Aides and staffers of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney are listed among the principals of a new Astroturf group set up last fall to deny the science of global warming.

The new group advertises itself as the American Environmental Coalition – “working to keep America beautiful, strong and prosperous.” But the sole focus of its expensive website is to question the science of climate change.

As for its outreach activities, the AEC seems intent only on attacking Romney’s presidential competitor John McCain, the Republican candidate with the best record on responding to climate change.

The AEC site was registered by Gary Marx , executive director of the Judicial Confirmation Network and Mitt Romeny’s Conservative Coalitions Director. Jay Sekulow, the co-chair of Mitt Romney’s Faith and Values Coalition, is also listed among the AEC‘s members, a who’s who of conservative Christians and oily advocates for the fossil fuel industry.

Take, for example, AEC co-chair George Landrith, whose Frontiers for Freedom survives on funding from such environmental stalwarts as ExxonMobil, Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco. The list also includes the likes of coal-blackened Pat Michaels and the tobacco and oil advocate-for-hire Steve Milloy.

So, Mitt Romney is campaigning on a platform to drill for oil in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge and subsidize liquified coal (see video) while his aides promote science stories by discredited and compromised “experts” like S. Fred Singer and Sallie Baliunas.

The AEC is not an environmental organization.

It is not a science site.

It’s a deliberate and transparent attempt to mislead. Romney should apologize for being involved and distance himself from the tactics.

(Tip of the hat to Clean Air Watch and Energy Smart for their coverage of this story.

Here’s a video of Romney in action recently:

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