Difference between revisions of "Cato Institute"

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'''Cato Institute''' was founded in 1977 by [[Edward H. Crane]] and [[Charles H. Koch]], the billionaire co-owner of [[Koch Industries]] which is the US’ second-largest privately owned company and the largest privately owned oil company, with annual revenues of more than $30 billion[1].  
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{{Template:Climate badge}}
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'''Cato Institute''' is a ‘public policy research organization - think tank’ which was founded 1977 by [[Edward H. Crane]] and [[Charles H. Koch]], the billionaire co-owner of [[Koch Industries]] which is the US’ second-largest privately owned company and the largest privately owned oil company, with annual revenues of more than $30 billion.<ref> Moore, C (2002) [http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200207/thinktank_printable.asp Rethinking the Think Tanks How industry-funded "experts" twist the environmental debate]Sierra Club magazine, Accessed 25 January 2011 </ref><ref>Edward H. Crane, [http://www.cato.org/people/edward-crane Cato Institute: Edward H. Crane Biography]", Cato Institute, Accessed 12.10.10</ref><ref>About Us, [http://www.cato.org/about.php Cato: About us]", accessed 12.10.10</ref>
  
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It is named after the “Cato Letters”, a series of libertarian pamphlets, and the think-tanks is more libertarian than many of the other right-wing organisations it works with. To this end Cato says that the “The Jeffersonian philosophy that animates Cato's work has increasingly come to be called ‘libertarianism’ or ‘market liberalism’.  
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It is named after the 'Cato Letters', a series of libertarian pamphlets, and the think-tank is more libertarian than many of the other right-wing organisations it works with. To this end Cato says that the “Jeffersonian philosophy that animates Cato's work has increasingly come to be called ‘libertarianism’ or ‘market liberalism’". <ref> [http://www.cato.org/about.php About Cato] Cato Institute website, Accessed 25 January 2011</ref>
  
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Although it has a smaller budget than some of the think-tanks it the late nineties, at least, it was seen as the fourth most influential think-tank in Washington[2].
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Although it has a smaller budget than some of the large think-tanks it was seen, in the late 1990s at least, as the fourth most influential think tank in Washington.<ref> [http://www.tobacco.org/articles/org/cato/ Cato Institute] Tobacco.org Website, Accessed 31 January 2010 </ref>
  
 
==Funding==
 
==Funding==
  
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Cato maintains that “In order to maintain an independent posture, the Cato Institute accepts no government funding or endowments. Contributions are received from foundations, corporations, and individuals”
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The Cato Institute does not receive any government funding. Data shows that the largest proportion of funding for the 2010 fiscal year came from individual contributions (77%), the next largest contribution came from foundations (14%)[[Image:Cato Institute Income Pie Chart.jpg|800px|centre|thumb|Pie Chart]]
  
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According to People for the American Way, Cato has been funded by:
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Cato maintains that “In order to maintain an independent posture, the Cato Institute accepts no government funding or endowments. Contributions are received from foundations, corporations, and individuals”.<ref>[http://www.cato.org/about/annualreports.html#/annual_report_2009 Cato Annual Reports] Cato Website Annual accounts, *(search PDF for "foundation sponsors"), Accessed 31 January 2011 </ref>
  
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*[[Philip Morris]]
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According to Right Wing Watch, Cato has been funded by: <ref>[http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/cato-institute Cato Institute] Rightwingwatch.org, Accessed 31 January 2011 </ref>
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*[[R.J. Reynolds]]
 
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*[[Bell Atlantic Network Services]]
 
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*[[BellSouth Corporation]]
 
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*[[Digital Equipment Corporation]]
 
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*[[GTE Corporation]]
 
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*[[Microsoft Corporation]]
 
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*[[Netscape Communications Corporation]]
 
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*[[NYNEX Corporation]]
 
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*[[Sun Microsystems]]
 
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*[[Viacom International]]
 
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*[[American Express]]
 
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*[[Chase Manhattan Bank]]
 
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*[[Chemical Bank]]
 
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*[[Citicorp]]/[[Citibank]]
 
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*[[Commonwealth Fund]]
 
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*[[Prudential Securities]]
 
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*[[Salomon Brothers]]
 
  
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Energy conglomerates include:
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[[Philip Morris]] | [[R.J. Reynolds]] | [[Bell Atlantic Network Services]] | [[BellSouth Corporation]] | [[Digital Equipment Corporation]] | [[GTE Corporation]] | [[Microsoft Corporation]] | [[Netscape Communications Corporation]] | [[NYNEX Corporation]] | [[Sun Microsystems]] | [[Viacom International]] | [[American Express]] | [[Chase Manhattan Bank]] | [[Chemical Bank]] | [[Citicorp]]/[[Citibank]] | [[Commonwealth Fund]] | [[Prudential Securities]] | [[Salomon Brothers]]  
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*[[Chevron Companies]]  
 
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*[[Exxon Company]]  
 
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*[[Shell Oil Company]]
 
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*[[Tenneco Gas]]
 
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*[[American Petroleum Institute]]
 
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*[[Amoco Foundation]]
 
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*[[Atlantic Richfield Foundation]]  
 
  
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Cato's pharmaceutical donors include:
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===Energy donors===
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*[[Eli Lilly & Company]]
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[[Chevron Companies]] | [[Exxon Company]]  | [[Shell Oil Company]] | [[Tenneco Gas]] | [[American Petroleum Institute]] | [[Amoco Foundation]] | [[Atlantic Richfield Foundation]]
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*[[Merck & Company]]
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Since 1998, it has received some $50,000 from Exxon Mobil.<ref>[http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Cato_Institute Cato Institute], Sourcewatch.org, Accessed 31 January 2011</ref>
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*[[Pfizer]]
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===Pharmaceutical donors===
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[3]
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[[Eli Lilly & Company]] | [[Merck & Company]] | [[Pfizer]]
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===Conservative foundations===
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Between 1985 and 2001, the Institute received $15,718,040 in 112 grants from only ten conservative foundations:<ref>[http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Cato_Institute Cato Institute], Sourcewatch.org, Accessed 31 January 2011</ref> [[Castle Rock Foundation]] | [[Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation]] | [[Earhart Foundation]] | [[JM Foundation]] | [[John M. Olin Foundation]] | [[Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation]] | [[Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation]] | [[Sarah Scaife Foundation]] | [[Carthage Foundation]] | [[David H Koch Foundation]]  
  
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Between 1985 and 2001, the Institute received $15,718,040 in 112 grants from only ten conservative foundations[4]:
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====After 2001====
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*[[Donors Trust]]: $252,800 in 2014, $160,500 in 2013, $160,500 in 2012 <ref> Donors Trust, 990 Form, 2014 </ref>  <ref> Donors Trust, 990 Form, 2013 </ref> <ref> Donors Trust, 990 Form, 2012 </ref>
  
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*[[Castle Rock Foundation]]
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==Links to Koch Industries==
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*[[Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation]]
 
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*[[Earhart Foundation]]
 
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*[[JM Foundation]]
 
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*[[John M. Olin Foundation]]
 
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*[[Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation]]
 
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*[[Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation]]
 
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*[[Sarah Scaife Foundation]]
 
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*[[Carthage Foundation]]
 
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*[[David H Koch Foundation]]
 
  
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Since 1998, it has received some $50,000 from Exxon Mobil[5].  
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[[Charles Koch]] of [[Koch Industries]] founded the Cato Institute in 1977.<ref> Moore, C (2002) [http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200207/thinktank_printable.asp Rethinking the Think Tanks How industry-funded "experts" twist the environmental debate]Sierra Club magazine, Accessed 25 January 2011</ref> Greenpeace argue that 'every journalist, scientist and politician needs to know - that denial of climate change is not something based on healthy scientific scepticism and debate: it is manufactured and bears the "Koch" brand', adding:
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:To put their financial commitment into context, from 2005-2008 the Koch brothers pumped in double the amount that even [[Exxon Mobil]] spent on undermining climate action over the same period.<ref>Feature Story, Exposing the dirty money behind fake climate science, ''Greenpeace'', 30-March-2010</ref>
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Greenpeace argue that the Cato Institute has received $1,028,400 from Koch foundations between 2005-2008, the total amount of Koch foundation grants to the Cato Institute between 1997-2008 is $5,278,400.<ref>Feature Story, Exposing the dirty money behind fake climate science, ''Greenpeace'', 30-March-2010</ref>
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According to a research program by the Political Economy Research Institute, [[Koch Industries]] came 10th in a list of the 100 worst toxic air polluters.<ref> "[http://www.peri.umass.edu/toxic_index/ Political Economy Research Institute: 100 Toxic Air Polluters]”, access 14.10.10 </ref> Koch Industries was sued by the government in 1995 and 1997 over a reported 300 oil spills at pipelines which were owned and operated by the company. The lawsuits included stringent penalties - from $71 million to $214 million- placed on the company for dumping an estimated three million gallons of oil into lakes and streams in six states <ref> "[http://projects.publicintegrity.org/oil//report.aspx?aid=347 Center for Public Integrity: Politics of Oil]", access 15.10.10 </ref>.
  
 
==Links to the Bush Administration==  
 
==Links to the Bush Administration==  
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According to Cato in 2001 President George W. Bush appointed a former Cato vice president and a Cato fellow, and two Cato staffers to the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security. According to People for the American Way these include: Former Rep. Tim Penny (D-MN); Sam Beard, Carolyn Weaver, Randy Clerihue, and Andrew Biggs. Mark Groombridge, Special Assistant, Office of the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, State Department also used to work at Cato. <ref>Moore, C (2002)[http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200207/thinktank_printable.asp Rethinking the Think Tanks], Accessed 31 January 2011</ref>
  
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According to Cato in 2001 President George W. Bush appointed a former Cato vice president and a Cato fellow, and two Cato staffers to the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security. According to People for the American Way these include: Former Rep. Tim Penny (D-MN); Sam Beard, Carolyn Weaver, Randy Clerihue, and Andrew Biggs. Mark Groombridge, Special Assistant, Office of the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, State Department also used to work at Cato[6].
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==Media Industry Links==
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[[Rupert Murdoch]], President and CEO of [[News Corporation]] joined the Cato Institute board of directors in 1997, he was welcomed as ‘one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world, a strong advocate of the free market and a committed civil libertarian’.<ref>Cato Institute, [http://www.cato.org/pubs/policy_report/cpr-19n6-10.html Cato Institute: News Note- Rupert Murdoch joins Board of Directors]”, accessed 1.11.10</ref>
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Rupert Murdoch worked closely with fellow board member [[John C Malone]] (then president and CEO of Tele-Communications Inc, the largest U.S. Cable operator) to ‘actively promote the deregulation of the television and telephone industries’.<ref>Fair, [http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1409 Fair: Media Moguls on Board], accessed 1.11.10</ref> The Cato institute advocates the privatization of the Internet and communications systems.<ref>Fair, [http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1409 Fair: Media Moguls on Board], accessed 1.11.10</ref> Despite Murdoch and Malone’s place on the board of a libertarian think tank both profit from government subsidies. Murdoch’s News Corporation profits from licences issued by the state which are worth millions of dollars.<ref>The Cato Institute, [http://www.accuracy.org/article.php?articleId=51 Institute for Public Accuracy: The Cato Institute, Libertarian in a “Corporate Way”], Institute for Public Accuracy, accessed 1.11.10 </ref> Similarly, cable TV corporations such as TCI (Fronted by Malone) are able to expand their services, and in turn their profits, under the protection of federal regulations which limits the power of license fees to be set at a local level.<ref>[http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1409 Fair: Media Moguls on Board], FAIR, accessed 1.11.10</ref>
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==Tobacco Industry Links==
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The Cato Institute appears on several [[Philip Morris]] lists of 'national allies,' including a 1999 'Federal Government Affairs Tobacco Allies Notebook,' and in a less-specific list of 'National Allies' dated 2000. <ref>Philip Morris [http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/jee75c00 Federal Government Affairs Tobacco Allies Notebook Index] List. October 19, 1999. Philip Morris Bates No. 2080355491/5613</ref><ref>Philip Morris [http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/iqg76c00 National Allies] List. February, 2000. 2 pp. Bates No. 2077285645/5646</ref>
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[[R.J. Reynolds]] (RJR) in a September 2000 document also names Cato Institute as an organization the company could rely upon to help the tobacco industry 'shift the debate and framework under which cigarette-related issues are evaluated in the future.' In the document, titled 'Reframing the Debate Communications Plan,' RJR states, "'Work with CATO Institute ... to empanel a group to debate legality and future management of cigarette industry. Open forum to media (pitch C- SPAN coverage); issue press release and transcript of remarks to media not in attendance.' A subsequent part of the plan says RJR could help sustain public interest in their points of view by encouraging Cato Institute to send pro-tobacco columns to the national media.<ref>R.J. Reynolds [http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/vdh56a00 Reframing the Debate Communications Plan] Report/email. September 26, 2000. Bates No. 528985216/5223</ref> 
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Cato scholars have also raised a number of objections to cigarette taxes. Such taxes are frequently justified by the claim that smokers impose unfairly high costs on society, but in a January 10, 1998 commentary published in the Chicago ''Tribune'' titled "Smokers Actually Pay their Way," Peter Van Doren, Assistant Director of Environmental Studies at the Cato Institute, pointed out that smokers' premature deaths actually save taxpayers money, calling into question the fairness of imposing ever-higher tobacco taxes on them. Van Doren also pointed out that high tobacco taxes are highly regressive, noting that smokers tend to be disproportionately poor and minority.<ref>Peter Van Doren, [http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/rwv28d00 "Smokers Actually Pay Their Way"], Unknown newspaper, January 10, 1998. Bates 2074058288.</ref>
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[[Robert A. Levy]], an independently wealthy businessman who became a senior fellow at the Cato Institute in his 50s,<ref>Paul Duggan, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/17/AR2007031701055.html "Lawyer Who Wiped Out D.C. Ban Says It's About Liberties, Not Guns"], ''Washington Post'', March 18, 2007; Page A01.</ref> has published numerous editorials criticizing higher tobacco taxes, lawsuits against the Tobacco Institute, and other anti-smoking policies. In one 1999 piece written with Cato fellow [[Rosalind B. Marimont]] and published in the Cato magazine ''Regulation'', Levy acknowledged that smoking was a serious health problem but argued that the common estimates of 400,000 smoking-related deaths each year exaggerated the magnitude of the problem.<ref>Robert A. Levy and Rosalind Marimont, [http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/vgc21c00 "Lies, Damn Lies & 400,000 Smoking-Related Deaths"], ''Regulation'', Volume 21, Number 4, 1998. Bates 106039821/9827.</ref> In another 1999 piece published in the ''Wall Street Journal'', Levy decried the Clinton administration's The U.S. Government's racketeering case against Big Tobacco|Department of Justice lawsuit against tobacco companies to recoup the federal government's cost for treating sick smokers.<ref>R.A. Levy, [http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/bhc21c00 Clinton's Illegal Assault on the Tobacco Industry"], ''Wall Street Journal'', February 8, 1999. Bates 106039481.</ref>
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Cato has also criticized the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) that 46 U.S. states signed with the tobacco industry.<ref>Thomas C. O'Brien, [http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-371es.html "Constitutional and Antitrust Violations of the Multistate Tobacco Settlement"], ''Cato Policy Analysis'', No. 371, May 18, 2000.(O'Brien is assistant general counsel to Corning Incorporated.)</ref> For example, Levy argued that the 1998 MSA, which he argues effectively created a government-run tobacco cartel for the benefit of large tobacco companies, created a situation in which tobacco companies no longer need worry about new competitors pushing down tobacco prices.<ref>Robert A. Levy, [http://web.archive.org/web/20060827235753/http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=4295 "Tobacco Cartel: Alive and Well"], ''Cato Institute'', May 11, 2001.</ref> He pointed out that the four largest tobacco companies have managed to maintain a 96 percent market share despite the costs of the settlement, and called the agreement a "sweetheart deal" between state attorneys general and the tobacco industry.
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Cato staffer [[Radley Balko]] testified before the Washington D.C. City Council in opposition to clean indoor air laws, arguing that smoking restrictions infringe on the liberty of business owners to decide what policies they wish to adopt for their restaurants, and the freedom of smokers. In his testimony, Balko claimed that "the health risks associated with secondhand smoke are debatable." Balko argued that employees worried about the impact of smoking on their health should work elsewhere: "A waiter or bartender who chooses to work for an establishment that allows smoking knows what kind of environment he'll be working in," he stated. As for non-smokers rights, Balko argued that "you don't have the right to walk onto someone else's property, demand to be served food or drink someone else has bought, and demand that they serve you on your terms. Free societies don't work that way," he stated. <ref>Radley Balko, [http://www.cato.org/testimony/dct-rb061405.html "Testimony of Radley Balko, Policy Analyst, Cato Institute, before the District of Columbia City Council"], District of Columbia City Council, June 14, 2005.</ref> In his testimony, Balko did not disclose that the Cato Institute received funding from both [[R.J. Reynolds]] Tobacco Company and Altria, the parent company of [[Philip Morris]].<ref>Radley Balko, [http://www.cato.org/testimony/dct-rb061405.html "Testimony of Radley Balko, Policy Analyst, Cato Institute, before the District of Columbia City Council"], District of Columbia City Council, June 14, 2005.</ref>
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==Campaigns==
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===Downsizing the government===
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The Cato Institute runs a website dedicated to campaigning against big government. The website criticizes the government for excessive spending on agriculture<Ref>Downsizinggovernment, [http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/agriculture “Downsizing federal government - Agriculture”], Downsizinggovernment.org, accessed 30 October 2010</ref> and it urges greater privatization in the energy sector because ‘Federal research subsidies impose a burden on taxpayers, and they can be counter productive if they steer markets away from the most efficient energy solutions.’<ref> Downsizinggovernment.org, [http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/energy ”Downsizing Federal government - energy”], Downsizinggovernment.org, accessed 30 October 2010</ref>. They also argue that public transport should be privatized to avoid ‘costly one-size-fits-all regulations imposed on the states’<ref>[http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/transportation ”Downsizing Federal government - Transportation”], accessed,  30 October 2010</ref> and state housing benefits should be cut because they ‘encourage dependency on the government, discourage self-improvement, and stifle renewal in city neighbourhoods’.<ref> [http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/hud “Downsizing the Federal Government - Housing and Urban development”] cited 30 October 2010</ref> The site also encourages less government involvement in education provision.<ref>Downsizinggovernment, [http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/education “Downsizing Federal Government”],''Downsizinggovernment.org'', accessed 01 November 2010</ref> In a video interview [[Chris Edwards]] of the Cato Institute argues that the government cannot afford to be involved in the nation’s education.<ref>Downsizinggovernment, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohUwJsMawh8&feature=related ” Chris Edwards on new Cato website DownsizingGovernment.org”], ''Youtube'', viewed on the 04 November 2010</ref>
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==Climate Change Scepticism==
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In the Cato Institute’s ‘Handbook for Policy Makers’, section 45 outlines: Global Warming and Climate Change. This section of the handbook argues that global warming is less of a problem than suspected and outlines suggestions for congress, including not passing laws restricting the emission of carbon dioxide and how to report to the public about how such legislative measures would not be beneficial.<ref>[http://www.cato.org/pubs/handbook/hb111/hb111-45.pdf Cato Handbook for Policy Makers], Cato Institute, accessed 12.10.10</ref>
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The [[Cato Institute]] holds regular briefings on global warming, with known climate sceptics. In December 2003, panellists included [[Patrick Michaels]], known-sceptic [[Robert Balling]], Arizona State University and [[Michael Schlesinger]], University of Illinois, who believes that the current scientific knowledge of climate change is not settled and that uncertainties “must be reduced”, amongst others.<ref> P. J. Michaels (2003) “Posturing And Reality On Warming”, The Washington Times, 16 October </ref>. Cato held similar briefings on Climate in Washington in July 2003 and 2002.
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[[Patrick Michaels]] is the Cato Institute's resident climatologist, he is a key player in criticising climate change science.<ref name="Logical Science">Patrick J. Michaels, [http://www.logicalscience.com/skeptics/patMichaels.html Patrick J. Michaels - Logical Science], ''Logical Science'', accessed 15.11.10 </ref> He has received personal funding from the [http://www.powerbase.info/images/1/1c/Intermountain_Rural_Electric_Association.pdf Intermountain Rural Electric Association], a leaked memo shows that they paid Michaels $100,000 in February 2006.
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Michaels is one of the most often quoted climate sceptics in the US. He is author of "''The Satanic Gases: Clearing the Air About Global Warming''” along with [[Robert Balling]], another leading climate sceptic.<ref>[http://www.cato.org/store/books/satanic-gases-clearing-air-about-global-warming-paperback The Satanic Gases: Clearing the Air about Global Warming (Paperback)]Cato Website, Accessed 31 January 2011</ref> Over the past few years, Michaels has moderated his position from one where global warming is not happening to one where it is, but it is not as bad as everyone makes out. <ref>T. Stein (2003) “Unstable Climate Linked To Pollution Boulder Experts Cite Causes Of Warming”, The Denver Post, 5 December 2003.</ref>
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Said Michaels in October 2003: “Contrary to almost every news report and every staged hearing… scientists know quite precisely how much the planet will warm in the foreseeable future, a modest three-quarters of a degree”.<ref> P. J. Michaels (2003) “Posturing and Reality On Warming”, The Washington Times, 16 October </ref>
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Michaels and Cato have spoken out against Kyoto in numerous press articles. For example: “The [[Kyoto Protocol]] is wildly popular in Britain largely because the country seems to lack scientists courageous enough to point out that the government's alarmist view of climate change is without merit”.<ref>P. J. Michaels (2003) Kyoto: The Hidden Cost Of Victory In Iraq, The Cato Institute; quoted in United Press International (2003) “Think tanks wrap-up V”, 17 April 2003</ref>. He also opposes domestic US initiatives to tackle climate such as McCain-Lieberman bill, which he calls an “intrusion into business, the economy, and, eventually, into your home”, which “is totally unnecessary”. <ref>[J. L. Brady (2003) “With Clock Ticking, McCain's Push for Climate Change Bill Irritates Colleagues”, Roll Call, 30 October (2003) “Think tanks wrap-up V”, 17 April]</ref>
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He has numerous links to anti-environmental and right-wing groups. He is an advisor to the [[American Council on Science and Health]], [[The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition]] (now defunct), the [[American Policy Center]] and [[Consumer Alert]]<ref>Rampton,S ;Stauber, J[http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2000Q3/junkman.html How Big Tobacco Helped Create "the Junkman"]PR Watch Website, Accessed 31 January 2011 </ref>. He has debunked climate change at a press conference for [[Consumer Alert]] along with other known climate sceptics. Along with Robert Balling (who often appears at Cato events) Michaels has represented the fossil-fuel corporate front groups the [[Global Climate Coalition]] and the [[Information Council on the Environment]] (ICE), the later funded by the [[National Coal Association]]. Leaked memos details how the Association planned test marketing of the idea to “reposition global warming as theory (not fact)”. <ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20050318222702/http://www.mediatransparency.org/search_results/info_on_any_recipient.php?51 Cato Institute]Media Transparency.org Web Archive (2005), Accessed 31 January 2011</ref>.
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Michaels testified in 1995 that he had received $16,000 in funding in the previous five years from the [[German Coal Association]] and [[Western Fuels Company]]<ref>Source Greenpeace - data from company reports for 98, 00, 01, 02 – data not available for 99 and pre-98.</ref>
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Michaels' newsletter, the [[World Climate Report]], is funded by the [[Western Fuels Association]], and can be found on the website, www.co2andclimate.org/editors.html, which is run by the Greening Earth Society / Western Fuels. The Contributing Editor is Robert Balling. [[Sallie Baliunas]] (see below) has also been a past contributing editor. Other contributors include Dr. [[Thomas Gale Moore]] from the Hoover Institution. <ref>[http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/cato-institute Cato Institute]Right Wing Watch Website, accessed 31 January 2011</ref> In his book “The Heated Debate”, Balling calls global warming “the mother of all scares”.<ref>[http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Cato_Institute Cato Institute] Sourcewatch website, Accessed 31 January 2011</ref> In 1996, Balling and Michaels were listed as a member of ESEF (see below). Balling is also on the Science Roundtable of [[Tech Central Station]]. (see below)
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But he is not the only Cato analyst to dismiss climate change. [[Jerry Taylor]] from Cato dismissed the World Watch Report in May 2003 that linked climate change and severe weather events. “It's false”, said Taylor. “There is absolutely no evidence that extreme weather events are on the increase. None. The argument that more and more dollar damages accrue is a reflection of the greater amount of wealth we've created. <ref> Charman, K (1999)[http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/1999Q4/forcing.html Force Feeding Genetically Engineered Foods], Pr Watch Website Accessed 31 January 2011</ref>
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==Bandow Controversy==
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Cato Institute scholar [[Doug Bandow]] resigned in 2005 following revelations that he took payments from the lobbyist [[Jack Abramoff]] in exchange for 'writing columns favorable to his clients'.<ref>ANNE E. KORNBLUT and PHILIP SHENON, [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/17/politics/17abramoff.htm?_r=1 Columnist Resigns His Post, Admitting Lobbyist Paid Him], ''New York Times'', 17-November-2005</ref> Bandow had written a column for the Copley News Service and acknowledged to executives at the Cato Institute that he had taken money from Abramoff after he was confronted about the payments by a reporter from BusinessWeek Online.
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==People==
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The Cato Institute is led by a board of directors, including some key players such as: Founder and President of Cato Institute Edward H.Crane; [[Robert A. Levy]] (Chairman of the board, Cato Institute); [[John C. Malone]], Chairman Liberty Media Corporation; and [[David H. Koch]] (Executive Vice President of [[Koch Industries]]). <br>
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[[Image:Globalisation-Cato_Institute_Directors.jpg|800px|centre|Directors]]
  
 
==Principals==
 
==Principals==
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*[[Edward H. Crane]] - Founder and President  - Board of U.S. Term Limits, and is a member of the [[Mont Pèlerin Society]].  
 
*[[Edward H. Crane]] - Founder and President  - Board of U.S. Term Limits, and is a member of the [[Mont Pèlerin Society]].  
 
*[[David Boaz]] - Executive Vice President
 
*[[David Boaz]] - Executive Vice President
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*[[Ted Galen Carpenter]] - Vice President for Defense and Foreign Policy Studies
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*[[Ted Galen Carpenter]] - Vice President for Defence and Foreign Policy Studies
 
*[[James A. Dorn]] - Vice President for Academic Affairs
 
*[[James A. Dorn]] - Vice President for Academic Affairs
  
 
===Board===
 
===Board===
  
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*[[Philip Morris]] boss [[Geoffrey Bible]] and [[Rupert Murdoch]] have both served on the board[7]. Current board members include:
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*[[Philip Morris]] boss [[Geoffrey Bible]] and [[Rupert Murdoch]] have both served on the board <ref>[http://www.cato.org/pubs/policy_report/cpr-19n6-10.html New Staff in Defence, Education, and Information] Cato Institute Website, Accessed 31 January 2011 </ref>. Current board members include:
  
 
*[[Peter Ackerman]] - Managing Director, Rockport Financial Ltd.  
 
*[[Peter Ackerman]] - Managing Director, Rockport Financial Ltd.  
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*[[Ronald A. Bailey]] - Science correspondent for Reason magazine.
 
*[[Ronald A. Bailey]] - Science correspondent for Reason magazine.
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*[[Robert L. Bradley Jr]]. - is president of the Institute for Energy Research. He is an expert on energy policy and its relation to the environment and an adjunct scholar at the [[Competitive Enterprise Institute]].
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*[[Patrick Basham]] - is founding director of the [[Democracy Institute]] and an adjunct scholar with the Cato Institute's Center for Representative Government.
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*[[Robert L. Bradley Jr]]. - is president of the Institute for Energy Research. He is an expert on energy policy and its relation to the environment and an adjunct scholar at the [[Competitive Enterprise Institute]].  
 
*[[Terry L. Anderson]] - is executive director of the Political Economy Research Center (see below), and co-author of Free Market Environmentalism.  
 
*[[Terry L. Anderson]] - is executive director of the Political Economy Research Center (see below), and co-author of Free Market Environmentalism.  
−
*[[Michael Gough]] - author of Silencing Science, Readings at Risk and Dioxin, Agent Orange, “is an expert on risk assessment and environmental policy” according to CATO. Or according to PR Watch “he has spent much of his career denying that environmental problems even exist ..and he frequently trashes health and environmental advocates”[11].
+
*[[Kevin Dowd]]
 +
*[[Michael Gough]] - author of Silencing Science, Readings at Risk and Dioxin, Agent Orange, “is an expert on risk assessment and environmental policy” according to CATO. Or according to PR Watch “he has spent much of his career denying that environmental problems even exist ..and he frequently trashes health and environmental advocates”<ref> Charman, K (1999)[http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/1999Q4/forcing.html Force Feeding Genetically Engineered Foods], Pr Watch Website Accessed 31 January 2011 </ref>.
 
