The Backlash Industry in Kyoto December 3, 1997

Global climate change is one of the more hotly contested environmental issues of 1997. In early December,representatives of over 150 nations will meet in Kyoto, Japan, to negotiate the conditions of an international treaty aimed at stemming global climate change. A result of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the Kyoto conference will attempt to map out a strategy for reducing global greenhouse emissions, the pollutants that destroy the ozone layer, causing global warming.

As expected, the environmental backlash movement is active in the debate on the impact of global warming. The fax, e-mail and phone trees of "wise use" organizations like Chuck Cushman's American Land Rights Association and the American Policy Center are humming with activity as "wise use" leaders prod their members to lobby political leaders in opposition to the treaty. Tried and true methods of activism such as meetings and media-savvy protests have also been used by the organizations to draw attention to their concerns.

Yet the grassroots "wise use" campaign against the Kyoto conference has been largely ineffective, mimicking the lack of success in pushing a "wise use" domestic backlash agenda. Instead, much like the recent debate on new particulate air standards, it is the industry-funded faction of the anti-environmental lobby, including industry front groups, trade associations and free-market think tanks, that is coordinating the most comprehensive, effective lobbying campaign to undermine the global climate change treaty.

These organizations, many of which have strong ties to the industries and their trade associations, are the most active in promoting the big business line on the climate change issue. Their attack -- again like the particulate debate --is multi-faceted in nature, employing some organizations to question the science behind global warming while others produce studies claiming to show the disastrous economic consequences that the U.S. would experience by reducing emissions.

The following organizations are the most prominent among those involved in the climate change backlash campaign.

Global Climate Information Project

Global Climate Coalition

Coalition for Vehicle Choice

Global Climate Information Project

Launched on September 9, 1997, by some of the nation's most powerful trade associations, the Global Climate Information Project (GCIP) has rolled out an ambitious campaign for combating possible emission regulations courtesy of the Kyoto conference. Through an advertising campaign that, according to GCIP figures, has already spent more than $3 million in newspaper and television spots and could spend as much as $13 million, the GCIP aims to cast doubt upon the need for emissions controls by questioning the politics and the science behind a United Nation's agreement.

Writing on the media campaign unveiled by the GCIP, Bruce Clark of the Financial Times remarked that it "could become one of the most expensive lobbying efforts since the 'Harry and Louise' commercials that helped doom" the Clinton administration's health-care reform proposal.

The comparison is accurate in more than one way. The GCIP advertisements have been produced by Goddard*Claussen/First Tuesday, a California-based public affairs and public relations firm whose clients include the Chlorine Chemistry Council, the Chemical Manufacturers Association, Dupont Merck Pharmaceuticals and the Vinyl Siding Institute. Goddard*Claussen produced the highly effective "Harry and Louise" series of television ads aimed at defeating the Clinton Administration's health care plan (Rampton and Stauber, Toxic Sludge Is Good For You, 1995 ). Writing in the New York Times, Robin Toner called the "Harry and Louise" campaign, "....a powerful advertising campaign, financed by the insurance industry, that played on people's fears and helped derail the process." The GCIP is clearly hoping that Goddard*Claussen's track record of success will help derail the Kyoto process.

The tactics of the GCIP should be familiar to backlash watchers. The first tactic, predicting a "50 cent-per- gallon gasoline tax" and higher prices on everything from "heat to food to clothing," preys upon consumer economic fears. The other tactic, complaining that most developing nations will be exempt from the treaty, feeds into the xenophobia and U.N. bashing that is currently fashionable among the anti-environmental right. Finally, the front group claims that any treaty will hinder the competitiveness of American businesses. Jerry Jasinowski president of the National Association of Manufacturers (a member of the GCIP), said as much at the press conference that announced the formation of the GCIP.

