Heartland Institute/International Conference on Climate Change (2009)

The Heartland Institute 2009 International Conference on Climate Change, held March 8-10th in New York at the Marriott New York Marquis Times Square Hotel, brought together scientists, economists, legal experts, and other climate specialists to "confront the issue of global warming." These specialists, all climate change skeptics, aim to call attention "to new research that contradicts claims that Earth’s moderate warming during the 20th Century primarily was man-made and has reached crisis proportions." The conference was organised and "sponsored" by the Heartland Institute, a U.S. think tank that in preceding years received substantial funding from Exxon for its work downplaying the significance of global warming.

Funding the Conference
On its conference website, the Heartland Institute states that "all of the event’s expenses will be covered by admission fees and individual and foundation donors to Heartland. No corporate sponsorships or dollars earmarked for the event were solicited or accepted." However, it does not disclose which foundations are contributing to the conference.

While the admission fees are quite high, the Heartland Institute appears to be willing to subsidize the fees of anyone who signs their global warming petition. As described in the Guardian, "the generous souls at the Heartland Institute are offering a special 20% discount on the $720 registration fee. All you have to do to qualify is put your name to the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine's Global Warming Petition, which to date has been signed by 31,072 American scientists, 'including 9,021 with PhDs.'"

Ahead of the conference DeSmog Blog compiled a tally on the funding sources of the Heartland Institute and all the groups listed as co-sponsors of the conference. They found that "over $47 million from energy companies and right-wing foundations, with 78% of that total coming from the Scaife Family of foundations" in the period between 1985 and 2006. In their calculations, the contributors were :


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

2009 conference rationale - building on 2008 and the NIPCC
The 2008 International Conference on Climate Change led to the production of the "Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change." While the "NIPCC enlisted several hundred scientists from more than 100 countries to work over five years to produce its series of reports, the NIPCC document is the work of 23 authors from 15 nations, some of them not scientists," said Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post. This report, edited by Fred Singer, alleged that "natural causes are very likely to be the dominant cause" of climate change and concluded that while anthropogenic sources of GHGs may produce some warming, "evidence shows they are not playing a significant role." The validity of the NIPCC report has been highly questioned by RealClimate, whose scientists have labeled the report "disingenuous and misleading, if not outright dishonest." On their wiki site, they debunk the arguments, chapter by chapter, put forth by the NIPCC.

2009's conference, with the theme "Global Warming Crisis: Cancelled," planned, as did the 2008 gathering, to call "attention to new research findings that contradict the conclusions of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report."

In an interview conducted part way through the conference with NPR, New York Times reporter Andrew Revkin explained that "what I sense, they're realizing that they have such a varied array of scientific explanations for what is going on with the climate that they felt the need to ... square up their own story in some sense because otherwise they are in danger of losing credibility. What has caused this change? They're not gaining traction." Revkin said that Russell Seitz, who had attended the 2008 conference, "felt stiffed and didn't really fit their script". 'He felt a strong sense that there is a political frame of the issue that supersedes the need for the science to be accurate. He was kind of frustrated," Revkin said.

Conference speakers
The conference was to focus on four tracks of panel discussions relating to climate change: Paleoclimatology, Climatology, Impact of Climate Change, and Economics and Politics. The 2009 International Conference on Climate Change website includes three podcasts, one that gives a program overview and two others that preview two of the conference headliners, Christopher Monckton and Christopher Horner.

