If you've never heard of Charles or David Koch, I wouldn't blame. While they do run the second largest private company in the US, they don't spend much money advertising the fact.
These oil barons do however spend a lot of money every year on organizations like Americans for Prosperity who attack the science of climate change and deny that it is happening.
Here's a backgrounder on Koch just released yesterday by Climate Science Watch.
And here's Greenpeace's "Climate Crime Unit" on the hunt for Charles and David Koch:
Democracy is utterly dependent upon an electorate that is accurately informed. In promoting climate change denial (and often denying their responsibility for doing so) industry has done more than endanger the environment. It has undermined democracy.
There is a vast difference between putting forth a point of view, honestly held, and intentionally sowing the seeds of confusion. Free speech does not include the right to deceive. Deception is not a point of view. And the right to disagree does not include a right to intentionally subvert the public awareness.
Part one of the DeSmogBlog investigation of "FrackNation" - a film made in response to "Gasland 2" - honed in on the past track records and funding streams of co-directors Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney.
We revealed that Donors Trust/Donors Capital - the "dark money ATM of the right" - partially funded their first two films, "Mine Your Own Business" and "Not Evil, Just Wrong."
We also revealed that ...
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What is your point?
These Greenpeace guys just look like idiots to me. Driving around in vehicles ... using electronic equipment ... consuming power. Nothing specific in their accusations, just a general whitewash of a couple of billionaires who own a huge multi-national corporation. Big deal. I know about Koch, since I've dealt with a subsidiary company on some environmental issues in a professional capacity. But I followed some of your own links and come up with, among other things:
"The subsidiaries of Koch Chemical that are responsible for producing pollution control equipment are Koch-Glitsch, LP; Koch Memberane Systems, Inc.; Koch Heat Transfer Company, LP; John Zinc Company, LLC; Optimized Process Designs, Inc.; Iris Power, LP; Kock Knight, LLC, and Unifin International, LP."
"Koch Membrane Systems, Inc. develops membrane separation systems for microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis. It also produces membranes used in wastewater treatment."
"Koch Heat Transfer Company, LP designs heat exchangers for consumers in the U.S, Europe, and Asia."
"John Zink Company, LLC produces a variety of low-emission burners, flares, and thermal oxidizers. It is also a supplier of gas/vapour recovery and vapour combustor systems."
"Koch Fertilizer owns interests in nitrogen fertizer plants in the United States, Canada, Trinadad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Koch Fertilizer and its affiliates manufacture and distribute over nine million tons of nitrogen products annually."
So, let's see ... pollution control equipment suppliers, heat transfer systems, filtering systems for wastewater, low emission burner production, fertilizer producers. The kinds of products our civilization requires and depends on. Is this a problem for you folks?
Here's another one I found on my own, because I'm so resourceful:
http://www.masshightech.com/stories/2010/03/01/daily54-MITs-Koch-Institute-gets-NCI-funding-and-cancer-center-designation.html"
Its a link to a Koch Institute funding to MIT for cancer research of $100 million and a pledge for an additional $400 million. That is one half a billion dollars ... on cancer research. How much have they given to the Denialist Machine again? Oh ... $1 million to AFP ... over 4 years from 2003 to 2006 ... $250K per year. That's 1% of the MIT cancer donation and 0.2% of the full pledged amount.
Koch appears to be involved in other organizations that promote limited government and free market solutions. Hmmm ... I seem to remember the United States being founded on these principals and yet now, people who think like this are now generally getting attacked by the AGW community.
George Mason University
Koch has been influential in the George Mason University, including in the libertarian economics of the Mercatus Center there and in the Humane Studies.
The 3 Koch foundations contributed $23 million to GMU.
http://robertdfeinman.com/society/gmu.html
http://world.std.com/~mhuben/mason.html
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mercatus_Center
also the brothers were involved in founding the Cato institute.
They, and Richard Scaife Mellon and his foundations are a big part of the wars on climate. Note that Patrick Michaels and Fred Singer have affiliations with GMU.