*Patrick J. Michaels - is a research professor of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia and visiting scientist with the Marshall Institute in Washington, D.C. One of the world’s leading climate sceptics (see below)
 
*Patrick J. Michaels - is a research professor of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia and visiting scientist with the Marshall Institute in Washington, D.C. One of the world’s leading climate sceptics (see below)
 
*[[Steven J. Milloy]] - is the founder and publisher of junkscience.com, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute (see below)  
 
*[[Steven J. Milloy]] - is the founder and publisher of junkscience.com, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute (see below)  
 
*[[Cassandra Chrones Moore]] - an adjunct scholar with the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the author of Haunted Housing: How Toxic Scare Stories Are Spooking the Public Out of House and Home.
 
*[[Cassandra Chrones Moore]] - an adjunct scholar with the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the author of Haunted Housing: How Toxic Scare Stories Are Spooking the Public Out of House and Home.
−
*[[Thomas Gale Moore]] - is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is author of Climate of Fear: Why We Shouldn't Worry about Global Warming, and a contributor to the World Climate Report edited by Dr. Patrick Michaels (see below).. Moore was a member of Reagan's Council of Economic Advisors (1985-89)[12].  
+
*[[Thomas Gale Moore]] - is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is author of Climate of Fear: Why We Shouldn't Worry about Global Warming, and a contributor to the World Climate Report edited by Dr. Patrick Michaels (see below).. Moore was a member of Reagan's Council of Economic Advisors (1985-89)<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20071116085228/http://www.cei.org/pages/tmoore.cfm Board of Directors]Cei.org web archive (2007), Accessed 31 January 2011</ref>.  
 
*[[William A. Niskanen]] - Chairman of Cato since 1985. He was previously acting chairman of President Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers. He has also served as director of economics at Ford Motor Company and as a defense analyst for the Pentagon, the RAND Corporation, and the Institute for Defense Analyses.  
 
*[[William A. Niskanen]] - Chairman of Cato since 1985. He was previously acting chairman of President Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers. He has also served as director of economics at Ford Motor Company and as a defense analyst for the Pentagon, the RAND Corporation, and the Institute for Defense Analyses.  
−
*[[Randal O'Toole]] – “is director of the Thoreau Institute. He is an expert on environmental policy, public lands, and urban and regional growth”. He is the author of The Citizens' Guide to the Forest Service Budget and The Citizens' Guide to the Timber Industry
+
*[[Randal O'Toole]] – is director of the Thoreau Institute. "He is an expert on environmental policy, public lands, and urban and regional growth”<ref> [http://www.cato.org/people/otoole.html Randal O'Toole] Cato Institute Website, Accessed 31 January 2011 </ref> . He is the author of The Citizens' Guide to the Forest Service Budget and The Citizens' Guide to the Timber Industry
−
*Richard L. Stroup - is professor of economics at Montana State University. “He is an expert on privatization, the environment, and Superfund. He is co-author of Economics: Public and Private Choice”[13].
+
*Richard L. Stroup - is professor of economics at Montana State University. “He is an expert on privatization, the environment, and Superfund. He is co-author of Economics: Public and Private Choice”<ref>[http://www.cato.org/people/stroup.html Richard L. Stroup]Cato Institute Website, Accessed 31 January 2011</ref>.
−
*[[David Schoenbrod]] - professor of law at New York Law School. “He is an expert on the delegation of executive powers, federal regulation, injunctions, air pollution, and institutional reform”[14].
+
*[[David Schoenbrod]] - professor of law at New York Law School. “He is an expert on the delegation of executive powers, federal regulation, injunctions, air pollution, and institutional reform”<ref>[http://www.cato.org/people/schoenbrod.html David Schoenbrod]Cato Institute Website, Accessed 31 January 2011</ref>.
−
*Jerry Taylor challenges the “market failure” critique of free markets as they pertain to energy policy and environmental protection. “Under Taylor’s direction, the Cato Institute has become the nation's most influential critics of federal and state environmental policy”[15].
+
*Jerry Taylor challenges the “market failure” critique of free markets as they pertain to energy policy and environmental protection. “Under Taylor’s direction, the Cato Institute has become the nation's most influential critics of federal and state environmental policy”<ref>[http://www.cato.org/people/taylor.html Jerry Taylor]Cato Institute Website, Accessed 31 January 2011</ref>.
−
*[[Dwight R. Lee]] - professor of economics at the University of Georgia. He is an expert on environmental economics, the economic analysis of government, and labor economics[16].  
+
*[[Dwight R. Lee]] - professor of economics at the University of Georgia. He is an expert on environmental economics, the economic analysis of government, and labour economics<ref>[http://www.cato.org/people/lee.html Experts]Cato Institute Website, Accessed 31 January 2011</ref>.  
−
*[[Peter VanDoren]] - Editor of the quarterly journal Regulation, and an expert in the regulation of housing, land, energy, the environment, transportation and labor[17].  
+
*[[Peter VanDoren]] - Editor of the quarterly journal Regulation, and an expert in the regulation of housing, land, energy, the environment, transportation and labor<ref>[http://www.cato.org/people/vandoren.html Peter Van Doren]Cato Institute Website, Accessed 31 January 2011</ref>.  
−
*[[Benjamin Zycher]] - A senior economist at RAND. He is an expert on public finance, regulation, insurance, environmental and energy economics, and the economics of defense[18].
+
*[[Benjamin Zycher]] - A senior economist at RAND. He is an expert on public finance, regulation, insurance, environmental and energy economics, and the economics of defense<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20071211231913/http://www.cato.org/people/zycher.html Benjamin Zycher]Cato Institute Website (web Archive 2007), Accessed 31 January 2011</ref>.
  
 
==Issues==
 
==Issues==
  
−
Cato works on all the major policy issues, including a myriad of environmental ones, including Air Pollution Population, Urban Sprawl, and Sustainable Development  
+
Cato works on all the major policy issues, including a myriad of environmental ones, including Air Pollution Population, Urban Sprawl, and Sustainable Development, Forests and Forestry, 5th Amendment (property rights), Global Warming, Public Lands, Energy, Risk Assessment/Science and Public Policy, Environmental Law, and Regulation, Superfund, Natural Resources, and Water Policy.  
−
 
 
−
Forests and Forestry, 5th Amendment (property rights), Global Warming, Public Lands, Energy, Risk Assessment/Science and Public Policy, Environmental Law, and Regulation, Superfund, Natural Resources, and Water Policy.  
 
−
 
 
−
Some of its most important and high profile are global warming, “sound science,” attacking the environmental movement - see below and climate
 
−
 
 
−
===Climate===
 
−
 
 
−
[[Patrick Michaels]] is one of the most often quoted climate sceptics in the US. He is author of "''The Satanic Gases: Clearing the Air About Global Warming''” along with [[Robert Balling]], another leading climate sceptic[19].
 
−
 
 
−
Over the paste few years, Michaels has moderated his position from one where global warming is not happening to one where it is, but it is not as bad as everyone makes out[20].
 
−
 
 
−
Said Michaels in October 2003: “Contrary to almost every news report and every staged hearing… scientists know quite precisely how much the planet will warm in the foreseeable future, a modest three-quarters of a degree”.[21]
 
−
 
 
−
Michaels and Cato have spoken out against Kyoto in numerous press articles. For example: “The [[Kyoto Protocol]] is wildly popular in Britain largely because the country seems to lack scientists courageous enough to point out that the government's alarmist view of climate change is without merit[22]”. He also opposes domestic US initiatives to tackle climate such as McCain-Lieberman bill, which he calls an “intrusion into business, the economy, and, eventually, into your home”, which “is totally unnecessary”. [23]
 
  
−
The [[Cato Institute]] holds regular briefings on global warming, with known climate sceptics. In December 2003, panellists included [[Patrick Michaels]], known-sceptic [[Robert Balling]], Arizona State University and [[Michael Schlesinger]], University of Illinois, who believes that the current scientific knowledge of climate change is not settled and that uncertainties “must be reduced”, amongst others.[24] Cato held similar briefings on Climate in Washington in July 2003 and 2002.
+
Some of its most important and high profile are global warming, “sound science,” attacking the environmental movement - see below - and climate.  
  
−
He has numerous links to anti-environmental and right-wing groups. He is an advisor to the [[American Council on Science and Health]], [[The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition]] (now defunct), the [[American Policy Center]] and [[Consumer Alert]][25]. He has debunked climate change at a press conference for [[Consumer Alert]] along with other known climate sceptics. Along with Robert Balling (who often appears at Cato events) Michaels has represented the fossil-fuel corporate front groups the [[Global Climate Coalition]] and the [[Information Council on the Environment]] (ICE), the later funded by the [[National Coal Association]]. Leaked memos details how the Association planned test marketing of the idea to “reposition global warming as theory (not fact)” [26].
 
