PM Harper's fishing buddy behind Kyoto attack group

onJul 21, 2006 @ 16:03 PDT

The DeSmogBlog has reported in the past the deep ties between the climate change spin machine and Kyoto attack group, the Friends of Science, and Stephen Harper’s Conservative Party. These ties become even deeper when the chief architect of the Friends of Science is Dr. Barry Cooper, Calgary University Professor and long-time confidante of Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper.

Dr. Cooper is a very well-known member of the so-called “Calgary School,” a group of U of C professors attributed with the rise of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the ruling Conservative Party of Canada.

Cooper is also Stephen Harper’s fishing buddy . With Harper and his Conservatives scrapping climate change programs and moving away from the Kyoto Accord, the Friends of Science seem to be a well-timed, well-aligned third-party endorser that can create the public doubt Harper needs. And it’s all orchestrated by one of Harper’s closest allies.

By Kevin Grandia

Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmog. He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a “Green Hero” by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the “Top 50 Tweeters” on climate change and environment issues, Kevin has appeared in major news media outlets around the world for his work on digital campaigning. Kevin has been involved in the public policy arena in both the United States and Canada for more than a decade. For five years he was the managing editor of DeSmogBlog.com. In this role, Kevin’s research into the “climate denial industry” and the right-wing think tank networks was featured in news media articles around the world. He is most well known for his ground-breaking research into David and Charles Koch’s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea party networks. Kevin is the first person to be designated a “Certified Expert” on the political and community organizing platform NationBuilder. Prior to DeSmog, Kevin worked in various political and government roles. He was Senior Advisor to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and a Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Asia Pacific, Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Kevin also worked in various roles in the British Columbia provincial government in the Office of the Premier and the Ministry of Health. In 2008 Kevin co-founded a groundbreaking new online election tool called Vote for Environment which was later nominated for a World Summit Award in recognition of the world’s best e-Content and innovative ICT applications. Kevin moved to Washington, DC in 2010 where he worked for two years as the Director of Online Strategy for Greenpeace USA and has since returned to his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.