It will take some time before the meaning of HeartlandGate is realized. The released confidential documents are not extensive, but they are current, mainly related to a meeting that happened less than a month before their release. They don't tell us anything that we didn't suspect, but they give details that people outside this science denialist "think" tank did not know. The most important thing about these documents is probably this: We can now say without equivocation that global warming denialism and other science denialism is, at the institutional level, funded by wealthy individuals and the petroleum industry, that it is an explicit anti-science strategy, and that it has nothing to do with differences in interpretation of scientific data. Also, this strategy of claiming that "Global Warming is a Hoax" is bought and paid for.
The other thing we might be able to say, but we'd want to see the corresponding documents from next year's meeting, is that the climate science denialism industry is becoming less well funded over time. Presumably, even corporations, institutions, and individuals who have a self interested reason to deny climate change or damage science education can see, eventually, when it is time to hold off or even give up. Money is money and tossing good money after bad is not wise and the people who underwrite this anti-science effort know this. The crazies (see comment sections here and elsewhere) will be left twisting in the wind like so many Bigfoot hunters and Ghost busters.
Here is a current list of posts that I know of addressing HeartlandGate:
Disclaimer: The Heartland Institute is now claiming that these documents have likely been altered or faked, and are threatening to pursue criminal and civil charges against all bloggers who posted comments on them or links to them.
I can not prove that these documents are real or fake. I will certainly pass on to you any information that comes along about this. Have a look at the documents and make up your own mind (before I am forced by guys in suits to take down the links).
Read the comments on this post...
The other thing we might be able to say, but we'd want to see the corresponding documents from next year's meeting, is that the climate science denialism industry is becoming less well funded over time. Presumably, even corporations, institutions, and individuals who have a self interested reason to deny climate change or damage science education can see, eventually, when it is time to hold off or even give up. Money is money and tossing good money after bad is not wise and the people who underwrite this anti-science effort know this. The crazies (see comment sections here and elsewhere) will be left twisting in the wind like so many Bigfoot hunters and Ghost busters.
Here is a current list of posts that I know of addressing HeartlandGate:
- HeartlandGate: Anti-Science Institute's Insider Reveals Secrets
- Heartland Institute Exposed: Internal Documents Unmask Heart of Climate Denial Machine
- INTERNAL DOCUMENTS: The Secret, Corporate-Funded Plan To Teach Children That Climate Change Is A Hoax
- Heartland Institute budget and strategy revealed
- How is Joe Bast Like Joe Camel? Looks Like We're Going To Find Out..
- Is Turnabout Fair Play?
- Leaked insider docs from Heartland Institute goal: "dissuading teachers from teaching science" #climate #Heartland #ScholarlyKitchen
- Leaked Heartland Institute documents pull back curtain on climate scepticism
- Leak exposes how Heartland Institute works to undermine climate science
- Heartland?
- The Heart(land) of the Denial Campaign
- Zachary Shanan, Fossil-Fuel-Funded Think Tank, Heartland Institute, Exposed (Deniergate? Heartlandgate? Pick a Name), Clean Technica
- Phil Plait, Breaking news: A look behind the curtain of the Heartland Institute's climate change spin, Bad Astronomy
- Christian Hunt, Undermining the IPCC, keeping opposing voices out, dissuading the teaching of science - Heartland in its own words?, The Carbon Brief
- Canucks On Heartland Institute Payroll
Disclaimer: The Heartland Institute is now claiming that these documents have likely been altered or faked, and are threatening to pursue criminal and civil charges against all bloggers who posted comments on them or links to them.
I can not prove that these documents are real or fake. I will certainly pass on to you any information that comes along about this. Have a look at the documents and make up your own mind (before I am forced by guys in suits to take down the links).
Read the comments on this post...