  
−
Michaels testified in 1995 that he had received $16,000 in funding in the previous five years from the [[German Coal Association]] and [[Western Fuels Company]][27].
+
===Water===
  
−
Michael’s newsletter, the [[World Climate Report]], is funded by the Western Fuels Association, and can be found on the website, www.co2andclimate.org/editors.html, which is run by the Greening Earth Society / Western Fuels. The Contributing Editor is Robert Balling. Sallie Baliunas (See below) has also been a past contributing editor. Other contributors include Dr. Thomas Gale Moore from the Hoover Institution[28]. In his book “The Heated Debate”, Balling calls global warming “the mother of all scares”[29]. In 1996, Balling and Michaels were listed as a member of ESEF (see below). Balling is also on the Science Roundtable of Tech Central Station.[30] (see below)
+
The [[Cato Institute]] have intermittently contributed to debates over water policy in recent times. Unsurprisngly this has taken a tone which chimes with [[Market Environmentalism]]. Given [[Terry Anderson]], co-author of ''Free Market Environmentalism '' is one of the main contributors it’s even less surprising. Publications from the Cato Institute advocating private property rights of water include [http://www.catostore.org/index.asp?fa=ProductDetails&method=cats&scid=33&pid=1441248&__utma=1.1873608286482151000.1242883647.1242883647.1262709725.2&__utmb=1.3.10.1262709725&__utmc=1&__utmx=-&__utmz=1.1262709725.2.1.utmcsr=google|utmccn=(organic)|utmcmd=organic|utmctr=Cato%20Institute%20water&__utmv=-&__utmk=67607057 Water For Sale: How Business and the Market Can Resolve the World's Water Crisis] by [[Fredrik Segerfeldt]], [http://www.catostore.org/index.asp?fa=ProductDetails&method=&pid=144126 Water Policy: Ending the Drought] by [[Terry Anderson]] and their Policy Analysis Paper [http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=970&full=1 Going With the Flow: Expanding the Water Markets] by [[Terry Anderson]] and [[Donald R. Leal]].  
 +
   
  
−
But he is not the only Cato analyst to dismiss climate change. Jerry Taylor from Cato dismissed the World Watch Report in May 2003 that linked climate change and severe weather events. “It's false”, said Taylor. “There is absolutely no evidence that extreme weather events are on the increase. None. The argument that more and more dollar damages accrue is a reflection of the greater amount of wealth we've created[31]”.
+
===[[Steve Milloy]] - the junkman===
  
−
[[Steve Milloy]] - the junkman
+
Steven Milloy is the “junkman” an industry hack who is an apologist for the tobacco and oil industries.  He also routinely denigrates environmentalists as “eco-terrorists” <ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20041222224400/http://clearproject.org/reports_cato.html CLEAR CLEAR PROFILE: CATO INSTITUTE] Clearproject web Archive (2004), Accessed 31 January 2011</ref> , or psychologically challenged” or “bogus”, “environmental extremists”, “blowhards”, “turkeys”, “nut cases”, or members of the “food police”,<ref>C. Coon, & Erin. Hymel (2003) Sound Policy for the Energy Bill, Heritage Foundation Reports, 23 September </ref>  through his website junkscience.com.
−
 
 
−
Steven Milloy is the “junkman” an industry hack who is an apologist for the tobacco and oil industries.  He also routinely denigrates environmentalists as “eco-terrorists”[32], or psychologically challenged” or “bogus”, “environmental extremists”, “blowhards”, “turkeys”, “nut cases”, or members of the “food police”,[33] through his website junkscience.com.
 
 
   
 
   
−
PR Watch has tracked Milloy’s activities as a spin doctor for big tobacco and other polluting industries. Going back a decade, to the early nineties Milloy worked as a lobbyist for [[Multinational Business Services]] (MBS), a group hired by [[Philip Morris]] as its primary contact on secondhand smoke issues. Milloy worked under James Tozzi, who was under contract with PM for $40,000 a month in 19935 and up to $610,000 in 1994[34].
+
PR Watch has tracked Milloy’s activities as a spin doctor for big tobacco and other polluting industries. Going back a decade, to the early nineties Milloy worked as a lobbyist for [[Multinational Business Services]] (MBS), a group hired by [[Philip Morris]] as its primary contact on second-hand smoke issues. Milloy worked under James Tozzi, who was under contract with PM for $40,000 a month in 19935 and up to $610,000 in 1994<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20031223125849/http://www.ewg.org/pub/home/clear/view/CV_Vol4_No16.html The Backlash Industry in Kyoto](1997), EWG.org web archive </ref>
−
 
 
 
Milloy first came to prominence as the Executive Director [[The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition]] (TASSC), “an organization that was covertly created by Philip Morris for the express purpose of generating scientific controversy regarding the link between second-hand smoke and cancer” ...
 
Milloy first came to prominence as the Executive Director [[The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition]] (TASSC), “an organization that was covertly created by Philip Morris for the express purpose of generating scientific controversy regarding the link between second-hand smoke and cancer” ...
  
−
Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber from PR Watch explain how [[TASSC]] was set up by PR company [[Burson Masteller]] and [[Philip Morris]]. “Due to the publicity associated with Burson-Marsteller's role in setting up the NSA [national smokers Alliance], Philip Morris executives felt that it was best to select some other PR firm to handle the launch of TASSC. They settled on APCO Associates, a subsidiary of the international advertising and PR firm of GCI/Grey Associates, which agreed to "organize coalition efforts to provide information with respect to the ETS issues to the media and to public officials" in exchange for a monthly retainer of $37,500 plus expenses.
+
In the late nineties, Milloy was registered as a lobbyist for the EOP Group. In 1997, Congressional lobbying records show that Milloy and the EOP group client’s included American Petroleum Institute, FMC Corp, Fort Howard, International Food Additives Council, and Monsanto.<ref>A. Rowell (1996) Green Backlash – Global Subversion of the Environment Movement, Routledge, 140-143; S. Rampton & J. Stauber (2001) Trust Us, We’re Experts, How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambles with Yours Future, Tarcher / Putnam, p272-274
−
 
+
</ref>{{ref|45}}  In 1998, through the EOP Group, Milloy was a registered lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute<ref>S. Rampton & J. Stauber (2001) Trust Us, We’re Experts – How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambles with Yours Future, Tarcher / Puttnam, p273</ref>{{ref|46}}.
−
The purpose of [[TASSC]], as described in a memo from [[APCO]]'s [[Tom Hockaday]] and [[Neal Cohen]], was to "link the tobacco issue with other more 'politically correct' products"--in other words, to make the case that efforts to regulate tobacco were based on the same "junk science" as efforts to regulate food additives, automobile emissions and other industrial products that had not yet achieved tobacco's pariah status”[35].
 
−
 
 
−
 
−
In its pilot year, PM budgeted $880,000 in funding for [[TASSC]]. Both [[Philip Morris]] and [[Lorillard Tobacco]] were members of [[TASSC]].[36]
 
−
 
 
−
In 1998 its Advisory Board included:[37]
 
−
 
 
−
*[[Mickey Edwards]] (Chairman), Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government
 
−
*[[Bruce Ames]], Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of California
 
−
*[[Michael Fumento]], Author, Science Under Siege and senior fellow at the Hudson Institute (see below),
 
−
*[[John D. Graham]], Director, Harvard Center for Risk Analysis
 
−
*[[Clayton Yeutter]], Hogan and Hartson,
 
−
*[[James Steele]], Prof. Emeritus, School of Public Health, University of Texas
 
−
*[[Lester Lave]], Professor, Carnegie Mellon University
 
−
*[[Alice Ottoboni]], California Department of Public Health (Retired),
 
−
*[[Frederick Seitz]], President Emeritus, The Rockefeller University
 
−
*[[Michael Gough]], Director, Science and Risk Studies, Cato Institute,
 
−
 
 
−
Other known sceptics on the advisory board at different times included: [[Hugh Ellsaesser]], [[Patrick Michaels]], and [[Alan Moghissi]],[38] [[ACSH]] executive director [[Michael Fox]],[39] and [[S. Fred Singer]], and [[Michael Sanera]].[40]
 
−
 
 
−
Corporate supporters included: 3M, Amoco, Chevron, Dow Chemical, Exxon, General Motors, Occidental Petroleum, Philip Morris, Proctor & Gamble and W.R. Grace[41].
 
−
 
 
−
Spurred on by the success of [[TASSC]], Philip Morris look to set up a similar organisation in Europe. “In consultation with APCO and Burson-Marsteller, the company began planning to set up a second, European organization, tentatively named "Scientists for Sound Public Policy" (later renamed the European Science and Environment Forum). Like TASSC, the European organization would attempt to smuggle tobacco advocacy into a larger bundle of "sound science" issues, including the "ban on growth hormone for livestock; ban on [genetically-engineered bovine growth hormone] to improve milk production; pesticide restrictions; ban on indoor smoking; restrictions on use of chlorine; ban on certain pharmaceutical products; restrictions on the use of biotechnology[42].” ESEF would become a key part of the anti-green and health backlash in Europe.
 
−
 
 
−
Tellingly the groups have worked together. In December 1997, they issued a joint press release stating: “The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition (TASSC) and the European Science and Environment Forum (ESEF) today announced that more than 500 physicians and scientists have signed an open letter to world leaders opposing the climate change treaty now being negotiated in Kyoto, Japan …TASSC and ESEF are not-for-profit organizations of scientists, former public policy officials and others interested in the use of sound science in public policy.”[43]
 
−
 
 
−
By 1997, the responsibility for TASSC moved from the APCO to the EOP group, “a well-connected, Washington-based lobby firm whose clients have included the American Crop Protection Association (the chief trade association of the pesticide industry), the American Petroleum Institute, AT&T, the Business Roundtable, the Chlorine Chemistry Council, Dow Chemical Company, Edison Electric Institute (nuclear power), Fort Howard Corp. (a paper manufacturer), International Food Additives Council, Monsanto Co., National Mining Association, and the Nuclear Energy Institute.
 
−
In March 1997, EOP lobbyist Steven Milloy, described in a TASSC news release as “a nationally known expert and author on environmental risk and regulatory policy issues”, became TASSC’s executive director[44].  
 
  
−
In the late nineties, Milloy was registered as a lobbyist for the EOP Group. In 1997, Congressional lobbying records show that Milloy and the EOP group client’s included American Petroleum Institute, FMC Corp, Fort Howard, International Food Additives Council, and Monsanto.[45]  In 1998, through the EOP Group, Milloy was a registered lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute[46].
+
TASSC was quietly retired in 1998 only to be replaced by other Milloy websites such as No More Scares.com which was set up with Bonner Cohen, the editor of EPA Watch, published by the American Policy Center (APC), which is headed “by long-time PR pro Thomas DeWeese”<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20050108095956/http://www.co2andclimate.org/climate/download/pdf/wcr7-10.pdf WORLD CLIMATE REPORT][http://web.archive.org/web/20050215064653/http://www.co2andclimate.org/editors.html Editors] Co2 and climate web archive (2005) accessed 31 January 2011 </ref>{{ref|47}}. In 2000, the nomorescares website was used to launch a report called “The Fear Profiteers” whose authors included Milloy, Bonner Cohen, John Carlisle, Michael Fumento, Michael Gough, Henry Miller, Kenneth Smith and Elizabeth Whelan. “All have a track record of accepting funding from and defending industries that make dangerous products and pollute the environment”<ref>R. C. Balling Jr. (1992) The Heated Debate, Greenhouse Predictions Versus Climate Reality, Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy, pxv</ref>. Nomorescare is now also defunct.  
  
