It must be Horrible to Work at a Climate Change Denier Think Tank. Imagine going to work and writing false studies designed to make the world a worse place to live.

Headline: A MAJOR COAL COMPANY WENT BUST. ITS BANKRUPTCY FILING SHOWS THAT IT WAS FUNDING CLIMATE CHANGE DENIALISM. The documents in the court docket show that the coal giant gave contributions to leading think tanks that have attacked the link between the burning of fossil fuels and climate change, as well as to several conservative advocacy groups that have attempted to undermine policies intended to shift the economy toward renewable energy. 

https://theintercept.com/2019/05/16/coal-industry-climate-change-denial-cloud-peak-energy/

A Friend of Mine Did Not Believe That Her Car Was On the Wrong Side of the Road and Heading for a Logging Truck... and then... She Went Through Her Windshield Head First! Wham! Reality DID Exist! But Climate Change Deniers Fail to Grasp That Simple Fact... 

 The document shows that Cloud Peak Energy helped fund the Institute of Energy Research, a Washington, D.C.-based group that has dismissed the “so-called scientific consensus” on climate change and regularly criticizes investments in renewable energy as a “waste” of resources.

Several of the groups that receive funding from Cloud Peak Energy have used aggressive tactics to attempt to discredit environmentalists. The Center for Consumer Freedom, one of the groups listed in the coal company’s filing, is part of a sprawling network of front groups set up by a lobbyist named Rick Berman geared toward attacking green groups such as the Sierra Club and Food & Water Watch as dangerous radicals.

Other organizations quietly bankrolled by Cloud Peak Energy have directly shaped state policy. The company provided funding to the American Legislative Exchange Council, a group that provides template legislation to state lawmakers. The model bills promote the fossil fuel agenda. One model bill declares that there is a “great deal of scientific uncertainty” around climate change; others are designed to repeal environmental regulations on coal-burning power plants.

The Montana Policy Institute — a local libertarian think tank that promotes a discredited claim that world temperatures are falling, not rising, and questions whether humans cause climate change — also received funding from the firm.

Cloud Peak Energy, the filing shows, funded Americans for Prosperity, the Koch brothers-backed group that mobilizes political opposition to Democratic politicians and climate regulations. The mining firm also financed Crossroads GPS, a “dark-money” group that funneled millions of undisclosed dollars into Senate races in support of GOP politicians during the 2010 and 2012 election cycles. The Western Caucus Foundation, which supports congressional efforts to deregulate the mining sector and sell off public lands for energy development, received funding as well.

Many of the political dollars listed in the filing appear routine among coal industry firms. The Wyoming coal firm provided financing to an array of trade groups, including the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, the National Mining Association, and the American Coal Council, that lobby legislators on mine industry priorities.

Green New Deal - Free Coloring Book Art by gvan42
Green New Deal - Free Coloring Book Art by gvan42

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