs a clip by American Enterprise Institute scholar Kenneth Green impugning the credibility of climate change science. And a few minutes later, correspondent James Rosen falsely claims that climate scientists "destroyed more than 150 years worth of raw climate data" in order to promote the theory of climate change. Less than two months ago, Sammon ordered journalists and producers to use the term "government option" instead of "public option" to describe a specific health care proposal by Senate Democrats, as his preferred term had been shown to be less favorable to that proposal .

Late 2005 - Early 2006: Report States Glaciers Melting in Austria

Tirol — 2010-11-16T18:26:10+01:00

In its yearly report on glaciers, the Austrian Alpenverein, or Alpine Club, documents the melting of glaciers in the Alps. In the winter of 2005 and 2006, the length of 97 glaciers out of the 105 observed was reduced.

August 14, 2009: Oil Industry Group Sends ';Sensitive'; Memo Detailing Plan for ';Astroturf'; Rallies to Oppose Global Warming Legislation

mtuck — 2009-12-01T18:29:11+01:00

The press releases a confidential, "sensitive" memo from the American Petroleum Institute (API) detailing a plan to create "Astroturf" rallies at which industry employees posing as ordinary citizens will urge Congress to fight climate change legislation. The memo was obtained by the environmental group Greenpeace and sent to several reporters. It urges oil companies to recruit their employees for events that will "put a human face on the impacts of unsound energy policy," and will urge senators to "avoid the mistakes embodied in the House climate bill." The campaign is funded by a coalition of corporate and conservative groups called the "Energy Citizens" alliance, which includes the anti-health care reform group 60 Plus, the industry "grassroots" organization FreedomWorks , Grover Norquist's Americans For Tax Reform, the American Conservative Union, and the National Taxpayers Union. API president Jack Gerard, who signed the memo, asks recipients to give API "the name of one central coordinator for your company's involvement in the rallies." And it warns, "Please treat this information as sensitive ... we don't want critics to know our game plan." At least two major oil corporations, BP and Shell, are members of API and also belong to the US Climate Action Partnership, which supports the House legislation sponsored by Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Edward Markey (D-MA). API has spent over $3 million lobbying against that bill this year. API spokesman Bill Bush says his organization is not trying to deceive anyone. "I don't think anyone's hiding the ball about this," he says. "I don't think anyone's trying to suggest that this doesn't have anything to do with the oil and gas industry." Greenpeace has asked API to reveal the member companies funding the Astroturf efforts. Shell Oil Company later informs reporters that it will not take part in the rallies. In a statement, the corporation says, "Shell's position is not aligned with the consensus opinion of the API on Waxman-Markey, therefore Shell will not participate in the rallies."

December 2006: Bush Administration Imposes Restrictions on Scientists'; Discussions, Presentations on Global Warming

mtuck — 2009-08-27T18:03:57+02:00

The Bush administration imposes what reporter and author Charlie Savage will later call "unprecedented controls" on scientists working with the US Geological Survey (USGS), an agency that studies environmental issues such as global warming and endangered species. Now, USGS scientists must submit research papers and prepared speeches to White House officials for approval prior to dissemination. The rules also require the scientists to let the public affairs office know about "findings or data that may be especially newsworthy, have an impact on government policy, or contradict previous public understanding to ensure that proper officials are notified and that communication strategies are developed." USGS scientists say that the restrictions mean that government officials are monitoring and censoring their work. "The explanation was that this was intended to ensure the highest possible quality research," says Jim Estes, a marine biologist who has worked for USGS since the 1970s. "But to me it feels like they're doing this to keep us under their thumbs."

January 2006: NASA Scientist Reveals Government Attempt to Censor, Restrict Statements on Global Warming

mtuck — 2009-08-27T18:01:35+02:00

Dr. James Hansen, the director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and a top climate scientist, reveals that the Bush administration ordered NASA's public affairs staff to review his lectures, papers, Web site postings, and interview requests after he gave a lecture calling for the reduction of greenhouse gases linked to global warming. "They feel their job is to be the censor of information going out to the public," Hansen says, and he promises to ignore the restrictions. NASA denies trying to silence Hansen, saying the restrictions apply to all NASA officials, and adds that it is inappropriate for government scientists to make policy statements . This is not the first time Hansen has gone public about government attempts to censor and muzzle him and his fellows .

March 25, 2009: Republican Lawmaker: Global Warming Natural, Humans Should Just ';Get Shade';

mtuck — 2009-06-20T20:50:51+02:00

During a Congressional hearing on the US's response to global warming, Representative Joe Barton (R-TX) says global warming is nothing more than a natural phenomonon, and the only response people need to make is to get some "shade." Barton says: "I believe that Earth's climate is changing, but I think it's changing for natural variation reasons. And I think mankind has been adopting, or adapting, to climate as long as man has walked the Earth. When it rains we find shelter. When it's hot, we get shade. When it's cold, we find a warm place to stay. Adaptation is the practical, affordable, utterly natural reflex response to nature when the planet is heating or cooling, as it always is. ... Nature doesn't seem to adjust to people as much as people adjust to nature. Adaptation to shifts in temperature is not that difficult." Think Progress reporter Satyam Khanna notes that Barton is nicknamed "Smokey Joe" for "his efforts on behalf of big polluters," and last year "stalled Congressional efforts to decrease power plant emissions."

