Climate sceptic 'misled Congress over funding from oil industry'

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Guardian

Climate sceptic 'misled Congress over funding from oil industry'
Patrick Michaels, fellow at the Cato Institute, claimed 3% of his funding came from industry, later revealed that figure to be 40%
Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent guardian.co.uk,
Tuesday 25 January 2011 12.58 GMT

A leading climate sceptic patronised by the oil billionaire Koch brothers faced a potential investigation today on charges that he misled Congress on the extent of his funding from the oil industry.

Patrick Michaels, a senior fellow in environmental studies at the Cato Institute, a thinktank founded by Charles and David Koch to promote their libertarian, anti-government views, appeared before the house energy and commerce committee in February 2009.

At the time, the committee was headed by the California Democrat Henry Waxman and Michaels was the only one in the line-up of witnesses to cast doubt on global warming, testifying that mainstream science had exaggerated the threat posed by climate change.

Now, Waxman writes in a letter to the incoming committee chair, Fred Upton, it appears as if Michaels may have misled the committee. In 2009, Michaels said 3% of his $4.2m in financial support came from the oil and gas industry. But in an appearance on CNN in August last year, and in subsequent interviews, Michaels suggested that figure was 40%.



Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jan/25/michaels-climate-sceptic-misled-congress

[bulloney]

1. And we're supposed to take these think tank findings as gospel? They're not distorted or biased?

Same with the Heritage Foundation. Their studies on various economic issues are funded by corporations with a political agenda.

A late friend of mine said it best: Think tanks are like septic tanks. You get out what you put into them.

[WhiteTara]

3. no we shouldn't, because they are all right wing funded.

and they are VERY biased.

[nyy1998]

11. Even the EPI and Brookigns Institute is funded by the RW?

Or John Podesta's think tank is funded by the RW?:wtf:

[NuttyFluffers]

12. you are correct, not all. but AEI, Cato, Heritage, etc. have a lot to answer for.

fun to watch in a comedic sort of way, if you're into CSPAN masochism, as i am. but otherwise, people should be more judicious who they give their attention to.

[WhiteTara]

13. thanks for filling in for me NuttyFluffers

because they do indeed have a lot. I guess when I found out that CATO was Koch, I over reacted...there are a few seemingly ineffectual liberal groups, but the names escape me.

[egressingsparrowdrop]

10. I wouldn't call them "findings." They don't do any science...

...they sit around and come up with public relations strategies.

[WhiteTara]

2. and so that little investigation will die ignobly

and pile of papers in a box.

[skepticscott]

4. Why couldn't Waxman have come right out and said it?

He LIED. Ditch the BS euphemism "misled". Nobody makes that kind of mistake. Call him a liar, drag his ass in on a perjury charge and let him try to defend himself as simply "mistaken".

[yellowcanine]

5. Patrick Michaels is a fraud. He sells himself as an expert on climate change.

But is not clear that he has done any real research in the area. His main contributions appear to be a newsletter funded by the energy industry and various screeds questioning the science of global warming using cherry picked data. For years he went by the title of "State Climatologist of Virginia" but it turns out that this was not a real position - he was appointed to this position by Republican Governor John Dalton when in fact the code of Virginia did not provide for such a position. He also for years denied the fact of global warming and then when that position became untenable he shifted the goalposts and accepted global warming but denied that man had anything to do with it. It is hard to come to any conclusion other than that Michaels is a paid shill for the energy industry and auto industry to downplay anthropomorphic global warming. He also appears to earn a good living speechifying and writing for various conservative groups and think tanks

[Bandit]

6. A new Right Wing Hero in the making

LIE to Congress and be a HERO..Congress can do absolutely nothing about it either.. The Bush* Cabal proved Congress's subpoenas are meaningless.

[yellowcanine]

8. Actually not new. Michaels has been spouting cherry picked data "analysis" since the 1980s.

[DavidDvorkin]

7. Gasp!!!

[jpak]

9. Patrick Michaels had little credibility among climate scientists before this

now he has none

yup