Robert Bryce from the fossil fuel industry-funded Manhattan Institute [1] just can't bring himself to answer a simple question about the fossil fuel industry funding flowing into his group. Readers of DeSmogBlog may recall our previous coverage about Bryce's anti-clean energy attacks [2] in the New York Times op-ed pages and elsewhere.
Citing the prime example of Robert Bryce's conflict of interest, I asked the Public Editor at the New York Times last year why the paper doesn't require its op-ed contributors to disclose their funding sources [3] so that readers can make up their own minds about the potential bias of these contributors.
Since Bryce is typically only listed as a Manhattan Institute senior fellow, that doesn't let the reader know that his organization has received a significant amount of money from dirty energy interests including ExxonMobil [4] and Koch Industries [5]. That's an important factor in evaluating the rationale behind Mr. Bryce's bias against clean energy [6].
Watch below as Gabe Elsner, my friend at the Checks and Balances Project [7], asks Bryce the simple question about his funding from fossil fuel interests.
Gabe explains:
I asked Bryce if he had financial ties to the fossil fuel industry after his debate appearance before the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners conference on Monday. Not only did Bryce refuse to answer the question, he also launched into an angry, finger-pointing tirade saying that I’d “made up” the amount of fossil fuel support documented by Manhattan Institute records.
Watch the clip with Gabe's analysis embedded: