Heartland Institute

The Heartland Institute

Background

The Heartland Institute is a Chicago-based free market think tank and 501(c)(3) charity that has been at the forefront of denying the scientific evidence for man-made climate change. The Heartland Institute has received at least $676,500 from ExxonMobil since 1998 but no longer discloses its funding sources. According to ExxonMobil’s worldwide giving reports, it appears to have stopped funding Heartland among other climate change denial groups around 2007.  The Union of Concerned Scientists found ( PDF) that “Nearly 40% of the total funds that the Heartland Institute has received from ExxonMobil since 1998 were specifically designated for climate change projects.”1Smoke, Mirrors & Hot Air: How ExxonMobil Uses Big Tobacco’s Tactics to Manufacture Uncertainty on Climate Science ( PDF),” Union of Concerned Scientists, January 2007. Archived July 26, 2015. 2ExxonMobil cuts off funding to (some) climate deniers,” The Christian Science Monitor, May 29, 2008. Archived July 8, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yVKMW

David Padden founded The Heartland Institute in 1984 and served as its Chairman between 1984 and 1995, co-chairing with Joseph Bast. Padden was also one of the original members of the Board of Directors of the Cato Institute. Padden, a Chicago, IL-based investment banker and then owner of Padden & Company, passed away in October 2011.3David H. Padden,” The Heartland Institute. Archived March 2, 2005. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/fokqx James M. Taylor was elected president of the Heartland Institute on March 18, 2020.4James M. Taylor,” The Heartland Institute. Archived September 7, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/4XefX

Padden also served on the original Board of Directors of another organization founded that year, Citizens for a Sound Economy, which later split into two groups, FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity ( AFP). The Cato Institute and both of these organizations received their initial seed money from Koch Industries.5Mark Ames. “Radicals for Corporate Pollution: The Koch Cartel & The Heartland Institute,” The Exiled, February 15, 2012. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/zvCH4

According to a July 2011 Nature editorial,

“Despite criticizing climate scientists for being overconfident about their data, models and theories, the Heartland Institute proclaims a conspicuous confidence in single studies and grand interpretations… . makes many bold assertions that are often questionable or misleading. … Many climate skeptics seem to review scientific data and studies not as scientists but as attorneys, magnifying doubts and treating incomplete explanations as falsehoods rather than signs of progress towards the truth. … The Heartland Institute and its ilk are not trying to build a theory of anything. They have set the bar much lower, and are happy muddying the waters.”6Heart of the matter,” Nature, 475 (July 28, 2011), Page 423–424. Archived July 26, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/u2fAW

Murray Energy Funding

Murray Energy bankruptcy filings in 2019 revealed the Heartland Institute received $130,000 from the energy company owned by climate change denier Robert Murray. The filings revealed a wide range of creditors with deep ties to climate change denial including the International Climate Science Coalition, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and Government Accountability & Oversight. Robert Murray was known for being a major Trump donor, and giving officials a wish list of proposed actions to help the coal industry. See related reporting from The Intercept,7Lee Fang. “ COAL GIANT PROVIDED SECRET FINANCING TO GROUP CHALLENGING CLIMATE LAWSUITS,”The Intercept, December 17, 2019. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/hUjRt Energy and Environment News,8Scott Waldman. “Murray Energy a major funder of climate denial groups,” E&E News, December 17, 2019. Archived December 20, 2019. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/wip/WrDuT and The New York Times9.Lisa Friedman. “A Coal Baron Funded Climate Denial as His Company Spiraled Into Bankruptcy,” The New York Times, December 17, 2019. Archived December 20, 2019. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/ujTS6

Other groups funded by Murray Energy include FreedomWorks, the Cato Institute, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, and Judicial Watch. As The New York Times noted, Murray continued to fund climate change denial even as his company was going bankrupt. 

2012 Heartland Document Leak

In 2012, leaked documents revealed some of the Heartland Institute’s initiatives and climate change strategy including a tailored high school curriculum. As reported at the New York Times, (“Leak Offers Glimpse of Campaign Against Climate Science”) the Heartland Institute would have help from the Charles G. Koch Foundation to “cast doubt on the scientific finding that fossil fuel emissions endanger the long-term welfare of the planet.”  

The documents also discussed “Operation Angry Badger,” which the New York Times described as “a plan to spend $612,000 to influence the outcome of recall elections and related fights … in Wisconsin over the role of public-sector unions.”10Justin Gillis and Leslie Kaufman. “Leak Offers Glimpse of Campaign Against Climate Science,” The New York Times, February 15, 2012. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/pQM80 11Richard Littlemore. “Heartland Insider Exposes Institute’s Budget and Strategy,” DeSmog, February 14, 2012.

Heartland has promoted itself using a partial quote from The Economist that describes Heartland as “the world’s most prominent think-tank promoting scepticism about man-made climate change.” However, the full paragraph in The Economist’s 2012 article provides a more complete picture: “The Heartland Institute, the world’s most prominent think-tank promoting scepticism about man-made climate change, is getting a lot of heat.”

Heartland lost an estimated $825,000 in expected donations, a number of directors and almost its entire branch in Washington, DC12Toxic shock: A climate-change sceptic is melting,” The Economist, May 26, 2012. Archived July 26, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ovibH shortly after putting up a billboard comparing those who believed in man-made global warming to the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski. At its annual meeting in Chicago, the institute’s president, Joseph Bast, said Heartland had ‘discovered who our real friends are.’ The 100-odd guests who failed to show up for the ‘7th Climate Conference’ were not among them.”13Brendan DeMelle. “Will Heartland Institute’s Corporate Funders Tacitly Endorse Comparing Climate Realists to bin Laden and the Unabomber?DeSmog, May 4, 2012.

Heartland Institute and Tobacco

In the 1990s, the Heartland Institute worked with the tobacco company Philip Morris to question the science linking second-hand smoke to health risks, and lobbied against government public health reforms. Heartland continues to maintain a “Smoker’s Lounge” section of their website which brings together their policy studies, Op-Eds, essays, and other documents that purport to “[cut] through the propaganda and exaggeration of anti-smoking groups.”14Maureen Martin and Joseph Bast. “Welcome to Heartland’s Smoker’s Lounge!The Heartland Institute, April 20, 2007. Archived July 26, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/TiLZ0

In a 1998 op-ed, former Heartland president Joe Bast claimed that “moderate” smoking doesn’t raise lung cancer risks, and that there were “few, if any, adverse health effects” associated with smoking.15Five Lies about Tobacco: The Tobacco Bill Wasn’t about Kids,” The Heartlander, July 1998. Archived at Scribd.com by user lhfang. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. In a fundraising letter to Phillip Morris, Bast wrote to a Phillip Morris executive  that “Heartland does many things that benefit Philip Morris’s bottom line, things that no other organization does.” Later, in 2014 Bast denied that he had claimed cigarettes were not harmful, until confronted with his own op-ed.16Nick Surgey and Lee Fang. “ VIDEO: Heartland Institute Reluctantly Stands by Denial of Cigarette Smoking Risks,” Republic Report, April 30, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/HtjZt 17PRESS RELEASE: HEARTLAND INSTITUTE NAMES FORMER CONGRESSMAN TIM HUELSKAMP INCOMING PRESIDENT,” The Heartland Institute, June 29, 2017. Archived June 30, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/mzEuW

Roy Marden, past Corporate Affairs Policy Analyst and Manager of Industry Affairs at Philip Morris, served as a board member at the Heartland Institute from 1996 until 2008.18Dan Miller. “Heartland Institute Announces Board Changes,” The Heartland Institute, August 8, 2008. Archived July 26, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/92xzr According to Heartland, “The public health community’s campaign to demonize smokers and all forms of tobacco is based on junk science.” Joseph Bast, current President and CEO, was a strong defender of RJ Reynolds brand19Joe Camel Is Innocent!The Heartland Institute, August 21, 1996. Archived July 26, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/MbN67 Camel’s “Joe Camel” campaign, which some have argued (here,20Summary of Prepared Remarks of Commissioner Roscoe B. Starek, III, Federal Trade Commission: Advertising and Promotion Law 1997, Minnesota Institute of Legal Education. Archived May 9, 2013. and here,21“FTC Takes On Joe Camel” (P DF), ABCNEWS.com. Reproduced by Gabriel Media Studies Center. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. for example)  targeted younger children.

Alternative for Germany (AfD) & Heartland Institute Connections

In May 2019, Spiegel reported  EIKE was working closely with the right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Spiegel notes that ” EIKE is not a scientific institute, but merely an association. There are no legal restrictions on the term ‘institute.'”22AfD Hopes to Win Votes by Opposing Climate Protection,” Spiegel Online, May 6, 2019. Archived May 7, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/yH28p

“On its website, the group argues that climate policy is a ‘pretense’ for leaders to ‘control the economy and the population’ and to “burden people with taxes,” Spiegel adds. “It tries to stir up hatred against the ‘Friday for Future’ demonstrations and against Greta Thunberg, who some  EIKE members refer to as ‘Greta Tuna’ or that ‘climate protection hussy.’ As far as institutes go, this one only seems to churn out unsophisticated propaganda.”

Michael Limburg of  EIKE claimed by phone that ” EIKE is unaffiliated with any political party.” However, “Limburg himself ran as an AfD candidate in the national election in Gerany and co-wrote a paper for the party’s federal committee on energy policy, which now serves as the basis for the party’s climate policy.  EIKE spokesperson Horst-Joachim Lüdecke, a physicist, was invited by the AfD as an expert on multiple occasions.”

Spiegel also highlights  EIKE’s connection to the Heartland Institute, which “which provides  EIKE with support at conferences.” When asked about the ties to Heartland, Limburg confirmed that  EIKE was “loosely connected” to both Heartland and the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow ( CFACT). Both groups have recieved significant funding from both the oil industry (over $500,000 apiece from ExxonMobil) and right-wing foundations like the Mercers and Koch Family Foundations.

Stance on Climate Change

“Probably two-thirds of the warming in the 1990s was due to natural causes; the warming trend already has stopped and forecasts of future warming are unreliable; and the benefits of a moderate warming are likely to outweigh the costs.

“Global warming, in other words, is not a crisis.”23Joe Bast. “Global Warming: Not a Crisis,” Somewhat Reasonable, August 10, 2011. Archived July 26, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/eMShP

“You may also know us from our work exposing the shoddy science and missing economics behind the global warming delusion. Our videos, books, studies, and international conferences changed the debate and led to the defeat of ‘cap and trade.'”24Message from the President,” Giving @ The Heartland Institute. Archived July 26, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/zWPz3

“Some environmentalists call for a ‘save-the-day’ strategy to ‘stop global warming,’ saying it is better to be safe than sorry. Such a position seems logical until we stop to think: Immediate action wouldn’t make us any safer, but it would surely make us poorer. And being poorer would make us less safe.”25Instant Expert Guide: Global Warming ( PDF),” The Heartland Institute. Archived June 2, 2006. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

“Unfortunately, global warming is an issue that is well suited to political demagoguery, which can be defined as pandering to misinformed voters and promising unrealistic solutions. Since opinion polls indicate a majority of the public believes warming is happening, politicians might think the safe strategy is to say ‘I believe global warming is a serious problem and I support measures to reduce global warming pollution by supporting renewable fuels and energy efficiency.’ Such politicians should be ‘outed’ for claiming to be smarter than scientists who have studied climate for many years and for using scare tactics to win elections.”26Joseph Bast. “Global Warming Madness and How to Stop It,” The Heartland Institute, February 1, 2007. Archived June 10, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/3r4XP

“There is no consensus about the causes, effects, or future rate of global warming.”27James M. Taylor, Joseph Bast. “Heartland’s Environment Issue Suite,” The Heartland Institute, April 16, 2007. Archived June 10, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/zlnrl

Comments Surrounding 2021 Capitol Insurrection

On Jan. 10, 2021, following the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, the Heartland Institute’s social media account retweeted a thread by @jlakely, calling it “A good thread.” The thread compares tech giants’ refusal to do business with Parler, a social media site that had declined to remove specific calls for violence,28Russel Brandom. “These are the violent threats that made Amazon drop Parler,The Verge, January 13, 2021. Archived February 12, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.vn/ W7faU to the actions of the East German secret police, the Stasi (who were notorious for their embrace of surveillance29Charlotte Bailey. “The Lingering Trauma of Stasi Surveillance,” The Atlantic, November 9, 2019. Archived February 13, 2021. Archive URL:https://archive.vn/EkVkJ and extrajudicial executions).30David Binder. “Erich Mielke, Powerful Head of Stasi, East Germany’s Vast Spy Network, Dies at 92,” The New York Times, May 26, 2000. Archived February 13, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.vn/5f5Fo

The Heartland Institute has also posted on social media about a conspiracy theory known as “the Great Reset,” which the linked website describes as “a multi-faceted plan that seeks to undermine free-market capitalism, redistribute wealth on a global scale, and rewrite the ‘social contract, among many other disturbing things.”31Hillsdale College Experts Break Down the Great Reset,” Stopping Socialism, January 21, 2021. Archived Febuary 5, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.vn/0gMkO

BBC News fact checked the “Great Reset” conspiracy theory here,32Jack Goodman and Flora Carmichael. “The coronavirus pandemic ‘Great Reset’ theory and a false vaccine claim debunked,” BBC News, November 22, 2020. Archived February 11, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.vn/oVijc writing, “the suggestion that politicians planned the virus, or are using it to destroy capitalism is wholly without evidence. So too is the notion that the World Economic Forum has the authority to tell other countries what to do, or that it is coordinating a secret cabal of world leaders.” The conspiracy theory has also been accused of encouraging anti-semitic sentiments.33“‘The Great Reset’ Conspiracy Flourishes Amid Continued Pandemic,” ADL, December 29, 2020. Archived January 31, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.vn/groid

On Jan. 29, 2021, the Heartland Institute’s social media account retweeted a claim that “The Simulation is spiraling out of control” in response to the news that the Black Lives Matter movement was nominated for a Nobel peace prize:

Funding

501(c)(3) Charitable Status

According to Heartland in 2011, “Approximately 1,800 supporters support an annual budget of $6 million. Heartland does not accept government funding. Contributions are tax-deductible under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.”34About,” The Heartland Institute. Archived December 9, 2011. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/WAEKX As of June 2015, that number had increased to 8,300 supporters, (budget remained listed at $6 million).35About,” The Heartland Institute. Archived June 30, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/IqBte

Computer scientist John Mashey filed a complaint in 2012 with the IRS questioning Heartland’s charitable status

“I believe there was a massive abuse of 501c(3),” Mashey said. “My extensive study of these think tanks showed numerous specific actions that violated the rules – such as that their work is supposed to be factually based. Such as there was a whole lot of behavior that sure looked like lobbying and sending money to foreign organizations that are not charities.”36Suzanne Goldenberg. “Heartland Institute faces fresh scrutiny over tax status,” The Guardian, February 17, 2012. Archived July 26, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/99fTY

Mashey’s 2012 report on the Heartland Institute (see PDF) also examines the finances and actions of other organizations including the Science and Environmental Policy Project ( SEPP), and the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change ( CDCDGC).

According to his report (p. 39), the Heartland Institute has received roughly $395,000 from the tobacco company Philip Morris.

Heartland no longer reveals their individual donors, they explain, because “listing our donors in this way allowed people who disagree with our views to accuse us of being ‘paid’ by specific donors to take positions in public policy debates, something we never do. After much deliberation and with some regret, we now keep confidential the identities of all our donors.”37About: Funding,” The Heartland Institute. Archived March 20, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/v288x

Greenpeace’s ExxonSecrets reports that the Heartland Institute has received $676,500 from ExxonMobil since 1998.38ExxonSecrets Factsheet: The Heartland Institute. Greenpeace also reports that Heartland received at least $55,000 from Koch Industries.39Heartland Institute: Koch Industries Climate Denial Front Group,” Greenpeace USA. Archived March 14, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ywF1y

990 Forms

Heartland Institute as Recipient

The following is based on data from the Conservative Transparency project and from publicly available 990 forms. Not all funding values have been verified by DeSmog.40Heartland Institute,” Conservative Transparency. Data retrieved June 6, 2017.

See the attached spreadsheet for additional information on Heartland Institute funding by year (.xlsx).41Heartland Institute,” Conservative Transparency. Data retrieved June 6, 2017.

DonorTotal Contributions
Donors Capital Fund$21,486,044
Mercer Family Foundation$6,688,000
DonorsTrust$5,398,100
Dunn’s Foundation for the Advancement of Right Thinking$1,430,000
The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation$1,215,500
Barbara and Barre Seid Foundation$1,037,977
Schwab Charitable Fund$759,600
Exxon Mobil$561,500
Walton Family Foundation$410,000
Chase Foundation of Virginia$392,500
Barney Family Foundation1$360,000
Sarah Scaife Foundation$325,000
Searle Freedom Trust$300,000
American Action Network$300,000
Bradley Impact Fund$206,000
Friedman Foundation For Educational Choice$205,100
The Rodney Fund$202,000
Jaquelin Hume Foundation$201,000
Charlotte and Walter Kohler Charitable Trust$190,500
Ed Uihlein Family Foundation$175,000
Stuart Family Foundation$175,000
The McWethy Foundation$125,000
Castle Rock Foundation$110,000
The Rauner Family Foundation$100,000
PhRMA$90,000
JM Foundation$82,000
Armstrong Foundation$72,500
Adolph Coors Foundation$70,000
Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation$62,578
John William Pope Foundation$55,000
National Association of Manufacturers$52,500
Windway Foundation$47,000
Arthur N. Rupe Foundation$44,000
Robert P. Rotella Foundation$42,500
The Roe Foundation$41,500
Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation$40,000
John M. Olin Foundation$40,000
Deramus Foundation2$35,000
American Petroleum Institute$25,000
Hickory Foundation$23,000
Dodge Jones Foundation$20,500
Huizenga Foundation$19,500
The Robertson-Finley Foundation$18,000
E L Craig Foundation$15,000
Woodhouse Family Foundation$14,500
Hoover Institution$10,000
The Carthage Foundation$10,000
The Challenge Foundation$6,000
Edgar and Elsa Prince Foundation$5,000
Foundation for Economic Education$255
Richard Seth Staley Educational Foundation$200
Grand Total$43,295,354

1Has funded to DonorsTrust, a group that has distributed over $80 million to conservative causes, many of which deny man-made climate change.

2Has funded Philanthropy Roundtable, a spinoff of DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund. They all operate in a similar way to cloak the identity of donors by having donations under the name of DonorsTrust, Donors Capital Fund, or Philanthropy Roundtable.

Heartland Institute as Donor

Heartland Institute donations are listed on their 990 forms up to the year 2010. Current values are not available.42Heartland Institute,” Conservative Transparency. Data retrieved June 6, 2017. 43RECIPIENT GRANTS: Heartland Institute,” Media Transparency. Archived March 29, 2012. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/72apu

RecipientTotal
Shimer College$500,000
Moving Picture Institute$250,000
Texas Public Policy Foundation$100,000
Americans for Prosperity Foundation$50,000
Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy$50,000
Evergreen Freedom Foundation$50,000
Maine Heritage Policy Center$50,000
James Madison Institute$50,000
International Climate Science Coalition$45,000
Galen Institute$43,000
Alabama Policy Institute$40,000
Free Enterprise Education Institute$25,000
Africa Fighting Malaria$25,000
Frontier Centre for Public Policy$25,000
Kansas Taxpayers Network$25,000
New Zealand Climate Science Coalition$25,000
Natural Resources Stewardship Project$25,000
Council for Affordable Health Insurance$20,000
Science & Environmental Policy Project$15,000
South Carolina Policy Council$10,000
Grand Total$1,423,000

Koch Funding

According to Greenpeace USA, Koch Foundations contributed $55,000 to the Heartland Institute between 1997 and 2011.44Heartland Institute: Koch Industries Climate Denial Front Group,” Greenpeace USA. Archived March 14, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ywF1y

*Original tax forms prior to 1997 are no longer available for verification. If you include these values, the grand total jumps to $100,000 in Koch funding from 1987 to 2011.45Heartland Institute: Koch Industries Climate Denial Front Group,” Greenpeace USA. Archived March 14, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ywF1y

YearCharles Koch FoundationClaude R. Lambe Charitable FoundationGrand Total
*1986$2,578 $2,578
*1987$5,000 $5,000
*1988$5,000 $5,000
*1989$5,000 $5,000
*1992 $10,000$10,000
*1995$10,000 $10,000
*1996$10,000 $10,000
1997 $10,000$10,000
1998 $10,000$10,000
1999 $10,000$10,000
2011$25,000 $25,000
Grand Total$62,578$40,000$102,578

The Heartland Institute’s leaked 2012 Fundraising Plan states that “The Charles G. Koch Foundation returned as a Heartland Donor in 2011. We expect to ramp up their level of support in 2012 and gain access to the network of philanthropists they work with.”

However, the Foundation since released the following statement: “… the Charles Koch Foundation provided $25,000 to the Heartland Institute in 2011 for research in healthcare, not climate change, and this was the first and only donation the Foundation made to the institute in more than a decade. The Foundation has made no further commitments of funding to Heartland.”46Foundation statement on Heartland Institute,” Charles Koch Foundation (charleskochfoundationfacts.org), February 15, 2012. Archived March 4, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/VXq89

Donors Capital Fund/DonorsTrust

Donors Capital Fund ( DCF) and its partner organization DonorsTrust allow donors to fund organizations anonymously. They appear to be a spinoff of the Philanthropy Roundtable, a group run by Whitney Ball, who also launched DonorsTrust.

The Heartland Institute has received large anonymous donations through DCF and DonorsTrust, with a combined total of at least $15,391,794.

See p. 58 of the 2012 Mashey Report for more details.John Mashey also covers DCF on page 65 of his 2012 report. According to DCF’s website, “Donors Capital Fund is an IRS-approved, 50[1(c)(3), 509(a)(3) supporting organization that is associated with DonorsTrust, a public charity and donor-advised fund formed to safeguard the charitable intent of donors who are dedicated to the ideals of limited government, personal responsibility, and free enterprise.”

DonorsTrust refers clients to Donors Capital Fund if they expect to open donor-advised funds of over $1,000,000.47Guidelines,” DonorsTrust. Archived July 26, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/SwI2I

DonorsTrust

DonorsTrust contributed at least $631,250 between 2008 and 2012 to the Heartland Institute:48Donors Trust Inc,” Economic Research Institute. Accessed March 5, 2012.

Source 990 forms:

YearProject 
2007 $500
2008general operations$11,750
   
2009general operations$1,000
 general operations$1,000
 general operations$3,000
 general operations$5,000
 “advertising in response to organization’s emphasis on marketing of research.”$6,500
 general operations$500,000
   
2010general operations$250
 general operations$1,000
 general operations$1,000
   
2012Seventh International Conference on Climate Change$100,000
 general operations$250
 general operations$500
   
Grand Total $631,750

Donors Capital Fund

From 2005 to 2013, DCF contributed at least $16,560,544 to the Heartland Institute. See source 990 forms below:49Donors Capital Fund Inc,” Economic Research Institute. Accessed July 27, 2015.

YearProject 
2005Individual projects not listed.$550,427
   
2007Individual projects not listed.$2,955,437
   
2008general operations$2,000,000
 “the global warming research project”$900,000
 “media materials”$100,000
 “staff directed research”$126,000
 “final installment of three-year general ops support”$1,300,000
 “global warming research projects”$184,000
   
2009” CORE”$10,590
 ” G.W. reporting for one year”$150,000
 “health care project”$190,000
 “Ranthum, Australia and Old projects”$300,000
 general operations$400,000
 $620,940 for ” GW-end” and $500,000 for annual support$1,120,940
   
2010for the organization’s India Meeting Project$14,150
 general operations$1,650,000
   
   
2011$49,000 for the NIPCC/Climate Change Project and $80,000 for School Choice in TX$129,000
   
2012general operations$1,000,000
   
2013for Climatism books & DVD projects$100,000
 for the Sri Fi Project ($60,000) and the  New Zealand Project ($20,000)$80,000
 general operations$1,500,000
   
2015for general operations$1,800,000
   
Grand Total $16,560,544

Anonymous Donor

One Anonymous Donor has contributed a large percentage of Heartland’s budget in past years, with a focus on their global warming projects.

According to the Heartland 2012 Fundraising Plan, the Anonymous Donor made the following contributions from 2007-2011:

Project20072008200920102011
General Operating$500,000$500,000$500,000$700,000$350,000
Ramp Up Program$800,000$800,000$400,000$0$0
Global Warming Projects$1,976,937$3,300,000$1,732,180$964,150$629,000
Health Care$0$0$190,000$0$0
School Reform$0$0$0$0$80,000
Total$3,276,937$4,600,000$2,822,180$1,664,150$979,000

Illinois auditor reports for 2003-2009 reveal that a single donor (possibly the same individual as the “Anonymous Donor”) contributed the following percentages of outstanding accounts receivable in those years (also see p. 56 of John Mashey’s report):

2004 ( PDF — See p. 27) — 74% contributed by two donors.

2005 ( PDF — See p. 32) — 74% from one donor.

2006 ( PDF — See p. 33) — 25% from one individual.

2007 ( PDF — See p. 32) — 38% from one donor.

2008 ( PDF — from 2009 — see p. 43) — 58% from one donor.

2009 (see previous, p. 43) — 35% from one donor.

The Anonymous Donor pledged $1,250,000 for 2012, including contributions to the NIPCC Project, Anthony Watts‘ “Weather Stations Project,” and David Wojick‘s “Global Warming Curriculum Project” (See “Actions” for details):

AmountProject
$457,000General Operating
$194,000 NIPCC Project
$44,000Weather Stations Project
$100,000Global Warming Curriculum Project
$105, 000Cook County Debt Project
$100,000Operation Angry Badger
$250,000Additional gift (not determined)
$1,250,000Total

Renewing 2012 Donors

Reproduced below, from Heartland’s “2012 Fundraising Plan” (p. 22 – 25) is their list of organizations and foundations that they expected to donate in 2012, as well as their donations from 2010-2011.

Note that after this information became public, some donors pulled their support of the Institute. Even more pulled support after Heartland’s Unabomber billboard campaign which asserted that “the most prominent advocates of global warming aren’t scientists; they are murderers, tyrants, and madmen.”50Brendan DeMelle. “Corporate Exodus From Heartland Institute Continues As USAA and Insurers Bail,” DeSmog, May 9, 2012.

