Ties that Blind 1

Ties That Blind: Case Studies of Corporate Influence on Policy

The 1996 campaign season, the recent publication of fie Buying of the President, and continuing efforts by watchdog groups to promote campaign finance reform highlight what has come to be recognLzed as a pemicious influence on American politics -- corporate and special interest money. Underlying this assumption is a belief that, either directly or indirectly, finds provided to candidates iriffuences their decision-making to the benefit of the donor. Increasingly, the public has demanded that candidates more filly disclosure their hnding sources.

Similarly, spokespersons ranging from Vice President Al Gore to scientists testifying before the US Congress have alleged that the outcome of scientific inquiry is influenced by sources financing the research. Unlike campaign financing from political action committees to individual candidates, scientists are not required to disclose their finding prior to testifjring before Congress or offering comment before the media. Fortunately, in the majority of cases scientists clearly identify their sources of research hnding either by their organizational affiliation with a government agency or by electing to disclose their organizational and financial ties.

The impact of undisclosed corporate money on climate change policy emerged in a series of hearings called by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Congressman Robert Walker (R-PA). In several instances, the House Science Committee has called upon witnesses to teste who have received substantial amounts of undisclosed corporate finding from coal or energy interests such as Dr. , Jr. (who identifies himself with ) and Dr. (who identifies himself with the ). More strikingly, the Committee pitted Balling and Michaels against scientists like Dr. Jerry Mahlman (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) who clearly identify the sources of their funding.

Ozone Action believes that individuals or organizations representing themselves before the US Congress or the media should disclose their hnding sources so that the public may more clearly determine the credibility of the position advocated by the individudorganization. After all, the public is the best judge of what the motivations and pressures of US government versus corporate coal and energy hnding may be on the climate change debate.

The following three case studies seek to provide the public with hnding information about Dr. Robert Balling, Dr. Patrick Michaels and a public relations experiment which they advised, the Information Council on the Environment (ICE).

Case Study #1 Dr. Robert Balling, Jr., Arizona State University

According to testimony offered before the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on March 15, 1995, Dr. Robert Balling has received significant levels of hnding since 1989 from the Kuwait government, foreign coaVmining corporations and Cyprus Minerals Company (a frequent funder of the "wise usel' group People for the West). The attached chart contains all hnding sources to Dr. Balling which Action has verified to date.

Ozone Action 162 1 Connecticut Ave, NW Washington, DC 20009 202-265-6738 Ties that Blind 2

Kuwait Government The Kuwait government has actively participated in negotiations under the Framework Convention on Climate Change. Due to the large oil reserves in that country, the Kuwait delegation along with other Middle Eastern delegates, have opposed findings made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the effects climate change may have on living systems. *

In his spoken testimony, Dr. Balling- was cross-examined about fimding he has received from the Kuwait government. The following is an excerpt:

Q: And the last one on this page is from the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, can you suggest why Kuwait, or rather the Kuwait Foundation might have any interest in global warming? A: No, I can't. I know a Kuwaiti who did a Ph.D with our group and the Kuwaiti said that he is well connected in Kuwait to funding sources. You have to understand, I'm the director of a research laboratory and there's never ending pressure to find research money. And when you discover that the Kuwaiti government has a research pool that is being allocated to scientists in my field, you would be crazy not to run out and make some attempt to put a proposal in to obtain funding from that source. [Transcript page 1111

Dr. Balling was hrther questioned as to his links to the Kuwait government:

Q: ith respect to your book, The Heated Debate, isn't it true, Dr. Balling that the Pacific Research4 Institute for Public Policy was in fact founded to oppose environmental regulations? A: I know nothing of their history. I'm aware that they have been a conservative public policy group. But I did not investigate who these people were that asked me to prepare a book for them. Q: Adthey're also publishing a Middle Eastern version of your book, is that correct? A: It has been published. Q: It has been published. Is it published by this organization? A: Yes Q: Is it funded by the Kuwaiti government? A: The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement in Science gave Dr. Nasrallah a grant and money from that grant went toward the publication of this book. [Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on March 15, 1995, Transcript page 1121

The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science is a "government establishment," according to Muneyclips, August 21 , 1994, "Private University Gets Initial OK; 'Practical Steps Taken to Implement Project"' and the Arab Times.

