Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow

Last updated
Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow
AbbreviationCFACT
Formation1985
Type Nonprofit organization think tank
Headquarters Washington, DC, United States
President
 Craig Rucker
Key people
  • Craig Rucker
  • Marc Morano
  • Duggan Flanakin
  • Christina Wilson Norman
  • Paul Driessen
Revenue (2015)
$2,131,668 [1]
Expenses (2015)$1,751,468 [1]
Website www.cfact.org

The Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) is a US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1985 that advocates for free-market solutions to environmental issues. According to its mission statement, CFACT also seeks to protect private property rights, promote economic policies that reduce pollution and protect wildlife, and provide an "alternative voice on issues of environment and development". [2] [3]

Contents

The organization rejects the scientific consensus on climate change. [4] [5]

Personnel and funding

CFACT is governed by a Board of Directors that includes founding president David Rothbard. Staffers include communications director Marc Morano and policy analyst Paul Driessen, the author of "Eco-Imperialism: Green Power, Black Death". [6] [7]

Total revenues over the years 2009 through 2011 have averaged around $3 million, as reported on the organization's IRS Form 990 [8] and its 2011 annual audited financial statement. [9] In 2010, nearly half of CFACT's funding came from Donors Trust, a nonprofit donor-advised fund with the goal of "safeguarding the intent of libertarian and conservative donors". [10] [11] In 2011, CFACT received a $1.2 million grant from Donors Trust, 40% of CFACT's revenue that year. [12] Peabody Energy funded CFACT before its bankruptcy as did Robert E. Murray's Murray Energy before its bankruptcy. [13] [14]

Advocacy activities

CFACT is a member organization of the Cooler Heads Coalition, which rejects climate science, is known to promote falsehoods about climate change and has been characterized as a leader in efforts to stop the government from addressing climate change. [15] [16] CFACT chapters have protested in defense of oil exploration [17] [ failed verification ] and in opposition to the Kyoto Protocol. [18] [19] CFACT supports drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as well as hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in natural gas and oil-rich regions of the country. [20] [21]

Collegians for a Constructive Tomorrow

Collegians for a Constructive Tomorrow is a student-led branch of CFACT led by National Director Bill Gilles.

Climate Hustle documentary

The 2016 documentary film Climate Hustle , co-written and presented by Marc Morano of climate change denial group ClimateDepot, was produced by "CFACT Presents", with the organization's president and executive director, David Rothbard and Craig Rucker, receiving executive producer credits. [22] [23] Aired in around 400 theaters across the United States on May 2, 2016, the film mocks climate science through a series of interviews with climate change deniers as well as commentary by Morano. [24] Ars Technica likened the film's style to a "Gish Gallop", calling it "a fast-paced, uninterrupted delivery of superficial and false claims about climate science" which forms "an 80-minute-long list of all the climate 'skeptic' blogosphere's favorite claims". [25]

Copenhagen Climate Challenge 2009

During the [[Climate COP15]] conference in Copenhagen, CFACT hosted a rival event in Copenhagen called the Copenhagen Climate Challenge , which was attended by about 50 people. [26] According to Lenore Taylor of The Australian , Professor Ian Plimer, "a star attraction of the two-day event", attracted an audience of 45. [27]

CFACT Europe

CFACT Europe is CFACT's European branch. It was founded by German historian Holger Thuss [13] who is also connected to the Heartland Institute. [28] Thuss is also president of the climate change denial European Institute for Climate and Energy in Jena. [29]

See also

Related Research Articles

Environmental skepticism is the belief that statements by environmentalists, and the environmental scientists who support them, are false or exaggerated. The term is also applied to those who are critical of environmentalism in general. It can additionally be defined as doubt about the authenticity or severity of environmental degradation. Environmental skepticism is closely linked with anti-environmentalism and climate change denial. Environmental skepticism can also be the result of cultural and lived experiences.

Willie Wei-Hock Soon is a Malaysian astrophysicist and aerospace engineer who was long employed as a part-time externally funded researcher at the Solar and Stellar Physics (SSP) Division of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian.