−
TASSC was quietly retired in 1998 only to be replaced by other Milloy websites such as No More Scares.com which was set up with Bonner Cohen, the editor of EPA Watch, published by the American Policy Center (APC), which is headed “by long-time PR pro Thomas DeWeese”[47]. In 2000, the nomorescares website was used to launch a report called “The Fear Profiteers” whose authors included Milloy, Bonner Cohen, John Carlisle, Michael Fumento, Michael Gough, Henry Miller, Kenneth Smith and Elizabeth Whelan. “All have a track record of accepting funding from and defending industries that make dangerous products and pollute the environment”[48]. Nomorescare is now also defunct.  
+
Another website runs by Milloy was consumerdistorts.com, which is also defunct, so Milloy’s main weapon of propaganda is junkscience.com and a column for Fox news. In 2001, Milloy published the book Junk Science Judo: Self-Defense Against Health Scares and Scams<ref>[missing 38]</ref>{{ref|49}}, and used the attacks on the World Trade Center to argue the case for more asbestos<ref>L. Miller (2003) “Enviro Trends: Poor to Bear Brunt Of Climate Change --; Worldwatch”, Greenwire, 23 May</ref>{{ref|50}}.  
  
−
Another website runs by Milloy was consumerdistorts.com, which is also defunct, so Milloy’s main weapon of propaganda is junkscience.com and a column for Fox news. In 2001, Milloy published the book Junk Science Judo: Self-Defense Against Health Scares and Scams[49], and used the attacks on the World Trade Center to argue the case for more asbestos[50].
+
A year later Milloy set up yet another front web-site called StopLabelingLies.com that claims to be dedicated to exposing “examples of false and misleading food and other product labels and their associated marketing campaigns,” but its “real mission is to attack organic foods on behalf of the biotech industry”. The site tries to hide links to Milloy, but was originally registered to Citizens for the Integrity of Science, a paper organization that, according to PR Watch “ Milloy sometimes lists as the sponsor of his other web site, JunkScience.com.”<ref> Rampton, S (2001)[http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2001Q4/terror.html Terrorism as Pretext]PR Watch Fourth Quarter 2001, Volume 8, No. 4, Accessed 31 January 2011</ref> Indeed it is as the Citizens for the Integrity of Science that Malloy has joined the CEI and other groups attacking climate change.<ref> Charman, K(1999)[http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/1999Q4/avery.html Saving the Planet With Pestilent Statistics]PR Watch,  Fourth Quarter 1999, Volume 6, No. 4, Accessed 31 January 2011 </ref>
−
 
 
−
A year later Milloy set up yet another front web-site called StopLabelingLies.com that claims to be dedicated to exposing “examples of false and misleading food and other product labels and their associated marketing campaigns,” but its “real mission is to attack organic foods on behalf of the biotech industry”. The site tries to hide links to Milloy, but was originally registered to Citizens for the Integrity of Science, a paper organization that, according to PR Watch “ Milloy sometimes lists as the sponsor of his other web site, JunkScience.com.”[51] Indeed it is as the Citizens for the Integrity of Science that Malloy has joined the CEI and other groups attacking climate change.[52]  
 
  
 
[[Exxon]] documents show that it has given $30,000 to the Advancement of Sound Science Council rather than Coalition. This organisation does to seem to exist elsewhere, so even though TASSC is widely seen to be defunct, Exxon may still be funding it in a slightly different guise.
 
[[Exxon]] documents show that it has given $30,000 to the Advancement of Sound Science Council rather than Coalition. This organisation does to seem to exist elsewhere, so even though TASSC is widely seen to be defunct, Exxon may still be funding it in a slightly different guise.
  
 
==Contact==  
 
==Contact==  
−
 
 
*'''Address:''' 1000 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Washington D.C. 20001-5403
 
*'''Address:''' 1000 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Washington D.C. 20001-5403
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*'''Web Address:''' http://www.cato.org  
+
*'''Web Address:''' [http://www.cato.org www.cato.org]
  
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==References==
+
==Notes==
 +
<references/>
  
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[1] http://www.cato.org/about/timeline.html; http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200207/thinktank_printable.asp; http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Cato_Institute
+
[[Category:GM]][[Category:Far-Right Think-Tanks (GM)]]
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[2] http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2000Q3/junkman.html
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[[Category:Think Tanks]]
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[3] http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=9261
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[[Category:Climate Change Sceptics]]
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[4] http://www.mediatransparency.org/search_results/info_on_any_recipient.php?51
+
[[Category: Water]]
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[5] Source Greenpeace  - data from company reports for  98, 00, 01, 02 – data not available for 99 and pre-98.
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[[Category:Water: Think Tanks]]
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[6] http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=9261
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[[Category:Climate]]
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[7] http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Cato_Institute
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[[Category:Tobacco]]
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[11] http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/1999Q4/forcing.html
 
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[12] http://www.clearproject.org/reports_cato.html
 
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[13] http://www.cato.org/people/stroup.html
 
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[14] http://www.cato.org/people/schoenbrod.html
 
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[15] http://www.cato.org/people/taylor.html
 
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[16] http://www.cato.org/people/lee.html
 
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[17] http://www.cato.org/people/vandoren.html
 
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[18] http://www.cato.org/people/zycher.html
 
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[19] http://www.catostore.org/index.asp?fa=ProductDetails&method=cats&scid=17&pid=144919
 
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[20] T. Stein (2003) “Unstable Climate Linked To Pollution Boulder Experts Cite Causes Of Warming”,
 
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The Denver Post, 5 December.
 
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[21] P. J. Michaels (2003) “Posturing And Reality On Warming”, The Washington Times, 16 October.
 
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[22] P. J. Michaels (2003) Kyoto: The Hidden Cost Of Victory In Iraq, The Cato Institute; quoted in United Press International (2003) “Think tanks wrap-up V”, 17 April
 
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[23] J. L. Brady (2003) “With Clock Ticking, McCain's Push for Climate Change Bill Irritates Colleagues”, Roll Call, 30 October; P. J. Michaels (2003) “Posturing And Reality On Warming”, The Washington Times, 16 October
 
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[24] C. Coon, & Erin. Hymel (2003) Sound Policy for the Energy Bill, Heritage Foundation Reports, 23 September.
 
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[25] http://www.ewg.org/pub/home/clear/view/CV_Vol4_No16.html
 
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[26] A. Rowell (1996) Green Backlash – Global Subversion of the Environment Movement, Routledge, 140-143; S. Rampton & J. Stauber (2001) Trust Us, We’re Experts, How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambles with Yours Future, Tarcher / Putnam, p272-274
 
−
[27] S. Rampton & J. Stauber (2001) Trust Us, We’re Experts – How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambles with Yours Future, Tarcher / Puttnam, p273
 
−
[28] http://www.co2andclimate.org/editors.html; http://www.co2andclimate.org/climate/download/pdf/wcr7-10.pdf
 
−
[29] R. C. Balling Jr. (1992) The Heated Debate, Greenhouse Predictions Versus Climate Reality, Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy, pxv
 
−
[30] http://www.Tech Central Station.com/scienceroundtable.html
 
−
[31] L. Miller (2003) “Enviro Trends: Poor To Bear Brunt Of Climate Change --; Worldwatch”, Greenwire, 23 May.
 
−
[32] http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2001Q4/terror.html
 
−
[33] http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/1999Q4/avery.html
 
−
[34] Americans for Non Smokers Rights (2003) Steven J. Milloy – The Junkman Exposed,  December.
 
−
[35] http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2000Q3/junkman.html
 
−
[36] http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/1999Q4/avery.html; Americans for Non Smokers Rights (2003) Steven J. Milloy – The Junkman Exposed,  December
 
−
[37] http://web.archive.org/web/19980112135753/www.tassc.org/html/about/board.html
 
−
[38]http://www.cspinet.org/integrity/nonprofits/the_advancement_of_sound_science_coalition_defunct_.html; http://www.electric-words.com/junk/milloy/neufeld.html
 
−
[39] http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/1998Q4/ashes.html
 
−
[40] http://www.clearproject.org/reports_tassccontest.html; http://www.ewg.org/pub/home/clear/view/CV_Vol4_No16.html
 
−
[41] http://www.ewg.org/pub/home/clear/players/global.html
 
−
[42] http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2000Q3/junkman.html
 
−
[43] http://www.globalwarming.org/Kyoto/12-3.htm
 
−
[44] http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2000Q3/junkman.html
 
−
[45] http://www.opensecrets.org/Lobbyists/lobbyist.asp?ID=15971&year=1997
 
−
[46] http://sopr.senate.gov/cgi-win/opr_viewer.exe?19984MILLOY,$STEVELOB~0
 
−
[47] http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2000Q3/usual.html
 
−
[48] http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2000Q3/usual.html
 
−
[49] http://www.prwatch.org/spin/August_2001.html
 
−
[50] http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2001Q4/junkman.html
 
−
[51] http://www.prwatch.org/spin/October_2002.html
 
−
[52] http://www.cei.org/gencon/003,03465.cfm
 

Latest revision as of 09:34, 14 October 2016

Global warming.jpg This article is part of the Climate project of Spinwatch.

