Marco Rubio, Rick Scott, John Boehner, the list of extreme Republicans denying basic science showing humans impact climate change seems to grow by the day. Who else can be added to this list? Why David Koch, of course. Not only has Koch denied human caused climate change, he’s gone so far as to speculate that warming of the planet is a GOOD THING. According to New York Magazine, Koch rationalized that any trauma caused by migration of people from disappearing coastlines would be made up for by lengthened growing seasons.
As is typical of their self-serving agenda, the Kochs recognize that addressing climate change could threaten the massive profits of their piggybank – Koch Industries. So they have spent $50 million funding groups that deny climate science, fighting tooth and nail to protect their oil fortune at the expense of our air and treating this misinformation campaign as just another investment in their bottom line.
The sad part? It’s working. PolitiFact recently rated it “mostly true” that “virtually no Republican” in Washington accepts climate change science.
The Kochs & Friends on Climate Change: “Propaganda,” “Hysteria,” “Alarmists”
David Koch
David Koch Said He Was Not Sure if Global Warming Was Caused by Humans, Said Heating of Planet Was Good News. According to New York Magazine: “Koch says he’s not sure if global warming is caused by human activities, and at any rate, he sees the heating up of the planet as good news.” [New York Magazine, 6/25/10]
David Koch Said Longer Growing Seasons Would Make Up for Trauma Caused by Migration Away from Coastlines, That “The Earth Will Be Able To Support Enormously More People Because A Far Greater Land Area Will Be Available To Produce Food.” According to New York Magazine: “Lengthened growing seasons in the northern hemisphere, he says, will make up for any trauma caused by the slow migration of people away from disappearing coastlines. ‘The Earth will be able to support enormously more people because a far greater land area will be available to produce food,’ he says.” [New York Magazine, 6/25/10]
Koch Industries
Richard Fink, Koch Inner Circle Member
Koch Executive Vice President Richard Fink Said Programs to Address Global Warming Were “Kneejerk Reaction to “Relatively Small But Well-Connected Group Of Alarmists And Special Interests.” According to Fink: “Programs and policies such as these have been the kneejerk reaction of politicians to a relatively small but well-connected group of alarmists and special interests.” [Discovery Newsletter, April 2008]
Koch Executive Vice President Richard Fink Said Efforts to Explain Climate Change to Elementary School Students Was “Discredited Science,” “Exaggerated Scares,” “Propaganda.” “Objective efforts to present various points of view are the foundation of both science and education in a free society. Unfortunately, concerted efforts to present a one-sided approach to climate change have already reached even the elementary schools across our nation. Much f this “information” is discredited science and exaggerated scares. This is far more propaganda than education and should be vigorously opposed by every parent.” [Discovery Newsletter, April 2008]
Koch Executive Vice President Richard Fink Said Global Warming Needed “Fundamental Reexamination,” Recommended Book by Known Global Warming Denier. According to Fink: The issue of global climate change has become so politicized and propagandized that it needs a fundamental reexamination. (Lawrence Solomon’s book, The Deniers, is a helpful place to start.) [Discovery Newsletter, April 2008]
Koch Executive Vice President Richard Fink Said Mistake Polices to Address Global Warming Were Already Affecting Lives, Said Renewable Fuel Subsidies and Mandates Were Causing Environmental Harm. According to Fink: “Mistaken policies to address global climate change are already affecting our lives. Today’s renewable fuels subsidies and mandates, for example, have already caused significant increases in food and commodity prices as well as environmental harm. The worst is yet to come.” [Discovery Newsletter, April 2008]
Koch Executive Vice President Richard Fink Said That Without Alternatives to Global Warming Science, We Would Face “ ‘Cures’ That Are Certain To Be Far Worse Than The Supposed Disease.” According to Fink: “Despite the many attempts to shout down alternative views and legitimate scientific challenges to global warming claims, every citizen should have the courage to stand up for free speech and scientific inquiry, and take a serious look at competing analyses. Otherwise, we face even more climate change “cures” that are certain to be far worse than the supposed disease.” [Discovery Newsletter, April 2008]