Aside from fbnding received by the Kuwait government to reprint The Heated Debate, Dr. Balling also . has received grants from the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science ($48,993) and the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (amount undisclosed).

Ozone Action 162 1 Connecticut Ave, NW Washington, DC 20009 202-265 6738 Ties that Blind 3

BritisWGerman Coal Interests Dr. Balling has received three grants from the British Coal Corporation for a total of $103,544 and two grants from the German Coal Mining Association for a total of $81,780.

Cvprus Minerals Company Dr. Balling has received five grants from Cyprus Minerals Company (totaling $72,554) and me grant from Cyprus Minerals Chief Executive Officer ($4,904). Cumulatively, Cyprus Minerals fimding to Dr. Balling totals $77,458. r- According to the Clearinghouse on Environmental Advocacy and Research (CLEAR), Cyprus Minerals was an early supporter of People for the West! giving the organization over $100,000 from 1991-1993. Jerome Bensing, Director of Governmental Af€airs at Cyprus Minerals, was a member, in 1995, of People for the West's! Board of Directors.

Total Undisclosed Funding According to Harper's Magazine, Dr. Balling has received more than $200,000 from coal and oil interests over the past six years. [Harper's, "The Heat is On," Ross Gelbspan, December 1995, 351 Dr, Balling was confronted with Gelbspan's allegations by a reporter from The Arizona Republic, the following is an excerpt of that article:

One of the nation's leading skeptics is Robert Balling, director of the Office of Climatology at Arizona State University. He's treated none too gently in an article in the December issue of Harper's magazine. The essay, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ross Gelbspan, makes the case that global warming poses a far greater threat than most people realize. The problem, he says, isn't that the .media are conspiring to downplay the threat but that we are being misused by people like Balling, whom he disparages as a kind of rent-a-scientist in the pocket of the energy companies. News reports on the subject, Gelbspan writes, usually 'lcorne qualified with the observation that the question of global warming can never be conclusively resolved. The confusion is intentional, expensively gift-wrapped by energy industries." He wrote that oil and coal associations spend millions to spread contrary opinions, calling on Balling and a few others who are "interchangeable ornaments on the hood of a high-powered engine of disinformation. 'I Gelbspan says Balling ''has received more than $200,000 from coal and oil interests." Balling, author of a 1992 book, The Heated Debate: Greenhouse Predictions Versus Climate Reality, says that number is way off. "Actually, I've received more like $700,000 over the past five years," he corrected. [Arizona Republic, November 24, 1995 9g. A2 "Can We Take the Chance Global Warming is a Sham?, Steve Wilson]

At present, Ozone Action is only able to codirm that Dr. Balling has received $3 11,775 from coal and oil interests. [Please refer to attached chart, asterisks are placed next to the fimding sources included in this total]

Case Study #2: Dr. Patrick Michaels, University of Virginia

According to testimony offered before the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on March 15, 1995, Dr. Michaels has received fbnding from Western Fuels Association (a consortium of coal interests),

Ozone Action 1621 Connecticut Ave, NW Washington, DC 20009 202-265-6738 Ties that Blind 4

German and American coal interests and Cyprus Minerals Company. Please refer to the attached chart for a fbrther listing of funding sources.

