High tech research technique exposed

onAug 12, 2006 @ 05:26 PDT

As you many of you know, we here at the DeSmogBlog have been following the Calgary, Canada – based super skeptic group, the Friends of Science, for quite some time now. What you might not have known is that we have been using extremely cutting-edge technology to do so.

Unfortunately, the Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper, has uncovered our high tech ways in their expose today on the Friends of Science and their connections to the oil industry. So, for those who have not read the G&M piece and in the spirit of full disclosure, here it is: string, tape and paper.

That’s right, much like Senior Agent Jack Malone on the CBS hit series “Without a Trace,” when we are hot on the trail of those kidnapping the truth on climate change, we use the very same forensic techniques – we take a piece of string, tape it on the wall and put two pieces paper with writing on it and make the connection between science and oil. Now everyone can start their own blog just like ours and start outing the bad guys.

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.