Cato Institute is a ‘public policy research organization - think tank’ which was founded 1977 by Edward H. Crane and Charles H. Koch, the billionaire co-owner of Koch Industries which is the US’ second-largest privately owned company and the largest privately owned oil company, with annual revenues of more than $30 billion.[1][2][3]

It is named after the 'Cato Letters', a series of libertarian pamphlets, and the think-tank is more libertarian than many of the other right-wing organisations it works with. To this end Cato says that the “Jeffersonian philosophy that animates Cato's work has increasingly come to be called ‘libertarianism’ or ‘market liberalism’". [4]

Although it has a smaller budget than some of the large think-tanks it was seen, in the late 1990s at least, as the fourth most influential think tank in Washington.[5]

Funding

The Cato Institute does not receive any government funding. Data shows that the largest proportion of funding for the 2010 fiscal year came from individual contributions (77%), the next largest contribution came from foundations (14%)

Pie Chart

Cato maintains that “In order to maintain an independent posture, the Cato Institute accepts no government funding or endowments. Contributions are received from foundations, corporations, and individuals”.[6]

According to Right Wing Watch, Cato has been funded by: [7]

Philip Morris | R.J. Reynolds | Bell Atlantic Network Services | BellSouth Corporation | Digital Equipment Corporation | GTE Corporation | Microsoft Corporation | Netscape Communications Corporation | NYNEX Corporation | Sun Microsystems | Viacom International | American Express | Chase Manhattan Bank | Chemical Bank | Citicorp/Citibank | Commonwealth Fund | Prudential Securities | Salomon Brothers

Energy donors

Chevron Companies | Exxon Company | Shell Oil Company | Tenneco Gas | American Petroleum Institute | Amoco Foundation | Atlantic Richfield Foundation Since 1998, it has received some $50,000 from Exxon Mobil.[8]

Pharmaceutical donors

Eli Lilly & Company | Merck & Company | Pfizer

Conservative foundations

Between 1985 and 2001, the Institute received $15,718,040 in 112 grants from only ten conservative foundations:[9] Castle Rock Foundation | Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation | Earhart Foundation | JM Foundation | John M. Olin Foundation | Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation | Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation | Sarah Scaife Foundation | Carthage Foundation | David H Koch Foundation

After 2001

Links to Koch Industries

Charles Koch of Koch Industries founded the Cato Institute in 1977.[13] Greenpeace argue that 'every journalist, scientist and politician needs to know - that denial of climate change is not something based on healthy scientific scepticism and debate: it is manufactured and bears the "Koch" brand', adding:

To put their financial commitment into context, from 2005-2008 the Koch brothers pumped in double the amount that even Exxon Mobil spent on undermining climate action over the same period.[14]

Greenpeace argue that the Cato Institute has received $1,028,400 from Koch foundations between 2005-2008, the total amount of Koch foundation grants to the Cato Institute between 1997-2008 is $5,278,400.[15]

According to a research program by the Political Economy Research Institute, Koch Industries came 10th in a list of the 100 worst toxic air polluters.[16] Koch Industries was sued by the government in 1995 and 1997 over a reported 300 oil spills at pipelines which were owned and operated by the company. The lawsuits included stringent penalties - from $71 million to $214 million- placed on the company for dumping an estimated three million gallons of oil into lakes and streams in six states [17].

Links to the Bush Administration

According to Cato in 2001 President George W. Bush appointed a former Cato vice president and a Cato fellow, and two Cato staffers to the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security. According to People for the American Way these include: Former Rep. Tim Penny (D-MN); Sam Beard, Carolyn Weaver, Randy Clerihue, and Andrew Biggs. Mark Groombridge, Special Assistant, Office of the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, State Department also used to work at Cato. [18]

Media Industry Links

Rupert Murdoch, President and CEO of News Corporation joined the Cato Institute board of directors in 1997, he was welcomed as ‘one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world, a strong advocate of the free market and a committed civil libertarian’.[19]

Rupert Murdoch worked closely with fellow board member John C Malone (then president and CEO of Tele-Communications Inc, the largest U.S. Cable operator) to ‘actively promote the deregulation of the television and telephone industries’.[20] The Cato institute advocates the privatization of the Internet and communications systems.[21] Despite Murdoch and Malone’s place on the board of a libertarian think tank both profit from government subsidies. Murdoch’s News Corporation profits from licences issued by the state which are worth millions of dollars.[22] Similarly, cable TV corporations such as TCI (Fronted by Malone) are able to expand their services, and in turn their profits, under the protection of federal regulations which limits the power of license fees to be set at a local level.[23]

Tobacco Industry Links

The Cato Institute appears on several Philip Morris lists of 'national allies,' including a 1999 'Federal Government Affairs Tobacco Allies Notebook,' and in a less-specific list of 'National Allies' dated 2000. [24][25]

R.J. Reynolds (RJR) in a September 2000 document also names Cato Institute as an organization the company could rely upon to help the tobacco industry 'shift the debate and framework under which cigarette-related issues are evaluated in the future.' In the document, titled 'Reframing the Debate Communications Plan,' RJR states, "'Work with CATO Institute ... to empanel a group to debate legality and future management of cigarette industry. Open forum to media (pitch C- SPAN coverage); issue press release and transcript of remarks to media not in attendance.' A subsequent part of the plan says RJR could help sustain public interest in their points of view by encouraging Cato Institute to send pro-tobacco columns to the national media.[26]

Cato scholars have also raised a number of objections to cigarette taxes. Such taxes are frequently justified by the claim that smokers impose unfairly high costs on society, but in a January 10, 1998 commentary published in the Chicago Tribune titled "Smokers Actually Pay their Way," Peter Van Doren, Assistant Director of Environmental Studies at the Cato Institute, pointed out that smokers' premature deaths actually save taxpayers money, calling into question the fairness of imposing ever-higher tobacco taxes on them. Van Doren also pointed out that high tobacco taxes are highly regressive, noting that smokers tend to be disproportionately poor and minority.[27]

Robert A. Levy, an independently wealthy businessman who became a senior fellow at the Cato Institute in his 50s,[28] has published numerous editorials criticizing higher tobacco taxes, lawsuits against the Tobacco Institute, and other anti-smoking policies. In one 1999 piece written with Cato fellow Rosalind B. Marimont and published in the Cato magazine Regulation, Levy acknowledged that smoking was a serious health problem but argued that the common estimates of 400,000 smoking-related deaths each year exaggerated the magnitude of the problem.[29] In another 1999 piece published in the Wall Street Journal, Levy decried the Clinton administration's The U.S. Government's racketeering case against Big Tobacco|Department of Justice lawsuit against tobacco companies to recoup the federal government's cost for treating sick smokers.[30]

Cato has also criticized the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) that 46 U.S. states signed with the tobacco industry.[31] For example, Levy argued that the 1998 MSA, which he argues effectively created a government-run tobacco cartel for the benefit of large tobacco companies, created a situation in which tobacco companies no longer need worry about new competitors pushing down tobacco prices.[32] He pointed out that the four largest tobacco companies have managed to maintain a 96 percent market share despite the costs of the settlement, and called the agreement a "sweetheart deal" between state attorneys general and the tobacco industry.

Cato staffer Radley Balko testified before the Washington D.C. City Council in opposition to clean indoor air laws, arguing that smoking restrictions infringe on the liberty of business owners to decide what policies they wish to adopt for their restaurants, and the freedom of smokers. In his testimony, Balko claimed that "the health risks associated with secondhand smoke are debatable." Balko argued that employees worried about the impact of smoking on their health should work elsewhere: "A waiter or bartender who chooses to work for an establishment that allows smoking knows what kind of environment he'll be working in," he stated. As for non-smokers rights, Balko argued that "you don't have the right to walk onto someone else's property, demand to be served food or drink someone else has bought, and demand that they serve you on your terms. Free societies don't work that way," he stated. [33] In his testimony, Balko did not disclose that the Cato Institute received funding from both R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris.[34]

Campaigns

Downsizing the government

The Cato Institute runs a website dedicated to campaigning against big government. The website criticizes the government for excessive spending on agriculture[35] and it urges greater privatization in the energy sector because ‘Federal research subsidies impose a burden on taxpayers, and they can be counter productive if they steer markets away from the most efficient energy solutions.’[36]. They also argue that public transport should be privatized to avoid ‘costly one-size-fits-all regulations imposed on the states’[37] and state housing benefits should be cut because they ‘encourage dependency on the government, discourage self-improvement, and stifle renewal in city neighbourhoods’.[38] The site also encourages less government involvement in education provision.[39] In a video interview Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute argues that the government cannot afford to be involved in the nation’s education.[40]

Climate Change Scepticism

In the Cato Institute’s ‘Handbook for Policy Makers’, section 45 outlines: Global Warming and Climate Change. This section of the handbook argues that global warming is less of a problem than suspected and outlines suggestions for congress, including not passing laws restricting the emission of carbon dioxide and how to report to the public about how such legislative measures would not be beneficial.[41]


The Cato Institute holds regular briefings on global warming, with known climate sceptics. In December 2003, panellists included Patrick Michaels, known-sceptic Robert Balling, Arizona State University and Michael Schlesinger, University of Illinois, who believes that the current scientific knowledge of climate change is not settled and that uncertainties “must be reduced”, amongst others.[42]. Cato held similar briefings on Climate in Washington in July 2003 and 2002.

Patrick Michaels is the Cato Institute's resident climatologist, he is a key player in criticising climate change science.[43] He has received personal funding from the Intermountain Rural Electric Association, a leaked memo shows that they paid Michaels $100,000 in February 2006.

Michaels is one of the most often quoted climate sceptics in the US. He is author of "The Satanic Gases: Clearing the Air About Global Warming” along with Robert Balling, another leading climate sceptic.[44] Over the past few years, Michaels has moderated his position from one where global warming is not happening to one where it is, but it is not as bad as everyone makes out. [45]

Said Michaels in October 2003: “Contrary to almost every news report and every staged hearing… scientists know quite precisely how much the planet will warm in the foreseeable future, a modest three-quarters of a degree”.[46]

Michaels and Cato have spoken out against Kyoto in numerous press articles. For example: “The Kyoto Protocol is wildly popular in Britain largely because the country seems to lack scientists courageous enough to point out that the government's alarmist view of climate change is without merit”.[47]. He also opposes domestic US initiatives to tackle climate such as McCain-Lieberman bill, which he calls an “intrusion into business, the economy, and, eventually, into your home”, which “is totally unnecessary”. [48]

He has numerous links to anti-environmental and right-wing groups. He is an advisor to the American Council on Science and Health, The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition (now defunct), the American Policy Center and Consumer Alert[49]. He has debunked climate change at a press conference for Consumer Alert along with other known climate sceptics. Along with Robert Balling (who often appears at Cato events) Michaels has represented the fossil-fuel corporate front groups the Global Climate Coalition and the Information Council on the Environment (ICE), the later funded by the National Coal Association. Leaked memos details how the Association planned test marketing of the idea to “reposition global warming as theory (not fact)”. [50].

