Meet the Network Hiding the Koch Money: Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund

Earlier this year internal documents from the Heartland Institute, a major hub of climate change denial and right-wing extremism, were publicly leaked. The documents exposed the Heartland Institute’s funders and strategies for attacking climate science, and led to a mass exodus of Heartland’s corporate funders.

Today, a newly updated report based in large part on Heartland’s internal documents has revealed two new insights into the way in which the anti-climate science movement has been supported and financed over the last decade.

  1. A billionaire named Barre Seid is the Heartland Institute’s main sugar daddy. He is the “Anonymous Donor” listed in Heartland’s fundraising plan who finances climate science denial operations to confuse children, the general public and policymakers over global warming. Seid has been the biggest booster behind Heartland’s attacks on climate science, donating millions of dollars to keep the Heartland Institute’s anti-science work afloat.
  2. The Koch brothers and other ultra-wealthy industrial ideologues are now hiding much of their donations to conservative political outlets through an obscure group of foundations that specialize in secrecy.

In total over $311 million has been put through twin organizations known as Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund which share an address in Alexandria, Virginia. Continue reading

Koch Brothers Produce Counterfeit Climate Report to Deceive Congress

The octopus has a remarkable ability–it can blend seamlessly with its surroundings, changing its appearance to mimic plants, rocks or even other animals.

Similarly deceptive is an upcoming junk study from a Koch-funded think tank that has taken on the format and appearance of a truly scientific report from the US Government, but is loaded with lies and misrepresentation of actual climate change science. The false report is a tentacle of the Kochtopus–with oil and industrial billionaires Charles and David Koch at the head.

UPDATE: Climate scientists at the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science lambast the counterfeit Cato report for mimicking the scientific report they authored:

“As authors of that report, we are dismayed that the report of the Cato Institute, ADDENDUM: Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States, expropriates the title and style of our report in such a deceptive and misleading way.  The Cato report is in no way an addendum to our 2009 report.  It is not an update, explanation, or supplement by the authors of the original report.  Rather, it is a completely separate document lacking rigorous scientific analysis and review.”

The report’s disgraced author, Patrick Michaels, has made his largely undistinguished career shilling for fossil fuel interests, including his stay at the Cato Institute, which published the counterfeit report. After admitting to CNN that 40% of his funding is from the oil industry alone, even Cato was embarrassed enough to clarify that “Pat works for Cato on a contract basis, not as a full-time employee. Funding that Pat receives for work done outside the Cato Institute does not come through our organization.” Continue reading

VIDEO: Koch Brothers TV Documentary (2012 edition) – Aljazeera’s People & Power

Watch the updated edition of this great TV program debuted last night on People & Power on Aljazeera. The show provides a concise and deep look at the political motives and growing power of the notorious Koch Brothers.

Greenpeace’s Koch research, launched with our landmark March 2010 report. Koch Industries:Secretly Funding the Climate Denial Machine, just hit its 2nd birthday!

With the new Koch Foundation 990s in hand, we have updated the (public) Koch funding to global warming denial organizations, which totals nearly $60 Million dollars (1997-2010).  We have also found a declining trend in the total funding reported to these denial front groups from the Koch Foundations and also fewer groups funded.  This may be because the Kochs are prioritizing their political insurgency or as we suspect, they are finding creative ways to funnel the money through less visible pathways.

Enjoy a glimpse of what television could be…and the best 25 minutes you are spend all day.

Things to watch for in the Al Jazeera piece:

The Al Jazeera Koch documentary will be broadcast worldwide over the next week:
Wednesday, March 28:    1730 DC, 0630 KL, 0130 Doha, 2230 GMT
Thursday, March 29:        0430 DC, 1730 KL, 1230 Doha, 0930 GMT
Friday, March 30:             2230 DC, 1130 KL, 0630 Doha, 0330 GMT
Saturday, March 31:         1130 DC, 0030 KL, 1930 Doha, 1630 GMT
Sunday, April 1:                1730 DC, 0630 KL, 0130 Doha, 2230 GMT
Monday, April 2:                0430 DC, 1730 KL, 1230 Doha, 0930 GMT
Tuesday, April 3:               2230 DC, 1130 KL, 0630 Doha, 0330 GMT
Wednesday, April 4:          1130 DC, 0030 KL, 1930 Doha, 1630 GMT

Why the Koch brothers are cannibalizing the Cato Institute

The Cato Institute, a subsidiary of Koch Industries

Cato, now part of Koch Industries

A quick look at the very public clash between the Cato Institute, a well known libertarian think tank based in Washington DC, and the Koch brothers – the infamous right-wing oil billionaires – leaves many people confused.  They’re supposed to be on the same team right?  The Cato Institute, originally called the Charles G Koch Institute when it was founded by Charles G Koch in the 70s – is in danger of a hostile takeover…by Charles G Koch?  Why would Charles Koch try to take over his own think tank?

The short answer – power, of course.  As it turns out, the Koch’s influence at Cato has waned over the last few decades due to a falling out between Ed Crane, the current president of Cato, and Charles Koch, who hand-picked Crane for the job shortly after founding the think tank.  Starting in the early nineties, the Kochs all but abandoned Cato, exerting little control over the group’s activities and steadily reducing Cato’s Koch funding (down to $0 in 2011).  Charles even left the board of directors (though he was replaced by David Koch). Continue reading