Some donors who no longer fund Heartland include:

  • General Motors Corporation
  • State Farm Insurance
  • Diageo
  • BB&T
  • PepsiCo
  • Eli Lilly & Co.
  • RenaissanceRe
  • XL Group
  • Allied World Assurance Company
  • USAA
  • Bayer
  • GlaxoSmithKline
  • Verizon
  • Wisconsin Insurance Alliance
  • Credit Union National Association

Original funders included:

Name2010 Actual2011 Actual2012 Projected2012 as
% of
2011
Project
Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, Ltd.$50,000$60,000$40,00067% FIRE
Altria Client Services Inc.1$40,000$50,000$50,000100% BTN
Amgen, USA$25,000$0$25,000?? HCN
Arthur Margulis2$25,000$25,000$25,000100% GO
Arthur N. Rupe Foundation$0$0$10,000?? GO
Association of Bermuda Insurers and
Reinsurers
$50,000$75,000$50,00067% FIRE
AT&T for IT&T News$70,000$30,000$30,000100% ITTN
AT&T for CFIRE$0$0$10,000?? FIRE
Barney Family Foundation3$50,000$25,000$50,000200% SRN
Bartley Madden$182,277$216,656$400,000185% HCN
Bayer Corporation$0$0$25,000?? HCN
BB&T (John Allison)$16,105$0$25,000?? ECN
Bernard Baltic Estate$0$77,807$00% GO
Castle Rock Foundation$0$0$40,000?? GO
Charles McQuaid$11,000$1,000$10,0001000% ECN
Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation$0$25,000$200,000800% HCN
Chase Foundation of Virginia4$25,000$25,000$25,000100% GO
Chris Rufer5$27,000$25,000$50,000200% GO
Comcast Corporation$10,000$25,000$25,000100% ITTN
Contran Corporation$25,000$50,000$50,000100% ECN
Credit Union National Association$26,500$30,000$25,00083% FIRE
CTIA – The Wireless Association$80,000$40,000$40,000100% ITTN
David Albin$10,540$10,000$10,000100% GO
Dan Hales$20,560$25,000$25,000100% GO
David Herro$35,000$60,000$60,000100% ECN
David Lawson$20,864$17,000$15,00088% GO
Dezenhall Resources, Ltd.6$15,000$27,000$50,000185% HCN
Diageo$10,000$0$10,000?? GO
Eli Lilly & Company$25,000$0$25,000?? HCN
Elizabeth Rose7$40,000$15,000$15,000100% GO
Eric Brooks$10,000$10,000$10,000100% GO
Farmers’ Insurance (Zurich)$0$0$25,000?? FIRE
Frank Resnik8$5,065$25,000$30,000120% GO
Fred Young$10,000$15,000$15,000100% GO
General Motors Foundation9$15,000$15,000$15,000100% SRN
Genting$0$0$0?? FIRE
GlaxoSmithKline$30,000$20,000$20,000100% HCN
Gleason Family Foundation10$0$50,000$50,000100% SRN
Golden Rule Insurance Company$40,030$250,000$250,000100% HCN
Herbert Walberg11$85,000$25,000$50,000200% GO
HSA Bank$0$0$10,000?? HCN
International Premium Cigar & Pipe
Retailers
$0$0$10,000?? BTN
IronBridge Capital Management, L.P.$40,000$25,000$25,000100% GO
James Fitzgerald12$10,000$0$25,000?? SRN
James McWethy$0$20,000$20,000100% ECN
Jaquelin Hume Foundation13$25,000$0$25,000?? SRN
Jerry and Marilyn Hayden$120,000$170,000$170,000118% GO
John William Pope Foundation$25,000$15,000$15,000100% GO
Kayser Family Foundation$13,000$15,000$15,000100% ECN
KCI$0$115,000$00% FIRE
Larch Communications, LLC$0$0$25,000?? BTN
Larry Smead Fund$10,000$10,000$10,000100% GO
Las Vegas Sands ( DCI Group)$0$0$5,000?? FIRE
Leslie Rose14$65,500$50,000$60,000120% GO
LKQ Corporation$24,500$0$150,000?? FIRE
Lynde & Harry Bradley Foundation$125,000$50,000$50,000100% ECN
Microsoft Corporation15$0$59,908$10,00017% ITTN
Mike Keiser$31,000$25,000$35,000140% GO
Milbank Foundation for Rehabilitation$0$0$25,000?? HCN
Murray Energy Corporation$100,000$0$40,000?? ECN
National Cable & Telecommunications Association$0$10,000$10,000100% ITTN
Nationwide Insurance$0$0$10,000?? FIRE
Norman Rogers$3,570$10,000$20,000200% GO
Nucor Corporation$402,000$100,000$50,00050% ECN
Patrick O’Meara$80,000$0$60,000?? 
Pfizer$130,000$0$150,000?? HCN
PhRMA16$20,000$0$20,000?? HCN
Renaissance ReService Ltd.$90,000$317,000$280,00088% FIRE
Reynolds American Inc.0$$110,000$110,000100% FIRE
Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment17$0$0$10,000?? ECN
Robert Buford18$21,120$30,000$30,000100% GO
Rodney Fund$10,000$12,000$10,00083% GO
Searle Freedom Trust19$0$0$50,000?? ECN
State Farm (Jeff Judson)20$114,200$230,000$95,00041% FIRE
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company$60,000$60,000$60,000100% FIRE
Susquehanna International Group LLP$10,000$10,000$10,000100% HCN
Stanley Hubbard$65$10,000$10,000100% ECN
Stuart Family Foundation$25,000$0$25,000?? ECN
Texas Cable Association$0$0$5,000?? FIRE
The Deramus Foundation$10,000$10,000$10,000100% GO
The Justice Foundation$0$10,000$10,000100% SRN
The Negaunee Foundation$0$10,000$10,000100% BTN
Philip Friedmann Family Charitable Trust$15,000$10,000$10,000100% GO
The Robert P. Rotella Foundation$5,000$10,000$10,000100% HCN
Time Warner Cable$10,000$10,000$20,000200% ITTN
Triad Foundation, Inc.$25,000$25,000$25,000100% ECN
USAA21$0$45,000$50,000  FIRE
US Chamber of Commerce$25,000$0$25,000?? LEGAL
Will Wohler$8,000$0$10,000?? GO
William Dunn22$150,000$330,000$300,00091% HCN
Wisconsin Insurance Alliance$0$0$50,000?? FIRE
XL Group$0$35,000$00% FIRE
Verizon23$0$0$10,000?? ITTN
Totals$2,887,896$3,293,371$4,145,000126% 

Notes:

  1. Altria Group is the parent company of Philip MorrisUSA.
  2. Appears to have been a Heartland Institute Board Member.
  3. Also funded the Cato Institute in 2006, 2007, and possibly other years.
  4. Funded the Cato Institute in 2006.
  5. Attended a June 2010 Meeting of the Koch Network, aka the “Koch Strategy Meeting.”
  6. A PR company described by SourceWatch as specializing in “‘aggressive’ campaigns to defend corporations from complaints by progressive groups.”
  7. Appears to have been a past Heartland Institute Board Member (2009).
  8. Frank Resnik, retired Vice-Chairman of Medline Industries, Inc., was also a past Heartland Institute Board Member.
  9. When originally asked about its funding of Heartland, GM responded: “We support a variety of organizations that give careful and considerate thought to complex policy issues and Heartland is one of them,” Greg Martin, GM’s director of policy and Washington communications said to The Guardian. This was before Heartland’s billboard campaign.51Josh Israel. “ GM Defends Contributions To ‘Careful And Considerate’ Climate Denier Institute,” ThinkProgress, February 16, 2012. Archived November 24, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ctL3w
  10. Also funded the Cato Institute in 2006.
  11. Current Heartland Institute Board Member, and member of the Hoover Institution’s Koret Task Force on K-12 Education. The Hoover Institution has received funding from ExxonMobil and Scaife Foundations among others.
  12. Past Heartland Institute Board Member (2009).
  13. Possible connection to ALEC: Gisele Huff, executive director of Jaquelin Hume Foundation, spoke at the 2001 ALEC Task Force Meeting in New York. According to the Conservative Transparency project, the foundation has also funded the Cato Instiute.52Jaquelin Hume Foundation,” Conservative Transparency Project (Filtered by “cato institute” as donor). Archived July 27, 2015.
  14. Member of the Board of Directors of  the “New Coalition for Economic and Social Change,” an organization with affiliations with the Heartland Institute and a member of the State Policy Network.
  15. According to a statement from Microsoft, this donation “came in the form of software licenses available to ‘any eligible non-profit organization’.” Microsoft continues to support Heartland.53Brad Johnson. “Microsoft Disavows Heartland Institute’s Climate Denial, Says Contributions Just ‘Free Software Licenses’,” ThinkProgress, February 16, 2012. Archived November 24, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/hol2D Following Heartland’s billboard campaign, Microsoft stated that “The Heartland Institute does not speak for Microsoft on climate change. In fact, the Heartland Institute’s position on climate change is diametrically opposed to Microsoft’s position. And we completely disagree with the group’s inflammatory and distasteful advertising campaign.” Microsoft continues to donate software to Heartland.54Richard Littlemore. “Microsoft Fail: Computer company criticizes Heartland but won’t withhold future support,” DeSmog, May 5, 2012.
  16. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) is an influential lobbying organization in Washington representing 48 pharmaceutical companies.
  17. According to SourceWatch, RISE is a lobbying and public relations trade organization, defends the “urban usage” of pesticides in homes, schools, and landscapes.
  18. Robert Buford is a Heartland Institute Board Member.
  19. Kimberly O. Dennis, President and CEO of Searle Freedom Trust is also on the Board of Directors of the Donors Capital Fund ( DCF). DCF and its related Donor’s Trust allow groups and individuals to donate anonymously. DCF is also a key source of Heartland’s anonymous donations.55Richard Littlemore. “How Heartland-style Climate Sceptic Campaigns Play ‘Hide the Deniers’Using Secretive Fund,” DeSmog, February 29, 2012.
  20. There is also a “Jeff Judson,” listed as president of Judson & Associates, who is on Heartland’s current Board of Directors and who was the former president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. A search does not list a connection between a Jeff Judson and State Farm, so this may not be the same individual.
  21. According to SourceWatch, one United Services Automobile Association (USAA) was listed as an American Legislative Exchange Council ( ALEC) supporter, being a “Trustee” level sponsor of 2011 ALEC Annual Conference.
  22. William A. Dunn runs Dunn Capital Management, Inc. in Stuart, Florida. He has been a Director of the Property and Environment Research Center, the Cato Institute, Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, and the Competitive Enterprise Institute ( CEI). Dunn’s Foundation for the Advancement of Right Thinking has supported the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
  23. According to SourceWatch, Verizon is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council ( ALEC). It is on the corporate “Private Enterprise” board and is State corporate co-chair of Virginia and Wyoming. It has been a member of the ALEC Telecommunications and Information Technology Task Force.

Key People

The Heartland Institute has over 800 experts and staff members on their website. View the attached spreadsheet for a complete list of Heartland experts and staff (.xlsx).

President

The Heartland Institute’s board of directors elected James Taylor, as the new president of the Heartland Institute on March 18, 2020.56JAMES TAYLOR,” The Heartland Institute. Archived June 18, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Gv0ku

Board of Directors

Staff

Experts

*Note, the following is a partial list. It includes notable names from Heartland’s “Journalists Guide” to global warming, their general experts list, policy advisors, as well as their “speakers bureau” which highlights certain policy experts. As noted on the Heartland website, not all of the experts they list maintain a direct relationship with Heartland.

View the attached spreadsheet to see a full list of Heartland Experts year over year (.xlsx).

Additional experts lists:

The Heartland Institute released a December 2014 flyer titled “It’s Time to Debate Global Warming ( PDF)” where they listed “58 experts who don’t believe global warming is a crisis.”64It’s Time to Debate Global Warming ( PDF),” The Heartland Institute. Archived June, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. The flyer included many of the most high-profile climate change skeptics listed as “experts” on their website. DeSmog researched those same 58 experts, and has produced a counter-flyer that identifies the extent of peer-reviewed research and background on each.65Brendan Demelle. “Heartland Institute 58 Experts Poster Remixed by DeSmog, Willie Soon Among Denialist Dozens,” DeSmog, February 23, 2015.

Senior Fellows

Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change ( NIPCC) — 2012

The Heartland Institute sponsors the NIPCC, an “international network of scientists who write and speak out on climate change” and contributes approximately $300,000 a year for the group to work on Climate Change Reconsidered (the NIPCC report), according to the Heartland Institute’s 2012 Fundraising Plan (p. 13).

The following individuals are listed in the Heartland Institute’s 2012 Proposed Budget, under the “Personnel Budget” for the NIPCC Project:

$/monthNameChapterInstitutionCountry
$11,600Craig IdsoSenior EditorCenter for the Study of CO2 & Global Change USA
$5,000Fred SingerCo-EditorScience and Environmental Policy Project USA
$1,667Robert CarterCo-EditorJames Cook University and Institute for Public AffairsAustralia
$1,000Madhav Khandekar1.3 Extreme EventsEnvironment CanadaCanada
$1,000Indur Goklany**2.5 Economics and Policy U.S. Department of Interior USA
$1,000Robert BallingtentativeArizona State University USA
$750Anthony Lupo1.4 Climate ModelsUniversity of Missouri USA
$750Mitch Taylor2.2 Terrestrial AnimalsLakehead UniversityCanada
$750Susan Crockford2.2 Terrestrial AnimalsUniversity of VictoriaAustralia
$500Joe D’Aleo1.3 Extreme Events ICECAP USA
$125Willie Sooncontributor – paid by reviewHarvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics USA
$125Craig Loehlecontributor – paid by reviewNational Council for Air and Stream Improvement USA
$125David Watkinscontributor – paid by reviewMichigan Technological University USA

** Representative Raúl M. Grijalva called for a full Natural Resources Committee hearing ( PDF) to probe whether Indur Goklany improperly received payments from the Heartland Institute (including his work on the NRSP Report) while he was working as Senior Advisor to the U.S. Interior Department. 

Below is a full list of past NIPCC Climate Change Reconsidered ( CCR) contributors (John Mashey also provides a summary on page 36 of his 2012 report “Fake Science, fakesperts, funny finances, free of tax” ):66S. Fred Singer, ed. Nature, Not Human Activity, Rules the Climate: Summary for Policymakers of the Report of the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (PDF). The Heartland Institute, 2008. Archived July 26, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 67Craig Idso and S. Fred Singer, Climate Change Reconsidered: 2009 Report of the Nongovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( NIPCC), Chicago, IL: The Heartland Institute, 2009. Archived July 26, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 68Craig D. Idso, Robert M. Carter, and S. Fred Singer, Eds. Climate Change Reconsidered: 2011 Interim Report of the Nongovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( NIPCC), Chicago, IL: The Heartland Institute, 2011. Archived July 26, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 69Appendix 2: Authors, Contributors, and Reviewers” ( PDF), Climate Change Reconsidered II: Physical Science. Archived July 26, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 70Idso, C.D, Idso, S.B., Carter, R.M., and Singer, S.F. (Eds.) 2014. Climate Change Reconsidered II: Biological Impacts. Chicago, IL: The Heartland Institute. Archived July 26, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 71“Appendix 2: Authors, Contributors, and Reviewers” ( PDF), Climate Change Reconsidered II: Biological Impacts. Archived July 26, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

 2008 CCR2009 CCR2011 CCR2013 CCR2014 CCR2015 CCR
Joseph BastEditorEditorEditor 
Diane Carol BastEditorEditorEditorEditorEditor 
S.T. KarnickEditorEditorEditor 
Robert CarterContributorContributor/ReviewerLead AuthorLead Author/EditorLead Author/EditorAuthor
Craig IdsoContributorLead AuthorLead AuthorLead Author/EditorLead Author/EditorAuthor
S. Fred SingerContributor/EditorLead AuthorLead AuthorLead Author/EditorLead Author/EditorAuthor
Warren AndersonContributorContributor/Reviewer 
J. Scott Armstrong– Contributor/ReviewerContributing Author 
Dennis AveryContributorContributor/Reviewer 
Franco BattagliaContributorContributor/ReviewerChapter Reviewer 
Piers CorbynContributor/Reviewer 
Richard CourtneyContributorContributor/Reviewer 
Susan CrockfordContributorContributing Author/Reviewer 
Joseph D’AleoContributorContributor/ReviewerContributorContributing Author 
Don EasterbrookContributor/ReviewerChapter Lead Author 
Indur GoklanyContributor 
Fred GoldbergContributorContributor/ReviewerChapter ReviewerContributing Author/Reviewer 
Vincent GrayContributorContributor/ReviewerChapter Reviewer 
William GrayContributor/ReviewerChapter Reviewer 
Kesten GreenContributor/ReviewerContributing Author 
Kenneth HaapalaContributorContributor/Reviewer 
David HagenContributor/Reviewer 
Klaus HeissContributorContributor/Reviewer 
Sherwood IdsoContributorChapter Lead AuthorLead Author/Editor 
Zbiginew JaworowskiContributorContributor/Reviewer 
Olavi KarnerContributorContributor/ReviewerChapter Reviewer 
Richard Alan KeenContributor/Reviewer 
Madhav KhandekarContributorContributor/ReviewerContributorChapter Lead AuthorContributing Author/Reviewer 
William KininmonthContributorContributor/ReviewerChapter Lead Author 
Hans LabohmContributorContributor/Reviewer 
Anthony R. LupoContributor/ReviewerContributorChapter Lead Author 
Howard MaccabeeContributor/Reviewer 
Michael H. MogilContributor/Reviewer 
Christopher MoncktonContributorContributor/Reviewer 
Lubos MotlContributorContributor/Reviewer 
Stephan MurgatroydContributor/Reviewer 
Nicola ScafettaContributor/ReviewerChapter Reviewer 
Tom SegalstadContributorContributor/ReviewerContributing AuthorContributing Author/Reviewer 
Harrison SchmittContributor/Reviewer 
Willie SoonContributorChapter Lead Author 
George H. TaylorContributorContributor/Reviewer 
Mitch Taylor Contributor/ReviewerContributorContributing Author/Reviewer 
Dick ThoenesContributorContributor/Reviewer 
Anton UriarteContributorContributor/ReviewerChapter Reviewer 
Gerd WeberContributorContributor/ReviewerChapter ReviewerContributing Author/Reviewer 
Timothy BallChapter Lead Author 
Willem de LangeChapter Lead Author 
Sebastian LuningChapter Lead Author 
Cliff OllierChapter Lead AuthorContributing Author/Reviewer 
Ross McKitrickContributing Author 
Roy SpencerContributing Author 
Joe BastardiChapter Reviewer 
Habibullo AbdussamatovChapter Reviewer 
David Q. BowenChapter Reviewer 
Roy ClarkChapter Reviewer 
Vincent CourtillotChapter Reviewer 
Christopher EssexChapter Reviewer 
David EvansChapter Reviewer 
Soren FloderusChapter Reviewer 
Stewart FranksChapter Reviewer 
Eigil Friis-ChristensenChapter Reviewer 
Laurence GouldChapter Reviewer 
Howard HaydenChapter Reviewer 
Martin HovlandChapter Reviewer 
James O’BrienChapter Reviewer 
Garth PaltridgeChapter Reviewer 
Donald RappChapter Reviewer 
Carl RibbingChapter Reviewer 
John ShadeChapter Reviewer 
Gary SharpChapter ReviewerContributing Author/Reviewer 
Jan-Erik SolheimChapter Reviewer 
David J. BarnesContributing Author/Reviewer 
Raymond CloydContributing Author/Reviewer 
Weihong CuiContributing Author/Reviewer 
Kees DeGrootContributing Author/Reviewer 
Robert G. DillonContributing Author/Reviewer 
John Dale DunnContributing Author/Reviewer 
Henrik Ole EllestadContributing Author/Reviewer 
Barry GoldmanContributing Author/Reviewer 
Hoese H. DicksonContributing Author/Reviewer 
Morten JodalContributing Author/Reviewer 
Miroslav KutilekContributing Author/Reviewer 
Steven W LeavittContributing Author/Reviewer 
Howard MaccabeeContributing Author/Reviewer 
Jennifer MarohasyContributing Author/Reviewer 
Jim PetchContributing Author/Reviewer 
Robert J. ReginatoContributing Author/Reviewer 
Paul ReiterContributing Author/Reviewer 
Walter StarkContributing Author/Reviewer 
David StockwellContributing Author/Reviewer 
Bastow WilsonContributing Author/Reviewer 
Raphael WustContributing Author/Reviewer 

Former Heartland President Tim Huelskamp

In June, 2017, The Heartland Institute announced Kansas Rep. Tim Huelskamp would be replacing Joe Bast as president, to begin working starting July, 2017.72PRESS RELEASE: HEARTLAND INSTITUTE NAMES FORMER CONGRESSMAN TIM HUELSKAMP INCOMING PRESIDENT,” The Heartland Institute, June 29, 2017. Archived June 30, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/mzEuW Bast said he would remain with Heartland as CEO until some time in 2018. Less than two years after starting the role, Huelskamp reportedly resigned from his position in June 2019 with Jim Lakely filing in as interim president. Heartland did not comment on why Huelskamp left the position.73Mary Clarkin. “Tim Huelskamp leaves Heartland Institute,” The Hutchison News, July 9, 2019. Archived July 11, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/eC2EI

Huelskamp is former chairman of the Tea Party Caucus and a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus.74Scott Wong. “Tea Party favorite to lead conservative think tank,” The Hill, June 29, 2017. Archived June 30, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/oEYwk Huelskamp maintains a lifetime score of 5% with the League of Conservation Voters, with a score of 0% in 2016.75Representative Tim Huelskamp (R),” League of Conservation Voters. Archived July 3, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/n8qPf A full list of legislation sponsored or cosponsored by Huelskamp is available at Congress.gov.76Representative Tim Huelskamp,” Congress.gov. Archived July 4, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/gWaw4 According to his voting record tracked at OnTheIssues, Huelskamp has consistently voted against any legislation that would combat fossil fuel emissions or climate change. 77Tim Huelskamp on Energy & Oil,” OnTheIssues. Archived July 4, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/mgbU4

According to data from OpenSecrets, Huelskamp’s top donor is Koch Industries78Top Contributors,” OpenSecrets. Accessed July 4, 2017. and he has received the highest lifetime campaign contributions from the Oil and Gas industry, totally over one-quarter of a million dollars. Below are career totals added up by OpenSecrets.79Top Industries,”OpenSecrets. Accessed July 4, 2017.

IndustryTotal ContributorTotalIndivs PACs
Oil & Gas$252,393 Koch Industries$40,900$3,400$37,500
Retired$209,441 Watco Companies$36,200$36,200$0
Crop Production & Basic Processing$196,178 American Bankers Assn$35,000$0$35,000
Republican/Conservative$167,254  B&G Production$34,400$34,400$0
Leadership PACs$152,163 House Freedom Fund$34,025$250$33,775
Health Professionals$124,755 National Assn of Home Builders$32,500$0$32,500
Misc Manufacturing & Distributing$102,850 Russell Stover Candies$32,200$32,200$0
Commercial Banks$93,600 Vess Oil Corp$30,000$30,000$0
Real Estate$75,310 Hodgdon Powder$28,700$28,700$0
Railroads$67,848 Onyx Collection$25,500$25,500$0
Agricultural Services/Products$65,700  KMG Tool$24,400$24,400$0
General Contractors$59,647 Berexco Inc$23,700$23,700$0
Food & Beverage$59,550 National Auto Dealers Assn$22,500$0$22,500
Home Builders$58,900 Citizens United$22,000$0$22,000
Securities & Investment$55,286 Every Republican is Crucial PAC$20,000$0$20,000
Misc Finance$53,250  AT&T Inc$19,500$500$19,000
Livestock$51,025 American Medical Assn$19,000$1,000$18,000
Insurance$50,613 National Assn of Realtors$19,000$0$19,000
Retail Sales$44,700 Ariel Corp$18,900$18,900$0
Lawyers/Law Firms$42,422 Ag Services$18,250$18,250$0

Tim Huelskamp also a signatory to Americans for Prosperity‘s “No Climate Tax” pledge. The pledge reads as follows:80Pledge Takers,” No Climate Tax. Archived July 4, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ B0bNW

“I, ________________, pledge to the American people that I will oppose any legislation relating to climate change that includes a net increase in government revenue”

He also told HuffPost that he didn’t believe that climate change was “settled “science.”81Jennifer Bendery. “Conservatives Dismiss Pope On Climate Change, Warn Of Immigrant ‘Anarchy’,” HuffPost, September 24, 2015. Archived July 3, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ W1exd

“I don’t think there’s a scientific consensus on that,” Huelskamp said. “If you want to print that life begins at conception, that’s settled science.”

Heartland Institute’s International Conference on Climate Change ( ICCC)

Since 2008, the Heartland Institute has hosted their annual International Conference on Climate Change where dozens of climate change skeptics converge to discuss issues and strategies to oppose climate action:

ICCC1
Date: March 2-4, 2008
Location: New York

The conference, titled “Global Warming: Truth or Swindle,” was described as a “gathering of skeptics.” Heartland contends that skeptics lack a “platform from which they can be heard,” as “Their voices have been drowned out by publicity built upon the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an entity with an agenda to build support for the theory of man-made catastrophic global warming.”  

According to conference’s invitation letter, “The purpose of the conference is to generate international media attention to the fact that many scientists believe forecasts of rapid warming and catastrophic events are not supported by sound science, and that expensive campaigns to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are not necessary or cost-effective.” (emphasis added).

RealClimate reported on the conference and concluded it “is not aimed at understanding, it is a PR event aimed at generating media reports.”82What if you held a conference, and no (real) scientists came?RealClimate, January 30, 2008. Archived July 27, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/bsEZc

ICCC1 Speakers83The 2008 International Conference on Climate Change: Global Warming is not a crisis! ( PDF), Archived July 25, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 84ICCC – 1,” International Conferences on Climate Change. Archived December 11, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/kDurC

ICCC1 Cosponsors85The 2008 International Conference on Climate Change: Global Warming is not a crisis! ( PDF), Archived July 25, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 86Sponsorships,” The 2008 International Conference on Climate Change. Archived June 10, 2011. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/bxDic

ICCC2
Date: March 8-10, 2009
Location New York

DeSmog researched the funding behind Heartland’s Second International Conference on Climate Change and found that sponsor organizations had received over $47 million in funding from energy companies and right-wing foundations, with 78% of that total coming from Scaife Family foundations:

ExxonMobil (1998-2006):                    $6,199,000
Koch Foundations (1986-2006):          $4,438,920
Scaife Foundations (1985-2006):      $36,868,640

Grand Total:                                    $47,506,560

DeSmog reported on the conference here.