Discovery Newsletter
Koch Industries’ Discovery Newsletter: “Why Would A Reasonable Society Rush To Implement Far-Reaching (And Costly) Climate Change Policies Based On Such Shaky Understanding Of The Science?” According to an article from Discovery Newsletter on the Koch Industries website, “We are often told our planet will be devastated unless we immediately make drastic reductions in man-made greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The list of possible climate catastrophes caused by GHGs seems endless.Interestingly enough, all of these claims have been disproven or grudgingly retracted. So why would a reasonable society rush to implement far-reaching (and costly) climate change policies based on such shaky understanding of the science?” [KochInd.com, 1/1/10]
Koch Industries’ Discovery Newsletter: Climate Extremists Are Trying To Shout Down Any And All Dissenters… On The Mistaken Assumption That ‘The Science Is Settled.’” According to an article from Discovery Newsletter on the Koch Industries website, Rather than encouraging open and honest scientific enquiry and debate about the issue, climate extremists are trying to shout down any and all dissenters. All of this should be a warning flag for anyone proposing actions to respond to climate change on the mistaken assumption that ‘the science is settled.’” [KochInd.com, 1/1/10]
Senior VP Sheryl Corrigan
Koch Senior VP: “Because The Incentives For All Those Involved In Developing Climate Change Policy Are Not Aligned, Getting The Best Data To Our Decision-Makers Hasn’t Been Successful Or Sufficient.” According to an article written by Sheryl Corrigan, Senior vice president, Flint Hill Resources, EH&S on the Koch Industries website, “Having good data and measurement systems to support any policy is critically important. Unfortunately, very few knowledge systems are perfect, which is why policymakers tend to default to their own agenda instead. Climate change policy is a sobering example of this. Because the incentives for all those involved in developing climate change policy are not aligned, getting the best data to our decision-makers hasn’t been successful or sufficient.” [KochInd.com, 5/1/13]
Koch Senior VP: “Resources That Could Be Applied To More Pressing Local Needs – Such As Rebuilding Outdated Wastewater Treatment Plants – Have Been Hijacked To Support The Climate Drumbeat.” According to an article written by Sheryl Corrigan, Senior vice president, Flint Hill Resources, EH&S on the Koch Industries website, “Because the incentives for all those involved in developing climate change policy are not aligned, getting the best data to our decision-makers hasn’t been successful or sufficient. The consequences of this (not just for Koch, but society as a whole) are twofold. First, what used to be a robust discourse on how to further stewardship efforts for air, land and water quality has now been reduced to a single topic: climate. Second, resources that could be applied to more pressing local needs – such as rebuilding outdated wastewater treatment plants – have been hijacked to support the climate drumbeat.” [KochInd.com, 5/1/13]
Koch Senior VP: “What Used To Be A Robust Discourse On How To Further Stewardship Efforts For Air, Land And Water Quality Has Now Been Reduced To A Single Topic: Climate.” According to an article written by Sheryl Corrigan, Senior vice president, Flint Hill Resources, EH&S on the Koch Industries website, “Because the incentives for all those involved in developing climate change policy are not aligned, getting the best data to our decision-makers hasn’t been successful or sufficient. The consequences of this (not just for Koch, but society as a whole) are twofold. First, what used to be a robust discourse on how to further stewardship efforts for air, land and water quality has now been reduced to a single topic: climate.” [KochInd.com, 5/1/13]
Americans for Prosperity
Americans for Prosperity-Texas Director Peggy Venable: “The Scientific Establishment Has Dropped The Ball. Carbon Dioxide Is Not A Pollutant. On The Contrary It Makes Crops And Forests Grow Faster. We Exhale Carbon Dioxide.” According to Venable: “The scientific establishment has dropped the ball. Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. On the contrary it makes crops and forests grow faster. We exhale carbon dioxide.” [Lone Star Report, 1/29/2009]