Western Fuels Association Ozone Action is currently unable to ascertain the amount of money Dr. Michaels has received to publish

World Climate Review. The following is an excerpt of his testimony: c

Q: That's fine. Do you publish a journal called the World Climate Review, a quarterly review of issues concerning global climate change? r- A: No longer. Q: No longer? You formerly did? A: Yes. Q: And how long did you publish that? A: A little less than three years. Q: Who funded it? A: Western Fuels Association. [Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on March 15, 1995, Transcript, page 891

Dr. Michaels' own web page, however, touts World Climate Report, ''a research review edited by Dr. Patrick J. Michaels. World Climate Report provides policy makers, journalists, and the interested public with an ongoing and accurate portrayal of the science of global climate change which will function as an antidote to the vision of apocalypse promoted by the professional environmental community and by the United Nations. Funding for this publication is provided by Western Fuels Association, Inc. with additional fbnding by associated companies."

This description is corroborated by Western Fuels 1995 Annual Report, "Our publication and distribution of World Climate Review has clearly had an impact on the climate change debate. After 11 quarterly editions, we are discontinuing the magazine and replacing it with World Climate Report. This bi-monthly newsletter will provide a rapid response to the spurious reports that try to create virtual climate reality, a phony picture of increasing weather catastrophes caused by carbon dioxide emissions." [page 131

In addition to this undisclosed funding from Western Fuels Association and other coal and energy interests to hnd World Climate Review and World Climate Report, Dr. Michaels received a $63,000 grant fiom Western Fuels for research on global climate change.

German Coal Mining; Association and Edison Electric From the German Coal Mining Association, Dr. Michaels has received $49,000 and from Edison Electric Institute he has received $15,000.

Cv~rusMinerals Company Dr. Michaels has received $40,000 from Cyprus Minerals Company.

Ozone Action 162'1 Connecticut Ave, NW Washington, DC 20009 202-265-6738 Ties that Blind 5

According to the Clearinghouse on Environmental Advocacy and Research (CLEAR), Cyprus Minerals was an early supporter of People for the West! giving the organization over $100,000 fiom 1991 - 1993. Jerome Bensing, Director of Governmental Affairs at Cyprus Minerals, was a member, in 1995, of People for the West's! Board of Directors. Total Undisclosed Funding - According to Harper's Magazine, Dr. Michaels has received more than $1 15,000 from coal and oil interests over the past four years. [Harper's, "The Heat is On," Ross Gelbspan, December 1995, 351 Ozone Action has confirmed that Dr. Michaels has received $167,000 from undisclosid industry sources. This total does not include $50,000 he received fiom an anonymous donor or fimding for either of the publications discussed above. [Please refer to the attached chart, asterisks are placed next to the fbnding sources included in this total]

Case Study #3 Information Council on the Environment (ICE)

In 1991, the Information Council for the Environment (ICE) stated their goal was to *'repositionglobal warming as theory (not fact)." The ICE President, Gale Klappa of The Southern Company (an electric utility) and ICE Vice President, Frederick Palmer, Western Fuels Association worked with Edison Electric Company to target key Congressional districts with information about climate change.

ICE also created a Science Advisory Panel which included Dr. Robert Balling, Dr. Patrick Michaels and Dr. Sherwood Idso. According to documents obtained by Ozone Action and by Ross Gelbspan, several ICE strategies were laid out including: the repositioning of global warming as theory, not fact; achieving broad participation across the entire electric utility industry, and using a spokesman fiom the scientific community.

Media strategies included:

targeting "older, less-educated males fiom larger households who are not typically active information

seekers" and "younger, lower-income women. I'

using lltechnical source'' (i.e. scientists) because they receive a higher credibility rating fiom the public.

and proposed advertisements "The most serious problem with catastrophic global warming is-- it may not be true," "If the earth is getting warmer, why is Minneapolis getting colder?" "Who told you the earth was warming ...Chicken Little?" and "Some say the earth is warming. Some also said the earth was flat."