ICCC2 Speakers87International Conference on Climate Change New York 2009 Program Schedule ( PDF). Archived April, 2009. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 88Speakers,” The 2009 International Conference on Climate Change, March 5, 2009. Archived July 9, 2009. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/g2w4s

ICCC2 Cosponsors89Co-Sponsors,” The 2009 International Conference on Climate Change. Archived April 28, 2011. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/8pEf7

ICCC3
Date: June 2, 2009
Location: Washington, DC

Details:

The conference’s theme was “Climate Change: Scientific Debate and Economic Analysis,” to reflect Heartland’s belief that that “scientific debate is not over.” The conference set out to “call attention to widespread dissent to the asserted ‘consensus’ on various aspects of climate change and global warming.”90Robyn Monaghan. “Global warming skeptics gather in D.C.,” examiner.com, May 4, 2009. Archived January 7, 2014. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/WdxK2

According to the Heartland Institute, “The purpose of the event is to expose Congressional staff and journalists to leading scientists and economists in the nation’s capital. Senators and Representatives will be invited to speak side-by-side with leading scientists and economists. Allied organizations have been invited to be cosponsors, to help supply speakers and promote the event to their members and supporters.”91ICCC-3: Climate Change: Scientific Debate and Economic Analysis,” International Conference on Climate Change (climateconference.heartland.org). Archived February 19, 2012. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Z7RFc

ICCC3 Speakers92Speakers,” Third International Conference on Climate Change. Archived July 14, 2010. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wnJav

ICCC3 Cosponsors93Co-Sponsors,” Third International Conference on Climate Change. Archived July 14, 2010. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/7M3LQ

ICCC4
Date: May 16-18, 2010
Location: Chicago, IL

The conference’s theme was “Reconsidering the Science and Economics,” and its purpose was “to build momentum and public awareness of the global warming ‘realism’ movement.”94Reconsidering the Science and Economics,” Heartland Institute. Archived July 25, 2010. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/eboJe

DeSmog concluded 19 of the 65 sponsors (including Heartland itself) had received a total of over $40 million in funding since 1985 from ExxonMobil (who funded 13 of the organizations), and/or Koch Industries family foundations (funded 10 organizations) and/or the Scaife family foundations (funded 10 organizations).95Brendan DeMelle. “Denial-a-palooza Round 4: ‘International Conference on Climate Change’ Groups Funded by Exxon, Koch Industries,” DeSmog, May 13, 2010.

Summary:

ExxonMobil (1998-2008):$6,588,250($389,250 more than reported in 2009)
Koch Foundations (1985-2008):$17,572,210($13,133,290 more than reported in 2009)
Scaife Family Foundations (1985-2008):$16,352,000($20,516,640 less than reported in 2009*)
Total Funding 1985-2008:$40,512,460

*The Heritage Foundation sponsored the 2009 conference and is notably absent from sponsoring the 2010 ICCC. According to archived funding information at Media Matters, Heritage has received $23,096,640 from Scaife, $2,417,000 from Koch and $565,000 from Exxon between 1998 and 2006.

ICCC4 Speakers964th International Conference on Climate Change: Sponsored by the Heartland Institute” (Conference Program – PDF), The Heartland Institute, May, 2010. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

ICCC4 Cosponsors974th International Conference on Climate Change: Sponsored by the Heartland Institute” (Conference Program – PDF), The Heartland Institute, May, 2010. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

ICCC5
Date: October 1, 2010
Location: Sydney, Australia

A “seminar on climate change” that took place following the Pacific Rim Policy Exchange, described as “two days of workshops and brainstorming with free market advocates from the Pacific Rim.”98Pac Rim Policy Exchange Day 2,” Pacrimpolicyexchange.com. Archived July 14, 2008. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Qt1mS

See the draft agenda ( PDF). Videos of the speakers are available at the ICCC website.99Heartland Agenda ( PDF). Pacrimpolicyexchange.com. Archived October 11, 2010. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Speakers100Pacific-Rim Conference on Climate Change Conference Program ( PDF), The Heartland Institute. Archived July 25, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Cosponsors 101Sponsors,” Pacrimpolicyexchange.com. Archived May 9, 2009. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/SAltq 102ICCC – 5,” Climateconferences.heartland.org. Archived September 1, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/pwiXD

ICCC6
Date: June 30-July 1, 2011
Location: Washington, DC

The theme of the conference was “Restoring the Scientific Method,” and based on the premise that “claims of scientific certainty and predictions of climate catastrophes are based on ‘post-normal science,’ which substitutes claims of consensus for the scientific method.”

DeSmog concluded that 17 of the 43 sponsors of the Heartland Institute’s Sixth International Conference on Climate Change, including the Heartland Institute itself, had collectively received over $46 million from either Scaife Foundations, Koch Foundations, or ExxonMobil:

Scaife Foundations (1998-2010):$28,557,000 ($12,205,000 more than 2010*)
Koch Foundations (1998-2009):$11,330,980($6,241,230 less than 2010)
ExxonMobil (1998-2010): $6,276,900 ($311,350 less than 2010)
   
Total Funding (1998-2010): 

$46,164,880

 

*The Heritage Foundation, notably absent from the 2010 ICCC, is a sponsor again for the 2011 ICCC. Heritage has received $14,873,571 from industry sources.

ICCC6 Speakers103Sixth International Conference on Climate Change Conference Program ( PDF), The Heartland Institute. Archived July 25, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

ICCC6 Cosponsors104Sixth International Conference on Climate Change Conference Program ( PDF), The Heartland Institute. Archived July 25, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

ICCC7
Date: May 21 – 23, 2012
Location: Chicago, Illinois

The Heartland Institute’s Seventh International Conference on Climate Change ( ICCC-7) was designed to follow the NATO Summit taking place in Chicago from May 19 to 21.

The theme of ICCC7 is “Real Science, Real Choices.” Heartland reports it will consist of “concurrent panel sessions exploring what real climate science is telling us about the causes and consequences of climate change, and the real consequences of choices being made based on the current perceptions of the state of climate science.”

DeSmog researched co-sponsors behind the conference and discovered that they had received a total of over $67 Million from ExxonMobil, Koch, and Scaife family foundations:

ExxonMobil (1998-2010):              $7,312,500
Koch Foundations (1986-2010):     $14,391,975
Scaife Foundations (1985-2010):   $45,337,640

Grand Total:                               $67,042,115 

Heartland gives a passing mention to the “global warming scandal” where Peter Gleick obtained Heartland’s documents revealing some of its plans and posting them online. Heartland frames the event as “Fakegate,” given the possibility that one of the documents was faked. However, they continue to redirect the public’s eye away from the information revealed from authentic documents also released.105Join Us,” 7th International Conference on Climate Change. Archived May 3, 2012. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/mbECD

During Joseph Bast’s closing remarks for the conference, he suggested that the group no longer plans to hold future conferences as it is struggling financially after losing many of its sponsors following their unsuccessful billboard campaign.

Speakers106Seventh International Conference on Climate Change Conference Program ( PDF), The Heartland Institute. Archived July 25, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Cosponsors107Cosponsors,” 7th International Conference on Climate Change. Archived May 10, 2012. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/VAY3r 108Seventh International Conference on Climate Change: Sponsored by the Heartland Institute” ( PDF), The Heartland Institute. Archived August 15, 2015.

SponsorSponsorship Level
Committee for a Constructive TomorrowGold
Illinois Coal AssociationGold
Leadership InstituteGold
Alternate Solutions InstituteSilver
Americans for Tax ReformSilver
Australian Libertarian SocietySilver
Beacon Hill InstituteSilver
Carbon Sense CoalitionSilver
Free To Choose NetworkSilver
Ice Age NowSilver
Independent InstituteSilver
Instituto LiberdadeSilver
International Climate and Environmental Change Assessment Project ( ICECAP)Silver
Junk ScienceSilver
Power for USASilver
Reason FoundationSilver
Science and Environmental Policy ProjectSilver
TS AugustSilver
Virginia Scientists and Engineers for Energy and the EnvironmentSilver
Cathay Institute for Public AffairsSilver
60 Plus AssociationSilver
Acton Institute 
African Centre for Advocacy and Human Development 
American Conservative Union 
Americans for Prosperity Foundation 
American Tradition Institute 
Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance 
Austrian Economics Center 
Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights 
Berlin Manhattan Institute for Free Enterprise 
Capital Research Center 
Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise 
Center for Industrial Progress 
Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change 
Citizens’ Alliance for Responsible Energy 
Climate Realists 
Competitive Enterprise Institute 
Doctors for Disaster Preparedness 
Economic Thinking 
Energy Makes America Great, Inc. 
European Institute for Climate and Energy ( EIKE) 
Freedom Foundation of Minnesota 
Frontier Centre for Public Policy 
Frontiers of Freedom 
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii 
Heritage Foundation 
Institute for Liberty 
Institute for Private Enterprise 
International Climate Science Coalition 
Lavoisier Group 
Liberty Institute 
John Locke Foundation 
Manhattan Project 
George C. Marshall Institute 
Media Research Center 
National Center for Policy Analysis 
New Zealand Climate Science Coalition 
Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine 
Science and Public Policy Institute 

ICCC8
Date: November 30 – December 1, 2012
Location: Munich, Germany

The Heartland Institute partners with the Germany-based skeptic organization  EIKE (European Institute for Climate and Energy) to host a combination event of the Heartland Institute’s Eight International Conference on Climate Change, and EIKE’s the Fifth International Conference on Climate and Energy.109Heartland Institute Hosts Eighth International Conference on Climate Change in Germany,” The Heartland Institute, November 15, 2012. Archived July 26, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/jHxLs

“This conference is more proof, if any were needed, that important issues surrounding the causes, extent, and consequences of climate change remain unresolved in the scientific community,” said Heartland Institute President Joseph Bast.

“The scientific evidence grows stronger each day that we are not facing a global warming crisis, and I look forward to presenting another conference where the scientists themselves will explain the evidence,” said Heartland Senior Fellow James M. Taylor.

ICCC8 Speakers1108th International Conference on Climate Change ( ICCC-8) V International Conference on Climate and Energy ( ICCE-5) Hotel Bayerischer Hof, Munich, November 30 – December 1, 2012″ ( PDF), EIKE. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 111Heartland Institute Hosts Eighth International Conference on Climate Change in Germany,” The Heartland Institute, November 15, 2012. Archived July 26, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/jHxLs

ICCC8 Sponsors1128th International Conference on Climate Change ( ICCC-8) V International Conference on Climate and Energy ( ICCE-5) Hotel Bayerischer Hof, Munich, November 30 – December 1, 2012″ ( PDF), EIKE. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

ICCC9
Date: July 7 – 9, 2014
Location: Las Vegas Nevada, USA

DeSmog Reported on the Heartland Institute’s Ninth International Conference on Climate Change,113Brendan DeMelle. “Return of Climate Denial-a-Palooza: Heartland Institute Hitches Anti-Science Wagon to Vegas FreedomFest,” DeSmog, July 7, 2014. describing the event’s revival despite Joseph Bast‘s previous declaration that he had “no plans to do another ICCC114Brendan DeMelle. “Joe Bast Announces the Death of Denial-a-Palooza at Final Heartland ICCC Conference,” DeSmog, May 23, 2012. after losing funding from many corporate sponsors due to backlash from the unabomber billboard campaign. In order to boost attendance, Heartland joined with the libertarian FreedomFest event.115Dean Kuipers. “Unabomber billboard continues to hurt Heartland Institute,” Los Angeles Times, May 9, 2012. Archived July 26, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/tXtzi

Heartland ICCC9 speakers included the following, according to the Heartland Institute’s website.116ICCC9 Speakers,” International Conferences on Climate Change (The Heartland Institute). Archived July 27, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/QDvfF Media Matters also covered the speakers in a piece titled “Climate Denial Goes to Vegas.”117Alexander Zaitchik. “Climate Denial Goes Vegas,” Media Matters, July 7, 2014. Archived July 27, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ePP9r

Co-sponsors to the Heartland Institute’s Ninth International Conference on Climate Change included the following:118ICCC9 CoSponsors,” International Conferences on Climate Change (The Heartland Institute). Archived July 27, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/gclHF

ICCC10
Date: July 7 – 9, 2015
Location: Washington DC, USA

DeSmog reported on the speakers and sponsors behind Heartland’s ICCC10. DeSmog UK’s editor Brendan Montague was refused entry into the event and had his media credentials withdrawn.

Gene Koprowski, director of marketing, said he “refused to be drawn into a philosophical debate” when asked whether a think tank claiming to champion personal liberty and press freedom should begin blacklisting members of the media.119Kyla Mandel. “Heartland Heavies Silence Climate Reporters at Oil Supported Summit*DeSmog, June 11, 2015.

The Heartland Institute describes the conference as coving the following “important questions”:120About,” ICCC10. Archived July 28, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/8FtvO

  1. Is it time for Congress to take a fresh look at climate science and examine the economic impacts of past and current laws.
  2. Is it time for Congress to explore better science-based policies for energy and the environment?
  3. In short: Isn’t it time to start over on the question of global warming?

Keynote Speakers121Speakers,” ICCC-10. Archived July 26, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wdtTM

Panelists122Speakers,” ICCC-10. Archived July 26, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wdtTM

Moderators123Speakers,” ICCC-10. Archived July 26, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wdtTM

Cosponsors124Sponsors,” ICCC10. Archived July 15, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Uyj2K

ICCC11
Date: December 11 – 12, 2015
Location:  Essen, Germany

The Heartland Institute co-sponsored the Eleventh International Conference on Climate Change ( ICCC11) with the European Institute for Climate and Energy ( EIKE). According to the Heartland Institute’s event description, ICCC11 was designed to follow up the Heartland Institute’s trip to Paris for the United Nations’ COP-21:

“We brought a needed discussion to COP-21 in Paris by putting science before ideology,” said Jim Lakely, director of communications at The Heartland Institute. “That conversation continues, in longer form, with another great program with world-renowned scientists and policy experts in Essen. We’re proud to co-host this conference with our friends at EIKE.”125Heartland Events: Eleventh International Conference on Climate Change ( ICCC-11),” Heartland Institute. Archived March 8, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ZlwM7

Speakers:126“ICCC11: The Heartland Institute to Host Eleventh International Conference on Climate Change in Germany December 11-12, 2015,” International Conferences on Climate Change. Archived March 8, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/A73ST 127Internationale Klima- und Energiekonferenz ( IKEK-9): 11.-12. Dezember 2015, Haus der Technik, Essen” ( PDF), EIKE. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

ICCC12

Date: March 23 – 24, 2017
Location:  Washington, DC.

The Heartland Institute’s Twelfth International Conference on Climate Change ( ICCC12) was held in Washington, DC.128ABOUT,” ICCC12. Archived March 27, 2017. with the theme of “Resetting Climate Policy.” The Washington Post reported that the gathering was attended by the Republican mega donors Robert Mercer and his daughter, Rebekah Mercer.  On the first day of the conference, they joined Joseph Bast for the lunch keynote speech where “They listened intently as Patrick J. Michaels, director of the Cato Institute’s Center for the Study of Science, argued that the Obama administration erred in finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health,” reported the Post.129Matea Gold and Chris Mooney. “The Mercers, Trump mega-donors, back group that casts doubt on climate science,” The Washington Post, March 27, 2017. Archived March 27, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/d95v0

Mother Jones also reported on the conference, noting that the mood was “triumphant and hopeful” in the wake of Trump’s presidency and his plans to roll back EPA regulations.130Rebecca Leber. “Leading Global Warming Deniers Just Told Us What They Want Trump to Do,” Mother Jones, March 24, 2017. Archived March 27, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/RnMxt

“We’ve been at this for 33 years. We have a lot of people in our network,” Joseph Bast told Mother Jones, “and many of these people are now in this new administration.” Transition staff and new appointees in the Trump administration “occasionally ask us for advice and names of people,” he added.

Bast said that rescinding the EPA’s endangerment finding on CO2 was the “number one” priority under Trump’s EPA.131Rebecca Leber. “Leading Global Warming Deniers Just Told Us What They Want Trump to Do,” Mother Jones, March 24, 2017. Archived March 27, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/RnMxt

Speakers at ICCC12,132SPEAKERS,” ICCC12. Archived March 27, 2017. either listed on Heartland’s initial conference plan or included in Heartland’s video coverage of the event,133“LIVE- STREAM INSTANT ARCHIVE,” ICCC12. Archived March 27, 2017. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog. included the following:

November 23 – 24, 2018

EIKE hosted its 12th International Conference on Climate and Energy (12. Internationale Klima- und Energiekonferenz), also billed as the Heartland Institute’s 13th International Conference on Climate Change ( ICCC13).134Program – 12th International Climate and Energy ConferenceEIKE. Translated via Google Translate. Archived November 23, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/NndcT The Heartland Institute‘s sponsorship of the event was also noted in a press release by Heartland’s director of communications Jim Lakely and amplified by the State Policy Network. Video coverage of the event (see day 1) was streamed via EIKE’s YouTube channel.135Heartland Institute goes to Europe to correct the climate record at COP-24,” State Policy Network, November 13, 2018. Archived November 23, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/vleWK

Speakers included:

Actions

November 22, 2023

David Wojick announced at the Heartland Institute that he co-wrote a study with Paul Driessen claiming “global emissions from mining, processing, manufacturing and transportation offset any reductions from power production [by offshore wind].” The report, titled “How Offshore Wind Drives Up Global Carbon Emissions” was published by the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow‘s NetZero Reality Coalition.136David Wojick. “Offshore Wind Cannot Be Justified,” Heartland Institute, November 22, 2023. Archived February 29, 2023.

“There are no carbon dioxide emission reduction benefits, and thus no manmade climate change amelioration justifications for offshore wind development,” Wojick and Driessen claimed in the report. They added, “The net ‘carbon’ (carbon dioxide) reduction effects of offshore wind
development are thus hugely negative and cannot justify further investments in this
industry.”137David Wojick and Paul Driessen. “How Offshore Wind Drives Up Global Carbon Emissions,” CFACT, November 14, 2023 (document creation date). Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

November 13, 2023

The Heartland Institute and CFACT announced their intention to sue the federal government over its approval of Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project. According to The Heartland Institute and CFACT, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s approval of the project was based on a “defective” biological opinion that, they claimed, “ignores the ‘best scientific information available’ about the endangered population of the North Atlantic right whale.”138Tim Ferry. “‘Send a message’ | Climate change deniers to sue US over largest offshore wind array approval,Recharge, November 14, 2023. Archived February 29, 2024.

February 24, 2023

The Heartland Institute was listed as a member of the Net Zero Reality Coalition, a group introduced by the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) as a “new coalition of energy, national security and public policy groups.”139(Press Release). “New coalition urges Congress to investigate risks of net-zero energy actions,” CFACT, February 24, 2023. Archived October 2, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YJQEg

CFACT’s Paul Driessen was listed as the group’s coordinator while members included CFACT, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Heartland Institute, E&E Legal, and the International Climate Science Coalition (ICSC) and “and other public policy organizations that have long sought responsible, science-focused, reality-based laws and policies.”140(Press Release). “New coalition urges Congress to investigate risks of net-zero energy actions,” CFACT, February 24, 2023. Archived October 2, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YJQEg

“America cannot afford to abandon its reliable, affordable, multifaceted energy system, and try to replace it with a wind, solar and battery system that exists only in government proclamations and legislative mandates,” Driessen said in CFACT’s press release.141(Press Release). “New coalition urges Congress to investigate risks of net-zero energy actions,” CFACT, February 24, 2023. Archived October 2, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YJQEg

September 27, 2022

The Heartland Institute and CFACT announced a joint legal effort with an anti-wind front group created by the Cesar Rodney Institute, the American Coalition for Ocean Protection, to oppose the Coastal Virginia Offshore Energy Project. The group alleged the wind project threatens the endangered North Atlantic right whale.142(Press Release). “Public Interest Groups Hire Counsel to Protect Endangered Right Whale from Offshore Virginia Wind Project,” The Heartland Institute, September 27, 2022. Archived January 12, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/RYCxR

February 14, 2022

H. Sterling Burnett featured guest speaker Jason Isaac, director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation‘s Life:Powered project, on an episode of the Heartland Daily Podcast.143POLITICIANS ARE RUINING TEXAS’ POWER GRID (GUEST: JASON ISAAC),” The Heartland Institute. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

“As it stands, subsidized renewable power sources forced onto the system have left Texans vulnerable to power outages, a problem that could worsen in the future,” Burnett claimed in the podcast’s description.

Discussing the Texas power outages in 2021, Burnett commented:

“I’m saying we used to have other coal plants, but they were not just off line they had been closed. We had a lot of wind and solar, more wind in Texas than solar, but some solar that suddenly was politically mandated, but was not putting power on the grid. So that’s the day. But what built up to it?”

Jason Isaac responded:

Yeah, and it’s really these market distorting policies that have propped up one form of generation over another, put us in this situation to begin with. And you’ve seen a decline in thermal generation over the last seven years because they can’t compete. And that’s the big thing. The market design is the problem when you have wind, generate electricity because of the investment tax credit, the production tax credit, the property tax exemptions they get from the state of Texas and other incentives.”

“We shouldn’t depend on variable sources of unreliable electric generation on our grid. Because then where we are at the whims of nature, especially especially when we have reliable forms of thermal generation that are out there,” Isaac said.

October 31–November 12, 2021

Heartland Institute president James Taylor, his name filed under the Competitive Enterprise Institute, attended the twenty-sixth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, according to the official provisional list of registered participants (PLOP).144“Provisional list of registered participants” (PDF), UNFCCC, November 1, 2021. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Listed CEI representatives included:

May 13, 2021

The Heartland Institute conducted a poll with Rasmussen Reports from April 29, 2021 to May 3, 2021 which asked 2,000 likely voters a series of questions about climate change.145Justin Haskins. “Rasmussen/Heartland Poll: Viewers Of Conservative Media More Likely To Get The Facts Right On Climate Change,” The Heartland Institute, May 13, 2021. Archived May 26, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/zyDxP

The poll claimed Fox News viewers were “more likely to get the facts right on climate change” while CNN and MSNBC supposedly overestimate the amount of global warming that had taken place since the 1800s. 

The poll’s questions included a “correct answer” section with comments like “CORRECT ANSWER: There is no evidence that the human race will be extinct or near extinction within the next century, regardless of whether CO2 emissions continue to increase, a fact supported by virtually everyone in the scientific community, including those greatly concerned about climate change.”

Rasmussen Reports, a favorite pollster of former President Donald Trump,146Pollster: Rasmussen Research has a pro-GOP bias,The Hill, September 10, 2018. Archived June 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/r5lSC has been suggested to have a pro-GOP bias.147Trump’s Favourite Pollster was the Least Accurate in the Midterms,” CNN Wire via wlfi.com, December 9, 2018. Archived June 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/i8BEm

December 3, 2020

Heartland Institute editorial director Justin Haskins wrote an op-ed at The Hill where he claimed, “the evidence is now crystal clear about Biden’s connection to the Great Reset.” Haskins described the Great Reset as a proposal which would “‘reset’ the global economy” with justifications for the proposal as “the COVID-19 pandemic (the short-term justification) and the so-called ‘climate crisis’; caused by global warming (the long-term justification).”148Justin Haskins. “John Kerry reveals Biden’s devotion to radical ‘Great Reset’ movement,” The Hill, December 3, 2020. Archived December 10, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.vn/ 9V6W9

“The plan involves dramatically increasing the power of government through expansive new social programs like the Green New Deal and using vast regulatory schemes and government programs to coerce corporations into supporting left-wing causes,” Haskins claimed.

Haskins pointed to a panel discussion hosted by the World Economic Forum, where former Secretary of State John Kerry “firmly declared that the Biden administration will support the Great Reset and that the Great Reset ‘will happen with greater speed and with greater intensity than a lot of people might imagine'” as evidence of Biden’s commitment to the “radical” movement.

April 6, 2020

The Heartland Institute, represented by James Taylor, was signatory to an American Energy Alliance letter to President Donald Trump supporting the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient ( SAFE) Vehicles Rule which would scrap federal fuel economy mandates under the Corporate Average Fuel Economy ( CAFE) program.149CAFE-Coaliton-to-Trump-April-2020-9 ( PDF), American Energy Alliance.

Describing  CAFE, the letter contends: “Those families and individuals who prefer or need trucks,  SUVs, and crossovers pay more to subsidize those who buy smaller vehicles or electric vehicles under the existing mandate. This significant, needless, and unjust cost is a very real regressive tax on American families that has made our country worse off.”

March 6, 2020

E&E News reported the Heartland Institute was laying off staff in what Heartland described as a “reorganization. In a statement, Heartland said it “conducted layoffs of some full- and part-time staff on Friday, March 6.”150Nick Sobczyk. “Heartland Institute announces layoffs, restructuring,” E&E News, March 9, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

“This reduction in personnel and reorganization will make Heartland more efficient and focused,” wrote Jim Lakely, Heartland’s communications director.

“It will put us in a stronger financial position to continue advocating for personal freedom, as well as to continue our important role in educating the public and public officials about climate alarmism, and focus on the science and the significant threat alarmism poses to our economy,” he said.

However, Huffpost earlier reported the layoffs were due to financial difficulties. Huffpost reviewed a screenshot of a text message between Heartland events coordinator Nikki Comerford and a former colleague.151Alexander C. Kaufman. “Pro-Trump Climate Denial Group Lays Off Staff Amid Financial Woes, Ex-Employees Say,” Huffpost, March 7, 2020. Archived March 9, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.vn/wip/CkcGK

“Heartland is broke,” Comerford reportedly wrote in the message. “Frank Lasee spent all of our money in six months including the savings,” she wrote in a text. “They had to lay off more than half the staff today and more coming. What an asshole.”

Heartland confirmed it had made layoffs in a March 8 press release. Lasée did not respond to an initial request-for-comment from Huffpost, however two former employees confirmed the details.152PRESS RELEASE: HEARTLAND INSTITUTE STATEMENT ON REORGANIZATION,” The Heartland Institute, March 9, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.vn/bc0oI

Shortly after, on March 17, 2020,  E&E News reported Heartland’s president Frank Lasée was being ousted from his position as president. “He’s being kicked out,” one source said.153President of reeling anti-climate science group forced out,” E&E News, March 17, 2020. Archived March 17, 2020. Archive URL:https://archive.vn/vZxNp

February 10, 2020

The Heartland Institute opposed the Transportation and Climate Initiative ( TCI), a program designed to limit carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation sector.154Tim Benson. “Public Input By The Heartland Institute Regarding The Transportation And Climate Initiative,” Heartland.org, February 10, 2020. Archived February 14, 2020. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/wip/ybTn3

“It is the opinion of The Heartland Institute that this program will penalize people, especially low-income individuals, for simply living their lives, all in the attempt to decrease global temperatures by an amount so miniscule as to be environmentally meaningless,” wrote Heartland policy analyst Tim Benson. “cap-and-trade programs such as TCI and its sister program, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative ( RGGI), do little to reduce carbon dioxide emissions,” he claimed.

Heartland cites a coalition letter “from many of our esteemed sister think tanks” describing TCI as a “poorly conceived, fundamentally regressive, and economically damaging proposal.”155“TCI Open Letter” ( PDF), Institute for Energy Research, December 19, 2019.Archived February 14, 2020. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/ Y0mBJ. Archived . PDF on file at DeSmog.

