August 03, 2009 6:25 pm ET
As the debate over cap-and-trade heats up in the Senate, the Competitive Enterprise Institute has released what it calls a "documentary" on climate change. The video, Policy Peril: Why Global Warming Policies Are More Dangerous Than Global Warming Itself, is an attempt to downplay the risks associated with global warming. CEI fails to note, however, that a host of "experts" interviewed in the video are employed by organizations that have accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from America's largest oil companies.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Produced A Film Opposing The Fact that Global Warming Is "A Dire And Imminent Crisis." Describing its film in an email invitation to supporters, the Competitive Enterprise Institute wrote:
An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore's bestselling book and Academy Award-winning documentary, was a remarkable success in 2006. But has its claim that global warming is a dire and imminent crisis stood the test of time, and, for that matter, was it ever really credible in the first place? Policy Peril: Why Global Warming Policies Are More Dangerous Than Global Warming Itself emphatically says "NO." This 40-minute documentary, produced by Competitive Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Marlo Lewis, systematically debunks virtually every terrifying assertion Gore made. It also sets out a far more realistic and sensible approach to the issue, one that weighs the risks of global warming against the risks of misguided global warming policy. [Competitive Enterprise Institute email, 8/2/09]
While Serving As "The Poster Child" For Deniers Of Global Warming, ExxonMobil Gave $2 Million To The Competitive Enterprise Institute. As reported by the Washington Post:
[ExxonMobil] has been the poster child of denial among those convinced of global warming. It opposed the Kyoto climate change treaty. In 2001, it pressed the Bush administration to remove an outspoken scientist from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In 2005, a White House official accused of altering scientific reports to cast more doubt on global warming went to work for the company.
The company has also been accused of financing policy groups as surrogates for sowing doubts about the causes of global warming. The Competitive Enterprise Institute received about $2 million over seven years. [Washington Post, 2/10/07; emphasis added]
Washington Post: The Competitive Enterprise Institute... Says ExxonMobil Is A "Major Donor." According to the Washington Post: "The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), which widely publicizes its belief that the Earth is not warming cataclysmically because of the burning of oil and coal, says Exxon Mobil is a 'major donor,' largely as a result of its effort to push that position. 'I think what attracted them to us was our position on global warming,' said Sam Kazman, CEI's general counsel. 'And we hope to get support from other industries that agree with us.'" [Washington Post, 2/10/07]
However, ExxonMobil Ceased Directly Funding The Competitive Enterprise Institute In 2006
ExxonMobil Funded CEI Until 2006. As reported by MSNBC, "[ExxonMobil spokesman Mark] Boudreux said Exxon in 2006 stopped funding the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a nonprofit advocating limited government regulation, and other groups that have downplayed the risks of greenhouse emissions. CEI acknowledged the change. 'I would make an argument that we're a useful ally, but it's up to them whether that's in the priority system that they have, right or wrong,' director Fred Smith." [MSNBC, 1/12/07]
CEI's Film Featured Staffers From The Heritage Foundation. The Competitive Enterprise Institute's film, Policy Peril: Why Global Warming Policies Are More Dangerous Than Global Warming Itself, features Ben Lieberman and David Kreutzer from the Heritage Foundation. [CEI, Policy Peril: Why Global Warming Policies Are More Dangerous Than Global Warming Itself, accessed 8/3/09]
CEI's Film Featured Staffers From The American Enterprise Institute. The Competitive Enterprise Institute's film, Policy Peril: Why Global Warming Policies Are More Dangerous Than Global Warming Itself, features Joel Schwartz from the American Enterprise Institute. [CEI, Policy Peril: Why Global Warming Policies Are More Dangerous Than Global Warming Itself, accessed 8/3/09]
CEI's Film Featured Staffers From The Pacific Research Institute. The Competitive Enterprise Institute's film, Policy Peril: Why Global Warming Policies Are More Dangerous Than Global Warming Itself, features Tom Tanton from the Pacific Research Institute. [CEI, Policy Peril: Why Global Warming Policies Are More Dangerous Than Global Warming Itself, accessed 8/3/09]
Koch Industries Is A "$90 Billion Conglomerate With Oil And Gas Holdings." According to the Boston Herald, "America's largest private corporation, Koch Industries, [is] an estimated $90 billion conglomerate with oil and gas holdings." [Boston Herald, 10/10/07]
CEI's Film Featured Staffers From The Heritage Foundation. The Competitive Enterprise Institute's film, Policy Peril: Why Global Warming Policies Are More Dangerous Than Global Warming Itself, features Ben Lieberman and David Kreutzer from the Heritage Foundation. [CEI, Policy Peril: Why Global Warming Policies Are More Dangerous Than Global Warming Itself, accessed 8/3/09]
CEI's Film Featured Staffers From The Pacific Research Institute. The Competitive Enterprise Institute's film, Policy Peril: Why Global Warming Policies Are More Dangerous Than Global Warming Itself, features Tom Tanton from the Pacific Research Institute. [CEI, Policy Peril: Why Global Warming Policies Are More Dangerous Than Global Warming Itself, accessed 8/3/09]
CEI's Film Featured Staffers From The Cato Institute. The Competitive Enterprise Institute's film, Policy Peril: Why Global Warming Policies Are More Dangerous Than Global Warming Itself, features Patrick J. Michaels from the Cato Institute. [CEI, Policy Peril: Why Global Warming Policies Are More Dangerous Than Global Warming Itself, accessed 8/3/09]
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