Trump's State of Disunion (2020 Edition)

Trump's 2020 State of the Union address reaffirmed his ongoing penchant for dishonesty, his utter lack of civility and his conspicuous avoidance of climate change. Trump began by refusing to shake the hand of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and he went on to deliver the most divisive State of the Union speech in the modern memory.

Trump bragged about the fact that the US is the world's largest producer of fossil fuels. He did not acknowledge the mounting evidence that suggest fossil fuels are on their way out, and not once did he mention renewable energy. As is often the case with this president, he tried to take credit that is not his to take. "The United States has become the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world, by far. With the tremendous progress we have made over the past three years." The truth is this happened in 2012, four years before he was president. Trump boasted about energy jobs but what he failed to say is that there are now more renewable energy jobs than there are jobs in the fossil fuel industry.

Investor Warning: Fossil Fuels and the Risk of Stranded Assets

It is becoming increasingly apparent that fossil fuels represent a substantial risk that should make investors wary. Fossil fuel reserves, including oil, gas and coal will be rendered obsolete in the coming decades, leaving investors holding valueless investments. A plethora of peer reviewed science tells us the curbing fossil fuel use is key to climate mitigation.

From widespread calamitous coastal flooding to devastating extreme weather events the need to urgently act on climate change has finally been accepted by every nation on earth. The economics of climate action is sound. A cost benefit analysis reveals the overwhelming logic. We must the eradication of fossil fuels as soon as possible. The impetus to act on climate change, once dismissed by some, is now a fact of life for all thinking people.

Olympic Sized Greenwashing at the 2014 Sochi Olympics

The XXII Olympic Winter Games offically open today in Sochi, Russia, however rather than being the greenest games ever, they will likely be remembered as being rife with greenwash.

In 2007, the Olympic Committee selected the Russian Federation to host the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, a resort on the Black Sea.

These games will host 88 countries and have an estimated carbon footprint of around 400,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. By comparison the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympic Games’ generated 311,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.

ALEC Must Die

There is a sinister force that is corrupting American politics by giving the most environmentally destructive elements of Big Business significant control over state legislatures. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) turns 40 this year. This organization is composed of large corporations and state lawmakers. They draft environmentally harmful model laws that have been adopted in state legislatures across the country.

ALEC describes itself as “nonpartisan public-private partnership” and is registered as a not for profit organization. While the organization enjoys 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, many groups see it as little more than a front for one of the most powerful and influential lobby groups in America.

Video - United States of ALEC

Moyers & Company presents "United States of ALEC," a report on the most influential corporate-funded political force most of America has never heard of -- ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council. A national consortium of state politicians and powerful corporations, ALEC presents itself as a "nonpartisan public-private partnership." But behind that mantra lies a vast network of corporate lobbying and political action aimed to increase corporate profits at public expense without public knowledge.

Video - United States of ALEC: A Follow-Up

Moyers & Company follows up on a breakthrough 2012 report about ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council. A national consortium of state politicians and powerful corporations, ALEC presents itself as a "nonpartisan public-private partnership." But behind that mantra lies a network of lobbying and political action aimed to increase corporate profits at public expense without public knowledge.

Video - ALEC's Organized Corruption

ALEC creates model bills, drafted by lobbyists and lawmakers. This includes support for the lax regulations in the fossil fuel industry and resistance to clean sources of energy.

However there ALEC's influence extends far beyond crafting model legislation. As explained in the New York Times, "a review of internal ALEC documents shows that this is only one facet of a sophisticated operation for shaping public policy at a state-by-state level. The records offer a glimpse of how special interests effectively turn ALEC's lawmaker members into stealth lobbyists, providing them with talking points, signaling how they should vote and collaborating on bills affecting hundreds of issues like school vouchers and tobacco taxes. The documents — hundreds of pages of minutes of private meetings, member e-mail alerts and correspondence — were obtained by the watchdog group Common Cause and shared with The New York Times..."

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Video - How ALEC Controls US Legislation

This is an important report on the subversion of America's legislative process by Big Oil and other corporate interests. The "United States of ALEC," is a report from Moyers & Company on the most influential corporate-funded political force most of America has never heard of -- ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council.