Those think tanks include Americans for Tax Reform, signed by Grover G. NorquistCEO Mike Stenhouse; State Policy Network member, the Maryland Public Policy Institute; Adam Brandon, CEO of FreedomWorks Thomas J. Pyle, representing the Institute for Economic Research.156“TCI Open Letter” ( PDF), Institute for Energy Research, December 19, 2019.Archived February 14, 2020. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/ Y0mBJ. Archived . PDF on file at DeSmog.

February 2, 2020

Research by  CORRECTIV and Frontal21 in Germany uncovered how the Heartland Institute was coordinating with climate change denial groups in Germany including the European Institute on Climate and Energy ( EIKE). During the undercover investigation, reported on in German157Die Heartland Lobby,” CORRECTIV, February 2, 2020. Archived February 5, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/xt1g9 and also translated to English,158The Heartland Lobby,” CorrectIV, February 11, 2020. Archived February 11, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/wip/f8Mc2 reporters spoke with James Taylor who revealed some of Heartland’s strategies. The investigation took place in December 2019.

Reporters posed as PR consultants for a Berlin-based strategic communication agency with interest in finding potential donors from Germany in the automotive and energy sectors. Taylor responded later with a written offer “something like a strategy document for a PR campaign in Germany: A campaign that the public will not recognize for what it really is, making it even more effective.” with a goal of “No more prohibitive climate laws. Diesel instead of electric cars, energy from coal instead of wind turbines, industry growth instead of environmental protection.”

The event was a “Climate Reality Forum” attended by climate change deniers such as William Happer, Wolfgang Müller of EIKE, and Christopher Monckton among others.

In a private interview, James Taylor outlined how best to provide donations. He brought DonorsTrust as one of several US groups best used to keep donations anonymous.

Taylor later spoke of the relationship between Heartland and EIKE. He said that Heartland gave a small sum of money to help fund the EIKE conference in late November.

In a follow-up call between the reporter posing as an interested party ready to do business with Heartland, and Taylor, the reporter asked whether content could be bought if he were a donor to Heartland. Taylor highlighted a 19-year-old Youtuber from Germany as a promising social media strategy. When asked if a customer would be able to have their content appear in her videos, Taylor hesitated “but doesn’t say no.”

“Of course, she would have to agree with and feel comfortable with what is going to be said. And he’s pretty sure that everyone involved wants the same thing.

Mathias: ‘Perhaps we could agree on certain buzzwords. Disseminate certain information.’

Taylor: ‘Absolutely. Key points, keywords, the way to present something.’

Content in exchange for money. It’s like a deal in the advertising industry. The only difference is that the content is political.”

When Taylor sent a formal funding proposal in several hours, it outlined a plan for a possible campaign in Germany. “He describes German climate policy as ‘unwise’. Conventional power plants could be closed and replaced by expensive, unreliable wind turbine systems. Diesel vehicles could be banned.”

“These restrictive environmental programs are largely unnecessary,” Taylor wrote.

Instead, the Heartland Institute wants to draw attention to projects that “raise German living standards through common-sense environmental stewardship.”

“For climate change deniers, this means one thing: As few environmental protection measures as possible,” the article summarizes.

While there was no explicit mention of EIKE, Taylor said he “works closely with German partners whose ideas are consistently cited by the AfD in the Bundestag” and that Heartland would “proactively explore opportunities to galvanize our friends and allies to advocate in conjunction with our Germany Environmental Issues project.”

Taylor then reiterated Donors Trust as a funding vehicle, as well as the National Philanthropic Trust. “Donors fund an account with the organization and then direct the organization how it would like to distribute the funds,” Taylor noted.

German media outlet Deutsche Welle ( DW) reported on the story on March 9, 2020.  DW noted how Heartland had reportedly worked closely with the Trump Administration, according to James Taylor’s conversation with the undercover journalists.  DW also outlined how Heartland has historically made major impacts on climate policy in places such as Australia.159Stuart Braun. “In denial: The spin machine upending the climate consensus,” DW, March 9, 2020. Archived March 9, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.vn/JhXWt

Australian scientist, author and climate analyst Ketan Joshi also commented on the rise of Heartland’s “anti-Greta” Naomi Seibt, whose YouTube influence was advertised to the undercover journalists.160Stuart Braun. “In denial: The spin machine upending the climate consensus,” DW, March 9, 2020. Archived March 9, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.vn/JhXWt

“It’s not about the science,” said Joshi. “It’s about instilling doubt, it’s about making people distrust information that they receive — even if it’s from a trustworthy source.”

January 13, 2020

Heartland Senior Fellow Fred Palmer published an article at the coal mining industry publication CoalZoom describing a plan to form a new group called “Saving US Coal.”161Fred Palmer. “Saving US Coal – A Path Forward to Preserve the Existing Coal Fleet,” Coalzoom.com, January 13, 2020. Archived January 14, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/ ERIm8 The Saving US Coal Campaign is a partnership between CoalZoom and Craig Idso’s Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change ( CSCDGC/ CO2 Science)162Saving US Coal,” CO2 Science. Archived January 14, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/ ZBSIC with donations being funneled through CSCDGC.163“Saving US Coal” ( PDF), Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

“‘Saving US Coal’ has been created to be the vehicle for turning the tide for the full acceptance of coal in the US energy market by undertaking a campaign to repeal CO2 Endangerment at EPA. That requires a compelling EPA filing, of course, one that proves the benign and beneficial nature of more CO2 in the air based on the incredible work that Craig Idso has carried on for his Dad, Sherwood Idso and mentor, Sylvan Wittwer. However, it also requires creation of a coal coalition, like the Climate council quoted above, and the make-up of that coalition can be learned from coal’s past,” Palmer wrote.164Fred Palmer. “Saving US Coal – A Path Forward to Preserve the Existing Coal Fleet,” Coalzoom.com, January 13, 2020. Archived January 14, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/ ERIm8

He envisions the group to be a modern equivalent to CEED (the Center for Energy and Economic Development), a coal industry group created to fight against CO2 emissions standards. CEED later merged with another group to form what is now known as the American Coalition for Coal Coal Electricity ( ACCCE). As Palmer described it:165Fred Palmer. “Saving US Coal – A Path Forward to Preserve the Existing Coal Fleet,” Coalzoom.com, January 13, 2020. Archived January 14, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/ ERIm8

“In 1992, CEED was formed to meet the challenge to coal plants due to coal combustion and its CO2 profile and engage at the state level.”

… .

“CEED was successful in the 90s and the approach used then can inform for today. Coal’s challenge today at the state level is much more serious than it was in 1992, for the simple reason that the great investor owned utilities in CEED have switched sides and they own the regulated coal plants. But the CEED model never depended on the nature of CEED’s members, it depended and depends on defending CO2 in defense of Coal. ‘Saving US Coal’ is the only entity that can do this today and its leaders were engaged directly in the 90s with CEED and succeeding years. ‘Saving US Coal’ can perform the same function today as CEED did then in a virtual way.”

Palmer envisions CO2 proponent Craig Idso taking a key role in the new group by promoting benefits of CO2: 

“Once filed at EPA, ‘Saving US Coal’ will engage virtually at the state level with regulators directly and through NARUC to educate on the benefits of CO2 to the biosphere and the human environment. At the same time Craig will develop additional, original research showing the truth of CO2 which will be distributed as generated to the regulators. By doing so, coal suppliers can then engage directly with the regulators with challenges to the announced closures; rep-opening previous announcements where the plants are still operating is not out of the question.”

He also makes recommendations on coal industry groups that could be encouraged to join the pro-coal coalition:166Fred Palmer. “Saving US Coal – A Path Forward to Preserve the Existing Coal Fleet,” Coalzoom.com, January 13, 2020. Archived January 14, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/ ERIm8

“Today, there are groups sitting right in front of us and ready to go in coalition, I believe. These include:

Count on Coal through NMA

Friends of Coal in West Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania

RMCMI in Colorado

The American Coal Council

The state coal associations, a very powerful and overlooked resource

Trade press”

Palmer first joined CoalZoom along with Craig Idso, in coordination with Bill Reid, in December 2019 to focus on the initiative with “the ultimate deliverable: repealing the EPA CO2 Endangerment Finding highlighting coal use as the vehicle and Champion that it is and will be.”167Saving US Coal – Watch This PowerPoint,” CoalZoom, December 16, 2019. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/nQDEA

December 3, 2019

Heartland co-sponsored a rebuttal to the United Nations’ COP25 climate summit in Madrid. The event, titled “Rebutting the United Nations’ Climate Delusion,” was held in collaboration with the CO2 Coalition, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow ( CFACT), and the European Institute for Climate and Energy ( EIKE). Deniers of consensus climate science in attendance included William Happer, EIKE’s Wolfgang Müller, Anthony Watts, Tom Harris, Stanley Goldenberg, and Christopher Monckton.168Alex Newman. “Skeptics Bring Science to UN,” The New American, December 6, 2019. Archived December 7, 2019. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/wip/qd7ui. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

Heartland’s James Taylor described the event as a “climate reality forum,” and said169:Alex Newman. “Skeptics Bring Science to UN,” The New American, December 6, 2019. Archived December 7, 2019. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/wip/qd7ui. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

“Good news isn’t bad news. […] The evidence for a climate crisis simply doesn’t hold up. And that is not about attacking science, as many people would lead you to believe. It’s performing science, it’s advancing science. And again the news is good news, and that’s excellent for humanity, it’s excellent for people around the world, who would like to escape poverty and not be held down by energy restrictions imposed by the United Nations and national governments.”

William Happer, a former member of President Trump’s National Security Council, opened his presentation with:

“We are here under false pretenses, wasting our time talking about a non-existent climate emergency. And It’s hard to understand how much further the shrillness can go, as this started out as global warming, then it was climate change or global weirding, now it is climate crisis and climate emergency, what next, but stick around, it will happen. I hope sooner or later enough people recognize the phoniness of this bizarre environmental cult and bring it to an end.”

October 4, 2019

The Heartland Institute held its 35th anniversary dinner with a theme “Stopping Socialism, Increasing Freedom.”170Nancy Thorner. “Heartland 35th Anniversary Benefit Featuring Glenn Beck,” Heartland.org, October 21, 2019. Archived October 22, 2019. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/ 18KMW

Media personality Glenn Beck was awarded the Heartland Liberty Prize for 2019. According to Heartland’s interpretation of Beck’s speech, he said Thomas Jefferson “tried to but was unable to free his slaves because he was in debt and slaves were considered property.”

Beck went on to suggest Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species was essentially a treatise on Eugenics:

“Beck emphasized the words ‘favored races,’ noting correctly that Darwin’s book increased the popularity and gave an academic legitimacy to the evil of eugenics, which would be embraced by ‘progressives’ in the early 20th century,” Nancy Thorner wrote at the Heartland Institute’s blog.

Then-Heartland-president Frank Lasée said in his opening remarks that the discourse surrounding climate change was “green on the outside and red on the inside.”

“The issue is being used by the other side to control every aspect of our lives, as a means to establish Socialism,” he said. “It’s impossible to reach people with closed minds, but we can get the misinformed and uninformed to listen. […] “We are in a battle with evil people who want to have government control our lives.”

September 30, 2019

Heartland published a commentary by Tim Benson in which Benson criticized Minnesota’s plan to adopt California’s auto emissions standards. Citing a 2018 study by the Manhattan Institute, Benson claimed that greater adoption of zero-emission vehicles ( ZEVs) would result in increased pollution and environmental costs, as well as more traffic fatalities. While conceding that the adoption of low- and zero-emission standards would reduce atmospheric CO2, Benson said that the reduction “will have no measurable impact on world climate and thus no economic value.”171Tim Benson. “Research & Commentary: Gov. Walz’s Low-Emission Vehicles Order Is Costly, Dangerous, And Unnecessary,” Heartland.org, September 30, 2019. Archived October 1, 2019. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/rNi3s

September 23, 2019

The Heartland Institute hosted a “climate debate” to coincide with a UN Climate Action Summit taking place in New York. The event was chaired by former Fox News host John Stossel and speakers included Patrick MichaelsDavid Legates and Willie Soon.172Climate Challenge: Bright Lights, Big City … Bigger Debate,” Heartland Institute. Archived September 24, 2019. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/ M7XlQ. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

The event was live-streamed to coincide with the UN’s Climate Summit and was announced with the tag line: “It’s time for both sides to make the case: What is happening to our climate and what can we do about it?”

Notable quotes from the panel included:

Patrick Michaels: “What we have is a community that is extremely conformist. And certainly the pressures of monopoly funding provided by the federal government for essentially only one side of the issue will ensure that there’s a consensus. And someday something is going to happen to this and 97% of all scientists concerned are going to believe something else.”

David Legates: “Most governments want to keep control, and most governments get bigger and bigger over time. So in this case, this is one easy way of getting bigger, is to have sort of that H.L. Mencken hobgoblin that always comes up in front of you. And carbon dioxide becomes that molecule by which we can take control of your lives, of your efforts, and everything that goes on.”

Willie Soon: “I’m unable to find out what the carbon dioxide is doing to the atmosphere. It is increasing, but it’s not causing any warming.”

“My message to all of them is that please don’t cry. I mean, I’ll hold your hand and sing lullabies to you. By 2030 I’ll still be here. Please don’t panic. There’s no such thing as climate catastrophe, these people are talking nonsense. It’s unbelievable that we have to answer all this kind of craziness.”

“Carbon dioxide is the greatest gift on planet earth. Put it this way, if we can release more of it, we should have a whole lot more of it, as simple as that. Because according to the satellite data, I mean, we’ve been greening the planet, in a very, very nice way, in a sense, because the planet is a lot greener, the plants are using much more efficient in terms of water, require a lot less use of water. So a drought region becoming green, even in desert, a desert area. These are overall benefits, overall positive effects on the plants, as far as we can tell […] the impact on the temperature, we are unable to find it. I tell you that I’ve been studying this topic very carefully, only wanting to find a result on the impact of carbon dioxide on temperature, let’s say. I really cannot find [it] after 30 years.”

August 26, 2019

The Heartland Institute live-streamed a rebuttal to the UN’s 68th Civil Society Sustainability Conference, which was being held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Heartland’s panel discussion was headlined by James Taylor and featured talks by Richard Keen, Howard Hayden, and Paul Dreissen, among others.173Heartland Institute Rebuttal to UN ‘Civil Society’ Sustainability Conference,” YouTube video uploaded by user “The Heartland Institute,” August 26, 2019. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

According to the live-stream’s YouTube description, the event was organized to “show how the collectivist climate and sustainability programs promoted by the U.N. would cause more harm than good, especially for the world’s poorest and most disenfranchised people.”174Heartland Institute Rebuttal to UN ‘Civil Society’ Sustainability Conference,” YouTube video uploaded by user “The Heartland Institute,” August 26, 2019. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

Excerpts from the broadcast included:

James Taylor: “What we see is that carbon dioxide emissions and a modestly warming planet are benefitting the human condition. […] For some reason, the media have gone into the argument that anything that’s warmer is bad. I mean, why? Why should warmer temperatures be badder than colder temperatures? (sic) […]
Twenty times more people die from cold temperatures than from warm or hot temperatures.”

Richard Keen: “So enjoy the climate while it lasts and make enough CO2 to feed a tree, which is what CO2 does. It helps plant life and increases crops.”

Howard Hayden: “Now, the good stuff. Get rid of these utopian delusions. There is so much coal available that nobody worries about running out for at least hundreds of years. Now, hundreds of years is a short time compared to that of civilization, but they don’t even look for coal because nobody even looks for it anymore. There’s enough natural gas in methane clathrates on the continental shelf to last for at least thousands of years. There’s enough uranium to last until the sun turns into a red giant and there’s even more thorium. There’s no shortage of energy and there never will be. What we lack is the will to use it and the freedom to use it.”

Paul Driessen: “The world cannot afford to let delusion, dishonesty, and ideology drive public policies that will determine our future jobs, prosperity, living conditions and civilization. […] Those policies are unjust, inhumane, and eco-imperialistic and lethal. They can no longer be tolerated. And in fact, I’ll go a step further, and I don’t say this lightly or casually. The climate change sustainability agenda that is being advanced by these activists and bureaucrats is eco-fascist, totalitarian and racist.”

July 24, 2019

Heartland’s Director of Communications Jim Lakely denied media credentials to Mother Jones climate reporter Rebecca Leber for a Heartland climate conference held at the Trump Hotel in Washington D.C. on July 25.175Rebecca Leber. “I regret to inform you my garbage journalism got me barred from covering Heartland Institute’s climate conference happening at Trump’s DC hotel tomorrow,” Tweet by @rebleber, July 24, 2019. Retrieved from Twitter.com. Archived.png on file at DeSmog.

In an email sent to Leber, which she posted on her Twitter feed, Lakely explained that his decision to bar her from the event was based on his assessment of Leber’s “habit of repeatedly sliming the esteemed scientists who have presented at our conferences as ‘climate deniers.’”

Read the Tweet thread here:

May 21, 2019

Benny Peiser appeared on a Heartland Institute podcast where he acknowledged a warming climate but claimed that it does not pose a threat to humankind or the environment:176H. Sterling Burnett. “Bringing Sound Science to the Climate Debate (Guest: Benny Peiser),” Heartland.org, May 21, 2019. Archived May 29, 2019. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/qEjlQ. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

“The warming is very gradual. […] There’s no increase in the extent or the number of these extreme weather events. So for the time being we are absolutely fine and there is absolutely nothing to worry about. […] I don’t see any problem in the foreseeable future.”

Peiser also expressed his belief that scientists holding the consensus viewpoint on climate change are stifling debate and displaying autocratic tendencies:

“The most troublesome feature is the authoritarian attempts to stifle anyone raising these issues. […] Anyone asking questions is regarded as a hurdle to salvation. […] It is destroying the culture of scientific objectivity and openness.”

May 9, 2019

The Heartland Institute, represented by Tim Huelskamp, signed on to an open letter organized by the American Energy Alliance designed to fight against an electric vehicle tax credit.177Brendan DeMelle. “Heartland Institute Exposed: Internal Documents Unmask Heart of Climate Denial Machine,” DeSmog, February 14, 2012.

“The American Energy Alliance has organized a coalition to proclaim in one unified voice that there should be no expansion of the misguided electric vehicle tax credit,” Thomas Pyle wrote in a statement, quoted at The Daily Caller. There is no question that the electric vehicle tax credit distorts the auto market to no gain.”178Chris White. “ CONSERVATIVES WARN LAWMAKERS: TESLA’S TAX CREDITS ‘ OVERWHELMINGLY BENEFIT THE RICH’,”The Daily Caller, May 9, 2019. Archived May 9, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/qzvF3

According to Pyle and others who signed the letter, electric vehicle tax credits “overwhelmingly benefit the rich.” DeSmog’s Koch vs. Clean project has systematically debunked this, among other well-rehearsed talking points and misinformation put forward by industry about electric vehicles.179Chris White. “ CONSERVATIVES WARN LAWMAKERS: TESLA’S TAX CREDITS ‘ OVERWHELMINGLY BENEFIT THE RICH’,”The Daily Caller, May 9, 2019. Archived May 9, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/qzvF3

The letter cites research by the Pacific Research Institute ( PRI), a group that has received over $600,000 from ExxonMobil and millions from “dark money” groups DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund

April 5, 2019

Former television meteorologist Anthony Watts, founder of Watts Up With That ( WUWT) joined the Heartland Institute as a senior fellow for environment on climate.  According to the Heartland press release:180PRESS RELEASE: ANTHONY WATTS JOINS THE HEARTLAND INSTITUTE,The Heartland Institute, April 5, 2019. Archived April 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/ KIoIz

“The people at Heartland are working from a reality-based viewpoint of the climate issue saying in effect, ‘Hey wait a minute, look at this,’ to the people that would follow the path of climate alarmism hook, line, and sinker,” Watts said. “Despite having a tiny fraction of the budget and social media outreach some green organizations have, they have done a fantastic job of countering climate alarmism.

“Laughably, my critics have said for years that I have been ‘on the payroll’ of Heartland in some ‘nefarious capacity,’ even though I’ve never been on their payroll. I figure I might as well give these folks something factual to talk about now instead of just innuendo and smear campaigns,” Watts said.

“I credit the efforts of Heartland in President Trump’s decision to exit from the Paris Climate Accord,” Watts added. “What reality-based climate skeptic wouldn’t want to be on that winning team? I look forward to being able to help Heartland dispel fear and overreaction to climate hysteria by providing factual essays and research that helps policy makers with climate related decisions.”

Heartland’s president Tim Huelskamp praised Watts as “truly a leader in the climate movement.”

“I am honored that he has chosen to join The Heartland Institute,” Huelskamp said. “His energy, experience and scientific expertise will make an enormous, immediate positive impact on the Heartland team.”

Heartland senior fellow James Taylor said:

“I look forward to working with Anthony presenting the compelling scientific evidence on climate change issues that the environmental left and their media allies do their best to ignore and sweep under the rug.”

In 2012, DeSmog exposed the Heartland Institute’s history of funding climate change denial with the help of leaked internal documents. Those documents also revealed Heartland was funding a website for Anthony Watts to “track temperature station data” with a pledge to raise $90,000 in that year.181Brendan DeMelle. “Heartland Institute Exposed: Internal Documents Unmask Heart of Climate Denial Machine,” DeSmog, February 14, 2012.

December 14, 2018

The Heartland Institute released a report written by Willie Soon and Patrick Moore among others criticizing Greenpeace, claiming the group promotes “socialist and anti-capitalist ideals.” According to the authors, “Greenpeace are not actually helping to protect the environment, or exposing real problems.”182“Analysis of Greenpeace’s business model & philosophy” ( PDF), Heartland Institute, December 2018. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

December 6, 2018

Attending the 24th UN Conference of the Parties ( COP-24) in Katowice, Poland, the Heartland Institute’s James Taylor signed a joint statement with representatives of Poland’s Solidarity labor union challenging the consensus viewpoints held by parties to the convention.183Press Release: Solidarity, Heartland Institute Sign Historic Climate Communique At Cop24,” The Heartland Institute, December 6, 2018. Archived December 6, 2018. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/BjvZR. Archived .pdf of signed statement on file at DeSmog.

The document states:

“We, speaking as one, believe in the restoration of the Scientific Method and the dismissal of ideological dogma at the United Nations. That means a healthy skepticism of data interpretation and policy conclusions and an end to the war on science and scientists by powerful state-backed forces.”

December 4, 2018

The Heartland Institute sent representatives to the 24th UN Conference of the Parties ( COP-24) in Katowice, Poland as credentialed NGO-Observers.184Press Release: Heartland Institute To Present Latest Climate Science In Poland During Cop-24,” The Heartland Institute, November 15, 2018. Archived December 6, 2018. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/g3JUH

Heartland’s Craig Idso, Dennis Avery, and James Taylor held a live-streamed presentation of a report of the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change ( NIPCC) titled “Climate Change Reconsidered II: Fossil Fuels.” The presentation also featured a spokesman for the European Institute for Climate and Energy, Horst-Joachim Lüdecke, and EIKE’s general secretary, Wolfgang Müller.185Press Release: Heartland Institute To Present Latest Climate Science In Poland During Cop-24,” The Heartland Institute, November 15, 2018. Archived December 6, 2018. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/g3JUH

Heartland’s report was touted as a summary for policymakers, and featured a section on the benefits of fossil fuels to human prosperity, health, and the environment. Heartland claims that their data proves that “humans are not causing a climate crisis.”186Press Release: Heartland Institute To Present Latest Climate Science In Poland During Cop-24,” The Heartland Institute, November 15, 2018. Archived December 6, 2018. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/g3JUH

In an official statement marking the event, Taylor said:

“Each year the verdict becomes stronger and clearer that the scientific evidence debunks global warming alarmism. While the United Nations’ Conference of the Parties frantically searches for reasons to justify its continued existence, The Heartland Institute is proud to present the science that debunks U.N. alarmism.

We will also be presenting examples of real-world evidence contradicting important U.N. climate claims. We will be delivering the truth that the only thing ‘settled’ about the global warming debate is that U.N. climate reports have little credibility. Skeptics present a far better scientific case.”

Video from the event was posted on Heartland’s YouTube channel:

November 2, 2018

Heartland Senior Fellow and “Science Director” Jay H. Lehr testified before New York City Council to ” push back at the notion the Big Apple will be underwater soon due to man-caused climate change.” View the video below, via the Heartland Institute’s YouTube channel:187Heartland’s Jay Lehr Testifies to New York City Council on Sea Level Rise,” YouTube video uploaded by user “The Heartland Institute,” November 2, 2018. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

November 2018

PBS Frontline reported Heartland’s latest plan to distribute a new set of climate change materials to students. Heartland senior fellow James Taylor said he was editing a new “global warming guide” that presents “brief summaries of global warming topics.” While he didn’t provide a title or distribution plan, Taylor did confirm that another mass mailing campaign was under consideration that would target students and teachers.188Katie Worth. “Dueling Books Compete to Educate Kids on Climate Change,” Frontline, November 2, 2018. Archived November 6, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/38LvF

“We’re very excited about it,” said Taylor. “What we’re looking to do is present the science in a format that is accessible and digestible for educators and students.”

Also reporting in early November, Undark examined the actions of another group that has been working to modify the teaching of climate science and other topics in classrooms: the Florida Citizens’ Alliance. The group was behind a Florida textbook bill, HB989, that was signed into law in 2017. The Heartland Institute had reportedly worked with the Florida Citizens’ Alliance in the runup to that bill by posting an analysis of Florida textbooks on their website, and “amplifying the organization’s attempt to remove ‘improper and unbalanced propaganda from the school system.”189Steve Vernon. “In America’s Science Classrooms, the Creep of Climate Skepticism,” Undark, November 2, 2018.

September 13, 2018

The Heartland Institute live-streamed a panel discussion designed to counter the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, as promoted by press release at Watts Up With That. Panelists included Stanley B. Goldenberg, Richard Keen, Tom Harris, Jay Lehr, and was moderated by James Taylor. The event took place at Independent Institute headquarters.190Anthony Watts. “Heartland Institute to Livestream Global Climate Action Summit Rebuttals,” Watts Up With That? September 11, 2018. Archived September 17, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.fo/aNRLT

“While Global Climate Action Summit speakers attempt to make the case for heavy-handed government action to restrict carbon dioxide, The Heartland Institute will host interactive panel discussions fact-checking the summit presentations and pointing out the scientific and economic data supporting climate realism,” The press release claimed.

The panelists denied any connection between extreme weather events and climate change. During the first day of the panel, Richard Keen went as far as to say that Arctic sea ice loss might not be a bad thing:191Rebutting Alarmism at the Global Climate Action Summit – Day 1,” YouTube video uploaded by user “The Heartland Institute,” September 13, 2018. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

“Somehow people seem to dread the loss of Arctic sea ice. I frankly don’t see that as particularly a bad thing…or a good thing. And it’s happened in the past with no ill effects” Keen said.

