There’s a new op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that, like so many others, has fossil-fuel-funded authors and fossil-fuel-favored arguments. With a headline decrying “The Phony War Against CO2,” it’s a boring rehash of the easily debunked myth that carbon dioxide is good for plants and therefore we should all just burn as much of it as we want.
The group responsible for this piece is the CO2 Coalition, which not long after forming was revealed in a sting a willingness to trade pro-carbon content like this op-ed for fossil fuel money.
Though we know the CO2 Coalition is rife with fossil fuel connections, their exact funding is unknown. So we can’t say for sure that the Koch brothers are propping up this effort.
But it would certainly fit right into the Kochs’ Doubt Machine, the name of a new video narrated by Emma Thompson about the Koch Brothers’ War on Climate Science. From their attacks on scientists like Michael Mann, to their millions in funding for denier groups, to their hiring of private eyes to dig up dirt on journalists like Jane Mayer, the video is a great look at the forces at work to erode public support for climate action.
A big part of that effort was to make climate change a toxic issue for conservatives, bringing us to the point where, according to the video, 170 lawmakers have pledged to never put a price on carbon. And if someone were to acknowledge the reality of climate science, they risk getting “Inglised” by a far-right, Koch-supported candidate.
While the Kochs have pulled back from the presidential race this year to focus on state races, consolidated their Doubt Machine by folding some groups into larger ones, and somewhat successfully stayed out of the #ExxonKnew story, this mini-doc shows they’re still a force to be reckoned with.
Towards the end, the video tells the tale of Willie Soon and his $1.3 million in funding from the fossil fuel industry. Of course, one of his main points is that carbon is good for growing plants.
Now where else do we hear that phony claim? Oh right, from this CO2 Coalition op-ed. Surely it’s just a coincidence that fossil-fuel-funded CO2 Coalition and fossil-fuel-funded Willie Soon make virtually the same baseless anti-CO2-science arguments.
We eagerly await the day the WSJ runs a factually accurate op-ed about The Phony War Against CO2 Science...
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