The GCIP is represented by Richard Pollock, former director of the Naderite group Critical Mass (Washington Post, 9-25- 97). Pollock now works as a senior vice president for Shandwick Public Affairs, the second largest PR firm in the country with $160 million in fees in 1994 (Rampton and Stauber, Toxic Sludge Is Good For You, 1995). Shandwick clients include Browning-Ferris Industries, Central Maine Power, Georgia-Pacific Corp., Monsanto Chemical Co., New York State Electric and Gas Co., Ciba-Geigy, Ford Motor Company, Hydro-Quebec, Pfizer, and Proctor & Gamble. Shandwick netted over $11 million in 1992 for "environmental public affairs services." Shandwick claimed a huge victory in the 103rd Congress, representing Western Livestock Producers Alliance in defeating the grazing reform effort that would have increased grazing fees on public lands. (Toxic Sludge Is Good For You, O'Dwyer's PR Services, Feb. 1996).

Global Climate Coalition

A lobbying and public relations front for business interests, the Global Climate Coalition (GCC) was, since its founding in 1989 until the summer of 1997, located in the offices of the National Association of Manufacturers. GCC members include Amoco, the American Forest & Paper Association, American Petroleum Institute, Shell Oil, Texaco, Chevron, Chrysler, Cyprus AMAX Minerals, the United States Chamber of Commerce, Exxon, General Motors, and Ford Motor Company among others.

The GCC is represented by E. Bruce Harrison, whose industry- supported counterattack to Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring earned him the title "the founder of 'green' public relations (Rampton and Stauber, Toxic Sludge Is Good For You, 1995)." Harrison's eponymous PR firm was recently acquired by PR giant Ruder Finn, where Harrison now serves as a vice president. The GCC is also represented by the EOP Group, a Washington, DC-based public relations firm whose client list includes GCC members the American Petroleum Institute, Dow Chemical, the National Mining Association and the Edison Electric Institute.

In the current debate leading up to the conference in Kyoto, the GCC has begun to strengthen its ties with the radical anti-environmental lobby. GCC president Gail MacDonald was an unscheduled speaker at the Fly In For Freedom, the annual Washington, DC lobbying blitz conducted by the "wise use" umbrella organization the Alliance for America. MacDonald, speaking on global environmental issues, delivered a message that global warming is an unproven theory that, even if it were found to be true, cannot be pinned on industry. On November 5, the GCC coordinated a national conference opposing the Clinton Administration's involvement in the Kyoto conference. The conference was sponsored by a number of radical anti-environmental organizations, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, People For the West!, and the Environmental Conservation Organization.

Coalition for Vehicle Choice

The Coalition for Vehicle Choice (CVC) was founded in 1991 as a front for automakers fighting efforts to raise Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards during the 101st Congress and continues to play a major role today in fighting to keep out strict emission reduction targets from any international global warming agreement.

CVC was founded by the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers of America (MVMA), the National Automobile Dealers Association and the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers (AIAM) in 1991, with initial funding from the MVMA and the AIAM (Masks of Deception, Megalli and Friedman, 1991). From the beginning, CVC has been represented by Ron DeFore, a public relations professional who had served in the public affairs division of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the Department of Transportation (Washington Representatives, 1997). At the time the CVC was launched, DeFore was a vice president with E. Bruce Harrison, Co., the public relations firm founded by the father of "green PR." Today, the CVC is operated by DeFore at his own public relations firm, Strat@Comm. With DeFore at Strat@Comm is Diane Steed, another NHTSA alum whose involvement with CVC dates back to 1991.

From its inception, the CVC has maintained that CAFE standards will do little to address modern environmental or safety issues. Current literature from the CVC cites concerns over the efficacy of CAFE standards in reducing pollution, the increased consumer costs of more efficient vehicles, the effect of CAFE on international trade, the impact of fuel efficiency standards on auto safety and the role of automobile pollution in global warming.

In 1993, the CVC total revenue budget was reported to have been $2,232,109, according to tax documents filed by the CVC. Of the reported income for CVC in 1993, $2,180,334 of income was reported as "direct public support." Also revealed in the tax document was the fact that every penny of this "public support" came from the big three automakers. Ford Motor Company donated $293,333, General Motors gave $798,334, and Chrysler chipped in $1,088.667. Subsequent tax documents for the years 1994 and 1995 do not reveal income sources, but indicate that the total CVC budget increased to $2,951,770 in 1994 and fell to $2,607,033 in 1995 (Internal Revenue Service forms 990 for CVC are available through CLEAR).