The Cooler Heads Coalition is a politically conservative "informal and ad-hoc group" in the United States, financed and operated by the Competitive Enterprise Institute. The group, which rejects the scientific consensus on climate change, made efforts to stop the government from addressing climate change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heartland Institute</span> Conservative and libertarian American think tank

The Heartland Institute is an American conservative and libertarian public policy think tank known for its rejection of both the scientific consensus on climate change and the negative health impacts of smoking.

Ian Rutherford Plimer is an Australian geologist and professor emeritus at the University of Melbourne. He rejects the scientific consensus on climate change. He has been criticised by climate scientists for misinterpreting data and spreading misinformation.

Doctors for Disaster Preparedness (DDP) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Tucson, Arizona. The group is closely affiliated with the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons, a politically conservative nonprofit association advocating numerous discredited hypotheses including AIDS denialism. It is run by Arizona physician Jane Orient.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate change denial</span> Denial of the scientific consensus on climate change

Climate change denial is a form of science denial characterized by rejecting, refusing to acknowledge, disputing, or fighting the scientific consensus on climate change. Those promoting denial commonly use rhetorical tactics to give the appearance of a scientific controversy where there is none. Climate change denial includes unreasonable doubts about the extent to which climate change is caused by humans, its effects on nature and human society, and the potential of adaptation to global warming by human actions. To a lesser extent, climate change denial can also be implicit when people accept the science but fail to reconcile it with their belief or action. Several studies have analyzed these positions as forms of denialism, pseudoscience, or propaganda.

Ecojustice Canada, is a Canadian non-profit environmental law organization that provides funding to lawyers to use litigation to defend and protect the environment. Ecojustice is Canada's largest environmental law charity.

The Institute for Energy Research (IER) is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization that "conducts intensive research and analysis on the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets." IER maintains that the free market provides the most "efficient and effective solutions" to "global energy and environmental challenges".

The Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation is a conservative Christian public policy group that claims that a free-market approach to care for the environment is sufficient, and is critical of much of the current environmental movement. The Alliance is "engaged in a wide range of antienvironmental activities" and denies man-made global warming.

<i>Heaven and Earth</i> (book) 2009 book by Ian Plimer

Heaven and Earth: Global Warming – The Missing Science is a popular science book published in 2009 and written by Australian geologist, professor of mining geology at Adelaide University, and mining company director Ian Plimer. It disputes the scientific consensus on climate change, including the view that global warming is "very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic (man-made) greenhouse gas concentrations" and asserts that the debate is being driven by what the author regards as irrational and unscientific elements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Global Warming Policy Foundation</span> Climate change denial lobby group in the United Kingdom

The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom whose aims are to challenge what it calls "extremely damaging and harmful policies" envisaged by governments to mitigate anthropogenic global warming. The GWPF, and some of its prominent members individually, have been characterized as practising and promoting climate change denial.

During the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 (COP15), there was a rival conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, for deniers, called the Copenhagen Climate Challenge, which was organised by the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow.

The Koch family is an American family engaged in business, best known for their political activities and their control of Koch Industries, the 2nd largest privately owned company in the United States. The family business was started by Fred C. Koch, who developed a new cracking method for the refinement of heavy crude oil into gasoline. Fred's four sons litigated against each other over their interests in the business during the 1980s and 1990s.

Donors Trust is an American nonprofit donor-advised fund. It was founded in 1999 with the goal of "safeguarding the intent of libertarian and conservative donors". As a donor advised fund, Donors Trust is not legally required to disclose the identity of its donors, and most of its donors remain anonymous. It distributes funds to various conservative and libertarian organizations, and has been characterized as the "dark money ATM" of the political right.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Morano</span> Political activist

Marc Morano is a former Republican political aide who founded and runs the website ClimateDepot.com. ClimateDepot is a project of the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), a US non-profit organisation that promotes climate change denial.

The Searle Freedom Trust is a 501(c)(3) grant-making foundation located in the United States. It was established by business executive Daniel C. Searle in 1998. As of 2017, the trust had an endowment of $141 million.

Robert J. Brulle is an American environmental sociologist and professor of sociology and environmental science at Drexel University. He is also an associate professor of public health at the Drexel University School of Public Health. He advocates aggressive political action to address global warming.

