Using smoke & mirrors to question global warming

The letter arrived in a big white envelope, and the return address said it was from Dan Miller, business editor of the Chicago Sun-Times. And the letter inside bore the letterhead of Dan Miller, business editor of the Chicago Sun-Times.

But the content was dictated by a right-wing group called the Heartland Institute that has relentlessly questioned the existence of global warming.

"Global warming is one of the most controversial issues journalists have to address today," Miller writes in the letter, dated Nov. 12, that arrived at the St. Petersburg Times and other papers around the country this week. "I urge you to keep an open mind on this important topic."

And so to aid journalists in keeping "an open mind," Miller enclosed with his letter a DVD containing copies of both Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," which portrays global warming as a dire emergency that needs immediate action, and a British documentary called "The Great Global Warming Swindle," which has been promoted by oil companies and debunked by scientists.

Miller's letter noted that the dual DVDs "were provided by the Heartland Institute, a 23-year-old national nonprofit organization based in Chicago. Heartland's president, Joseph Bast, tells me no corporate funding was used to purchase or package these DVDs, in case that matters to you. I think it speaks highly of an organization that it is willing to present both sides of an issue."

Unmentioned in Miller's letter are a few inconvenient facts:
*He used to work for the Heartland Institute
*The institute gets a lot of its funding from ExxonMobil
*An ExxonMobil executive serves as Heartland's "government relations advisor."
*A Heartland-created website asserts there is no scientific consensus on global warming and features a list of experts and like-minded think tanks, many of whom have received funding from ExxonMobil and other polluters.

Heartland's public relations chief, Tom Swiss, told the Chicago Tribune that the group decided to use Miller to do Heartland's PR work as a way to get its message across to people who might otherwise look askance at something from the right-wing advocacy group.

"If it came from just ourselves, it would look like an advertisement and just get lost," he said. Others whom Swiss declined to name signed cover letters that accompanied packages for those in other fields, the Tribune reported. "A letter from someone in their industry makes it stand out," Swiss said

However, as the Tribune reported, Miller's bosses at the Sun-Times didn't know he was using his position to plug something for his former employer, which could lead to him getting in trouble. To read the Tribune piece, click here.

For some background on the Heartland Institute and its sources of funding, click here and here. To read the Heartland Institute's own position on global warming, click here.

And to read a summary of the problems with "The Great Global Warming Swindle," click here.

--Craig Pittman

Comments

[Nathan Schock]

It's also interesting that some of these groups (Heartland Institute, Competitive Enterprise Institute, CATO Institute, ect.) are the most vocal opponents of biofuels as well.

Talk to David Adams and his IPCC 'news' item if you really want to talk about smoke and mirrors.

[Reggie Rasmussen]

No doubt that global warming is very debated. I, however, have never heard that man is causing global cooling. For this - all I can say is that I hope that the people that believe this is natural are not wrong. But if man is causing at least part of the problem then why not do all we can.
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This solution would mean that we could produce at least a little less pollution and would be a great step "just in case".
If anyone would like company information you can go to www.jointhesolution.com/razmataz.

[James Schweiger]

Thank you for exposing these people who are misleading millions and leading us to a very dangerous place in time.

The latest IPCC report from 2500 of the world's leading climate scientists is chilling. We need to move quickly to avoid a run away global warming crisis.

Shame on Dan Miller, the Heartland Institute and Exxon/Mobil who put profits ahead of our children's future.

[Jon @ NRDC]

Posters here seem to be missing the point. This is not an issue of free speech or open debate.

Dan Miller is more than welcome to write a column in his newspaper or assign a reporter to cover this topic in whatever way he likes.

What isn't OK is for him to use his name and title behind the scenes to lobby other journalists on direct behalf of a special interest group - ANY special interest group - representing a strong and specific point of view on a key public issue (one that falls squarely in his beat).

Ask yourself whether, instead of "global warming", Miller was peddling an endorsement of Hillary Clinton or Rudy Giuliani. Come Monday, he'd be looking for a new job.

This is no different.

For a longer discussion, see my own blog on this:
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/jcoifman/chicago_newsman_shills_for_cli.html

[play roulette global warming]

To deal with global warming, the government needs to immediately plant more trees, and stop cutting them down. It is a major problem they need to deal with. The importance of trees has been understated by "scientists" that truly dont understand the relevance of trees. Dont criticize the importance of the concept until you know all the facts. On top of deforestation, we are polluting the environment. Another contributing factor is modern day energy systems rely on explosion rather than implosion, and this generates heat. Every systems need to be more efficient and work on implosion, so they stay cool. The non-profit energy research organization at http://www.universalsymbiosis.org is active in these areas which will help reverse effects of global warming. I suggest everyone also read "Living Energies" by Callum Coats which explains the work of Victor Schauberger and the importance of trees to our planet. Dont rely on information from the authorities as their advisors dont fully understand the life cycle of the planet. We need to push the authorities to develop forest management and sustainability plans, and this will solve at least part of the problem.