On October 6, 1997, a three-page advertisement sponsored by the CVC appeared in The Washington Post. The ad, bearing the banner headline "Mr. President: 95 U.S. Senators and Millions of Americans Can't Be Wrong," blasted the climate agreement as an assault on the US economy disguised as an environmental treaty. The ad suggested that the President take more time to study the issues before signing the treaty.

The sponsorship list for the advertisement included a listing of hundreds of oil and gas companies, auto dealers, parts stores, agricultural organizations and other groups. The address and phone number of the CVC appeared on the ad, but not CVC's name.

Interestingly, the ad also carried the names of a number of radical anti-environmental organizations, including the American Land Rights Association (WA), the American Legislative Exchange Council (DC), the BlueRibbon Coalition (ID), Communities for a Great Northwest (MT), Frontiers of Freedom (VA), the Maine Conservation Rights Institute and Sovereignty International (ME). Sovereignty International is a new organization dedicated to advancing the conspiracy theory that international environmental treaties are little more than a stepping stone for the institution of global, one world governance by the United Nations. The result of this "New World Order" will be the abolition of personal property and the elimination of personal freedoms, according to Sovereignty International.

Other Players in the Anti-Treaty Debate

A host of organizations and individuals are providing the second tier of the multi-faceted attack on climate change. These organizations are providing the grassroots foot soldiers, the Op-Ed writers, the academic studies and skeptical scientists to supply the lead groups with the ammunition necessary to wage the public relations battle. Many of these groups and personalities are also financed by the same industries who ponied up the moneys to finance the business front groups. The following are some of the more prominent of these groups.

National Center for Public Policy Research

The National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) is considered to be the DC-based think tank most closely associated with the grassroots environmental backlash movement. In addition to convening regular meetings of the Environmental Policy Task Force, a forum established "to help arm conservatives with tools for the environmental policy debate it [sic] had been lacking," and publishing periodic reports dealing with environmental issues, NCPPR staff members participate in a number of backlash events ranging from sparsely attended demonstrations to conferences on specific issues.

In effect, the NCPPR appears to act as a bridge between the DC-based think tank element of the backlash movement, including such groups as the Cato Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute and Citizens for a Sound Economy, and the activist element, including Chuck Cushman's League of Property Rights Voters and American Land Rights Association, and Myron Ebell's Frontiers of Freedom Institute. NCPPR convenes regular "strategy lunches" that feature a who's who of conservative activists and members of Congress. NCPPR distributes a bulletin, called SCOOP, reporting on these sessions, and also posts this information on its web site.

Having established a command center in Kyoto, NCPPR is broadcasting the environmental backlash message concerning the negotiations to limit global climate change.

NCPPR has created the Kyoto Earth Summit Information Center. It is billed as a technological hub for information on climate change. NCPPR has begun broadcasting a series of reports on climate change, including a daily e-mail description of conference events (courtesy of Bonner Cohen of EPA Watch, a former project of the far-right American Policy Center).

NCPPR is also offering an "Earth Summit Fact Sheet" that includes: "Forecasts, past and present, of global warming and its impact on sea levels; satellite, weather balloon and ground measurements of the actual global temperatures; a summary and analysis of common misconceptions about the greenhouse effect and global warming; a layman's description of the greenhouse effect; quotes from prominent scientists and politicians for and against the global warming theory; a detailed chronology of the history of global climate change negotiations; economic data on the costs of reducing greenhouse gas emissions; and more."

Additionally, NCPPR has offered a "free Interview Locator Service" that

"offers assistance to journalists seeking interviews with leading scientists, economists and public policy experts on global warming." NCPPR claims to have "close to 150 environmental experts" in its locator service data base.

A recent CLEAR report, "Show Me The Science" criticized the credentials of many of the so-called experts that NCPPR calls upon for environmental issues. "Show Me The Science" also pointed out the corporate funding connections of many of the experts listed in NCPPR's directory.

