It is nearly impossible to discuss the vast climate change denial echo chamber [1]and not mention the Koch Brothers [2], Koch Industries [3], and what some have called the Koch Empire [4].
Perhaps unsurpisingly then, the origins of the Heartland Institute [5] -- whose internal documents were recently leaked to DeSmogBlog [6] -- have a direct historical link to the rise of the Kochtopus's wide-reaching climate change denial machine.
It all began in 1977 in Wichita, Kansas, with the creation of the Cato Institute [7].
David Padden, Cato Institute, and the Rise of Heartland
The Cato Institute was founded in 1977 and originally funded [8] by Charles Koch, of Koch Industries [9] fame and fortune.
It is known today for its libertarian policy stances on issues like the War on Drugs [10], anti-interventionist foreign policy [11], and support for civil liberties [11], and perhaps most notoriously for its climate change denial [12] and pro-polluter stance in energy policy debates. Cato's most infamous talking head today is Pat Michaels [13], who serves as its "Senior Fellow in Environmental Studies."
One of the key original members of Cato's Board of Directors was David Padden [14], a Chicago, IL-based investment banker and then owner of Padden & Company [15], which now also has a spinoff called Padco Lease Corporation [16]. Padden [17] passed away in October 2011.
In 1984, piggybacking off of his role at Cato, Padden founded [18] the Heartland Institute, also serving on its original Board of Directors.
Padden also served on the original Board of Directors of another organization founded that year, Citizens for a Sound Economy [19], now known as both FreedomWorks [20] and Americans for Prosperity [21]. Both of these echo chambers [22] recieved their initial seed money from the Koch family fortune.
Padden also served as the original co-chairman with Joseph Bast [23] at Heartland, while U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) [24], a current Republican Party candidate for the 2012 election, was the first chairman [22] of Citizens for a Sound Economy.
Koch Empire Funds Heartland Climate Change Denial Echo Chamber
Between 1986 and 2009, the Koch Empire gave $75,000 [25] to the Heartland Institute, according to Greenpeace USA's PolluterWatch project. During that same time period, the Empire gave just under $14 million [7] to Cato, over $7.5 million [26] to Citizens for a Sound Economy (now known as FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity), and over $5.5 million [27] to Americans for Prosperity, according to PolluterWatch.
Prior to his death, Padden had affiliations [14] with all of these outfits.
Joseph Bast [28], the current head of Heartland, served as Founding Director, officer, and member of the executive committee of the State Policy Network (SPN) [29]. He is on the Board of Advisors of the Illinois Policy Institute [30] (IPI), a member [31] of SPN.
SPN received $39,000 [29]from the Koch Empire between 1986 and 2009, according to PolluterWatch. IPI, meanwhile, does not make its funding sources publicly available, but its 2006 annual report shows that it received $50,000 [32] from the Cato Institute that year.
Heartland Exposed: Sowing the Seeds of Doubt
As DeSmogBlog has made clear through Heartland Exposed [6], Heartland, and the vast echo chamber it is a part of, are still hard at work "sowing the seeds of doubt [33]" on climate change.
Heartland and its affiliates are a small, but vocal part of the deeply-intertwined, well-funded machine undermining democracy and delaying action to address an ever-worsening climate change crisis [34].
And at the center of it all, lo and behold, is the Kochtopus Empire.
Explore this Prezi infographic created by the International Forum on Globalization [35] to learn more about the tentacles of the Kochtopus:
Kochtopus - Mapping the Influence of Koch Cash [36] on Prezi [37]
Kochtopus: Koch Cash Influence [38] on Prezi [37]