June 2, 2009: Conservative Opponent of Carbon Emissions Legislation Says He Will Not Support Stopping Seasons from Changing

mtuck — 2009-06-19T09:30:50+02:00

Representative Todd Akin (R-MO) tells his House colleagues that he does not want to be responsible for eliminating the seasons. In a speech opposing pending legislation to reduce carbon emissions, Akin calls the transition from winter to spring "good climate change," and repeatedly conflates "climate" with "weather." Global warming is a "comedy," Akin says, and he asks who would "want to put politicians in charge of the weather anyways[?]" His fellow Republicans are more knowledgeable than Democrats on the subject, he implies, because they have "passed high school science." Akin tells the House: "This whole thing strikes me, if it weren't so serious, as being a comedy, you know. I mean, we just went from winter to spring. In Missouri when we go from winter to spring, that's a good climate change. I don't want to stop that climate change, you know. Who in the world want[s] to put politicians in charge of the weather anyways? What a dumb idea. ... Some of the models said that we're going to have surf at the front steps of the Capitol pretty soon. I was really looking forward to that. ... We've been joined by another doctor, a medical doctor but also a guy who graduated from high school science as well, from Georgia, my good friend, Congressman [Phil] Gingrey. ... So to have actually a guy who's passed high school science is tremendously helpful." The liberal news and analysis website Think Progress notes that in Akin's home state of Missouri, "climate change has already caused growing conditions to shift and several species of birds common to the state have migrated northward. If global warming persists, climatologists have predicted that Missouri can expect 'warmer temperatures, shorter winters, and an overall increase in rain and flooding.'"

March 24 - April 2, 2009: Some Republicans Promote False ';Light Switch Tax'; Claims

Shifty1 — 2009-06-19T09:24:10+02:00

At least 19 Congressional Republicans, including House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), say that the Obama administration's "cap-and-trade" proposal would cost American families $3,128 apiece in extra taxes. Boehner, McConnell, and their fellow Republicans base their claim on a 2007 MIT study. However, one of the study's researchers, John Reilly, says that the Republicans are misreading it. According to Reilly, any tax burden on American families would not be felt until 2015, and the cost would be closer to $31 per person and $79 per year. The controversial claim originates in a Web posting by the House Republican Conference on March 24, which says: "The administration raises revenue for nationalized health care through a series of new taxes, including a light switch tax that would cost every American household $3,128 a year. What effect will this have on Americans struggling to pay their mortgages?" The St. Petersburg Times explains that the GOP's "light switch tax" is a reference to President Obama's proposal to tax power companies for carbon dioxide emissions, and allow companies to trade emissions credits among themselves. The program is called cap-and-trade. Republicans say the power companies would pass the tax on to electricity consumers, thus creating what they call a "light switch tax"--a term the Times calls misleading in and of itself. According to the MIT study, such a program would raise around $366 billion per year; Republicans divide that figure by the 117 million households in the US and get $3,128 in additional costs. Reilly says the Republicans are "just wrong. It's wrong in so many ways it's hard to begin." And, Reilly says, he told House Republicans so when they contacted him on March 20. "I had explained why the estimate they had was probably incorrect and what they should do to correct it, but I think this wrong number was already floating around by that time." Republicans also claim that the Obama administration intends to use cap-and-trade money to pay for what they call "nationalized health care," a claim refuted by details of the program released by Obama officials. (House Republicans later amend this claim to say that the program will pay for "increased spending.") The Times notes that Boehner rebuffs a second attempt by Reilly to correct the claim that the program will cost American households over $3,000 per year. Instead, nine other Republicans and the neoconservative Weekly Standard begin echoing the claim, with the Standard claiming that their figures show an annual cost of over $3,900 and accusing Reilly of "low-balling the cost of cap-and-trade by using some fuzzy logic." Reilly says the Standard "just completely twisted the whole thing. ... It's false." Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) takes the claim even further, saying that the huge annual tax would be levied on "every living American." Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) restates the cost to $4,500 per family, and fellow House colleague Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) raises the rate to $4,560. Fox News correspondent Jim Angle reports Gregg's claim without refutation or examination; on a later Fox broadcast, Gregg says, "every time you turn on your light switch, you're going to be paying a tax." Reilly has written to Boehner and the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming to denounce the GOP's distortion of the MIT study. Democratic Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) accuses the Republicans of "using an intentional misrepresentation of the study," and says: "One of the things I find most distressing is their repeated falsehood about somehow a $3,000 increase in taxes on the American people based on a research done by MIT. They talked about it four times again last night! ... The fact is that in the budget we have an opportunity for people who want to be legislators not communicators to help us allocate how those benefits will be utilized."

March 25, 2009: House Republican: Carbon Dioxide Emissions ';Plant Food';

mtuck — 2009-06-18T11:33:13+02:00

During a House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment hearing, Representative John Shimkus (R-IL) argues against a so-called "cap-and-trade" system to limit carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere. Shimkus argues that the world's ecology depends on carbon dioxide to survive: "It's plant food. ... So if we decrease the use of carbon dioxide, are we not taking away plant food from the atmosphere? ... So all our good intentions could be for naught. In fact, we could be doing just the opposite of what the people who want to save the world are saying." The National Wildlife Fund responds to Shimkus's statement by noting that the world's plant life has sufferred tremendous damage from the inordinate amount of carbon dioxide and other gases resulting from the burning of fossil fuels. Liberal analyst Matthew Yglesias writes: "The point about our CO² emissions is that the rate at which fossil fuel use puts new carbon into the atmosphere greatly exceeds the rate at which plants remove it. The aim is not to eliminate the CO² from the atmosphere but to stabilize the amount of CO², which means curtailing emissions to a level much closer to the rate at which plants consume it."