Competitive Enterprise Institute

The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) advocates policy alternatives based upon a free enterprise, limited government ideology. CEI has a long history with the anti- environmental lobby, having been one of the sponsors of the 1988 conference that is considered to be the genesis for the "wise use" movement. CEI staff assert in their writings that there is "widespread disagreement" among climate scientists and that the proposed solutions are based upon faulty research. CEI hosted a one day conference in July 1997, billed as "The Costs of Kyoto," that featured prominent "science skeptics" Patrick Michaels, Ronald Bailey and Michael Fumento, along with U.S. Senators Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Larry Craig (R-ID). The attendees heard dismissals of the scientific evidence for climate change and predictions of staggering economic costs for any new policies that might arise from the conference.

The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition (TASSC)

TASSC, a pro-industry coalition created in 1993 to promote "sound science" in policy decision making, is based in Washington, DC offices of the lobbying firm APCO Associates. TASSC's extensive advisory board contains well known "science skeptics" Bruce Ames, Hugh Ellsaesser, Patrick Michaels, and Alan Moghissi. Steven Milloy, recently hired as executive director of TASSC, is a self styled "junk science" critic who previously launched the Junk Science Page through the Environmental Policy Analysis Network (EPAN), a group he started in 1996. Milloy is also a lobbyist for the EOP Group, a DC-based lobbying firm that represents the American Crop Protection Association, the Chlorine Chemistry Council, Edison Electric Institute, Fort Howard Corp, Monsanto, and the International Food Additives Council, among others. Milloy's client list at the OEP Group includes Fort Howard Corp (paper), the International Food Additives Association (chemicals), Monsanto (more chemicals), and the National Mining Association.

On December 3, TASSC and the European Science and Environment Forum (ESEF) announced that more than 500 physicians and scientists have signed an open letter to world leaders opposing the climate change treaty now being negotiated in Kyoto.

TASSC is funded by 3M, Amoco, Chevron, Dow Chemical, Exxon, General Motors, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Lorillard Tobacco, Louisiana Chemical Association, National Pest Control Association, Occidental Petroleum, Philip Morris Companies, Procter & Gamble, Santa Fe Pacific Gold, and W.R. Grace.

Consumer Alert

Consumer Alert (CA) promotes a free-market, libertarian approach to "consumer protection." Consumer Alert operates the National Consumer Coalition (NCC), a group of 24 non- profit organizations such as CEI, Citizens for a Sound Economy, and the National Center for Public Policy Research to promote private enterprise. A subgroup of the NCC has formed the "Cooler Heads Coalition" to address climate change issues. Marlo Lewis of CEI, head of the subgroup, characterizes climate change as "science fiction" and tries to inject a bit of populist rhetoric into the debate by railing against "UN jet setters" that he claims display a callous disregard for the poor (who Lewis states would suffer economic hardship courtesy of an international agreement). NCC members Karen Kerrigan of the Small Business Survival Committee, Joseph Bast of the Heartland Institute, and Fran Smith of CA held a briefing on climate change held in conjunction with the G-8 summit held in Denver in June, 1997.

Environmental Conservation Organization

Formed in 1988 by the Land Improvement Contractors Association, the Environmental Conservation Organization (ECO) was originally established to act as the coordinating body of the nascent "wise use" movement. In the past year, ECO has become a leading proponent of the conspiratorial theory of the United Nations New World Order and the role of environmentalism in establishing a "one world government." The United Nations/new world order conspiracy was the impetus for the recent formation of Sovereignty International (SI), an anti-environmental organization devoted to outreach and advocacy aimed at stopping the globalization of environmentalism. SI was formed by ECO's Henry Lamb, Tom McDonnell of the American Sheep Industry Association, and Dr. Michael Coffman, a self- appointed "expert" of global environmentalism. Coffman is currently winding down a summer-long speaking tour sponsored by the John Birch Society during which he addressed dozens of communities across the nation on the topic of the United Nations conspiracy. On November 5, ECO was a sponsor of a national conference coordinated by the Global Climate Coalition in opposition to the Clinton Administration's involvement in the Kyoto conference. Other sponsors included the American Farm Bureau Federation, People For the West!, prominent organizations in the environmental backlash.