Americans for Prosperity Organized Campaign Aimed at ‘Exposing The Ballooning Costs Of Global Warming Hysteria.’” According to McClatchy: AFP also is organizing a campaign “exposing the ballooning costs of global warming hysteria.’ [McClatchy, 8/15/2009]
AFP Scorecard for 110th Congress Opposed Waxman-Markey Cap and Trade Bill. [AFP Scorecards for the 110thCongress, Viewed 4/16/14]
AFP Scorecard for 110th Congress Called for “No Climate Tax Pledge.” [AFP Scorecards for the 110thCongress,Viewed 4/16/14]
AFP: The EPA’s Efforts To Regulate Greenhouse Gases “By Administrative Fiat” “Impose Incredible Economic
Costs For Nearly Imperceptible Results.” According to the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, “The Clean Air Act (CAA), passed in 1970 and amended several times since, regulated emissions of toxic air pollutants like sulfur dioxide (a component of acid rain), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs, which deplete the ozone layer), and nitrogen oxides (a component of smog). The ACT barely mentions climate change, a concept the bill’s authors weren’t addressing when they wrote the law. Recently, Congress considered expanding the CAA to cover GHGs but explicitly rejected this approach with the failure of cap-and-trade. Yet the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving forward anyways, bending the language of this decades-old statute for aggressive GHG regulation. […] The EPA’s GHG regulations are a shining example of a hyperactive regulatory agency pushing its authority far beyond statutorily defined limits, pursuing by administrative fiat policies that were rejected by Congress and the American people. Moreover, the rules impose incredible economic costs for nearly imperceptible results.” [Americans For Prosperity Foundation, September 2011]
Koch Funding of Climate Change Denial
Elliot Negin, Director of News and Commentary for the Union of Concerned Scientists: Kochs Gave $49.8 Million To Network of Global Warming Denial Groups Between 2002 and 2011. According to Negin: “Charles Koch (above) and his brother David (below) gave $49.8 million to a network of climate contrarian think tanks and advocacy groups from 2002 through 2011.” [Huffington Post, 5/20/13]
Koch Opposition to Climate Change Legislation Motivated by Financial Self Interest
Professor and Co-Author and of Book About Corporate Attempts to Manipulate Public Opinion On Science: Kochs Have “A Lot At Stake” In Denial of Global Warming Due to Business Interests. According to The New Yorker: “Naomi Oreskes, a professor of history and science studies at the University of California, San Diego, is the co-author of “Merchants of Doubt,” a new book that chronicles various attempts by American industry to manipulate public opinion on science. She noted that the Kochs, as the heads of “a company with refineries and pipelines,” have “a lot at stake.” She added, “If the answer is to phase out fossil fuels, a different group of people are going to be making money, so we shouldn’t be surprised that they’re fighting tooth and nail.’” [The New Yorker, 8/30/10]
National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy Report: Koch’s Philanthropic Giving Related to “Issues That Impact The Profit Margin Of Koch Industries.” According to the New Yorker: “2004 report by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, a watchdog group, described the Kochs’ foundations as being self-serving, concluding, ‘These foundations give money to nonprofit organizations that do research and advocacy on issues that impact the profit margin of Koch Industries.’” [The New Yorker, 8/30/10]
Toledo Blade Editorial: Koch Brothers Efforts to Repeal Energy Standards Stemmed From Ownership of Fossil Fuels Companies. According to The Toledo Blade: “There would seem no reason for Columbus to gut a law that has conferred so many benefits — until you consider the forces behind SB 310. They include the billionaire Koch brothers, who have major holdings in old-school energy providers. Their front groups, Americans for Prosperity and the American Legislative Exchange Council, seek to roll back state energy standards across the country. Ohio would join Indiana in becoming the first states to do so.” [The Toledo Blade, 5/25/14]