2009 conference speakers
2009's speakers were to include:
 * Alexandre Aguiar
 * Syun Akasofu: University of Alaska Fairbanks
 * J. Scott Armstrong: University of Pennsylvania
 * Dennis Avery of the Hudson Institute
 * Joseph L. Bast of the Heartland Institute
 * Cal Beisner
 * Christopher Booker
 * Robert Bradley of the Institute for Energy Research
 * Yaron Brook of the Ayn Rand Institute
 * Gabriel Calzada
 * Francisco Capella
 * Bob Carter : James Cook University (Australia)
 * Frank Clemente: Penn State University
 * John Coleman: KUSI-TV, San Diego
 * William Cotton: Colorado State University
 * Piers Corbyn
 * Joe D’Aleo of the International Climate and Environmental Change Assessment Project
 * David Douglass: University of Rochester
 * Terry Dunleavy of the International Climate Science Coalition
 * John Dale Dunn
 * Don Easterbrook
 * Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute
 * Christopher Essex: University of Western Ontario
 * David Evans
 * Robert Ferguson of the Science and Public Policy Institute
 * Michelle Foss: University of Texas, Center for Energy Economics
 * Indur Goklany
 * Fred Goldberg: Royal School of Technology (Sweden)
 * Stanley Goldenberg
 * Laurence Gould: University of Hartford
 * William Gray: Colorado State University; is described by the Heartland Institute as a "leading researcher into tropical weather patterns."
 * Kesten Green: Monash University
 * Kenneth P. Green
 * Chris Horner of the Competitive Enterprise Institute
 * Howard Hayden of the University of Connecticut
 * Roger Helmer
 * Craig Idso of the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change
 * Roy Innis
 * Mike Jungbauer
 * Sam Kazman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute
 * Richard Keen: University of Colorado
 * William Kininmonth: Former head of the Australian National Climate Center
 * David Kreutzer
 * David Legates: University of Delaware
 * Jay Lehr of the Heartland Institute
 * Marlo Lewis of the Competitive Enterprise Institute
 * Richard Lindzen: Massachusetts Institute of Technology; is described by the Heartland Institute as "one of the world’s leading experts in dynamic meteorology, especially planetary waves."
 * Keith Lockitch of the Ayn Rand Institute
 * Craig Loehle: National Council for Air and Stream Improvement
 * Anthony Lupo: University of Missouri
 * Howard Maccabee
 * Thomas McClintock, Republican Congressman from California
 * Stephen McIntyre: University of Toronto; is described as the "primary author of Climate Audit, a blog devoted to the analysis and discussion of climate data. He is a devastating critic of the temperature record of the past 1,000 years, particularly the work of Michael E. Mann, creator of the infamous “hockey stick” graph. That graph--thoroughly discredited in scientific circles--supposedly proved that mankind is responsible for a sharp increase in greenhouse gases."
 * Ross McKitrick: University of Guelph (Canada)
 * Patrick Michaels: University of Virginia
 * Barun Mitra
 * Christopher Monckton of the Science and Public Policy Institute
 * Marc Morano
 * Iain Murray
 * Kevin Murphy: University of Chicago
 * Joanne Nova: Author, The Skeptics Handbook
 * Jim O’Brien: Florida State University
 * Tim Patterson: Carleton University (Canada)
 * Benny Peiser: Liverpool John Moores University (United Kingdom)
 * Paul Reiter of the Pasteur Institute (France)
 * Arthur Robinson of the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine is described by Heartland as "the curator of a global warming petition signed by more than 32,000 American scientists, including more than 10,000 with doctorate degrees, rejecting the alarmist assertion that global warming has put the Earth in crisis and is caused primarily by mankind."
 * Harrison Schmitt
 * Joel M. Schwartz of the American Enterprise Institute
 * Tom Segalstad
 * Nir Shaviv
 * S. Fred Singer of the Science and Environmental Policy Project
 * Fred Smith: Competitive Enterprise Institute
 * Lawrence Solomon: National Post (Canada)
 * Willie Soon: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
 * Roy Spencer: University of Alabama in Huntsville; Spencer is the principal research scientist and team leader on NASA's Aqua satellite.
 * John Sununu
 * George Taylor: Oregon State University
 * James M. Taylor of the Heartland Institute
 * John Theon
 * Brian Valentine: U.S. Department of Energy
 * Jan Veizer: University of Ottawa (Canada)
 * Anthony Watts: SurfaceStations.org

Conference co-sponsors
On its conference website, the Heartland Institute states that "all of the event’s expenses will be covered by admission fees and individual and foundation donors to Heartland. No corporate sponsorships or dollars earmarked for the event were solicited or accepted." However, it does not disclose which foundations are contributing to the conference.

On its website, it lists co-sponsoring groups, as of January 20 2009, as being:


 * Accuracy in Media
 * African Center for Advocacy and Human Development
 * Alternate Solutions Institute
 * American Policy Center
 * Americans for Prosperity
 * Atlas Economic Research Foundation
 * Australian Libertarian Society
 * Ayn Rand Institute
 * Business & Media Institute
 * Carbon Sense Coalition
 * Cascade Policy Center
 * Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change
 * Climate Strategies Watch
 * Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow
 * Competitive Enterprise Institute
 * Cornwall Alliance
 * Economic Thinking/E. Pluribus Unum Films
 * Freedom Foundation of Minnesota
 * Frontiers of Freedom
 * George Marshall Institute
 * The Heritage Foundation
 * IceAgeNow.com
 * International Climate and Environmental Change Assessment Project
 * Initiative for Public Policy Analysis
 * Institute for Private Enterprise
 * Institute of Public Affairs
 * Instituto De Libre Impresa
 * Instituto Liberdade
 * Instituto Bruno Leoni
 * International Climate Science Coalition
 * Liberales Institut
 * Liberty Institute
 * John Locke Foundation
 * Manhattan Libertarian Party
 * Mannkal Economic Foundation
 * Minimal Government Thinkers
 * Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine
 * Public Interest Institute
 * Science and Public Policy Institute
 * Science and Environmental Policy Project
 * Sovereignty International
 * Young America's Foundation