Tom Harris described modern CO2 rise as “peanuts” compared to past concentrations (SkepticalScience discusses this common climate change myth here), while Jay Lehr broke in that “there’s nothing bad about carbon dioxide. The more the better.”192Rebutting Alarmism at the Global Climate Action Summit – Day 1,” YouTube video uploaded by user “The Heartland Institute,” September 13, 2018. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

Lehr later reiterated a common frame put forward by industry suggesting that renewable energy is damaging for the poor:193Rebutting Alarmism at the Global Climate Action Summit – Day 1,” YouTube video uploaded by user “The Heartland Institute,” September 13, 2018. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

“We cannot have a world run by wind and solar and renewable energy. What we’re talking about is making sure that the poor people in this world never advance their standard of living with inexpensive energy.” Lehr said.

See video the first day of the event, titled “Rebutting Alarmism at the Global Climate Action Summit,” below.194Rebutting Alarmism at the Global Climate Action Summit – Day 1,” YouTube video uploaded by user “The Heartland Institute,” September 13, 2018. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

Video of the second day of the event below

June 7, 2018

Heartland Institute president Tim Huelkamp addressed a letter to Scott Pruitt supporting his prior statement that human emissions of carbon dioxide are not “a primary contributor to the global warming that we see.”195Tim Huselkamp. “Letter From the Heartland Institute to EPA Administrator Scott PruittThe Heartland Institute. June 7, 2018. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. The letter offered materials to counter a Freedom of Information Act request by the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility ( PEER) demanding the release of ” EPA documents that support the conclusion that human activity is not the largest factor driving global climate change.”196Scott Waldman. “Judge Orders EPA to Produce Science behind Pruitt’s Warming Claims,” Scientific American, June 5, 2018. Archived June 12, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.li/XpVr

“We have no doubt that  PEER, with the assistance of the judge, is trying to box you in and embarrass you,” Huelskamp wrote. “Fortunately, you do not have to look far to find ‘documents that support the conclusion that human activity is not the largest factor driving global climate change.'”197Tim Huselkamp. “Letter From the Heartland Institute to EPA Administrator Scott PruittThe Heartland Institute. June 7, 2018. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

For these documents, Huelskamp pointed to “Climate Change Reconsidered,” a report compiled by Heartland’s Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change ( NIPCC) in partnership with the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change. “Heartland has submitted these volumes in digital form during  EPA comment periods in the past, and we are certain physical copies were also sent to the agency,” he said.198Tim Huselkamp. “Letter From the Heartland Institute to EPA Administrator Scott PruittThe Heartland Institute. June 7, 2018. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Among numerous other claims, Huselkamp stated that the  NPCC report—which he included a copy of in the letter to Pruitt—contained scientific evidence that:199Tim Huselkamp. “Letter From the Heartland Institute to EPA Administrator Scott PruittThe Heartland Institute. June 7, 2018. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

  • “Summarizes the research of a growing number of scientists who say variations in solar activity, not greenhouse gases, are the true driver of climate change” — See SkepticalScience myth #2.
  • “Challenges the  IPCC’s claim that  CO2-induced global warming is harmful to human health” — SkepticalScience Myth #42.
  • “Explains how the sun may have contributed as much as 66% of the observed twentieth century warming, and perhaps more” — SkepticalScience myth #2.

Huselkamp described Climate Change Reconsidered as the work of a “‘Red Team‘ that has been working to critique and correct the work of ideological alarmists on the ‘Blue Team'” for more than a decade. “Feel free to cite this material, which contains more than 10,000 footnotes, in your response to the judge or in any other public setting,” Huelskamp concluded.200Brendan DeMelle. “Heartland Institute ‘Red Team’ Climate Lists Revealed, And Science Deniers Are Upset With Pruitt,” DeSmog. October 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.li/qfvb5

May 26, 2018

Emails released to the Environmental Defence Fund and the Southern Environmental Law Centre, who had sued to enforce a Freedom of Information Act request, revealed the Heartland Institute was working closely with the Environmental Protection Agency. Huelskamp said in a statement:201Senior EPA officials collaborated with climate change denial group, emails show,” The Guardian, May 26, 2018. Archived May 26, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.li/ 76L8K

“Of course The Heartland Institute has been working with EPA on policy and personnel decisions. They recognised us as the pre-eminent organisation opposing the radical climate alarmism agenda and instead promoting sound science and policy.”

John Konkus, EPA deputy associate administrator for public affairs, reached out multiple times to Heartland in the emails, The Guardian reported. In one email, Konkus reached wrote to Heartland’s then-president Joe Bast: “If you send a list, we will make sure an invitation is sent,” requesting recommendations for scientists and economics to attend the EPA’s public hearing on science standards. Followup emails included invitees from climate change denial groups such as Plants Need CO2, The Right Climate Stuff, and Junk Science.202Senior EPA officials collaborated with climate change denial group, emails show,” The Guardian, May 26, 2018. Archived May 26, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.li/ 76L8K

EPA spokesperson Lincoln Ferguson said their communications with the Heartland Institute was just among many working relationships with other groups in order to “ensure the public is informed.”203Senior EPA officials collaborated with climate change denial group, emails show,” The Guardian, May 26, 2018. Archived May 26, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.li/ 76L8K

“It demonstrates the agency’s dedication to advancing President Trump’s agenda of environmental stewardship and regulatory certainty,” he said.

View the full searchable FOIA documents here ( PDF) and below:

May 8, 2018

A new set of documents released to the Natural Resource Defense Council ( NRDC) as part of a Freedom of Information Act ( FOIA) request revealed details of Pruitt’s plan to engage in a “red team, blue team” expertise on climate change. The documents showed communications between the  EPA and a number of corporate-funded conservative think tanks with views that run counter to established science on climate change including the Heartland Institute, the Manhattan Institute, and the  CO2 Coalition.204Pruitt’s Plan for Climate Change Debates: Ask Conservative Think Tanks,” The New York Times, May 8, 2018. Archived May 14, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.li/onsj5

View the original  FOIA documents here.205Pruitt’s Plan for Climate Change Debates: Ask Conservative Think Tanks,” The New York Times, May 8, 2018. Archived May 14, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.li/onsj5

According to Benjamin D. Santer, a climate researcher at the Energy Department’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, “The idea that the Heartland Institute should be dictating what  E.P.A. does on climate science is crazy.” He added, “They do not have scientific expertise.”

The emails also suggest that the  EPA’s Office of Research and Development, which normally does most of the science work of the Agency, was not active in the discussions.  In one email, a program analyst in the office, Christina Moody, wrote: “We are not involved. The Administrator is the one who wants to do this and I’m guessing his folks are putting it together.

Joe Bast denied that the Heartland Institute holds views outside of the mainstream scientific consensus:

“Our view is that the causes and consequences of climate change are very complex and future climate conditions are probably impossible to forecast,” Bast said in a statement.

April 23, 2018

The Heartland Institute, represented by Tim Huelskamp, was among 22 groups signed on to an open letter asking President Trump to ignore recent criticism of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.206“Dear Mr. President” ( PDF) retrieved from the Heartland Institute. Archived .pdf file at DeSmog.

In a speech to the U.S. Senate, a group of Democratic senators identified the organizations as front groups for the Koch Brothers and other wealthy donors, nicknamed the “Web of Deceit.” The senators outlined how, in addition to funding from the Koch network, many of the groups use untraceable “dark money” funneled through groups like Donors Capital Fund and Donors Trust to influence legislation, particularly with regards to climate and pollution.

Senator Whitehouse outlined it as “a web of deceit conceived and bankrolled by the Koch brothers and other self-interested billionaires to advocate for very selfish and unpatriotic policies.” Whitehouse added: “This web of deceit has infiltrated and populated the Trump administration, and it is swamping the interests of everyday Americans.207Senator Whitehouse. “Time to wake up: Web of Deceit” April 23, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.li/HzIsa

The full list of pro-Pruitt signatories and their respective organizations is as follows:

January 3, 2018

Heartland President Joe Bast appeared on an episode of the Heartland Institute’s Daily Podcast with H. Sterling Burnett to discuss the past and future of the Heartland Institute including his stepping down as President and CEO and his planned departure from the organization. Bast outlined some of the Institute’s early work on climate change:208JOSEPH BAST: LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING AHEAD AT THE HEARTLAND INSTITUTE’S TRIUMPHS AND PROSPECTS,” The Heartland Institute, January 3, 2018. Archived March 11, 2018. Archive.is URL:https://archive.is/YkxEe

[8:10] HSB: “You mentioned climate. Let’s get to that. Under your leadership, the Heartland Institute became a leader and has been recognized as such in the realm of climate science, economics, and policy. Why did the Heartland Institute become so deeply involved in this one issue? What did you see that others didn’t about the importance of climate change as an issue, and what impact has Heartland’s efforts had?”

JB: “Well, Heartland started addressing climate actually way back, ah, 1994…1995. We did our first book that had a chapter on climate change in it. We addressed it primarily from an economic perspective, arguing that the cost of reducing emissions was really high compared to the sketchy evidence that we had about the cost of harms and offsetting benefits. Nobody listened to us. We did three, four, or five I thought really good policy studies on this topic looking specifically for example, at a carbon tax on agriculture, and the studies got almost no attention.

“It turns out the reason they got no attention is because people were afraid of catastrophic climate change. When the building is on fire, people don’t argue or negotiate the price of fire extinguishers; they’re all too busy running for the doors, and so we concluded that we had to put the fire out before we can get a reasonable conversation to take place here. We’ve got to address this underlying fear of catastrophic climate change. So we did a deep dive in 2007; we said, where is this fear coming from? Is it based on sound science? Who are the scientists who are in this debate? Do they need our help? Why aren’t they getting a better hearing? And why aren’t Cato, and Heritage, and AEI, and other think tanks engaged in this part of the debate? 

“And what we learned was that virtually none of the free market think tanks were addressing the science. They weren’t doing that because they felt it wasn’t their job. They’re mostly economists and lawyers and they didn’t want to start getting into the physics of climate change. I respect that. But the result was a gap: there was no free market voice on the climate science debate that was taking place, and that was a critical error on the part of free market activists. Unless we address the science, we are going to lose this debate. 

“So we recruited scientists from all around the country. We ended up producing the series called Climate Change Reconsidered for the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change. We had a tremendous impact. I mean, it’s quite remarkable. That book, that series of books, has been cited over 100 times in peer-reviewed articles. The Chinese Academy of Sciences thought so highly of it that it translated it into Chinese and published a condensed volume of Climate Change Reconsidered. 

Bast also claimed credit to the Heartland Institute for both defeating cap and trade proposals, and for President Donald Trump’s views on climate change:

“We, I think we’re responsible—one of two or three groups that could genuinely claim responsibility for defeating cap and trade and carbon tax proposals at the national level for a ten year period, pretty much from 2007 until today. 

I think we’re the reason President Trump discovered, or concluded that climate change is not a real problem and not a crisis facing the country, and that by running on that—by defending coal miners for example—he could appeal to a very big base in the United States. People who expected all along that global warming was junk science, that they would rather have good jobs and inexpensive energy than pursue some liberal dream of, you know, replacing all fossil fuel with wind and solar power.”

“So Trump ran on that. He won, and it’s been remarkable: for the last year, he’s been implementing many of the promises that he made as a candidate.”

Bast said he was “anxious about the future” given the possibility that Hillary Clinton could have won the election, but that Trump’s victory gave the country “a second chance at freedom”:

“Now Donald Trump wasn’t the first choice for most of us. He might not even have been the final choice, but the alternative was truly scary. You know, Hillary Clinton was committed to finishing what Barack Obama started, and that was pretty much destroying the local decentralized education system in America—replacing it with a centralized curriculum. Destroying the decentralized health care system that used to depend primarily on private insurance companies and doctors in private practice. So replacing that with Obamacare, destroying the financial sector.

“I mean all the commanding heights of a free society, President Obama targeted and did major damage for eight years, and for whatever reasons Congress and the courts didn’t seem able to stop him. Hillary Clinton was committed to waging that war for another four years. I’m not sure we could have recovered from that. So we got a second chance at freedom with the election of Donald Trump. Incidentally I decided to step down, now, before the election of Donald Trump, so if anyone is wondering if that influenced my decision it didn’t. But it was a second chance we probably didn’t deserve to preserve freedom in America. It’s very precarious. It is perched on an edge. And so I’m very anxious about the future of freedom,” Bast said.

Finally, Bast said that the Institute needs more money to grow:

“What will Heartland Institute’s role be in that? I am optimistic. I think Heartland is going to grow. There’s a much bigger niche for what we do than what I was able to raise money for to fill. You know, I raised about six million dollars a year for the Heartland Institute. We should be at eight or ten [million]. We should have twenty, twenty five guys working in our, just in our government relations office, working with state legislators, giving them the information that they need, testifying when they need testimony, helping them draft legislation. I mean, this is all exciting stuff that they’re asking us to do and we don’t have the staff to do it. 

So I think under Tim Huelskamp’s leadership we’re going to raise that money. We’re going to expand the staff and fill that niche. So Heartland should be doing well in future years. I only hope and pray that freedom in the United States is going to continue rising while the Heartland Institute is performing its job.”

March 2, 2018

At LibertyCon 2018, Heartland Institute Research Director Edward Hudgins told an attendee (in a conversation recorded at Heartland Institute’s conference booth)

“One of the reasons the Trump Administration pulled out of the Paris Accord was because of our materials… Now when Obama was in there, nobody wanted to hear from us. Fortunately, we don’t have him in there and of course members of congress we give this stuff to all the time.”  

February 7, 2018

Heartland Institute research fellow Isaac Orr was featured as part of the Heartland Institute’s “The Patriot’s Toolbox Speaker Series,” an event promoting their same-titled new book. Orr also wrote the second chapter of the book.209The Patriot’s Toolbox Speaker Series: The Story of America’s Energy Renaissance,” YouTube video uploaded by user “The Heartland Institute,” February 7, 2018. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

During his speech, Orr argues against CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards to improve fuel efficiency in cars, claiming that this reduces safety. He also claims biofuels cannot replace oil, that wind and solar get much higher subsidies than coal, natural gas, and oil, and that “global warming is not a crisis.210The Patriot’s Toolbox Speaker Series: The Story of America’s Energy Renaissance,” YouTube video uploaded by user “The Heartland Institute,” February 7, 2018. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

Orr said that the Clean Air Act was very successful in combatting air pollution. He also says that he tends “to believe the numbers that they’re posting here ” when it comes to pollutants. “We’ve been incredibly successful,” Orr said. “The clean air act has done a really good job.”211The Patriot’s Toolbox Speaker Series: The Story of America’s Energy Renaissance,” YouTube video uploaded by user “The Heartland Institute,” February 7, 2018. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

February 4, 2018

Heartland endorsed a letter co-authored by Willie Soon and Scott Armstrong urging the Natural History Museum to resist calls to remove board member Rebekah Mercer. Mercer’s involvement with the Museum had been widely criticized by environmentalists for her ties to climate science denial.212Willie Soon, J. Scott Armstrong. “Petition letter to Natural History Museum concerning Rebekah Mercer,” Heartland.org, February 4, 2018. Archived July 25, 2019. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/ ZWJxI. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

In the letter, Soon and Armstrong suggested a politically motivated, anti-science bias was behind the calls for Mercer’s ouster:

“Make no mistake, the agitators are not defending science from quackery—quite the contrary! They demand that the Museum support a party line, thinly disguised as science.”

Co-signers of the letter also included:

February 1, 2018

Heartland’s Tim Huelskamp discussed the controversial “Energy Freedom Scorecardin a short Heartland Institute video:213Two Minutes with Tim – Energy Freedom Scorecard (Ep. 8),” YouTube video uploaded by The Heartland Institute, February 1, 2018. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

“The media went a little nuts about it, because the presume President Trump had this list in his hands all through his first year in the White House,” Huelskamp said, adding “Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t.”

Huelskamp went on to describe a few of the items on the scorecard, including Trump’s approval of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines.  Other items Huelskamp mentions include the cancelling of the Clean Energy Plan, which he claims, “the latest climate science shows is not remotely justified,” rolling back restrictions on fracking, opening up land to oil and gas drilling.

He describes the Paris Climate Agreement as “Nothing more than a scheme to redistribute the wealth of the west to third-world kleptocrats at the UN” and the Social Cost of Carbon as “another trick of the left to destroy the fossil fuel industry and hamstring the United States.”

Huelskamp adds Trump’s decision to open the Arctic Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling is “sensible policy.”

January 2018

The Heartland Institute came to the defense of former marketing director Eugene Koprowski after he faced legal action over allegedly stalking a woman who worked with him. “Heartland’s contrarian skepticism on policy issues has extended to sexual harassment itself,” Huffpost reported, noting that Heartland had also defended Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain against harassment accusations in 2011.214Alexander C. Kaufman. “Climate Denial Group Protected Former Executive Charged With Stalking Colleague, Ex-Staffers Say,” HuffPost, January 18, 2018. Archived January 19, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/rHs0h

The 2011 Heartland article was titled “Women Crying ‘Sexual Harassment’ Should ’Man Up.’” In 2017, Heartland also republished a Newsman op-ed that accused female employees at Fox News of making “disingenuous” sexual harassment allegations.215Maureen Martin. “Women Crying ‘Sexual Harassment’ Should ‘Man Up’,” Heartland Institute, November 2, 2011. Archived January 19, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ S7omF

Heartland’s Joe Bast released a statement claiming no wrongdoing on the part of Heartland:216Alexander C. Kaufman. “Climate Denial Group Protected Former Executive Charged With Stalking Colleague, Ex-Staffers Say,” HuffPost, January 18, 2018. Archived January 19, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/rHs0h

“The Heartland Institute is being targeted because our mission is fighting for a smaller, less-intrusive government and advancing free markets and greater individual liberty,” Bast said. “Our opponents in this debate cannot win on the merits of their arguments, so they stoop to circulate lies about our dedicated staff. Shame on them, and no, we will not stop until freedom is rising again.”

December 27, 2017

Writing at The Heartland Institute’s blog,217Joe Bast. “Heartland Institute Responds to, Corrects Inside Climate News Story,” Heartland Institute, December 27, 2017. Archived December 28, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/3dn7q Joe Bast made a number of “corrections” to a story written by Neela Banerjee at Inside Climate News titled “How Big Oil Lost Control of Its Climate Misinformation Machine.” Firstly, according to Bast, the billboard campaign Heartland released in 2012 featuring an image of Ted Kaczynski and the text “I still believe in Global Warming. Do You?” was actually a success.218How Big Oil Lost Control of Its Climate Misinformation Machine,” Inside Climate News, December 22, 2017. Archived December 28, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ ELcwo

When Heartland introduced the campaign in 2012, their release included with the following statement:219Our Billboards,” 7th International Conference on Climate Change. Archived May 3, 2012. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/0csXJ

“The people who still believe in man-made global warming are mostly on the radical fringe of society. This is why the most prominent advocates of global warming aren’t scientists. They are murderers, tyrants, and madmen.”

Heartland pulled the billboard after an outcry from supporters and opponents alike. It had run for “exactly 24 hours.”220Heartland Institute Ends Experiment with ‘Unabomber’ Global Warming Billboard,” The Heartland Institute, May 4, 2012. Archived May 21, 2012. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ F3pc6

“This provocative billboard was always intended to be an experiment. And after just 24 hours the results are in: It got people’s attention,” Bast wrote in the 2012 Heartland press release announcing the cancellation of the billboard.221Heartland Institute Ends Experiment with ‘Unabomber’ Global Warming Billboard,” The Heartland Institute, May 4, 2012. Archived May 21, 2012. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ F3pc6

“We know that our billboard angered and disappointed many of Heartland’s friends and supporters, but we hope they understand what we were trying to do with this experiment. We do not apologize for running the ad, and we will continue to experiment with ways to communicate the ‘realist’ message on the climate,” Bast wrote in 2012.222Heartland Institute Ends Experiment with ‘Unabomber’ Global Warming Billboard,” The Heartland Institute, May 4, 2012. Archived May 21, 2012. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ F3pc6

Following the campaign, a number of corporations begant to cut their ties with Heartland, and numerous critics denounced Heartland.223Brendan DeMelle. “Will Heartland Institute’s Corporate Funders Tacitly Endorse Comparing Climate Realists to bin Laden and the Unabomber?DeSmog, May 4, 2012. Shortly after, at the Heartland’s 2012 International Conference on Climate Change, Joe Bast announced that Heartland would not be holding any more conferences and was struggling to pay its bills. Heartland has held several more ICCCs since then.224Brendan DeMelle. “Joe Bast Announces the Death of Denial-a-Palooza at Final Heartland ICCC Conference,” DeSmog, May 23, 2012.

Writing in 2017, Bast claimed the billboard had actually been a success:

“The billboard hit its target hard, as good satire does. It broke a news blackout that environmentalists and the legacy media had imposed on Heartland and other groups that challenged the Gore-Obama dogma on global warming. Far from hurting Heartland, as Banerjee claims, it saved us: 2012 was a breakthrough year for us with record funds raised, record media attention, and record attendance at our events.”225Joe Bast. “Heartland Institute Responds to, Corrects Inside Climate News Story,” Heartland Institute, December 27, 2017. Archived December 28, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/3dn7q

“That year also marked the moment Heartland’s views on climate change moved from marginal to mainstream.”

Bast then claimed that Banerjee’s statement “isn’t true” that “Hundreds of millions of dollars from corporations such as ExxonMobil and wealthy individuals such as the billionaires Charles and David Koch have supported the development of a sprawling network, which includes Heartland and other think tanks, advocacy groups and political operatives.”

“ExxonMobil did contribute around $50,000 a year to Heartland for about a decade,” Bast added, but it was “never more than 5% of our annual budget.”

November 21, 2017

Heartland’s CEO and former president Joe Bast spoke with Michael Bastasch of The Daily Caller,226Michael Bastasch. “The Real Story Behind The Heartland Institute’s Role In The Trump Admin,” The Daily Caller. November 21, 2017. Archived November 28, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/tCDXt followingThe Washington Post’s reporting on Heartland’s closed-door meeting in Houston, Texas.227This group thinks Trump hasn’t done enough to unravel environmental rules. Here’s its wish listThe Washington Post, November 15, 2017. Archived November 18, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ 9JPgH

Bastasch said that Jim Lakely, Heartland’s communication director, had claimed the article was an effort to delegitimize Heartland and its work.

“The tone of it is that the climate realist right isn’t happy with Trump’s progress,” Lakely told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”228Michael Bastasch. “The Real Story Behind The Heartland Institute’s Role In The Trump Admin,” The Daily Caller. November 21, 2017. Archived November 28, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/tCDXt

Bast had similar comments, saying “the left demonizes us” while pointing to the publishing of Heartland’s leaked 2012 budget documents as an example. According to Bast, Heartland also never specifically told the  EPA who to pick as part of a climate “Red Team.”229Michael Bastasch. “The Real Story Behind The Heartland Institute’s Role In The Trump Admin,” The Daily Caller. November 21, 2017. Archived November 28, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/tCDXt

“I have never met Scott Pruitt,” Bast said. “We’ve always tried to remain arm’s length from politics. It’s never been a priority for us to engage in politics.” 

“The real way we measure our impact is through public opinion surveys,” Bast said, referring to Heartland’s surveys on public global warming attitudes. 

However, Bast did admit to a relationship with former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, telling Bastasch that he talked frequently with Bannon regarding orders to combat climate policies, like urging Trump to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.230Michael Bastasch. “The Real Story Behind The Heartland Institute’s Role In The Trump Admin,” The Daily Caller. November 21, 2017. Archived November 28, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/tCDXt

“Steve was an important channel for us to the White House,” Bast said. “[..] It’s changed with Steve Bannon leaving.”

Bast also said that Heartland’s new president, Tim Huelskamp, “has been invaluable to finding new allies in the administration,” Bastasch wrote.231Michael Bastasch. “The Real Story Behind The Heartland Institute’s Role In The Trump Admin,” The Daily Caller. November 21, 2017. Archived November 28, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/tCDXt

November 15, 2017

The Washington Post obtained an “Energy Freedom Scorecard,” that was distributed at a closed-door meeting at a Houston hotel. At the private meeting, sponsored by the Heartland Institute, activists discussed the actions of the Trump administration to roll back environmental regulations.232This group thinks Trump hasn’t done enough to unravel environmental rules. Here’s its wish listThe Washington Post, November 15, 2017. Archived November 18, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ 9JPgH

The scorecard lists several items as “done” including withdrawing implementation of the Waters of the U.S. rule, “Dramatically reduce government funding of environmental advocacy groups,” “Withdraw from the Paris Accord” and also withdrawal from the Clean Power Plan.233This group thinks Trump hasn’t done enough to unravel environmental rules. Here’s its wish listThe Washington Post, November 15, 2017. Archived November 18, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ 9JPgH

David Schnare noted that they work working to place allies in key White House positions and other areas that guide federal policy:234This group thinks Trump hasn’t done enough to unravel environmental rules. Here’s its wish listThe Washington Post, November 15, 2017. Archived November 18, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ 9JPgH

“There are ways to get names in, and we’ve used every door and window and crack in the wall we can use,” Schnare.

Heartland Institute spokesman Jim Likely confirmed that they had created the scorecard.

Items listed as “not done” include completely removing federal tax credits for wind and solar producers, withdrawing from the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change, and ending funding for “the United Nation’s Biased Climate Change Programs, in particular the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.”235This group thinks Trump hasn’t done enough to unravel environmental rules. Here’s its wish listThe Washington Post, November 15, 2017. Archived November 18, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ 9JPgH

View the original at The Washington Post:

Energy Freedom Score Card
(as of October 15, 2017)

Mission Statement: Affordable, reliable, and plentiful energy enables us to protect the environment while also creating jobs and the goods and service she need. Expensive and unreliable energy, like the kind produced by ethanol and commercial wind and solar companies, destroys jobs and harms the environment.

Fossil fuels are the foundation of economic growth and prosperity. Taxing them or making them more scarce causes economic growth to slow, makes food and other essential goods more expensive, and many of the good things we take for granted are lost.

We owe it to future generations to leave the world a better place than we found it. Renewable energies don’t protect the environment. They actually harm it by being less efficient and more land-intrusive than fossil fuels.

Status

Recommendation

1. Rein in EPA

Repeal unnecessary regulations affecting air and qater quality and energy production, end the abuse of science, end subsidies to leftist groups.

DONE

Withdraw implementation of the Waters of the U.S. rule.

DONE
Pruitt announced new EPA policy to end sue and settle.

Dramatically reduce government funding of environmental advocacy groups, including funds delivered to such groups through the “sue and settle” scam.