<i>Climate Hustle</i> 2016 American film

Climate Hustle is a 2016 film rejecting the existence and cause of climate change, narrated by climate change denialist Marc Morano, produced and directed by Christopher Rogers, co-written by Morano and Mick Curran, and funded by the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), a free market pressure group funded by the fossil fuel lobby.

The history of climate change policy and politics refers to the continuing history of political actions, policies, trends, controversies and activist efforts as they pertain to the issue of climate change. Climate change emerged as a political issue in the 1970s, where activist and formal efforts were taken to ensure environmental crises were addressed on a global scale. International policy regarding climate change has focused on cooperation and the establishment of international guidelines to address global warming. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is a largely accepted international agreement that has continuously developed to meet new challenges. Domestic policy on climate change has focused on both establishing internal measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and incorporating international guidelines into domestic law.

References

  1. 1 2 "Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow" (PDF). Foundation Center. 4 October 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  2. ↑ "CFACT – Collegians For A Constructive Tomorrow". CFACT – Collegians For A Constructive Tomorrow. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  3. ↑ Nadal, Josh. "About". CFACT. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  4. ↑ Rucker, Craig (December 9, 2009). "Man-Made Hysteria". National Journal. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ↑ "The myth of the 97% climate change consensus". CFACT. 2014-05-30. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  6. ↑ "CFACT Staff". Archived from the original on 3 March 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  7. ↑ "About". www.globalwarming.org. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  8. ↑ "CFACT's 2011 IRS Form 990" (PDF). Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  9. ↑ "CFACT 2011 Audit" (PDF). Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  10. ↑ Callahan, David (March 3, 2016). "Inside DonorsTrust: What This Mission-Driven DAF Offers Philanthropists on the Right". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  11. ↑ Goldenberg, Suzanne (February 14, 2013). "How Donors Trust distributed millions to anti-climate groups". The Guardian. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  12. ↑ Hickley, Walter (February 12, 2013). "Inside The Secretive Dark-Money Organization That's Keeping The Lights On For Conservative Groups". Business Insider . Retrieved February 14, 2013.
  13. 1 2 Friedman, Lisa (17 December 2019). "A Coal Baron Funded Climate Denial as His Company Spiraled Into Bankruptcy". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  14. ↑ Goldman, Gretchen (2016-06-30). "Peabody Energy Discloses Extensive Payments to Climate Denial Groups". Union of Concerned Scientists. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  15. ↑ "A two-decade crusade by conservative charities fueled Trump's exit from Paris climate accord". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  16. ↑ "Playing Climate-Change Telephone". The New Yorker. 2014-04-29. Retrieved 2015-10-11.
  17. ↑ "CFACT". cfactcampus.org. Archived from the original on 2015-09-30. Retrieved 2010-04-18.
  18. ↑ "CFACT". cfactcampus.org. Archived from the original on 2015-09-30. Retrieved 2010-04-18.
  19. ↑ Epstein, Lita; Jaco, C.D.; Neimann, Julianne C. (2003). The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Politics Of Oil. p. 273.
  20. ↑ "Drilling for straight facts on ANWR development". cfact.org. 2004-07-06.
  21. ↑ Driessen, Paul (2016-08-22). "Fracturing common sense". CFACT. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  22. ↑ Hinckley, Story (2 May 2016). "'Climate Hustle' mocks climate change concerns with a movie". Christian Science Monitor.
  23. ↑ McNary, Dave (11 April 2016). "Sarah Palin Endorses Anti-Climate Change Film (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
  24. ↑ "'Climate Hustle': The movie sneers at climate change concerns". Christian Science Monitor. 2016-05-02. ISSN   0882-7729 . Retrieved 2020-02-19.
  25. ↑ "Climate Hustle wants you to believe you just can't trust climate science". Ars Technica . May 5, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  26. ↑ Gray, Louise (2009-12-09). "Copenhagen climate summit: Behind the scenes at the sceptics' conference – Telegraph". London: telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-12-10.
  27. ↑ "Plimer the toast of Copenhagen sceptics meeting". The Australian . www.theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 2009-12-10.
  28. ↑ "Who We Are – Holger J. Thuss". www.heartland.org. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  29. ↑ Connolly, Kate (14 May 2019). "Germany's AfD turns on Greta Thunberg as it embraces climate denial". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.