In response to a recent letter from the British Royal Society calling on ExxonMobil to stop funding climate contrarians, the company stated that it would not fund Competitive Enterprise Institute in 2006. They have made no statements about their plans for future funding, and have made no commitments about their funding of other groups. The report calls on ExxonMobil to establish criteria to ensure that the groups it does fund only publish and disseminate global warming information that is based on peer reviewed science.
Kate Abend | 01.04.07 - 9:59 am | #

Thanks for the clarification, Kate -- that's good to know!
Jeff at sustainablog | Homepage | 01.04.07 - 10:14 am | #

The source story (to borrow a phrase from Jeff) is a "smear piece". That's okay with me, because "smear" is a time honored tactic that can be very effective. But honestly, why is anyone surprised that Exxon Mobil funds research that finds evidence to the contrary of that being purported by the climate science community? Don’t they have an obligation to protect their interests? Since scientists on both sides have been guilty of "tweaking" (and I use that term loosely) the numbers to support their respective theories and agendas, what’s the big deal? I always find it amusing that the greenies view corporate funding as some sort of evil infecting the purity of scientific research. Here’s a news flash for you, the climatologists are not exactly working without funds (and their purity is also questionable). They even have a new, extremely rich convert with a globalist ideology:

http://www.georgesoros.com/excer...t- globalwarming
Bobby B. | 01.04.07 - 10:45 am | #

There is an excellent book that partly covers this issue, "Heat - how to stop the planet burning" by George Monbiot.

Chapter 2 of this book, "The denial industry" covers much of the issue, noting the resemblance to the tobacco lobbyists and how the industry refers to dubious non peer-reviewed papers that uses false or misleading research data about climate changes (even fooling major newspapers).

Well worth checking out! One of those books I will remember reading in 2006..
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Heat-How...ie=UTF8& s=books
Tomas S | Homepage | 01.04.07 - 11:01 am | #

Let me second Tomas' recommendation of Heat. Monbiot often comes across as a radical, but he's incredibly pragmatic in this book.
Jeff at sustainablog | Homepage | 01.04.07 - 11:07 am | #