List of Climate Deniers in the US Congress

A 2010 study showed that 40 percent of Americans do not know that their is a scientific consensus on anthropogenic climate change. This should come as no surprise considering that the vast majority of Republican leaders eschew the science to this day. 

While the number of climate deniers are declining, the sad reality is that the lies are being kept alive by Republicans in Congress.

Here is a list of climate deniers in Congress who deny the veracity of the science of global warming. As explained in the forward to the list "Climate change is real, it's caused largely by human activities, and it poses significant risks for our health. Some members of Congress disagree with this simple, scientifically proven fact. We need to work to curb climate change, and a big step is to raise our voices to change the conversation in Washington. Call these deniers out. Hold them accountable. Ask them if they will admit climate change is a problem."
 

Climate Deniers Could Learn from Pascal's Wager

Rather than engage in protracted  psuedo-scientific debates, perhaps a touch of philosophy might help some climate deniers to see the value of acting to combat climate change.

Climate deniers must go through a series of intellectual gymnastics to find pretexts to poke holes in the legion of scientists and plethora of independent research that supports anthropogenic climate change. Perhaps the following philosophical position may save them from the effort needed for their intellectlual contortions.

Video - ALEC Bill on Capitol Hill

The Center for Media and Democracy, creator of ALECexposed, along with Alliance for a Better Utah, produced the following video with Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Mark Fiore illustrating, in “Schoolhouse Rock!” style, how a piece of legislation written by ALEC becomes a law. While leaving a legacy of pollution, the billionaire Koch Brothers, through groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), are using their influence to spread climate doubt and weaken renewable energy standards.

Video: The Koch Brothers are Oil Billionaires on a Maniacal Mission

The Koch brothers are oil billionaires who have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to increase their own profits through decreasing regulations. With a net worth of $43 billion the Kochs have already spent decades of their lives and over $324 million of their wealth exerting their influence. Here is a video from Brave New Foundation outlining the top five worst things this climate denying duo are doing to fulfill their self serving agenda.

Video: What do the Koch Brothers talk about at thier Secret Right Wing Retreats?

The Koch brothers are right-wing, climate change denying, oil billionaires. They hold secret retreats for rich conservatives. During one of these retreats Charles Koch was caught comparing president Obama to killed 9/11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden. In this video, the Young Turks host Cenk Uygur shares more details.

A Reintroduction to the Climate Denying Duo Known as the Koch Brothers

The Koch brothers use the media to promote their climate denying circus of lies. Here is a succinct summary of their environment killing crusade.

Right Wing War Against Sustainability

A right wing front-group funded by big oil has launched a misinformation campaign against environmental groups and companies that are working to engage more sustainable practices. In a widely distributed letter they dismiss renewable energy and threaten to boycott companies for being more environmentally responsible.

Science and Pernicious Ignorance of Climate Change Denial

It is nothing short of tragic that so many Americans continue to dismiss the scientific veracity of climate change. Deniers are not moved by the coherency of the research that weaves together the different points of measurement. The plethora of data includes higher global mean surface temperatures, melting glaciers, retreating sea ice, increasing water temperature, rising sea levels, ocean acidification, and extreme weather. The data is unequivocal yet there are scores of confused people who are woefully unaware of the facts.

Video: Koch Brothers Climate Denial Machine

A short animation detailing the efforts of billionaire oil barons Charles and David Koch to undermine belief in climate change and prevent legislation that threatens their profits. By pouring money into pseudo-scientific studies and funding third parties such as think tanks and front groups (posing as everything from Senior's groups to Women's groups) the public is led to believe a genuine scientific debate is raging. In truth, as one climate denier candidly admits, those doubting the science are just a small, if brilliantly coordinated, minority.
© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Canadian Global Warming Denial from the Frontier Centre for Public Policy

Like Americans, Canadians are influenced by climate denial groups posing as think tanks. Peter Holle is the founding president of one such climate-denying think tank known as the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. This Winnipeg-based group is behind a series of ridiculous assertions related to energy and climate change.

Americans have powerful misinformation networks like the Heritage Foundation and the Mercantus Center. Canadians have the Frontier Centre for Public Policy which describes itself as an independent public policy think tank whose mission is "to broaden the debate on our future through public policy research and education and to explore positive changes within our public institutions that support economic growth and opportunity."