STARTED
Some regs on coal-powered generation have been removed or delayed. Others are up for reivew.

Roll back recent EPA regulations on ozone, small particles, and other air pollutants that are based on discredited epidemiology and toxicology.

STARTED
Trump ended terms of many long-time members of science advisory boards ith conflicts of interest.

End conflicts of interest on scientific review boards.

STARTED
Pruitt’s withdrawal of the CPP said there are no health effects below EPA’s standard for PM-2.5.

Formally end the use of the “linear no-threshold assumption” in determining safe levels of exposure to pollutants.

STARTED
Trump said Obama’s preliminary approval of higher CAFÉ standards will be reviewed.

Roll back Corporate Average Fuel Economy ( CAFE) standards, which result in the deaths of thousands of car and truck passengers every year, needlessly increase the price of new cars, and favor foreign car manufacturers

NOT DONE

End the use of “secret science” by EPA and other regulatory agencies.

NOT DONE

End reliance on near-zero risk ratios.

NOT DONE

Enforce the Data Quality Act with respect to the junk sicence promoted and funded by EPA on air pollution and toxicology.

NOT DONE

Congress should repeal the Delaney clause, which essentially commits the FDA and other government agencies to an impossible zero risk standard.

2. Repeal Global Warming Regulations

DONE

Withdraw from the Paris Accord and stop funding the Green Climate Fund.

DONE

Retract and rescind “social cost of carbon” estimates and stop including them in required cost-benefit analysis of new regulations

DONE

Withdraw/repeal the Clean Power Plan

STARTED
Pruitt has announced plans for a Red Team, progress has been slow

Create a President’s Council on Climate Change charged with cutting through the politics and bias that infected climate science and policymaking during the Obama administration and advising the President on what policies to repeal and what policies to pursue.

STARTED
At least some research grants are being cancelled, the president’s budget called for a 30% cut to EPA budget.

Dramatically reduce goverment funding of climate research pending the findings of the new President’s Council on Climate Change. When funding for such research resumes, require that equal amounts go to studying natural and man-made climate change.

NOT DONE

Withdraw from the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change

NOT DONE

Stop basing military planning and strategies on the predictions of flawed climate models.

NOT DONE

Support legislation repealing Obama’s Executive Order 13693, which requires the Department of Defense to create a number of climate change programs and policies

NOT DONE

End funding for the United Nations’ biased climate change programs, in particular the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC).

3. End Climate Profiteering

End subsidies, tax credits, feed-in tariffs, regulatory carve-outs, and mandates that benefit wind, solar, and ethanol producers yet produce no environmental benefits.

STARTED
Some states have frozen renewable energy mandate targets, some have considered repealing existing mandates, but progress is slow.

Repeal state Renewable Power Mandates ( RPMs) where they exist and oppose their option in states that don’t currently have them.

STARTED*
A DOE proposal to FERC would start to level the playing field between coal and renewables. See footnote below.

Have FERC grant higher rates to coal generation to recognize the important role they play in provide base-load energy.

STARTED
Trump’s budget proposed moving forward with Yucca Mountain

Remove regulatory obstacles to the expansion of nuclear power and open the nuclear waste storage facility at Yucca Mountain.

STARTED
Trump froze current ethanol production minimum rather than raising it.

Abolish the Renewable Fuels Standard ( RFS) program, which mandates that refiners add ethanol to gasoline.

NOT DONE

End federal tax credits to wind and solar producers.

NOT DONE

Convice state PUCs not to implement “zombie” Obama-era regulations and subsidies that lead to the premature closing of coal-powered generation

NOT DONE

Hold solar and wind power producers to the same environmental protection standards as are applied to coal and natural gas power generators.

4. Use It, Don’t Lost It

Achieve “energy dominance” by maximizing U.S. production of fossil fuels. End excessive restrictions of exploration, development, and production of fossil fuels on public lands as well as private lands.

DONEApprove Keystone XL and other pipelines blocked by President Obama.
STARTED
Some restrictions have been withdrawn, Interior is reducing size of some national monuments.
Roll back unnecessary regulations on hydraulic fracturing, mining, and oil and gas exploration offshore and on federal lands.
STARTED
Trump ended an Obama-era anti-fracking rule, states are debating restrictions on fracking.
Repeal unnecessary restrictions and state bans on fracking.
STARTEDExpand U.S. exports of coal, liquefied natural gas, and oil as a way to reduce the reliance of allies and other countries on energy imports from Russia and other bad actors in the international community.

November 9, 2017

The Heartland Institute hosted the “America First Energy Conference” at the Marriott Hotel in Houston, Texas.236About,” America First Energy. Archived October 11, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/8bTTJ

In a fundraising letter obtained by DeSmog, Fred Palmer said the event would “review the scientific and economic evidence that exposes the fraud inherent in the Obama-era regulation regime” while discussing “the overwhelming benefits of fossil fuels to us all.” With an anticipated 300 to 400 attendees, it would be “similar to the attendance at [the Heartland Institute’s] popular International Conferences on Climate Change.”237October 2017 Fundraising letter by Fred Palmer. On file at DeSmog.

 “In particular, we are inviting state legislators, think tank leaders, energy executives, Trump administration political appointees and staff, and policy analysts who write and speak on environment and energy topics,” Palmer said in the letter.

As reported at the Houston Chronicle, speakers notably included two Trump Administration officials: Richard W. Westerdale II of the State Department and Vincent DeVito of the Department of Interior. David Bernhardt, deputy secretary of the Interior Department, was also formerly listed as a Heartland conference speaker, but apparently withdrew.238James Osborne. “Trump officials to appear at Houston event hosted by climate skeptics,” Houston Chronicle, November 2, 2017. Archived November 20, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ XPtYc

The Climate Investigations Center put up a parody of the America First Energy conference website, complete with profiles on the individual speakers and highlighting their corporate funding and ties to groups such as the Cooler Heads Coalition ( CHC).239America First Energy Conference Stacked with Climate Change Deniers,” Climate Investigations Center, November 6, 2017. Archived November 20, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/mISrd

Listed speakers included current and former industry representatives such as Heath Lovell, VP of Public Policy for Alliance Coal, former Peabody Energy senior VP Fred PalmerICCC speakers like Jim Inhofe (who, while not there in person, gave a video address to the conference), Craig Idso, and Joe Bast; and former Trump Transition team members Myron Ebell and David Schnare.240Speakers,” America First Energy Conference. Archived November 20, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/3Trix

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt also gave a video address to the conference, saying “we want to celebrate what’s been going on this last year with respect to the changes that have taken place in Washington D.C.” He goes on to list off the “tremendous change with respect to regulatory reform” under Trump:241Scott Pruitt,” America First Energy Conference. Archived November 20, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ X4F6m

 “Just to update you a little on what we’ve been doing: we’ve been providing clarity, regulatory reform in areas that matter. We’ve withdrawn the Clean Power Plan and we’re providing, you know, certainty and clarity there. We’ve withdrawn the Waters of the United States rule, that very terrible rule that created uncertainty across the marketplace […]” 

“I want to say to you at the Heartland Institute,” Pruitt said. “Thanks for what you’re doing to advance energy, thank you for what you’re doing to advance natural resources. We’ve been blessed immensely as a country. To whom much is given, much is required. And when you have tremendous natural resources from coal, to natural gas, to oil, to generate electricity in a very cost-effective way, we should celebrate that and be good stewards. And that’s something we ought to embrace.”

The full list of speakers is posted on the event’s website, Americafirstenergy.org:242Speakers,” America First Energy Conference. Archived November 20, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/3Trix

NameTitleOrganization
Joe Leimkuhler  
Joseph Bast CEOThe Heartland Institute
Roger BezdekPresident MISI
H. Sterling Burnett The Heartland Institute
Clyde Wayne Crews*Vice President for PolicyCompetitive Enterprise Institute
Kevin DayaratnaSenior StatisticianThe Heritage Foundation
Hal DoironCo-founder, The Right Climate Stuff TRCS
Paul DriessenSenior FellowCommittee for a Constructive Tomorrow
John Dale DunnPhysician, Policy AdvisorThe Heartland Institute
Myron EbellDirector of Energy PolicyCompetitive Enterprise Institute
James EnstromPresidentScientific Integrity Institute
Alex EpsteinPresident and FounderCenter for Industrial Progress
Jennifer Fielder CEOAmerican Lands Council
Jason FunesSpecial Assistant, OIEA U.S. Department of the Interior
Tim HuelskampPresidentThe Heartland Institute
Peter HartleyProfessor of Economics, Energy StudiesRice University
Kenneth HaapalaPresidentPresident, Science and Environmental Policy Project
Craig IdsoFounder and Former president CO2 Science
Mark KrumenacherSenior Vice President GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc.
Jeff LandryAttorney GeneralState of Louisiana
Jim LakelyDirector of CommunicationsThe Heartland Institute
David LegatesProfessor of climatologyUniversity of Delaware
Jay LehrScience DirectorThe Heartland Institute
Nick LorisHerbert and Joyce Morgan fellowThe Heritage Foundation
Anthony LupoAssociate ProfessorUniversity of Missouri -Columbia
Ross MckitrickProfessor of EconomicsUniversity of Guelph
Steve MilloyAuthor, Founder of JunkScience.comJunkScience.com
Todd MyersDirector of the Center for the EnvironmentWashington Policy Center
John NothdurftDirector of Government RelationsThe Heartland Institute
Isaac OrrResearch FellowThe Heartland Institute
Frederick PalmerSenior FellowThe Heartland Institute
Robert PhalenProfessor of MedicineUniversity of California, Irvine
David SchnareDirectorFree-Market Environmental Law Clinic
Aaron StoverPolicy AnalystThe Heartland Institute
Richard TrzupekPrincipal ConsultantTrinity Consultants, LLC
Richard Burton BelzerIndependent ConsultantEconomics, Risk, and Information Quality
Alan ChamberlainChief GeologistCedar Strat Corp.
Vincent DevitoCounselor for Energy Policy U.S. Department of the Interior
Bette GrandeSenior FellowThe Heartland Institute
Thomas B. HaywardAdmiral, United States Navy (retired)Former Chief of U.S. Naval Operations
Jim InhofeUnited States SenatorOklahoma
Heath LovellVice President for Public AffairsAlliance Coal
Harry W. MacdougaldAttorneyCaldwell, Propst & DeLoach, LLP
Scott PruittAdministratorEnvironmental Protection Agency
Lamar SmithChairman, House CommitteeScience, Space, and Technology
Michelle SmithVice President, LandThe Quiat Companies
David StevensonDirector, Center for Energy CompetitivenessCaesar Rodney Institute
Richard W. Westerdale IiSenior Advisor, Energy U.S. Department of State
Bud WeinsteinAssociate Director, Maguire Energy InstituteSouthern Methodist University

The following sponsors were listed as of November 2017:244SPONSORS,” America First Energy Conference. Archived November 20, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/sgF18

SponsorWeb URL
Colderside.comhttp://www.colderside.com/
Ayn Rand Institutehttps://www.aynrand.org/
Australian Taxpayers’ Alliancehttp://americafirstenergy.org/sponsors/www.taxpayers.org.au/
Spark of Freedomhttp://sparkoffreedomfoundation.org/
Competitive Enterprise Institutehttps://cei.org/
Instituto Monte Castelohttps://montecastelo.org/
CO2 Sciencehttp://www.co2science.org/
Leadership Institutehttps://www.leadershipinstitute.org/
Mackinac Center for Public Policyhttps://www.mackinac.org/
Frontier Centre for Public Policyhttps://fcpp.org/
Americans for Prosperity Foundationhttps://americansforprosperityfoundation.org/
Jock Locke Foundationhttps://www.johnlocke.org/
Caesar Rodney Institutehttp://www.caesarrodney.org/
Georgia Public Policy Foundationhttp://www.georgiapolicy.org/
Independent Institutehttp://www.independent.org/
Texas Public Policy Foundationhttps://www.texaspolicy.com/
The Heritage Foundationhttp://www.heritage.org/
Independence Institutehttps://i2i.org/
Petroleum Connectionhttp://www.petroleumconnection.com/

September 28, 2017

The Heartland Institute held closed door meetings to identify candidates for  EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s “red team” exercise on climate change, an email from Joe Bast revealed. As  E&E News reported, the email and notes provided “a broad look at skeptics’ policy playbook under the Trump administration while exposing stark suspicions about Pruitt.”245Skeptics suspicious of Pruitt plan to press him on red team,” E&E News, October 16, 2017. Archived October 17, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/aolE0

” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s proposal for a Red Team-Blue Team exercise is vague, probably would not be effective, and is unlikely to come about,” Bast wrote in the email. “More likely to occur is a similar exercise directed by the head of another department ( NASA, NOAA, or OSTP) with more interest than Pruitt has shown in the scientific debate and more likely to stick around to see the results.”

View Bast’s complete email below:

According to the notes, those present at the meeting included David Shnare who “described how policy can be changed from ‘inside the swamp’ via seven ‘legal points of entry’ such as legal challenges under the Information Quality Act and violations of peer review,” Heartland president Tim Huelskamp, David Legates, Harry MacDougald, and Jim Lakely.

July 2017

Scott Pruitt’s EPA began initial moves to assemble a “red team” designed to combat mainstream climate change science. The administration reached out to the Heartland Institute, the Washington Examiner reported.246John Siciliano. “Trump administration lining up climate change ‘red team’,” Washington Examiner, July 24, 2017. Archived August 15, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/3SiNq

“The White House and the Environmental Protection Agency have reached out to the Heartland Institute to help identify scientists who could constitute a red team, and we’ve been happy to oblige,” Jim Lakely, the Heartland Institute’s communications director, told the Washington Examiner

“This effort is long overdue,” he said. “The climate scientists who have dominated the deliberations and the products of the IPCC have gone almost wholly without challenge. That is a violation of the scientific method and the public’s trust.”

The Heartland Institute has been a long proponent of a red team “to critically examine what has become alarmist dogma rather than a sober evaluation of climate science for many years,” Lakely said. “In fact, Heartland has worked closely with a red team that has been examining the science for several years: the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change, or NIPCC.”

According to Climatewire, a senior administration official said that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt “believes that we will be able to recruit the best in the fields which study climate and will organize a specific process in which these individuals […] provide back-and-forth critique of specific new reports on climate science.”247Emily Holden. “Pruitt will launch program to ‘critique’ climate science,” E&E News, June 30, 2017. Archived August 15, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/wyjPz

The official added that the program will use “red team, blue team” exercises to conduct an “at-length evaluation of U.S. climate science.” Climate scientists expressed concern that the “red team, blue team” concept could further politicize research and “disproportionately elevate the views of a relatively small number of experts who disagree with mainstream scientists,” Climatewire also reported.248Scott Waldman. “‘Red teams’ gain prominence to question climate scienceE&E News, June 29, 2017.

June 29, 2017

The Heartland Institute announced that Joe Bast would be stepping down as president, to be replaced by Kansas Rep. Tim Huelskamp starting July 2017. Bast said he would remain with Heartland as CEO until some time in 2018.249PRESS RELEASE: HEARTLAND INSTITUTE NAMES FORMER CONGRESSMAN TIM HUELSKAMP INCOMING PRESIDENT,” The Heartland Institute, June 29, 2017. Archived June 30, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/mzEuW

According to reporting by The Hill, as the new president of Heartland, Huelskamp would continue “pushing for eliminating Environmental Protection Agency regulations and challenging ‘climate change alarmists’ like former President Obama and former Vice President Al Gore; advocate for school choice and voucher programs; and offer assistance to states navigating ObamaCare and the current healthcare fight.”250Scott Wong. “Tea Party favorite to lead conservative think tank,” The Hill, June 29, 2017. Archived June 30, 2017. Archive.is URL: https:archive.is/oEYwk

“I have big shoes to fill given the tremendous leadership of Joe Bast and the Heartland team,” Huelskamp said in a phone interview with The Hill.

Huelskamp is former chairman of the Tea Party Caucus and a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus.251Scott Wong. “Tea Party favorite to lead conservative think tank,” The Hill, June 29, 2017. Archived June 30, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/oEYwk

June, 2017

The Heartland Institute sent out mass mailings to grade school teachers suggesting that there is debate in climate change science. The Heartland package included a free, unsolicited book entitled Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming, and an 11-minute DVD, plus a cover letter from Heartland.252Sharon Kelly. “ US Senators: Heartland Institute Mailings to Grade School Science Teachers ‘Possibly Fraudulent’,” DeSmog, June 10, 2017.

“How do you teach global warming?” the letter begins. “I am writing to ask you to consider the possibility that the science in fact is not ‘settled.’ If that’s the case, then students would be better served by letting them know a vibrant debate is taking place among scientists on how big the human impact on climate is and whether or not we should be worried about it.”253Sharon Kelly. “ US Senators: Heartland Institute Mailings to Grade School Science Teachers ‘Possibly Fraudulent’,” DeSmog, June 10, 2017.

The “educational” materials were sent to tens of thousands of teachers, with 25,000 planned to go out every two weeks, Joe Bast told  PBS in March.254Katie Worth. “Climate Change Skeptic Group Seeks to Influence 200,000 Teachers,” PBS Frontline, March 28, 2017. Archived July 12, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Run4g

While a Heartland spokesperson told Buzzfeed News that some teachers received the materials positively, others were more skeptical.255‘Alternative’ Climate Science Is Being Mailed to Teachers Nationwide,” Buzzfeed News, June 7, 2017. Archived July 12, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ftBkd

“It’s just loaded with citations,” Cheryl Manning, a Colorado science teacher at Evergreen High School who received the mailing told Buzzfeed. “But it’s circular. It’s all self-citations. Citing their own stuff instead of citing other people’s work.”

Another science teacher from Georgia wrote an open letter to her colleagues after concluding it contained misleading arguments and logical fallacies:256An Open Letter to Teachers on the Heartland Institute Mailings,” The Sustainable Schoolteacher, April 5, 2017. Archived July 12, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ VNvUF

“As someone who has taught college-level (Advanced Placement) environmental science for nine years, served on the Board for the Georgia Science Teachers Association, and has inspired dozens of my students to pursue scientific careers,” she wrote, “I do not take the condition of our planet, the tremendous importance of science education, or the accuracy of the information I purvey in my classroom lightly.”

The mailings prompted a response by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, Elizabeth Warren, Edward Markey, and Brian Schatz:257Sharon Kelly. “ US Senators: Heartland Institute Mailings to Grade School Science Teachers ‘Possibly Fraudulent’,” DeSmog, June 10, 2017.

“The Heartland Institute has disseminated ‘alternative facts’ and fake science at the behest of its industry funders for decades,” the four senators wrote in a June 7 letter to Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trump’s recently appointed Secretary of Education.

“In the 1990s, it teamed up with Phillip Morris to challenge facts about the health risks of tobacco,” they wrote. “The tobacco industry’s conduct was found to be fraudulent. Using the same strategies, with funding from the Koch family foundations, ExxonMobil, and other fossil fuel interests, the Heartland Institute now seeks to undermine the scientific consensus about climate change.”258Sharon Kelly. “ US Senators: Heartland Institute Mailings to Grade School Science Teachers ‘Possibly Fraudulent’,” DeSmog, June 10, 2017.

The senators wrote that over 200,000 kindergarten through grade 12 teachers were targeted by the campaign, a number that Heartland’s Joe Bast disputed, saying  there are “considerably less than 200,000” public school science teachers in the U.S. “Didn’t anyone on your staffs fact-check this letter before it was circulated?” Bast wrote.259Sharon Kelly. “ US Senators: Heartland Institute Mailings to Grade School Science Teachers ‘Possibly Fraudulent’,” DeSmog, June 10, 2017.

According to the National Science Teachers’ Association, which counts roughly 300,000 “science educators” on its mailing lists, the U.S. has over 150,000 high school and middle school science teachers — plus about 1.6 million elementary school teachers who teach science as well as other topics.260About NSTA,” National Science Teachers Association. Archived July 12, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/UhSyT

“We knew the other side, the alarmist side, was already being discussed so our goal was to try to get both sides discussed by having something from more of the realist side in the discussion,” said Lennie Jarratt, who has managed the book’s distribution for Heartland. “I believe it ended up being a little over 250,000 that went out to teachers,” he added.

Drew Ising, a biology and environmental science teacher who received the Heartland materials, spoke with  KCUR:261Sam Zeff. “Think Tank Wants To Influence Climate Change Discussion In Kansas Classrooms,” KCUR 89.3, September 19, 2017. Archived September 26, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ QJYrj

“We have our science expertise. We have our familiarity with sound teaching,” Ralph said. “And so it’s really frustrating to think that there’s a group of people out there investing time and money to try and create discord in our profession, because by and large science teachers know better than this.”

June 1, 2017

According to The Illinois Review, Joe Bast was attended the Rose Garden event for Donald Trump’s announcement his decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement:262Nancy Thorner. “ THORNER: RADICAL ENVIRONMENTALISTS BLAME HEARTLAND INSTITUTE FOR TRUMP’S PARIS ACCORD DECISION,” Illinois Review, June 12, 2017. Archived June 19, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ 5VOa9

“Although The Heartland Institute has been subject to many attacks from so-called global alarmists, after Joe Bast’s presence was spotted in the Rose Garden an effort was made to harm President Trump by attacking Heartland’s Joe Bast,” The Illinois Review wrote.263Nancy Thorner. “ THORNER: RADICAL ENVIRONMENTALISTS BLAME HEARTLAND INSTITUTE FOR TRUMP’S PARIS ACCORD DECISION,” Illinois Review, June 12, 2017. Archived June 19, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ 5VOa9

Bast, writing at the Heartland Institute’s blog, said “I was honored to be invited, and view it as a sign that our efforts for the past 20 years on the climate change issue have not gone unnoticed.  But the left noticed my attendance as well, and so this week they tried to hurt President Trump by attacking me.”264Joe Bast. “Four Liberal U.S. Senators Attack Heartland, and We Reply,” Heartland Institute, June 9, 2017. Archived June 19, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/4Ap56

In the article, Bast also penned a response to four U.S. senators who had mailed U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos265Dear Secretary DeVos,” United States Senate, June 7, 2017. Retrieved from Heartland.org. asking for correspondence between the Heartland Institute and her department.

Bast’s June 8 letter reads:266Re: Your recent shameful conduct with regard to our communications with the Trump administration” ( PDF), The Heartland Institute, June 8, 2017.

“For the record, The Heartland Institute has contacted nearly all members of the Trump cabinet. We have sent extensive information to more than 100 members of the administration explaining who we are, enclosing multiple publications (including books, policy studies, and videos) of most relevance to their positions, and offering to make our extensive network of some 370 policy experts available to provide further assistance. Some have gotten back to us.”267Re: Your recent shameful conduct with regard to our communications with the Trump administration” ( PDF), The Heartland Institute, June 8, 2017.

May 26, 2017

Writing at the Heartland Institute’s blog Somewhat Reasonable, Joe Bast makes a few recommendations on “good short references to the climate debate to share with family and friends over the Memorial Day holiday.” Bast’s article, titled “Happy Memorial Day, You Stupid, Arrogant, Liberal Global Warming Alarmist!268Happy Memorial Day, You Stupid, Arrogant, Liberal Global Warming Alarmist!Somewhat Reasonable, May 26, 2017. Archived May 27, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/oVnPF

Bast points to an outdated 1922 article on Arctic ice as a good “conversation starter” and “a good way to poke a stick in the eye of your global warming alarmist friends.”

“Global warming alarmists often claim the recent Arctic warming is unprecedented or must be due to the human presence. On its face, the 1922 article makes those claims dubious. Closer study reveals they haven’t made the case,” Bast wrote.

Among the “short references” listed by Bast include work by Craig Idso, Robert Carter, S. Fred Singer, Joe Bast (himself), Anthony Watts, and the Heartland Institute’s newsletter.269Happy Memorial Day, You Stupid, Arrogant, Liberal Global Warming Alarmist!Somewhat Reasonable, May 26, 2017. Archived May 27, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/oVnPF

May 8, 2017

The Heartland Institute, represented by Joe Bast, is listed on an open letter to President Donald J. Trump urging him “to withdraw fully from the Paris Climate Treaty and to stop all taxpayer funding of UN global warming programs.”270“Dear Mr. President” ( PDF), retrieved from Competitive Enterprise Institute. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

DeSmog reported that the 40 groups represented in the letter, including the Competitive Enterprise Institute ( CEI), The Heartland Institute, and the Heritage Foundation, have received a combined total of millions of dollars from the Koch Brothers, ExxonMobil, and other industry groups.271Graham Readfearn. “Conservative Groups Pushing Trump To Exit Paris Climate Deal Have Taken Millions From Koch Brothers, Exxon,” DeSmog, May 10, 2017.

Analysis also showed that the groups accepted about $80 million through Donors Capital Fund and Donors Trust, two groups that have been confirmed is a key financial source for key U.S-based climate change denial groups.272Susanne Goldberg. “Conservative groups spend up to $1bn a year to fight action on climate change,” The Guardian, December 20, 2013. Archived May 12, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ TB2yy

February 17, 2017

In their quarterly performance report (first quarter, 2017), Joseph Bast writes that “The Heartland Institute’s primary goal over the next four years is to win the global warming war.”273Joe Bast. “ WINNING THE GLOBAL WARMING WAR,” The Heartland Institute, February 17, 2017. Archived March 21, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/f47K8

The full report features a prominent image of Rosie the Riveter.274“QPR: Winning the Global Warming War” ( PDF), The Heartland Institute, February 2017. PDF archived at DeSmog. DeSmog noted that while “Bast’s litany of commonly debunked arguments against the science and threat of climate change isn’t notable, Heartland’s choice of imagery is proving to be.”275Ashley Braun. “Why Is ‘Rosie the Riveter’ Being Appropriated for a War Against Climate Science?DeSmog, March 16, 2017.

“To me, it seems like an obscene appropriation of feminist iconography, and I find it, frankly, offensive,” Sarah Myhre, University of Washington ocean and climate scientist, told DeSmog. “And I looked for a mention of women or women’s lives and there’s no mention of women in the article whatsoever.”276Ashley Braun. “Why Is ‘Rosie the Riveter’ Being Appropriated for a War Against Climate Science?DeSmog, March 16, 2017.

“Bast’s article fails to make a single connection to women among his claims of ‘fake science’ and the scientific community being ‘deeply divided and unsure over the causes and consequences of climate change’,” DeSmog’s Ashley Braun writes.277Ashley Braun. “Why Is ‘Rosie the Riveter’ Being Appropriated for a War Against Climate Science?DeSmog, March 16, 2017.

“Those are the classic tropes that are used to inflame skepticism around the science that underlies climate change, so as to not have to look directly at the very difficult and challenging nature of economic change that is necessary to respond to the science,” Myhre told DeSmog. “I feel like I’ve read this little blurb a thousand times in other places.”278Ashley Braun. “Why Is ‘Rosie the Riveter’ Being Appropriated for a War Against Climate Science?DeSmog, March 16, 2017.