Frontiers of Freedom Institute

Former Wyoming Republican Senator Malcolm Wallop founded the Frontiers of Freedom Institute (FOF) to target environmental regulations. FOF's main policy objectives have been repeal of the Endangered Species Act and the protection of property rights. In August, 1997, FOF co-sponsored a conference in Australia called "Countdown to Kyoto" that aimed to serve as a platform to coalesce international opposition to an emissions reduction treaty. The conference featured prominent climate change skeptics and anti-environmentalists Dr. Patrick Michaels and author Alston Chase, along with Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Representative John Dingell (D- MI), and Australian government officials.

People for the West!

People For the West! (PFW!), an organization that attempts to pass itself off as grassroots but is in fact heavily funded by mining interests, began as a timber advocacy organization in 1988 has moved into lobbying on behalf of any and all extractive and recreational activities on public lands. Representatives from Independence Mining Co, Cambior, Placer Dome Inc., Magma Copper, and Hecla Mining sit on the board of PFW!. PFW! has been holding public meetings in an effort to inform the grassroots sector of the environmental backlash movement. In June, PFW! sponsored a panel at the Fly-In For Freedom, a pre-Denver Summit of the Eight satellite teleconference, and the "town hall meeting" along with the Center for Energy & Economic Development chaired by Marlo Lewis of CEI and NCC. PFW! also held a panel discussion at the Western States Coalition Summit VIII in Spokane. PFW! was a co-sponsor of a national conference held November 5 in Washington, DC in opposition to the Clinton Administration's involvement in the Kyoto conference. The conference was coordinated by the Global Climate Coalition.

Science and Environmental Policy Project

The Science and Environmental Policy Project (SEPP), run by former University of Virginia professor Dr. S. Fred Singer, has extensive ties to fossil fuels industries. On a Nightline program in February, 1994, it was revealed that Singer has accepted "consulting fees from Exxon, Shell, Arco, Unocal and Sun Oil." According to Ozone Action, an environmental organization, SEPP has also received funding from Monsanto, Philip Morris, and Texaco. Singer appeared as a witness during a 1995 Congressional ozone depletion hearing, claiming to have published several peer-reviewed papers on his theories about the huge ozone hole over the South Pole. When Congressional staff checked his references, they found that Singer's only published work on ozone depletion during the past 20 years had been one letter to the editor of SCIENCE magazine, and two articles in magazines that are not peer reviewed. Singer is a regular columnist in the Washington Times, a publication owned by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's far right Unification Church, where he has written many articles on climate change issues. In fact, Rush Limbaugh claims to get his information about the ozone depletion from sources that have been traced back to Singer (Rachel's Environment & Health Weekly, #522, November 28, 1996).

Robert Balling, Jr.

Balling is director of the Office of Climatology at Arizona State University. In 1992 he penned "The Heated Debate" attacking what he calls the "science fiction" of the studies used to determine the effects of climate change. The book was published by the Pacific Institute for Public Policy in San Francisco, CA, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit think tank that analyzes policy issues from a free-market perspective. Balling contributed a condensed version of his treatise for inclusion in "The True State of the Planet," published by the Competitive Enterprise Institute in 1995. According to Ozone Action, Balling has received research grants from industry sources including Cyprus AMAX Minerals, British Coal Corp., the German Coal Mining Association, and the Kuwait government. The Kuwait government paid for the publishing of an Arabic language version of "The Heated Debate." (contact Ozone Action at 202-265-6738, or e-mail

Dr. Patrick Michaels

One of the most widely cited "skeptics" on climate change topics, Dr. Michaels is an advisor to several groups active in the anti-environmental lobby including the American Council on Science and Health, The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition, the American Policy Center and Consumer Alert. He is also the editor of World Climate Report, a magazine funded by the Western Fuels Association (WFA) to debunk the science and theory behind global warming. The magazine toes the industry line claiming emission reductions will involve tremendous economic costs while generating few positive health benefits. In testimony before the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission in 1995, Michaels admitted to receiving funding from a host of industry sources. Ozone Action's "Ties that Bind" lists some of the grants including one from the Edison Electric Institute (EEI). EEI is a contributor to American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), Information Council on the Environment, and the Western States Coalition (WSC), all organizations that are active in the anti-environmental backlash. Michaels also reported a grant from Cyprus AMAX Minerals, which helps fund ALEC, WSC and People for the West!.

For additional information on any of the organizations or individuals mentioned above, contact CLEAR.