Center for Public Integrity: Kochs’ Public Pose as Libertarians, Role as “Financial Angels for Conservative Movement” are “At Times In Conflict” With Koch Industries “Lobbying Steamroller for the Company’s Interests.” According the Center for Public Integrity: “Charles and David Koch, the owners of the country’s second-largest private corporation, are libertarians of long standing, who contend that government regulations, taxes and subsidies stifle individual initiative and hamper American competitiveness. In recent years, the Kochs have played an increasingly public role as financial angels for conservative causes, politicians and foundations. What’s not so well-known is the activity of Koch Industries in the trenches in Washington, where a Center for Public Integrity examination of lobbying disclosure files and federal regulatory records reveals a lobbying steamroller for the company’s interests, at times in conflict with its public pose.” [The Center for Public Integrity, 4/6/11]
Center for Public Integrity: “It’s In The Kochs’ Commercial Interest To Preserve America’s Reliance On Carbon-Based Energy Sources.” According to The Center for Public Integrity: “It’s in the Kochs’ commercial interest to preserve America’s reliance on carbon-based energy sources. Despite recent diversification, Koch remains a major petrochemical company with refineries in North Pole, Alaska; Corpus Christi, Texas; Rosemount, Minn., and Rotterdam in the Netherlands; an array of chemical plants; a coal subsidiary (the C. Reiss Coal Co.) and 4,000 miles of pipelines. So it is not surprising that, when the Obama administration and the Democrats on Capitol Hill proposed to regulate the emission of greenhouse gases in recent years, Koch Industries responded with a fervent counteroffensive.” [The Center for Public Integrity, 4/6/11]
Center for Public Integrity: Koch Companies Lobby Heavily Against Use of Low-Carbon Fuel, Which Contribute Less Than Other Fuels to Global Warming. According to the Center for Public Integrity: Of particular concern to Koch lobbyists in Washington, according to their disclosure forms, are measures to encourage or require the use of low-carbon fuels. These sources of energy, in their manufacture and use, contribute less than other fuels to global warming.” [The Center for Public Integrity, 4/6/11]
- Center for Public Integrity: Koch Refinery In Minnesota Processes Large Amount of “High Carbon” Canadian Crude Oil; Opposed Low Carbon Standards Because “Canadian Crude Generates More Greenhouse Gas Emissions” And So Low-Carbon Standards “Would Cripple Refiners That Rely On Heavy Crude Feedstocks.” According to The Center for Public Integrity: “The Koch refinery in Minnesota is designed to process heavy “high-carbon” Canadian crude oil, and is fed by a pipeline from Canada. Koch “is among Canada’s largest crude oil purchasers, shippers and exporters,” the company says, with a trading and supply office in Calgary and a terminal in Hardisty, Alberta. Much of the oil comes from the mining of oil sands, which have a particularly heavy carbon footprint because the process releases greenhouse gases from peat lands and boreal forest, and requires a great deal of energy to heat and sweat the oil out. “Canadian crude generates more greenhouse gas emissions” and so low-carbon standards “would cripple refiners that rely on heavy crude feedstocks,” the Koch Industries website notes. “It would be particularly devastating for refiners that use heavy Canadian crude.’” [The Center for Public Integrity, 4/6/11]
Kochs Opposed Efforts in Washington, California to Introduce Low-Carbon Standards, Other Measures to Slow Global Warming. According to The Center for Public Integrity: “When lawmakers in Washington and states like California sought to address global warming by requiring the use of low carbon fuels, Koch Industries responded. Koch lobbyists listed the legislation as a lobbying priority on Capitol Hill. And in California, where a wide-ranging series of measures to slow climate change were launched by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Koch joined the fight to defeat them. A Koch subsidiary, Flint Hills Resources, donated a million dollars in support of Proposition 23, an unsuccessful attempt funded by Koch and other energy companies last year to stall implementation of the low-carbon standards and other remedial climate measures in California.” [The Center for Public Integrity, 4/6/11]