Conference website
Website: http://www.heartland.org/events/NewYork09/newyork09.html Proceedings: http://www.heartland.org/events/NewYork09/proceedings.html

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Global warming skeptics
 * International Conference on Climate Change (2008)
 * Researching global warming skeptics
 * SourceWatch:Project:Creating Articles on Sponsors and Speakers at The 2008 International Conference on Climate Change
 * think tanks

Heartland Institute Posts About the conference

 * Joseph Bast, "Opening Remarks: 2008 International Conference on Climate Change", March 8, 2009.
 * Dan Miller,"2009 International Conference on Climate Change: Update #1", Media Release, March 9, 2009.
 * Dan Miller,"2009 International Conference on Climate Change: Update #2", Media Release, March 10, 2009.
 * Dan Miller, "2009 International Conference on Climate Change: Update #3", Media Release, March 11, 2009.
 * Dan Miller, "Climate Conference Ends On High Note", Heartland Perspectives, March 2009.

Articles about the conference

 * Kevin Grandia, "Research on the "sponsors" behind the Heartland's New York Climate Change Conference", DeSmog Blog, February 29, 2009.
 * Bob Burton, "The Monkeys and Their Organ Grinders", PR Watch.org, March 6, 2009.
 * Colby Beck, "A roomful of cynics: A look at the non-experts speaking at Heartland Institute's denialist sideshow", Grist, March 6, 2009.
 * Andrew Revkin, "Skeptics Question Warming, and Each Other", "Bot Earth" (blog), New York Times, March 8, 2009.
 * Peter Dykstra, "Media Mayhem: Deny-a-palooza: How an annual climate deniers' conference in New York reminds me of Jim Carrey in 'Dumb and Dumber'", Mother Nature Network, March 9, 2009.
 * Andrew C. Revkin, "Gathering of contrarians takes on 'climate alarm'", International Herald Tribune, March 9, 2009.
 * "Czech leader joins meeting of climate change deniers", Guardian, March 9, 2009.
 * "Climate Change Skeptics, Unite: Heartland Institute’s ‘Other’ Global Warming Gabfest", "Environmental Capital" (blog), Wall Street Journal, March 9, 2009.
 * Jim Efstathiou Jr., "Climate Skeptics Challenge Obama ‘Mainstream’ Science (Update1)", Bloomberg, March 9, 2009.
 * Peter Foster, "Heartland is keeping the lights on", Financial Post, March 07, 2009.
 * Peter Foster, "The crumbling case for global warming", Nation Post, March 10, 2009.
 * "Climate Skeptics Gather In New York City", "Day to Day", NPR, March 9, 2009. (Link to audio file).
 * Harry Fuller, "Denial as a political position," ZDNet blog "GreenTech Pastures," March 9, 2009.
 * Pete Chagnon, "The poor and the pocketbook - victims of global-warming alarmism," OneNewsNow, March 10, 2009.
 * Suzanne Goldenberg, "Meet the sceptics: Barack Obama may be worried about greenhouse gases - but not everyone is", Guardian, March 12, 2009.
 * Andrew Revkin, "No Skepticism on the Energy Gap", New York Times, March 11, 2009.
 * John H. Fund, "Warming to Cockburn and Vice Versa", Hawaii Reporter, March 11, 2009.
 * Marc Sheppard, "The Clear and Cohesive Message of the International Conference on Climate Change", American Thinker (blog), March 15, 2009.
 * Miranda Devine, "Climate sceptics fight tide of alarmism", Sydney Morning Herald, March 13, 2009.
 * Harold Brown, "Americans cool as activists cry wolf over global warming", The Daily Citizen (Georgia), March 13, 2009.
 * Christopher Booker, "Nobody listens to the real climate change experts", Telegraph.co.uk, March 16, 2009.
 * Ed Hiserodt, "CORE Leader Blasts Global-warming Alarmists," The New American, March 24, 2009.
 * Phil Richardson (Oklahoma state representative), "A questionable basis for energy legislation: Point of view, cap-and-trade debate," The Oklahoman "NewsOK" website, March 30, 2009.