Sporting a budget of $500,000, ICE worked with Simmons Advertising, Inc. in Grand Forks, ND to place a sixty second spot on the Rush Limbaugh Show. The text is as follows:

Global warming. I know you've been seeing more and more stories about the global warming theory. Stories that paint a horrible picture. Stories that say the polar ice caps will melt. Stories that [illegible] for catastrophe. Well get real! Stop panicking! I'm here to tell you that the facts simply don't jibe with the theory that catastrophic global warming is taking place. Try this fact on for size. Minneapolis has actually gotten colder. So has Albany, New

Ozone Action 162 1 Connecticut Ave, NW Washington, DC 20009 202-2656738 Ties that Blind 6

York. And the Department of Agriculture says that on both coasts of this country, winter temperatures are five to ten degrees cooler than previously reported. So folks, grab hold of yourselves and get the whole story before you make up your mind. Right now, you can get a free packet of easy-to-understand material about global warming. Just call this number: 1- 800-346-6269 Extension 505. That's the Information Council for the Environment. After you read the free materials they send you, you'll have a better picture of what the facts are all about. That's 1-800-346-6269 Extension 505. Call Today. Because the best environmental policy is based on fact.

The ICE public relations campaign targeted several congressional districts including Chtinipaign, IL (Terry Bruce, House Energy and Commerce Committee) and Fargo, ND (Byron Dorgan, House Ways & Means Committee).

These case studies are the first in a series of investigative papers to be included in a report entitled "Ties that Blind'' to be released later this year. For a complete copy of the documents cited above, please contact Ozone Action.

Ozone Action 162 1 Connecticut Ave, NW Washington, DC 20009 202-265-673s 1 Robert Balling: Sources of Funding 1989-1995

Funding Source Funding Recipient(s) Name of Study Funding Year I Amount Applied Environmental Consultants Robert Balling, Tomas Miller Meteorological Monitoring at the Fence Lake $1 7,588 1989 Coal Mine Site Applied Environmental Consultants Robert Balling, Tomas Miller, Meteorological Monitoring at the Fence Lake $1 2,952 1990 Herbert Verville Coal Mine Site Applied Environmental Consultants Robert Balling, Herbert Meteorological Monitoring at the Fence Lake $1 3,604 1992 Ve rvill e Coal Mine Site: 1992-93 Arizona Public Sem'ce Company l Robert Balling, Tomas Miller Measurement and Analysis of Power-Line $4,656 1990 Heiaht Summertime Winds and I ITemperature Patterns I I **Brit ish Coal Corpora tion Robert Ballina. Randall IImplications of Potential Northern I $29,712 I 1991 Cerveny, SheGood ldso Hemispheric Warming for British Frontal I Storms **British Coal Corporation Robert Balling, Sherwood ldso Analysis of British Temperature and $34,057 1991 Precipitation Records: Search for the Greenhouse Signal **British Coal Corporation Robert Balling, Sherwood ldso Analysis of European Temperature and $39,775 1992 . Precipitation Records: Continued Search for the Greenhouse Signal Centers for Disease Control Robert Balling Analysis of the Atmospheric Modeling unknown 1990 Component of the Army's Plan to Dispose IChernicaI Munitions I I **Cyprus Minerals Company Robeft Ballina. Randall IAnalvsis of Hurricane Activity During- I $19,822 I 1989 I Cerveny, SheGood ldso Wa& and Cdd Years **Cyprus Minerals Company Robert Balling, Sherwood ldso How Changes in Cloud Cover Moderate $1 3,430 1990 Greenhouse Warming **Cyprus Minerals Company Robert Balling, Sherwood ldso Greenhouse Coding $1 3,430 1990 **Cyprus Minerals Company Robert Balling, Sherwood ldso The Carbon Dioxide Greenhouse Effect and $1 3,430 1990 US Precipitation Trends: Is There a Super Dust Bowl in our Future? **Cyprus Minerals Company Robert Balling, Sherwood ldso Likely Effects of Greenhouse Warming on $1 2,442 1989 Maximum Summer Temperatures District of Maricopa County, AZ Robert Balling Analysis of the Time and Space $28,563 1989 Characteristics of Extreme Rainfall Events in the Gila River Basin Ebasco Constructor, Inc Analvsis of Recent PreciDitation Patterns unknoh 1992 Robert Balling in t& Lake Pleasant, AZ 'Area t **German Coal Mining Association Analysis of Global-Scale Trends in the $41,800 1995 Robert Balling Diurnal Temperature Range **German Coal Mining Association Analvsis of German Temperature and $39,980 1993 Robert Balling IPreGpitation Records . I I I