According to Joe Bast, “Global warming isn’t just one of many public policy debates that free-market advocates need to win. It is a war, the most important and most consequential war of our era.” The report goes on to claim that there is no consensus on climate change:279“QPR: Winning the Global Warming War” ( PDF), The Heartland Institute, February 2017. PDF archived at DeSmog.

“Most scientists don’t believe computer models can predict future weather patterns or tell us whether global warming is a threat. Real peer-reviewed science shows the human impact on climate is probably too small to measure and not worth trying to prevent or undo,” the report claims.

The report cites Heartland’s own book, Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming, claiming it “zeroes in on the false ‘consensus’ claim and utterly demolishes it.”280“QPR: Winning the Global Warming War” ( PDF), The Heartland Institute, February 2017. PDF archived at DeSmog.

Heartland says that, in the coming months, it plans to “meetings with elected officials in 20 states, building on the success of past meetings and capitalizing on the new possibilities for passing legislation thanks to the results of the 2016 elections.”281“QPR: Winning the Global Warming War” ( PDF), The Heartland Institute, February 2017. PDF archived at DeSmog.

With Trump’s announcement of abolishing the EPA, Heartland plans to “host a competition later this year for the best ideas for replacing EPA.”282“QPR: Winning the Global Warming War” ( PDF), The Heartland Institute, February 2017. PDF archived at DeSmog.

The report concludes with a call to action for donors283:“QPR: Winning the Global Warming War” ( PDF), The Heartland Institute, February 2017. PDF archived at DeSmog.

“Together, we can win the most important public policy battle of our era. The stakes could not be higher, or the opportunity greater. I hope you will join us.”

January 12, 2017

Joseph Bast of the Heartland Institute was a signatory to a January 12, 2017 official letter of support ( PDF) for Scott Pruitt, in which numerous groups, including The Heartland InstituteAmerican Energy Alliance ( AEA), and others, declared that the Senate should “swiftly approve his nomination” for Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA).

 Other signatories of the letter included:284“Dear Senators,” ( PDF), Competitive Enterprise Institute, January 12, 2017. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

January 9, 2017

The Heartland Institute announced285FREDERICK D. PALMER,” Heartland Institute. Archived January 11, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/shv71 that Frederick D. PalmerPeabody Energy’s Senior Vice President of Government Relations, would be joining Heartland as a senior fellow on energy and climate.286PRESS RELEASE: FRED PALMER JOINS THE HEARTLAND INSTITUTE AS SENIOR FELLOW,” Heartland Institute, January 9, 2017. Archived January 11, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ 8T9MP

Prior to working for Peabody Energy, Palmer was the CEO and general counsel of the Western Fuels Association, and also represented Western Fuels on the board of directors of the National Mining Association.287PRESS RELEASE: FRED PALMER JOINS THE HEARTLAND INSTITUTE AS SENIOR FELLOW,” Heartland Institute, January 9, 2017. Archived January 11, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ 8T9MP

December 29, 2016

The Heartland Institute announced that climate change denier Art Robinson, founder of the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine ( OISM) and man behind the infamous “Oregon Petition,” would join its board of directors. The press release notes that Heartland had also named its Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy in honor of Robinson in 2015.288(Press Release). “Arthur B. Robinson Joins Board of Directors of The Heartland Institute,” PRWeb, December 29, 2016. Archived February 22, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ FM6EE

Heartland Institute President Joseph L. Bast commented, “Art Robinson is as bold and brave a person as I have ever met. Having him join Heartland’s Board of Directors honors us and sends a signal to the world that we will continue to ‘speak truth to power’ on the important issue of climate change as well as the need for educational choice, repealing Obamacare, and other issues as well.”289(Press Release). “Arthur B. Robinson Joins Board of Directors of The Heartland Institute,” PRWeb, December 29, 2016. Archived February 22, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ FM6EE

November 1, 2016

The Heartland Institute promoted a new report by the Pacific Research Institute ( PRI) that criticizes President Obama’s Clean Power Plan.290The Clean Power Plan’s Economic Impact by Income Group and Local Area,” Heartland Institute, November 1, 2016. Archived November 3, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Cp5Ce

“Under President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, the poorest households could see their electricity costs rise by more than 10 percent of their income,” the Heartland Institute release notes.

Wayne Winegarden, report author and PRI Senior Fellow writes:291The Clean Power Plan’s Economic Impact by Income Group and Local Area,” Heartland Institute, November 1, 2016. Archived November 3, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Cp5Ce

“Poor communities will be hit hard by the Clean Power Plan.  Working-class neighborhoods across the nation could see rising power costs if the Obama Administration’s plan is implemented. I hope that America’s next President will review our findings very carefully when charting our country’s energy future, and pursue free-market policies that will alleviate the problem of energy poverty.”

View the full report here (.pdf).292“The Clean Power Plan’s Economic Impact by Income Group and Local Area” ( PDF), Pacific Research Institute. Retrieved from heartland.org. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

August 31, 2016

The Heartland Institute hosted a debate between its Science Director Jay Lehr and Professor Scott Denning of Colorado State University who debated film clips from Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. The debate was to “determine how the movie has fared through the test of time on its 10th anniversary,” writes Nancy Thorner writes at the Heartland Institute’s blog.293Nancy Thorner. “Part 2: Al Gore’s movie, ‘An Inconvenient Truth,’ Debated on its 10th Anniversary at Heartland,” Heartland Institute, September 12, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ TL0Dr

View the entire 1.5-hour-long debate below:294DEBATE: Global Warming Then and Now,” YouTube Video uploaded by user The Heartland Institute, August 31, 2016.

July 12, 2016

The Heartland Institute, represented by Joseph Bast, was among 22 groups represented in a “Coalition” open letter pushing back against what the Heartland Institute describes as an “affront to free speech.” The groups are responding to the recent Web of Denial Resolution brought up in the Senate, calling out fossil fuel industry-funded groups denying climate change.295Jim Lakely. “#WebOfDenial Push by Senate Dems Exposes Their Hatred of Free Speech,” Somewhat Reasonable (Heartland Institute Blog), July 12, 2016. Archived July 14, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/eFCkh

According to the Climate Investigations Center, all but one of the open letter’s signatory organizations have taken money (totalling at least $92 million since 1997) from the “climate denial web” including Koch Brothers’ various foundations, ExxonMobil, and two “Dark Money” organizations, Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund.296Cindy Baxter. “Front Groups Attacking #WebofDenial Senate Action Took Over $92M in Dark, Dirty Money,” DeSmog, July 14, 2016. Originally posted at Climate Investigations Center.

Championed by Senators Whitehouse, Markey, Schatz, Boxer, Merkley, Warren, Sanders, and Franken, the resolution condemns what they are calling the #WebOfDenial — “interconnected groups – funded by the Koch brothers, major fossil fuel companies like ExxonMobil and Peabody Coal, identity-scrubbing groups like Donors Trust and Donors Capital, and their allies – developed and executed a massive campaign to deceive the public about climate change to halt climate action and protect their bottom lines.”297Brendan Demelle. “Senators Launch Resolution, Speech Blitz Calling Out #WebOfDenial Blocking Climate Action, DeSmog, July 11, 2016.

The open letter addresses the senators, calling them “tyrants”: 

“We hear you. Your threat is clear: There is a heavy and inconvenient cost to disagreeing with you. Calls for debate will be met with political retribution. That’s called tyranny. And, we reject it.”298Coalition Letter to Senate Web of Denial Resolution ( PDF). Retrieved from the Heartland Institute. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

The full list of signatories and their respective organizations is as follows:

June 21, 2016

The Heartland Institute hosted an event titled “Fueling Freedom: Exposing the Mad War on Energy” featuring Stephen Moore and Kathleen Hartnett White who “make an unapologetic case for fossil fuels.” The video description reads as follows (video below):299Fueling Freedom: Exposing the Mad War on Energy,” YouTube video uploaded by The Heartland Institute, June 21, 2016.

“Fossil fuel energy is the lifeblood of the modern world. Before the Industrial Revolution, humanity depended on burning wood and candle wax. But with the ability to harness the energy in oil and other fossil fuels, quality of life and capacity for progress increased exponentially. Thanks to incredible innovations in the energy industry, fossil fuels are as promising, safe, and clean an energy resource as has ever existed in history. Yet, highly politicized climate policies are pushing a grand-scale shift to unreliable, impractical, incredibly expensive, and far less efficient energy sources. Today, ‘fossil fuel’ has become such a dirty word that even fossil fuel companies feel compelled to apologize for their products. In Fueling Freedom, energy experts Stephen Moore and Kathleen Hartnett White make an unapologetic case for fossil fuels, turning around progressives’ protestations to prove that if fossil fuel energy is supplanted by ‘green’ alternatives for political reasons, humanity will take a giant step backwards and the planet will be less safe, less clean, and less free.”

June 16, 2016

The Heartland Institute was one of the think tanks listed in subpoenas to ExxonMobil organized by a coalition of 17 attorneys general.300Ben Jervey. “State Investigations Into What Exxon Knew Double, and Exxon Gets Defensive,” DeSmog, April 1, 2016. Joseph Bast responded to the subpoena,301Heartland Institute Fires Back At Liberal AG’s Suit to Halt Climate Change Dissent,” Newsmax, June 16, 2016. Archived June 24, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/pfLaF calling it a First Amendment right violation, a claim earlier echoed by ExxonMobil’s own legal team.302Steve Horn. “Exxon’s Lawyer in Climate Science Probe Has History Helping Big Tobacco and NFL Defend Against Health Claims,” DeSmog, May 10, 2016.

“This is not only a violation of our First Amendment rights but a clear attempt to discourage funding from businesses of organizations that don’t accept the Obama administration’s take on climate change as absolute truth,” Bast said.

June 3, 2016

Isaac Orr, a Research Fellow for the Heartland Institute, suggests that hydraulic fracturing (fracking) makes air cleaner. According to Orr, “[…] the small, spherical grains of frac sand mined in the Upper Midwest are helping to bring cleaner air to the entire country.”303Isaac Orr. “Heartland Institute fellow: Frac sand mining contributing to cleaner air,” The Oklahoman, June 3, 2016. Archived November 8, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Mu2uh

June 2016

The Heartland Institute was among organizations named in a Massachusetts subpoena looking for communications between ExxonMobil and organizations denying climate change, reports The Washington Times.304Valerie Richardson. “Exxon fights Mass. AG’s ‘political’ probe into climate change dissent,” The Washington Times, June 15, 2016. Archived June 24, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/FYZix

Organizations named in the Massachusetts subpoena include the following:305Valerie Richardson. “Exxon fights Mass. AG’s ‘political’ probe into climate change dissent,” The Washington Times, June 15, 2016. Archived June 24, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/FYZix

This latest inquiry by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is one in a series of investigations into what ExxonMobil knew about climate change and when, started by a coalition of attorneys general in the US.306Ben Jervey. “State Investigations Into What Exxon Knew Double, and Exxon Gets Defensive,” DeSmog, April 1, 2016. 

March 9, 2016

Authors of the latest NIPCC report, “Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming,” convened at the Heartland Institute’s new Andrew Breitbart Center for Freedom. According to the Heartland Institute’s event description, “Craig D. Idso, Robert M. Carter and S. Fred Singer offer a detailed analysis of one of today’s most controversial topics:  climate change” and “make a compelling case against claims of a scientific consensus.”

“Probably the most widely repeated claim in the debate over global warming is that ‘97% of scientists agree’ that climate change is man-made and dangerous,” the authors write. “This claim is not only false, but its presence in the debate is an insult to science.”307Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming: Joseph Bast,” Heartland Institute, March, 2016. Archived March 21, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/VjiUU

Notably, the “97% consensus” is supported by the Academies of Science from 80 countries and over 200 worldwide scientific organizations.308Scientific consensus: Earth’s climate is warming,” NASA. Archived May 26, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/FSxzG 309The 97% consensus on global warming,” SkepticalScience. Accessed March 21, 2016.

View the video below:

March 1, 2016

The Heartland Institute’s president Joseph Bast announced the Andrew Breitbart Center for Freedom, a “public meeting space” that would be located at the Heartland Institute’s new headquarters in Arlington Heights, Illinois.310Peter Montgomery. “Unintentional Heartland Humor At CPAC,” Right Wing Watch, March 4, 2016. Archived March 4, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/5ilwa

The launch included a poster honouring the late Andrew Breitbart, describing him as a “fearless defender of freedom and enemy of biased, lying mainstream media,” Right Wing Watch reports.311Peter Montgomery. “Unintentional Heartland Humor At CPAC,” Right Wing Watch, March 4, 2016. Archived March 4, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/5ilwa

Breitbart News faced controversy during 2016 election season, nicknamed “Trumpbart” by detractors. The Daily Beast writes “it is widely seen as a credulous purveyor of [Donald] Trump’s angry populist, anti-immigration, anti-Muslim message, and as an enthusiastic booster of the reality show billionaire’s candidacy.”312Lloyd Grove. “How Breitbart Unleashes Hate Mobs to Threaten, Dox, and Troll Trump Critics,” The Daily Beast, February 29, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/iphap

Right Wing Watch notes that Glenn Beck accused Breitbart News of “having turned itself into an arm of the Trump campaign and likening its executive chairman, Steve Bannon, to Hitler’s propagandist Joseph Goebbels.”313Kyle Mantyla. “Glenn Beck Accuses Breitbart Of Acting As The ‘Goebbels’ To Donald Trump’s ‘Brownshirts’,” Right Wing Watch, February 24, 2016. Archived March 4, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/OUQ27

Video of Joseph Bast announcing the new Freedom Center below:

The Heartland Instituteoffers the following description on their website:

“Andrew Breitbart was a genuine American hero. He inspired millions of people to stand up and speak the truth about what is happening in America,” said Joseph Bast, president of The Heartland Institute. “We could not be more pleased to have his name forever affixed to The Heartland Institute. We are honored that his family and friends believe this connection is a suitable addition to his legacy.”314Andrew Breitbart Freedom Center,” Heartland Institute. Archived March 4, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wz9IC

The Heartland Institute also plans a “dedication ceremony” in summer of 2016 which will feature a screening of ‘Hating Breitbart,’ a documentary “about Andrew Breitbart’s enormous impact on the media and the culture that was released one year after his death.”315Andrew Breitbart Freedom Center,” Heartland Institute. Archived March 4, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wz9IC

November 30, 2015

On the first day of the United Nations’ twenty first conference of the parties ( COP21) in Paris, the Heartland Institute’s Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change ( NIPCC) published a book that “emphatically rejects claims of a ‘scientific consensus’ on the causes and consequences of climate change,” reads the Heartland press release.316(Press Release). “From The Heartland Institute: ‘Why Scientists Disagree about Global Warming,’ The NIPCC Report on Consensus,” PRWeb, November 30, 2015. Archived December 1, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/kmDpN

The NIPCC book is titled “Why Scientists Disagree about Global Warming: The NIPCC Report on Consensus.” Contrary to the book’s premise, multiple studies and surveys have shown that 97 percent or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree that climate warming trends over the past century are due to human activities ( NASA, for example).317Scientific consensus: Earth’s climate is warming,” NASA. Archived December 1, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/8ADdO

The book’s authors include Craig D. Idso of the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change ( CSCDGC), Robert M. Carter of the Institute for Public Affairs ( IPA), and S. Fred Singer of the Science and Environmental Policy Project ( SEPP). The NIPCC itself is sponsored by the  CSCDGC, SEPP, and the Heartland Institute.318(Press Release). “From The Heartland Institute: ‘Why Scientists Disagree about Global Warming,’ The NIPCC Report on Consensus,” PRWeb, November 30, 2015. Archived December 1, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/kmDpN

CSDGC, IPA, and SEPP are all secretive about their funding sources. Still, available data shows they have received significant funding from ExxonMobil, Donors Capital Fund, Scaife, and Koch-related Foundations. Below is a brief summary based on data collected from ExxonSecrets and the Conservative Transparency Project:

  CSCDGC IPA SEPPTotal
Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation$90,000$229,000 $319,000
Donors Capital Fund$283,800  $283,800
Exxon Mobil$100,000 $20,000$120,000
John M. Olin Foundation $119,000 $119,000
Sarah Scaife Foundation$100,000  $100,000
Heartland Institute  $15,000$15,000
Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation  $5,000$5,000
Deramus Foundation$1,000  $1,000
Grand Total$574,800$348,000$40,000$962,800

August 25, 2015

The Heartland Institute co-sponsored the “Affordable Energy Summit 8.0” with the Libertarian Party of Nevada in Las Vegas, where James Taylor was a speaker.319Speakers,” Affordable Energy Summit 8.0. Archived September 3, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/iiBhz According to the Affordable Energy Summit’s “Events” webpage, the purpose of the summit was to “discuss the costs of climate change, as well as the fiscal and environmental impact of the so-called ‘Clean Power Plan.'”320Events,” Affordable Energy Summit 8.0. Archived September 3, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/THVSU

The “Events” page of the Affordable Energy Summit’s website goes on to state that the speakers at the National Clean Energy Summit, which took place just one day earlier, “believe that evidence of man-made global warming is enough to justify any action intended to solve the problem, without regard for effectiveness and without any regard for the expense.”321Events,” Affordable Energy Summit 8.0. Archived September 3, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/THVSU

James Taylor wrote in Forbes that, “Unlike the Clean Energy Summit, the Affordable Energy Summit will present the full picture on energy, economics, and the environment.” Taylor asserts that wind and solar power initiatives are “not only prohibitively expensive, but they produce worse environmental damage than the conventional power Obama and Reid seek to vilify.”322James Taylor. “What The Clean Energy Summit Doesn’t Want You To Know,” Forbes, August 24, 2015. Archived September 3, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/u7guf

March 3–4, 2015

The Heartland Institute issued statements in defense of Willie Soon in the wake of his recently published paper titled “Why Models Run Hot: Results From an Irreducibly Simple Climate Model,” published in January 2015 in China’s Science Bulletin Journal. Co-authors of the paper included Lord Christopher Monckton, Professor David Legates, and Dr. William Briggs.

James M. Taylor’s defense of Soon is available here, and one by Robert M. Carter here.323Robert M. Carter. “Statement Regarding Allegations Concerning Dr. Willie Soon,” The Heartland Institute, March 3, 2015. Archived July 28, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/F7hIc Bob Carter is an expert or advisor to over 10 climate skeptic organizations including the Global Warming Policy Foundation, International Climate Science Coalition, Science and Public Policy Institute, Australian Climate Science Coalition, and New Zealand Climate Science Coalition. His background is in geology.324James M. Taylor. “In Defense of Dr. Willie Soon from Politically Motivated Attacks.” The Heartland Institute, March 4, 2015. Archived July 28, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/B47s3

Shortly after the Science Bulletin paper’s release, a number of sources reported on Soon’s connection to fossil fuel funding, including 11 papers he published since 2008 in which ommited disclosure of a potential conflict of interest. In their February 21 article titled Deeper Ties to Corporate Cash for Doubtful Climate Researcher, The New York Times reports how “in at least eight of those cases, he appears to have violated ethical guidelines of the journals that published his work.”325Justin Gillis and John Schwartz. “Deeper Ties to Corporate Cash for Doubtful Climate Researcher,” The New York Times, February 21, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/X47Ymk

As of 2001, the Climate Investigations Center found that Soon had received $1,573,270 in funding, with “known fossil fuel funding” tabulated at $1,248,471. Coal electricity generator Southern Company, Exxon, Donors Trust, the Charles G. Koch Foundation and the American Petroleum Institute have all contributed.326Kert Davies. “Willie Soon Scandal: Corporate Funding Year By Year,” Climate Investigations Center. February 27, 2015. Archived July 28, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/y5CeB

Soon released his own statement ( PDF) on March 2, which was published on the Heartland Institute’s website.327Willie Soon. “Statement by Dr. Willie Soon” (PDF), Heartland Institute, March 2, 2015. Archived July 28, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

April 27/28, 2015

The Heartland Institute sent a team to the Vatican City where they held a press conference in order to “inform Pope Francis of the truth about climate science” and claims to set out a “case explaining why climate science does not justify the Holy See putting its faith in the work of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC).”  

Lord Christopher Monckton, Dr Calvin Beisner of the Cornwall Alliance, and Marc Morano from CFACT all spoke at the conference, and the event was further covered by DesMog UK‘s Brendan Montague, who attended.328Brendan Montague. “Pope Francis Should Answer to ExxonMobil Rather Than God, Imply Climate Deniers,” DeSmog, April 27, 2015.

Rome Heartland Vatican Audience

Nine journalists made up the audience at Heartland’s press conference. Photo by Brendan Montague.

Monckton encouraged the Pope not to make a statement on climate change, saying “You will be kicking the poor in the teeth. Stand back, listen to both sides, and do not take sides in politics.”  Heartland stated their intent was to “dissuade Pope Francis from lending his moral authority to the politicized and unscientific climate agenda of the United Nations.”329(Press Release).”World’s Leading Scientific ‘Skeptics’ of Man-Caused Global Invite Public and Press to Open Events April 27 and 28 Just Outside the Vatican,” The Heartland Institute, April 24, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/SUbrM

Heartland President Joe Bast claims that Pope Francis is being “misled by ‘experts’ at the United Nations who have proven unworthy of his trust,” and that “Humans are not causing a climate crisis on God’s Green Earth – in fact, they are fulfilling their Biblical duty to protect and use it for the benefit of humanity.”

The Heartland Institute’s event included presentations from the following:

  • E. Calvin Beisner, Ph.D., national spokesman for the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation
  • Hal Doiron, former NASA Skylab and Space Shuttle engineer
  • Richard Keen, Ph.D., meteorology instructor at the University of Colorado
  • Christopher Monckton, chief policy advisor to the Science and Public Policy Institute ( SPPI)
  • Marc Morano, executive editor and chief correspondent, ClimateDepot.com
  • Tom Sheahen, Ph.D., vice chairman of the Science and Environmental Policy Project Board of Directors
  • Elizabeth Yore, J.D., former General Counsel at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Virginia

Joe Bast has also stated “Catholics who would put ‘sustainability’ ahead of human freedom are out of step with the most important teachings of their faith.”330Joe Bast. “Catholics Should Put Freedom Above Sustainability Fad,” Somewhat Reasonable, April 28, 2015. Archived July 28, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/LiPiz

The Heartland Institute’s campaign included a series of presentations and press conferences in Rome. Searches for Pope Francis and Climate Change reveal they have also bid on AdWords to direct searches to the Heartland Institute website (see below).

Pope Francis Global Warming

Screenshot taken from Google, May 21, 2015.

July 2014

At the American Legislative Exchange Council’s ( ALEC) annual meeting in Dallas, Heartland Institue President Joseph Bast led a workshop where he argued the following (as reported by the Centre for Media and Democracy):331“5 ways ALEC denies the facts of climate change” ( PDF), Forecastthefacts.org (Centre for Media and Democracy), September 25, 2014. Archived June 10, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

  • “There is no scientific consensus on the human role in climate change.”
  • “There is no need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and no point in attempting
  • to do so.”
  • “Carbon dioxide has not caused weather to become more extreme, polar ice and
  • sea ice to melt, or sea level rise to accelerate. These were all false alarms.”
  • The International Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC) “is not a credible source of
  • science or economics.”
  • “The likely benefits of man­made global warming exceed the likely costs.”

The Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow ( CFACT) led a workshop at the same meeting called “Climate change talking points 2014.”

October 29, 2014

The Heartland Institute’s “energy and environment experts” commented on the ruling by the Health Board of Brown County, Wisconsin, declaring wind turbines a “human health hazard.”332Heartland Institute Experts Comment on Wind Turbines Being a ‘Human Health Hazard’,” PRWeb, October 29, 2014. Archived November 4, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/7PFoF Tom Harris wrote that “without taxpayer funded subsidies, large wind turbine projects are not economically viable … However, the government funds them regardless because of the appearance that their use helps ‘fight climate change.'”333Duke Energy’s Shirley Wind Turbines Declared ‘Human Health Hazard’,” Brown County Citizens for Responsible Wind Energy. Archived November 4, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/JeZZ0

Harris continued:

“More importantly, the hypothesis that carbon dioxide emissions from human activity is damaging the climate has been thoroughly debunked by reports such as those of the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change. So, the main reason the government funds wind power is no longer valid.”

September 26, 2014

The Heartland Institute releases a post in their policy and commentary blog, Somewhat Reasonable, titled, “Alex Epstein Loves Fossil Fuels, Mixing it Up with Climate Marchers in NYC,” describing Alex Epstein‘s “courageous” visit to the People’s Climate March. Within the post, Heartland encourages viewers to watch all four of Epstein’s videos from the People’s Climate March, share the videos with friends, “check out Alex Epstein’s organization [Center for Industrial Progress], and read the first chapter of his new book,” which is titled, The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels.334Jim Lakely. “Alex Epstein Loves Fossil Fuels, Mixing it Up with Climate Marchers in NYC,” Heartland Institute, September 26, 2014. Archived November 26, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/8fnxP

August 2014

The Heartland Institute’s President Joseph Bast testified at a Travis County Texas court hearing regarding the Texas Taxpayers’ Savings Grant Programs (” TTSGP”). The court questions Bast’s credibility as a witness ( PDF, p. 335 – 336):

“Mr. Joseph Bast, president and CEO of the Heartland Institute, testified for the Intervenors regarding the Texas Taxpayers’ Savings Grant Programs (” TTSGP”), a school voucher bill that failed in the 82nd Legislative Session. As a threshold matter, this Court finds that Mr. Bast is not a credible witness and that he did not offer reliable opinions in this matter. While Mr. Bast described himself as an economist, he holds neither undergraduate nor graduate degrees in economics, and the highest level of education he completed was high school. Mr. Bast testified that he is 100% committed to the long-term goal of getting government out of the business of educating its own voting citizens. Further, his use of inflammatory and irresponsible language regarding global warming, and his admission that the long term goal of his advocacy of vouchers is to dismantle the ‘socialist’ public education system further undermine his credibility with this Court.”335The Texas Taxpayer & Student Fairness Coalition et al. vs Williams et al. (pdf),” D-1- GN-11-003130, (District Court of Travis County Texas 2014), 335 to 336. Original also on DocumentCloud. Archived June 9, 2015.

July 2014

Jay Lehr, science director and senior fellow, writes a Policy Brief for the Heartland Institute entitled, “Replacing the Environmental Protection Agency,” which he describes in the abstract as a “plan to replace the United States Environmental Protection Agency with a Committee of the Whole of the 50 state environmental protection agencies, utilizing a phased five-year transition period.”336Jay Lehr. “Replacing the Environmental Protection Agency” (Policy Brief – PDF), The Heartland Institute, July, 2014. Archived July 28, 2015.

