By Climate Science Watch | January 8, 2014 | Release URL
Almost four years ago we started to call attention to the Koch brothers, radical ‘free market’ oil and gas conglomerate multibillionaires, as significant funders of the global warming denial machine (Koch Industries multibillionaire Koch brothers bankroll attacks on climate change science and policy). Since then, the Koch political empire continues to metastasize into what a Washington Post investigative article on January 5 calls “a far-reaching operation of unrivaled complexity, built around a maze of groups that cloaks its donors, according to an analysis of new tax returns and other documents.” (Koch-backed political coalition, designed to shield donors, raised $400 million in 2012)
On January 7, Amy Goodman at Democracy Now! talked with Lisa Graves, executive director of the Center for Media and Democracy, and publisher of PRWatch.org and ALECExposed.org, about some of the implications of having a large network of secretly-funded political organizations, operating with tax-exempt status, playing an increasingly powerful role in driving and shaping U.S. politics (From Funding Climate Deniers to Shadowy Groups, Koch Brothers Network Spent $400 Million in 2012).
In March 2010 we noted, in one of the first pieces on the Koch brothers:
Some of the most determined opponents of action on climate change in the U.S. are so-called libertarians, motivated by an ideological commitment to minimal government and “free market” laissez-faire capitalism. Their efforts on behalf of unregulated corporate wealth and power have been funded heavily by patrons in the fossil fuel industry. While ExxonMobil has drawn much attention for its patronage of global warming denialist activity by such groups, much less public attention has been paid to the activities of the multibillionaire brothers, Charles and David Koch, owners of Koch Industries. Koch Industries is the second largest private company in the U.S., with estimated 2008 revenues of $100 billion. Started as a petroleum business by their father Fred Koch, who was also a founder of the right-wing extremist John Birch Society, Koch Industries has become a diversified enterprise that funds large-scale lobbying and a range of libertarian policy and activist groups that play a significant role in the global warming denial machine.
To the libertarians, the widely-shared scientific assessment that human-caused climate change will likely produce major harmful consequences — and the communication of this evidence to the public by the leading climate scientists — poses a particularly serious threat. An informed public concerned about the likelihood of harmful impacts of unchecked global climatic disruption is more likely to call for significant government action to curb greenhouse gas emissions. In order to block proactive government policymaking and keep corporate interests unregulated, libertarian groups have focused a significant part of their efforts on climate change on distorting the science to confuse public opinion, denying the seriousness of the problem, and, most recently, impugning the integrity of the climate science community. The Koch brothers have stepped forward with deep pockets to bankroll such efforts.
They’re still there. The rhetoric, tactics, and cast of characters shift over time, but the framework remains in place — only now with more donors, more organizations, more money, and less transparency.
Earlier CSW posts
New Greenpeace report documents machinations of corporate-funded climate denial machine
“Climate of Doubt” — Money Buys Skepticism
Americans for Prosperity president Tim Phillips: Next steps in the war on climate science
Americans for Prosperity: Distorting climate change science and economics in well-funded campaign
Related
The Koch Brothers exposed – The Film
Not Just the Koch Brothers: New Drexel Study Reveals Funders Behind the Climate Change Denial Effort
I have not heard a single positive thing about the koch bros.
so what you are saying here is Koch is bad for us? Really? lol
We don’t wear turtlenecks like Amy Goodman, but we do wear trousers.
See what The Sans-culottes can offer you today.
Democracy Now rocks the Llama’s socks!
I think democracynow should modify their videos slightly. Have you ever watched Bill Maher or the Daily Show with Jon Stewart? I think that you should make you show exactly how you have for years. It works well but for those of us that want to see the interviews that always seem to get cut off continue in more detail we should be able to go see the over time on youtube. Does that make sense? If you have guests that are really awesome like this woman, it would be awesome to view another few minutes to see where she… Read more »
AMY, it is a fact that more people don’t believe in climate hoax are normal
street folks. Any of this company’s have a profit of non denial.
We see, we feel and we film. We hear, we listen and know it is a hoax. It
is a mega industry for money laundering.
What nonsense, what the hell does that even mean “climate denier”? Is it
some distasteful attempt to suggest that anybody who is not hysterical
about the climate is somehow equivalent to a holocaust ‘denier’? How can
anybody deny the climate? In addition, the climate has been changing for
4.5 billion years, this isn’t news.
I love that these peasants defend teh Koch brothers. As if the Koch
brothers would even shake your hands.
I can only think these people are paid by the Koch brothers.
You know, it’s really striking how many people who seem to have no
ideological or even cultural affinity with a channel like this seem to pop
up in droves in the comment pages, once an independent news channel tackles
the issue of illegitimate funding of illegitimate political causes.
It really leaves one to wonder what makes them believe it’s worth spending
their time here.
Just saying…
They are not deniers they just challenge the so called settled science.
The way reputable scientist do. you had some real crackpots (even by your
standards) yesterday) on your misguided show. BTW Amy Gore is not a
scientist either and he is the pne profiting from the scam
Al Gore is a very rich man, since his global warming movie!
Hey Amy, Its not Climate Deniers, it’s GLOBAL WARMING HOAX! Why don’t you run a story on the Ship stuck in the ICE. Where another ship sent was stuck and yet another ship was sent and it too was stuck. But…. The Ship was there on a GRANT to measure the ICE in this GREAT GLOBAL WARMING HOAX which like Obamacare is only to generate Billion’s more in TAXES. When these Volcanoes go off spewing trillions of tons of gassed into to air, and Ocean volcanoes go off. Why haven’t they TAXED the Country for all the emissions being spewed… Read more »
Goodman bashes the Koch brothers, and yet, she gets funding from the Ford
Foundation…the same foundation from the Fords… a Corporation!!!! One
that has been funding our Prussian education system for Years. Goodman is
nothing more than a Gatekeeper on the left. Peace.
Democracy now, still one of the best news sources. Thanks Amy Goodman.
Honesty is hard to find now days
Fukuchima, japan should be covered in your coming news.
Here it’s another idiot how in the hell taxing people will change the
clime, who pays your salary.
The *Brothers Grim* wield more clout than Congress because they own half of
them. And the poor misguided *sheeple* wave their little flags and call
for less government and sing *freedom*, give us freedom….sad
Why would the Koch brothers spend 400 million dollars to climate change
denier groups in a year if man made Climate change wasn’t real? Why would
an Energy company do that? Hmmmm I wonder…..
Testing your comment system. I’m correctly logged in to my account.
JANUARY 7, 2014 by Democracy Now : From Funding Climate Deniers to Shadowy Groups, Koch Brothers Network Spent $400 Million in 2012 Extract: AMY GOODMAN: I want to get your reaction to the Washington Post report by Matea Gold, “Koch-Backed Political Coalition, Designed to Shield Donors, Raised $400 Million in 2012.” Why don’t you go through, first of all, this whole issue of shielding donors, not knowing where the money is coming from that is affecting elections all over the country? LISA GRAVES: Well, it’s been a long-standing practice in the United States for ordinary charities, like the Red Cross… Read more »