Ozone Action 1621 Connecticut Ave, NW Washington, DC 20009 202-2654738 **Kenneth Barr Robert Balling Analysis of Australian Temperature Variations Durina the Period of Instrumental Record **Kuwait Foundation for the Robert Balling, Hassan Analysis of Recent Climatic Changes in the $48,993 Advancement of Sciences Nasrallah Arabian Peninsula Region Kuwait Institute for Scientific Robert Balling Climatological Monitoring in Kuwait unknown Research Langerman, Begam, Lewis and Mark Robert Balling Analysis of Peak Wind Gusts During March unknown in Phoenix, AZ Law Office of Myers and Jenkins, A2 Robert Balling Analysis of Precipitation Patterns in unknown Central Arizona in December 1992 and January IL 1993 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Robert Balling, Anthony Bratel, Development of Long-Range Statistical $1 0,633 1994 Administration Randall Cerveny Forecast Guidance for Arizona Monsoon Precipitation National Science Foundation Robert Balling, Grant Meyer, Holocene and Modem Geomorphic Response $71,640 1990 Kenneth Pierce, Stephen Wells to Wildfires and Climate Change in Northeastern Yellowstone National Park National Science Foundation D.E. Anderson, R.C. Balling, C.D. Hydrologic, Geomorphic and Chronologic $1 80,000 1994 Harrington, A.J.T. Jull, S.G. Record of Paleofloods, Lake Building Events Wells and Climate Change During the Late Quaternary Phoenix Water and Wastewater Robert Balling, Randy Sedlacek, Personnel Support for Hydrological $50,576 1991 Department Herbert Verville Research Salt River Project Robert Balling Evaluation of Projected Increases in $1 7,490 1989 Precipitation from Uoud Seeding on the Salt and Verde Watersheds Utilizing Suspension Criteria Salt River Project Robert Balling, Herbert $1,429 1991 Verville IWind Tests for PRISMS Equipment Salt River Project Robert Balling, Anthony Braze1 IMicroclimatic Survey of PRISMS Sites United Nations Robert Balling Interactions of Desertification and Climate United Nations Robert Balling Assessment of the Interactions of Desertification and Climate

Waters Foundation Robert Balling- Effects of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide $36,525 I Enrichment on Global Carbon Cycling Robert Ballina ' I Effects of AtmosDheric Carbon Dioxide Waters Foundation I $40,000 IEnrichment on Giobal Carbon Cycling I I E I I I ** Indicates that the entry was used to tabulate "Total Undisclosed Funding" figure in report text. List Compiled from: Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, March 15, 1995, Docket No. E-999Kl-93-583

Ozone Action 1621 Connecticut Ave, NW Washington, DC 20009 202-2656738 3 Patrick Michaels: Sources of Funding 1989-1995 E

I Funding Source I Funding 1 Name of Study I Funding I Year Recipient(s) Amount Anonymous Patrick Michaels Research Support for Climactic Change $50,000 1991-1 992- **Cyprus Minerals Company Patrick Michaels Jet Stream Alterations Induced by Anthropogenerated $40,000 1 989-1 990

Association US Department of Commerce Patrick Michaels Research Publication for the Southeastern Climate $135,000 1989-1 993 Center **Western Fuels Association Patrick Michaels Research on Global Climate Change $63,000 1992-1 993

List Compiled from: Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, March 15, 1995, Docket No. E-999ICI-93-583

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