This so called "think tank" is really a made in Canada propaganda machine that takes a strongly cynical stance on the science supporting global warming.

One of Holle's paradoxical beliefs include the notion that first-hand extreme weather experiences make Canadians skeptical about global warming. Another one of Holle's bizarre beliefs is that “carbon dioxide is not the pollutant source of global warming.”

Holle discredits the wealth of scientific research supporting the anthropogenic origins of climate change. He ignores mainstream science that contradicts his views and recruits scientists who argue that cooling and warming cycles are part of the earth’s normal pattern.

Sadly, a minority of Canadians continue to fall for the well used lie that human activity is not behind global warming.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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The Anti-Environment Crusades of ExxonMobil and Koch Industries

Despite an increase in the number of companies that are adopting sustainable practices, major multinationals like ExxonMobil and Koch Industries are waging war on the environment. These two companies are aggresively resisting the trend towards a low carbon economy. In addition to being major producers of greenhouse gasses, ExxonMobil and Koch use their influence to lobby governments and create resistance to global-warming-related regulation, such as the Kyoto Protocol and the UN sponsored Conference of the Parties (COP). Some of their most destructive actions pertain to their funding of misinformation campaigns that fuel climate change denial.

According to a 2004 study commissioned by Friends of the Earth, ExxonMobil and its predecessors caused 4.7 to 5.3 percent of the world's man-made carbon dioxide emissions between 1882 and 2002. The group suggested that such studies could form the basis for eventual legal action.

ExxonMobil has been a leading figure in the business world's position on climate change, providing substantial funding to a range of climate change denial groups. According to Mother Jones ExxonMobil-funded a total of 40 organizations that "either have sought to undermine mainstream scientific findings on global climate change or have maintained affiliations with a small group of "skeptic" scientists who continue to do so."Between 2000 and 2003 these organizations received more than $8m in funding.

Koch Industries is the major source of funding for climate denial. From 2005 to 2008, Koch donated $5.7 million on political campaigns and $37 million on direct lobbying to support fossil fuel industries. According to the non-partisan research group the Center for Responsive Politics, between 1997 and 2008, Koch Industries donated a total of nearly $48 million to climate opposition groups. Koch Industries and its subsidiaries spent more than $20 million on lobbying in 2008 and $12.3 million in 2009.

For ExxonMobil and Koch it may be too late, however, for all but the most egregious, there is hope for redemption. The Survey of America's Greenest Brands show that even companies with very poor environmental reputations can redeem themselves and go from environmental pariah to eco-superstar by incorporating sustainable practices.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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The Kochs' War Against Obama and the Democrats

The Kochs' are waging a multi-faceted propaganda war against President Obama and Democratic candidates. The big guns in the Kochs' arsenal include Koch Industries, a network of proxy organizations, popular media, the Tea Party and Republican candidates.

Through organizations like the Cato Institute, the Meratus Center, and Americans for Prosperity the Kochs' they have waged proxy wars against President Obama and the Democrats. Many of these organizations fabricate data which are quoted by candidates and faux media like Rush Limbaugh.

Limbaugh often cites papers created by Koch fronts and an officer at Americans for Prosperity, Walter Williams, often guest-hosts for Limbaugh. Fox News also has ties to the Kochs' proxy organizations. Phil Kerpen, the vice-president for policy at Americans for Prosperity, is a contributor to the Fox News Web site.

Through their proxys, Koch industries has been undermining the President. A recent poll found that fifty-five per cent of Americans felt that Obama is a socialist and this is only one of the many lies that the Koch's proxys helped to promote.

The Tea Party is a very important addition to the Koch stable because it gives the Koch's the grassroots support they have been seeking for decades.

Many Republican candidates are recipients of Koch funding, and many are predicting that the Kochs' efforts will succeed in helping to elect Republican candidates in the 2010 midterm elections.

However, corporate influence is not foolproof, sometimes common sense triumphs over massive spending. In California despite massive funding from big oil, Proposition 23, which would have rolled back California's environmental progress, is likely to be defeated. Democrat Jerry Brown also looks like he will defeat Meg Whitman and be the next governor of California, even though Whitman set a record for spending the most private money on a political campaign.

Although the Koch brothers may have developed a potent arsenal in their war against progress, as we are seeing in California, not every election can be bought.


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