Galileo Movement

The Galileo Movement is a a climate skeptic lobby group set up to oppose carbon pricing, based in Australia. On its website the group states that "our objective is to expose misrepresentations pushing a 'price on carbon dioxide'." In August 2011, the Scientific American magazine openly derided the group, describing it as "drawing from a deep history of denial and distortion" and relying on irrelevant facts while omitting pertinent ones.

Founded ostensibly by retirees John Smeed, an engineer, and Case Smit, a hygienist, the group launched its website in May, 2011. The group's patron is conservative Australian broadcaster Alan Jones.

The group blames global warming on variations in solar radiation, ocean-atmosphere oscillations, deviations in the Earth's orbit, and mountain-building continental drift and associated volcanic eruptions -- all dismissed by mainstream science. It warns of "climate police" having the right to intrude into people's lives in Australia, and suggests that the global warming "movement" has parallels with Hitler, Stalin and Mao who convinced their people to murder their fellow countrymen. Its "panel of experts" include News Ltd blogger Andrew Bolt, climate sceptic blogger Jo Nova, and prominent sceptics William Kininmonth, Bob Carter, Ian Plimer, David Flint, and Christopher Monckton.

Funding
Sources of funding are unknown, although Smeed and Smit claim to be funding the Movement themselves. Smeed and Smit organised and underwrote the 2010 Australian tour of climate sceptic, Christopher Monckton, forking out the $115,000 cost.

However, the month before Smit told the Noosa News that Gina Rinehart, the Chairman of Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd (HPPL) and its coal subsidiary Hancock Coal, had agreed to fund part of the costs of a tour to Australia of climate sceptic Christopher Monckton. Smit, one of the tour organisers, said that they wrote to Rinehart when the organiser of the Perth leg of the tour could no longer help out. Smit said that "She said, ‘I’ll get my office to organise it’. So Gina Rinehart’s office is the contact for the Perth event."

Aims
The Galileo Movement's primary aim is to oppose any price on carbon dioxide emissions, or any carbon tax or carbon trading scheme in Australia.

Actions
In December 2011, the Galileo Movement bought 300 copies of Ian Plimer's controversial denialist book, How To Get Expelled From School - A guide to climate change for pupils, parents and punters and offered them to Australian schools for free. Case Smit stated that any fair-minded school should be open to hearing "both sides of the argument".

Personnel
Project Leader: Malcolm Roberts, is a businessman and mining industry consultant with a degree in geology.

Advisers
On its website the Galileo Movement states that its "independent advisers" include:


 * Professor Tim Ball
 * Warwick Hughes
 * Fred Singer
 * Richard Lindzen
 * William Kininmonth
 * Bob Carter
 * Ian Plimer
 * David Archibald
 * Peter Ridd
 * Garth Paltridge
 * Vincent Gray
 * Jennifer Marohasy
 * Jo Nova
 * Des Moore
 * John Nicol
 * David Flint
 * Andrew Bolt
 * John McLean
 * David Evans
 * Christopher Monckton

Contact details
Phone: 1300 766 715 Website: http://www.galileomovement.com.au/galileo_movement.php

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Australia and coal
 * Global warming skeptics