Within the Policy Brief, Lehr writes that the ten years following the establishment of the EPA in 1971 he “helped write a significant number of legislative bills that were to make up a true safety net for our environment,” including, “Water Pollution Control Act (later renamed the Clean Water Act), Safe Drinking Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (which, surprisingly, covered deep mines as well), Clean Air Act, Federal Insecticide, Rodenticide, and Fungicide Act, and Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (which we now know as Superfund).” 

Following Lehr’s ten-year period of legislative bill writing, he notes in the brief that “around 1981, liberal activist groups recognized EPA could be used to advance their political agenda by regulating virtually all human activities regardless of their impact on the environment … Since that time, not a single environmental law or regulation has been passed that benefitted either the environment or society … Today, EPA is all but a wholly owned subsidiary of liberal activist groups.”

Lehr concludes the Policy Brief by writing “it’s time for the national EPA to go,” and that “the path forward is now clear and simple: A five-year transition from a federal government bureaucracy to a Committee of the Whole composed of the 50 state environmental protection … All that is missing is the political will.” 

June 2014

The Heartland Institute sponsored an advertorial section in the Washington Times where they offer the chance for anyone to publish a challenge to the science behind climate change (at the cost of $10,000 for the right to be published.)337Farron Cousins. “Have $10,000? Then You Can Join Heartland’s Climate Denial Machine!DeSmog, June 25, 2014. Lindsay Abrams reports in a Salon article titled “Attention, climate deniers: For just $10,000, your Op-Ed can be featured in the Washington Times.”338Lindsay Abrams. “Attention, climate deniers: For just $10,000, your Op-Ed can be featured in the Washington Times,” Salon, June 20, 2014. Archived July 28, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/iFZEL

Below is the email originally sent around by The Washington Times:

As you may know, The Heartland Institute is hosting a Washington Times Special section to showcase organizations and scientists from around the world who question whether “man-made global warming” will be harmful to plants, animals, or human welfare. This section will be featured prominently at the 9th International Conference on Climate Change next week.

With this, you are invited to be a part of this special print and digital section with an op-ed in print and digital formats.

You can support the section and have the chance to write an edit and compliment the issue with a full page, full color display ad for your organization for just $10,000. The section will appear online at www.washingtontimes.com and will be advertised with over a million impressions online and with over 500,000 emails.

SPACE IS LIMITED and we are closing space on the issue very soon – Deadline is END OF DAY FRIDAY for a reservation and next Monday to coordinate details/edit/Ad.

Anyway, please call or email as soon as possible if you would like to participate.

Thanks and look forward to our discussion.

Joe Corbe

The Washington Times

April 30, 2014

At a mining conference in Denver, CO, Republic Report, cross-posted on DeSmog, spoke to Heartland Institute’s president, Joseph Bast, about his past support for the tobacco industry. When first asked by Republic Report, Bast denied that he had ever dismissed concerns about the risks of smoking.339Nick Surgey and Lee Fang. “ VIDEO: Heartland Institute Reluctantly Stands by Denial of Cigarette Smoking Risks,” Republic Report, April 30, 2014. Archived August 7, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/jpVA6

In a report entitled, “Please Don’t Poop in My Salad,” ( PDF) released by Heartland and written by Bast in July of 2006, Bast was quoted on page 57 (pg. 65 in PDF format), “A fourth lie is that even moderate smoking is deadly. Several experts (including two who are very anti-smoking) have told me that smoking fewer than seven cigarettes a day does not raise a smoker’s risk of lung cancer.”340Joseph Bast. “Please Don’t Poop in My Salad” (PDF), Heartland Institute, July, 2006. Archived November 24, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Reporter Lee Fang captured Bast’s response to the statement:341Heartland Institute’s tobacco denial,” YouTube video uploaded by user “Evidence Squared,” April 18, 2017.

“In 1998, you wrote in a Heartland op-ed that smoking cigarettes has little to no adverse health effects,” we noted. “Do you stand by that?”

“No, I never wrote that,” replied Bast. “Why would I have written something like that?” Bast asked to see the op-ed, and promised to “contest” it. Later, Republic Report returned and read Bast’s op-ed to him.

March 31, 2014

The Heartland Institute released their latest NIPCC (Non Intergovernemntal Panel on Climate Change) Report. As reported by Kert Davies at the Climate Investigations Center (” CIC Briefing: Craig Idso Heartland Institute NIPCC Climate Denial”) and in a repost at DeSmog, much of the report’s messaging (the idea that more CO2 is beneficial) can be traced back to Craig Idso, who is also one of the lead authors.342Kert Davies. “ CIC Briefing: Craig Idso Heartland Institute NIPCC Climate Denial,” Climate Investigations Center, April 8, 2014. Archived November 24, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/KPQXu

The Heartland Institute NIPCC report concludes that “rising temperatures and atmospheric CO2 levels are causing ‘no net harm to the global environment or to human health and often finds the opposite: net benefits to plants, including important food crops, and to animals and human health,'” as reported on the Heartland Institute press release. The full report, titled Climate Change Reconsidered II: Biological Impacts can also be viewed here ( PDF), and the Summary for Policy Makers ( PDF) here.343Joseph Bast. “Report Finds Global Warming Causes ‘No Net Harm’ to Environment or Human Health,” The Heartland Institute, March 31, 2014. Archived June 10, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/GmtQm

Lead Authors/Editors

Contributing Authors and Reviewers

Editors

August 8, 2013

As reported by the Centre for Media and Democracy, the American Legislative Exchance Council ( ALEC) teamed up with the Heartland Institute to hose a session on Climate Change. The workshop cost $40,000 to sponsor and featured Heartland President Joseph Bast.344Lisa Graves. “A Side of Climate Change Denial with Your Coffee? ALEC Dishes up Some Hard to Swallow Spin with the Heartland Institute,” The Centre for Media and Democracy’s PR Watch, August 8, 2-13. Archived June 10, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/scqyD

June 11, 2013

The Heartland Institute released a statement detailing how the Chinese Academy of Sciences ( CAS) had translated two volumes of its NIPCC reports  – Climate Change Reconsidered.345Joseph Bast, Craig Idso, S. Fred Singer, Robert M. Carter. “Chinese Translation of Climate Change Reconsidered,” The Heartland Institute. Archived July 30, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/WfA8V

The main contributors to the reports, Craig Idso, Fred Singer, and Australia-based Robert Carter, were due to fly to Beijing to launch the report, Heartland said.

On June 12, Jim Lakely, Heartland’s communications director, reported on Heartland’s blog Somewhat Reasonable under the headline “Chinese Academy of Sciences publishes Heartland Institute research skeptical of Global Warming.” Lakely wrote that CAS’s translation now placed “enormous scientific heft” behind the “questionable notion that man is responsible for catastrophically warming the planet.”

Lakely quotes Heartland President Joseph Bast as saying: “This is a historic moment in the global debate about global warming.”346Joseph Bast Craig Idso S. Fred Singer Robert M. Carter. “Chinese Academy of Sciences Publishes Heartland Institute Research Skeptical of Global Warming,” The Heartland Institute, June 12, 2013. Archived July 30, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/2KLlf

Joseph Bast also commented that China’s previous refusal to sign a deal was now justified because CAS had translated the Heartland book and this “indicates the country’s leaders believe their position is justified by science and not just by economics.” Robert Carter told Lakely that Chinese companies would soon leave their Western counterparts in the competitive dust becuase, he said, they were still “hindered by the IPCC’s leaden and outdate global warming ideology.”

Anthony Watts also ran a post on his blog, WUWT, with the title “Heartland’s NIPCC report to be accepted by Chinese Academy of Sciences in special ceremony.”347Anthony Watts. “Heartland’s NIPCC report to be accepted by Chinese Academy of Sciences in special ceremony,” Watts Up With That, June 12, 2013. Archived July 12, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Mvn18

The Lanzhou Branch of the National Science Library of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which carried out the translation, later released a statement in response:348Heartland Institute’s Chinese Academy of Sciences Fantasy,” ThinkProgress, June 16, 2013. Archived July 30, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/7Flkm

“…The Heartland Institute published the news titled ‘Chinese Academy of Sciences publishes Heartland Institute research skeptical of Global Warming’ in a strongly misleading way on its website, implying that the Chinese Academy of Sciences ( CAS) supports their views, in contrary to what is clearly stated in the Translators’ Note in the Chinese translation. The claim of the Heartland Institute about CAS’ endorsement of its report is completely false.

In fact, the translation was ‘purely non-official academic activities [of] the group of translators’ and ‘they do not represent, nor they have ever claimed to represent, CAS or any of CAS institutes.’

The above fact was made very clear in the Translators’ Note in the book, and was known to the NIPCC report authors and the Heartland Institute before the translation started. The false claim by the Heartland Institute was made public without any knowledge of the translator group. Since there is absolutely no ground for the so called CAS endorsement of the report, and the actions by the Heartland Institute went way beyond acceptable academic integrity, we have requested by email to the president of the Heartland Institute that the false news on its website to be removed.

We also requested that the Institute issue a public apology to CAS for the misleading statement on the CAS endorsement. If the Heartland Institute does not withdraw its false news or refuse to apologize, all the consequences and liabilities should be borne by the Heartland Institute. We reserve the right for further actions to protect the rights of CAS and the translators group.”

The overarching Chinese Academy of Sciences also issued a statement urging the public to ignore Heartland’s “misleading information”. Heartland promptly deleted all pages and Joseph Bast issued an apology349Jim Lakely.”Heartland Institute Statement on Chinese Edition of ‘Climate Change Reconsidered’,” The Heartland Institute, June 14, 2013. Archived July 30, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/1xQ3P

“Some people interpreted our news release and a blog post describing this event as implying that the Chinese Academy of Sciences endorses the views contained in the original books. This is not the case, and we apologize to those who may have been confused by these news reports. To be clear, the release of this new publication does not imply CAS and any of its affiliates involved with its production ‘endorse’ the skeptical views contained in the report. Rather, as stated in the translator’s preface of the book, ‘The work of these translators, organizations and funders has been in the translation and the promotion of scientific dialogue, does not reflect that they agree with the views of NIPCC.”

2012 – Proposed Projects

Global Warming Curriculum

The Heartland Institute proposes to fund a “Global Warming Curriculum” for K-12 schools. They claim that there is an absence of educational materials that are not “alarmist or overtly political,” and that teachers are “heavily biased toward the alarmist perspective” (see p. 18, “2012 Fundraising Plan“).

Heartland tentatively plans to pay climate change skeptic David Wojick (whose main work has been as a policy analyst) $5,000 per module in 2012, with the first $100,000 pledged by the Anonymous Donor. 

The modules would cover how “whether humans are changing the climate is a major scientific controversy,” how climate models’ “reliability is controversial,” and “whether CO2 is a pollutant is controversial. It is the global food supply and natural emissions are 20 times higher than human emissions.”

For grades 7-9, Wojick would examine how “environmental impact is often difficult to determine. For example, there is a major controversy over whether or not humans are changing the weather.”

Hydraulic Fracturing Project

Another project proposed by Heartland for 2012, The Hydraulic Fracturing Project (p. 18 – 19, “2012 Fundraising Plan“) would “raise funds from businesses with a financial interest in fracking” by “approach[ing] dozens of companies and trade associations that are actively seeking allies in this battle.”

While Heartland claims that “Fracking has been safely used for more than 50 years,” our recent DeSmog report Fracking the Future suggests otherwise.

The Heartland Institute has already identified itself as “one of the most outspoken defenders of fracking in the U.S., using Environment & Climate News, its Web sites, and its PR and GR operations to comment repeated on the issue and reach large audiences.”

Weather Stations Project

Heartland proposes to fund a new web site by Anthony Watts devoted to accessing temperature data from the National Aeronautics and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA) and “converting them into easy-to-understand graphs that can be easily understood by weathermen and the general interested public” (p.18, Heartland’s 2012 “Fundraising Plan”).

According to Heartland, examples of when temperature records are broken in the U.S. are “often used by environmental extremists” as evidence of climate change. Presumably Watts’s new site, which will be “promoted heavily at WattsUpWithThat.com,” would portray temperature data in a way to counteract this.

Heartland agreed to help Watts raise $88,000 from the project in 2011, and the Anonymous Donor pledged $44,000 so far in 2012. According to Heartland, they have previously supported and promoted Watts’ past work “exposing flaws in the current network of temperature stations.”

November 2009

In February 2009, hundreds of emails from climate change experts at the University of East Anglia were unlawfully obtained through hacking a server. The Climate Research Unit hacking incident became known as Climategate by global warming skeptics, a term used extensively by the Heartland Institute. 

The Heartland Institute published the illegally hacked documents in an attempt to discredit the scientists who were researching the man-made connection to global warming. At the time, Heartland President Joseph Bast wrote:

“The release of these documents creates an opportunity for reporters, academics, politicians, and others who relied on the IPCC to form their opinions about global warming to stop and reconsider their position. The experts they trusted and quoted in the past have been caught red-handed plotting to conceal data, hide temperature trends that contradict their predictions, and keep critics from appearing in peer-reviewed journals. This is new and real evidence that they should examine and then comment on publicly.”350Joseph Bast. “Climategate: An Opportunity to Stop and Think,” The Heartland Institute, November 23, 2009. Archived June, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/KeoOM

Some accused the Heartland Institute of hypocrisy when they responded to documents revealing their 2012 plans and budget. (“I still can’t get over how hypocritical Heartland Institute is being about this, given how it delighted in seeing climate scientists’ e-mails hacked in the 2009 ‘Climategate’ non-scandal,” wrote Tyler Hamilton at The EnergyCollective.)351Tyler Hamilton. “My thoughts on the Peter Gleick/Heartland Institute Scandal,” The EnergyCollective, February 28, 2012. Archived June 10, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/IS0JJ

In 2012, Heartland had this response to their own leaked documents:

“…honest disagreement should never be used to justify the criminal acts and fraud that occurred in the past 24 hours. As a matter of common decency and journalistic ethics, we ask everyone in the climate change debate to sit back and think about what just happened.

Those persons who posted these documents and wrote about them before we had a chance to comment on their authenticity should be ashamed of their deeds, and their bad behavior should be taken into account when judging their credibility now and in the future.”352Jim Lakely. “Heartland Institute Responds to Stolen and Fake Documents,” The Heartland Institute, February 15, 2012. Archived June 10, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/20i1g

March 2009

The Heartland Institute released their “Skeptic’s Handbook,” printing 150,000 copies for distribution across the  US including 850 journalists, 26,000 schools, “19,000 leaders and politicians.” The mass printing was funded by an “Anonymous Donor.353Skeptics Handbook spreads en masse: 150,000 copies!” joannenova.com, March 22, 2009. Archived July 28, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/9gg5q

In 2008, the Center for Media and Democracy reports how the Heartland Institute also sent out “more than 11,000 brochures and DVDs to Canadian schools urging them to teach their students that scientists are exaggerating how human activity is the driving force behind global warming.”354Judith Siers-Poisson. “Heartland Takes their Skepticism North of the Border,” The Centre for Media and Democracy’s PR Watch, May 7, 2008. Archived June 10, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/GcezD

2008

The Heartland Institute and an “anonymous donor” funded a video, produced by the Idea Channel, titled “Unstoppable Solar Cycles: Rethinking Global Warming.”

One subject interviewed, Rie Oldenburg, curator of the Narsaq Museum, claims that she was tricked into participating. She said she had been told she was contributing to a video on Norse history, and was shocked to learn that the DVD denied the human contribution to climate change.355Richard Littlemore. “Heartland Institute Tricked Video Subject in ‘Unstoppable Solar Cycles’,” DeSmog, May 5, 2008.

A version of the video was distributed to schools by the advocacy organization Izzit.org, and included a “Teacher’s Guide” ( PDF) and lesson plan.356Unstoppable Solar Cycles: Rethinking Global Warming” ( PDF), Izzit.org. Archived July 28, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

HI’s description of Unstoppable Solar Cycles questions man’s influence on climate change:

“The best available records of temperature and atmospheric CO2 over the past 650,000 years indicate that the earth’s temperature always rises first, followed by a rise in carbon dioxide. If a warmer earth leads to increased levels of CO2-and not the other way around-can humans’ use of fossil fuels be the cause of global warming? Shouldn’t this critical question remain open to scientific inquiry?”357Unstoppable Solar Cycles: Rethinking Global Warming,” Heartland Institute “Policy Document.” Archived November 24, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/UuLEZ

Note that this specific argument has been debunked, with a summary available at SkepticalScience.

September 2007

The Heartland Institute promoted a list of “500 Scientists with Documented Doubts of Man-Made Global Warming Scares,” originally produced by Dennis Avery for the Hudson  Institute.

DeSmog contacted 122 of the scientists, and 45 replied in outrage. They said that their research did not support Avery’s conclusions, and demanded that their names be removed from the list.

In response to the complaints, the Heartland Institute changed the title of the document to “500 Scientists Whose Research Contradicts Man-Made Global Warming Scares,” but refused to remove any names from the list. 

They responded, saying that the authors, “have no right – legally or ethically – to demand that their names be removed from a bibliography composed by researchers with whom they disagree,” and that “We did not ask for those authors’ permission, nor do we seek their permission now.”358Dennis Avery. “Statement on List of 500 Authors,” The Heartland Institute, December 18, 2009. Archived July 28, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wD2cF

Joseph Bast concluded that the “complaining scientists have crossed the line between scientific research and policy advocacy.”359Joseph Bast. “Controversy Arises Over Lists of Scientists Whose Research Contradicts Man-Made Global Warming Scares,” The Heartland Institute, May 5, 2008. Archived July 28, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/QLkuc

April 2, 2007

The Heartland Institute promoted challenges by Lord Christopher Monckton and Dennis Avery to debate Al Gore on global warming.360Joseph Bast. “Why Won’t Al Gore Debate?The Heartland Institute, June 27, 2007. Archived July 28, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/2eBBP

Heartland ran advertisements in the New York Times and other media promoting the requested debate.

January 15, 2007

Heartland published a “Guidebook for State Legislators” which, among other advice, suggests that legislators “should oppose unnecessary and costly global warming programs.”361Joseph L. Bast and Sandy Liddy Bourne. “Energy Policy for America: A Guidebook for State Legislators,” The Heartland Institute, January 2007. Archived July 11, 2008. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Rcxmb

Bast has also published his own “Legislative Principles Series” ( PDF), which was “written especially for elected officials and other opinion leaders.”362Joseph L. Bast. “Ten Principles of Energy Policy” ( PDF), The Heartland Institute. Archived July 28, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

November 2006

Heartland sponsored a talk by Fred Singer and Dennis Avery titled “Unstoppable Global Warming Every 1500 Years.”

Scientists at Realclimate reported and responded with a point/counterpoint discussion.363Avery and Singer: Unstoppable hot air,” RealClimate, November 20, 2006. Archived July 28, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/uosUy

August 2, 2002

The Heartland Institute wrote to President Bush, discouraging him from attending the UN Summit on Sustainable Development. Bush did not attend.

Representatives from other right-wing organizations including Americans for Tax Reform, the American Enterprise Institute, and the Competitive Enterprise Institute also contributed to the letter.364(Press Release) “Africa: Corporate-funded Lobbyists Aimed to Sabotage Johannesburg Summit,” AllAfrica.com, August 19, 2002. Archived July 28, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Ns6bo

October 3, 2000

According to ExxonSecrets, Heartland filed a lawsuit against President Clinton for increasing funding for a report on climate change by the US Global Change Research Program.365Inhofe Joins Lawsuit Against Clinton ‘Climate Change’ Report,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, October 5, 2000. Archived April 3, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/nw2HG

April 2, 1996

Heartland published “Earth Day ’96,” (PDF) a compilation of articles on environmental topics. The publication, distributed on college campuses, featured “Adventures in the Ozone Layer” by S. Fred Singer, and “the Cold Facts on Global Warming” by Sallie Baliunas. The articles denied the serious nature of ozone depletion and global warming.366The Heartlander, April 2, 1996 ( PDF). Retrieved from Greenpeace research documents. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

1990s – Defending Tobacco

The Heartland Institute has consistently defended the tobacco industry, and has received funding from numerous tobacco companies including Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds.

Reproduced below is a 1999 letter from Joseph Bast to Roy Marden of Phillip Morris courtesy of the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (see original PDF) that illustrates Heartland’s stance on tobacco (Emphasis Added). Note that John Mashey refers to this letter in his report (p. 44) as potential evidence of Heartland’s role as a lobbying organization.

July 27, 1999

Mr. Roy Marden
Manager of Industry Affairs
Philip Morris Management Cos.
120 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017

Dear Roy:

Thank you for inviting me to request renewed general operating support for The Heartland Institute for 1999. I note that Philip Morris contributed $5,000 last August (for a Gold Table at our annual benefit) and $25,000 in October (general operating support). It also has allowed you to serve on our Board of Directors, which has produced many positive results for the entire organization.

Because Heartland does many things that benefit Philip Morris’ bottom line, things that no other organization does, I hope you will consider boosting your general operating support this year to $30,000 and once again reserve a Gold Table for an additional $5,000.

We genuinely need your financial support. Maybe by the end of this letter you’ll agree that we merit even greater support; I certainly hope so!

Working with State Elected Officials

Unlike any other free-market think tank, Heartland’s primary audience is the nation’s 7,500 state elected officials. We reach them more often, and generate from them more requests for research, than any other think tank in the country.

  • PolicyFax, Heartland’s free fax-on-demand information service for journalists and elected officials, received approximately 700 calls a month from state legislators and members of their staffs during 1998
  • Over 110 elected state officials now serve on the PolicyFax Advisory Board, meaning they have volunteered to help choose documents and topics to feature on the service. Among pro-market groups,  only ALEC has more state legislators involved in their programs.  
  • Every state and national elected official in the U.S. receives a steady stream of publications from Heartland — four periodicals and less regular mailings of policy studies and other documents — that have been designed to fill their information needs. Heartland is one of very few organizations that treats elected officials as customers, not opponents.

Supporting State-Based Think Tanks

  • Heartland works with ALEC and the State Policy Network to support conservative and freemarket think tanks around the country. Heartland does as much as either of these organizations to support the state-based think tank movement. For example:
  • PolicyFax features 6,000 documents from some 300 think tanks and advocacy groups, including all of the members of State Policy Network. PolicyFax is free for both the users and the groups that provide documents, and Heartland reports back to the publisher each month with information about how often its documents were ordered.
  • Heartland’s Intellectual Ammunition is the only magazine sent to all 8,000 state and national elected officials featuring the work of free-market policy analysts on the staffs of Heritage, NCPA, CEI, the Tax Foundation, Reason Foundation, Center for the Study of American Business, and other think tanks.
  • Issues of three Heartland publications — the bimonthly Intellectual Ammunition and monthly School Reform News and Environment News — contain directories of freemarket groups and feature the work of other think tanks. Heartland is the only organization in the country that regularly promotes the work of other think tanks.

Work on Tobacco-related Issues

Heartland has devoted considerable attention to defending tobacco (and other industries) from what I view as being an unjust campaign of public demonization and legal harassment. We’re an important voice defending smokers and their freedom to use a still-legal product.

  • Tobacco is well represented on PolicyFax and in the quarterly PolicyFax Updates. In recent months we posted Brill’s Content’s expose of EPA’s corrupt science on secondhand smoke and essays by Patrick Reilly for Capital Research Center, Jacob Sullum for Reason Foundation, Matt Kibbe for CSE,. J.D. Foster for the Tax Foundation, and Sean Paige for Insight. Some 21 articles on tobacco are available through PolicyFax.
  • Intellectual Ammunition has carried two articles defending the tobacco industry since last October: the cover story of the March/April 1999 issue (“Lifting the Skirts of ‘Progressive’ Demonizers”) and my essay, “Dear Melissa: A Civil Libertarian’s Perspective on the War against Smoking.”
  • The Heartlander, our monthly newsletter for members, has called attention to the dangerous legal precedents and discriminatory taxes that are part of the campaign against tobacco in cover essays appearing in the October, November, and June issues.
  • Recent and past Heartland publications on tobacco, including a Heartland Policy Study and several Perspectives, and the 21 documents on the subject available from PolicyFax, are all available on Heartland’s Web site. Particularly popular are two of my essays, titled “Five Lies About Tobacco” and “Joe Camel is Innocent.”

Coming Up

We expect to continue publishing School Reform News, Environment News, Intellectual Ammunition, and The Heartlander in the months ahead. Changing PolicyFax from a fax-on-demand service to an Internet-based service begins this week with the conversion of all 6,000 documents available from PolicyFax into a format that will enable them to be viewed or downloaded directly from the Web site.

We are also revamping our Web site to bring together into one place all the material on tobacco — the policy study, op-eds, PolicyFax documents, and Heartlander essays — and identify it as the “Smoker’s Lounge” on the homepage. And we have discussed producing an Instant Expert Guide to Tobacco Litigation and reproducing an analysis done of the effect of a federal lawsuit against the tobacco industry on the level of payments states can expect to receive. Both of these projects are likely to come about in the coming months (though the latter only if it is still timely).

Funding Request

Roy, please consider renewing Philip Morris’ general operating support of The Heartland Institute at the slightly higher level of $30,000. We rely heavily on companies like yours to produce a program that is every bit as ambitious and perhaps more effective than anything produced by a Washington D.C.-based group.

Please don’t hesitate to give me a call if you have questions or advice. I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

Joseph L. Bast
President

Heartland Institute Contact & Address

As of May, 2016, the Heartland Institute’s address and contact information was listed as follows:367About,” The Heartland Institute. Archived May 28, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/VrMIx

The Heartland Institute
3939 North Wilke Road
Arlington Heights, Illinois 60004
Phone: 312/377-4000
Fax: 312/275-7942
Email: [email protected]

Some of Heartland connections:

Publications

The Heartland Institute publishes six newspapers:

They also publish a monthly newsletter titled The Heartlander and there is also an online Heartlander Magazine that appears to cover similar issues to their six individual newspapers. 

Possibly most notable among these newspapers is Environment & Climate News ( E&CN) which frequently features topics skeptical of climate change, and has a history of posting articles in favor of tobacco.

John Mashey devotes a large portion of his report (see p.82) to analysis of Environment and Climate News from June 2011 through January 2012 (approximately 1700 pages).

Social Media

Resources

The following Heartland Institute documents (apart from the IRS Form 990, which is a public document) were released by an anonymous source on February 14, 2012 (climate scientist Peter Gleick has since come forward as the source of the release):

**The Heartland Institute disputes the authenticity of the 2012 climate strategy, claiming the document is a “fake,” and has threatened DeSmog with legal action. However, the organization has yet to provide concrete evidence to support these allegations.

Mashey Report

John Mashey published the following report, also on February 14, 2012, that examines the finances of the Heartland Institute and two other like-minded organizations:

Other Resources

Resources