Michaels testified in 1995 that he had received $16,000 in funding in the previous five years from the German Coal Association and Western Fuels Company[51]

Michaels' newsletter, the World Climate Report, is funded by the Western Fuels Association, and can be found on the website, www.co2andclimate.org/editors.html, which is run by the Greening Earth Society / Western Fuels. The Contributing Editor is Robert Balling. Sallie Baliunas (see below) has also been a past contributing editor. Other contributors include Dr. Thomas Gale Moore from the Hoover Institution. [52] In his book “The Heated Debate”, Balling calls global warming “the mother of all scares”.[53] In 1996, Balling and Michaels were listed as a member of ESEF (see below). Balling is also on the Science Roundtable of Tech Central Station. (see below)

But he is not the only Cato analyst to dismiss climate change. Jerry Taylor from Cato dismissed the World Watch Report in May 2003 that linked climate change and severe weather events. “It's false”, said Taylor. “There is absolutely no evidence that extreme weather events are on the increase. None. The argument that more and more dollar damages accrue is a reflection of the greater amount of wealth we've created. [54]


Bandow Controversy

Cato Institute scholar Doug Bandow resigned in 2005 following revelations that he took payments from the lobbyist Jack Abramoff in exchange for 'writing columns favorable to his clients'.[55] Bandow had written a column for the Copley News Service and acknowledged to executives at the Cato Institute that he had taken money from Abramoff after he was confronted about the payments by a reporter from BusinessWeek Online.

People

The Cato Institute is led by a board of directors, including some key players such as: Founder and President of Cato Institute Edward H.Crane; Robert A. Levy (Chairman of the board, Cato Institute); John C. Malone, Chairman Liberty Media Corporation; and David H. Koch (Executive Vice President of Koch Industries).

Directors

Principals

Board

Experts / Scholars / Adjunct Scholars

  • Ronald A. Bailey - Science correspondent for Reason magazine.
  • Patrick Basham - is founding director of the Democracy Institute and an adjunct scholar with the Cato Institute's Center for Representative Government.
  • Robert L. Bradley Jr. - is president of the Institute for Energy Research. He is an expert on energy policy and its relation to the environment and an adjunct scholar at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
  • Terry L. Anderson - is executive director of the Political Economy Research Center (see below), and co-author of Free Market Environmentalism.
  • Kevin Dowd
  • Michael Gough - author of Silencing Science, Readings at Risk and Dioxin, Agent Orange, “is an expert on risk assessment and environmental policy” according to CATO. Or according to PR Watch “he has spent much of his career denying that environmental problems even exist ..and he frequently trashes health and environmental advocates”[57].
  • Patrick J. Michaels - is a research professor of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia and visiting scientist with the Marshall Institute in Washington, D.C. One of the world’s leading climate sceptics (see below)
  • Steven J. Milloy - is the founder and publisher of junkscience.com, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute (see below)
  • Cassandra Chrones Moore - an adjunct scholar with the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the author of Haunted Housing: How Toxic Scare Stories Are Spooking the Public Out of House and Home.
  • Thomas Gale Moore - is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is author of Climate of Fear: Why We Shouldn't Worry about Global Warming, and a contributor to the World Climate Report edited by Dr. Patrick Michaels (see below).. Moore was a member of Reagan's Council of Economic Advisors (1985-89)[58].
  • William A. Niskanen - Chairman of Cato since 1985. He was previously acting chairman of President Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers. He has also served as director of economics at Ford Motor Company and as a defense analyst for the Pentagon, the RAND Corporation, and the Institute for Defense Analyses.
  • Randal O'Toole – is director of the Thoreau Institute. "He is an expert on environmental policy, public lands, and urban and regional growth”[59] . He is the author of The Citizens' Guide to the Forest Service Budget and The Citizens' Guide to the Timber Industry
  • Richard L. Stroup - is professor of economics at Montana State University. “He is an expert on privatization, the environment, and Superfund. He is co-author of Economics: Public and Private Choice”[60].
  • David Schoenbrod - professor of law at New York Law School. “He is an expert on the delegation of executive powers, federal regulation, injunctions, air pollution, and institutional reform”[61].
  • Jerry Taylor challenges the “market failure” critique of free markets as they pertain to energy policy and environmental protection. “Under Taylor’s direction, the Cato Institute has become the nation's most influential critics of federal and state environmental policy”[62].
  • Dwight R. Lee - professor of economics at the University of Georgia. He is an expert on environmental economics, the economic analysis of government, and labour economics[63].
  • Peter VanDoren - Editor of the quarterly journal Regulation, and an expert in the regulation of housing, land, energy, the environment, transportation and labor[64].
  • Benjamin Zycher - A senior economist at RAND. He is an expert on public finance, regulation, insurance, environmental and energy economics, and the economics of defense[65].

Issues

Cato works on all the major policy issues, including a myriad of environmental ones, including Air Pollution Population, Urban Sprawl, and Sustainable Development, Forests and Forestry, 5th Amendment (property rights), Global Warming, Public Lands, Energy, Risk Assessment/Science and Public Policy, Environmental Law, and Regulation, Superfund, Natural Resources, and Water Policy.

Some of its most important and high profile are global warming, “sound science,” attacking the environmental movement - see below - and climate.


Water

The Cato Institute have intermittently contributed to debates over water policy in recent times. Unsurprisngly this has taken a tone which chimes with Market Environmentalism. Given Terry Anderson, co-author of Free Market Environmentalism is one of the main contributors it’s even less surprising. Publications from the Cato Institute advocating private property rights of water include Water For Sale: How Business and the Market Can Resolve the World's Water Crisis by Fredrik Segerfeldt, Water Policy: Ending the Drought by Terry Anderson and their Policy Analysis Paper Going With the Flow: Expanding the Water Markets by Terry Anderson and Donald R. Leal.


Steve Milloy - the junkman

Steven Milloy is the “junkman” an industry hack who is an apologist for the tobacco and oil industries. He also routinely denigrates environmentalists as “eco-terrorists” [66] , or psychologically challenged” or “bogus”, “environmental extremists”, “blowhards”, “turkeys”, “nut cases”, or members of the “food police”,[67] through his website junkscience.com.

PR Watch has tracked Milloy’s activities as a spin doctor for big tobacco and other polluting industries. Going back a decade, to the early nineties Milloy worked as a lobbyist for Multinational Business Services (MBS), a group hired by Philip Morris as its primary contact on second-hand smoke issues. Milloy worked under James Tozzi, who was under contract with PM for $40,000 a month in 19935 and up to $610,000 in 1994[68] Milloy first came to prominence as the Executive Director The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition (TASSC), “an organization that was covertly created by Philip Morris for the express purpose of generating scientific controversy regarding the link between second-hand smoke and cancer” ...

In the late nineties, Milloy was registered as a lobbyist for the EOP Group. In 1997, Congressional lobbying records show that Milloy and the EOP group client’s included American Petroleum Institute, FMC Corp, Fort Howard, International Food Additives Council, and Monsanto.[69][1] In 1998, through the EOP Group, Milloy was a registered lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute[70][2].

TASSC was quietly retired in 1998 only to be replaced by other Milloy websites such as No More Scares.com which was set up with Bonner Cohen, the editor of EPA Watch, published by the American Policy Center (APC), which is headed “by long-time PR pro Thomas DeWeese”[71][3]. In 2000, the nomorescares website was used to launch a report called “The Fear Profiteers” whose authors included Milloy, Bonner Cohen, John Carlisle, Michael Fumento, Michael Gough, Henry Miller, Kenneth Smith and Elizabeth Whelan. “All have a track record of accepting funding from and defending industries that make dangerous products and pollute the environment”[72]. Nomorescare is now also defunct.

Another website runs by Milloy was consumerdistorts.com, which is also defunct, so Milloy’s main weapon of propaganda is junkscience.com and a column for Fox news. In 2001, Milloy published the book Junk Science Judo: Self-Defense Against Health Scares and Scams[73][4], and used the attacks on the World Trade Center to argue the case for more asbestos[74][5].

A year later Milloy set up yet another front web-site called StopLabelingLies.com that claims to be dedicated to exposing “examples of false and misleading food and other product labels and their associated marketing campaigns,” but its “real mission is to attack organic foods on behalf of the biotech industry”. The site tries to hide links to Milloy, but was originally registered to Citizens for the Integrity of Science, a paper organization that, according to PR Watch “ Milloy sometimes lists as the sponsor of his other web site, JunkScience.com.”[75] Indeed it is as the Citizens for the Integrity of Science that Malloy has joined the CEI and other groups attacking climate change.[76]

Exxon documents show that it has given $30,000 to the Advancement of Sound Science Council rather than Coalition. This organisation does to seem to exist elsewhere, so even though TASSC is widely seen to be defunct, Exxon may still be funding it in a slightly different guise.

Contact

  • Address: 1000 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Washington D.C. 20001-5403
  • Web Address: www.cato.org

Notes

  1. ↑ Moore, C (2002) Rethinking the Think Tanks How industry-funded "experts" twist the environmental debateSierra Club magazine, Accessed 25 January 2011
  2. ↑ Edward H. Crane, Cato Institute: Edward H. Crane Biography", Cato Institute, Accessed 12.10.10
  3. ↑ About Us, Cato: About us", accessed 12.10.10
  4. ↑ About Cato Cato Institute website, Accessed 25 January 2011
  5. ↑ Cato Institute Tobacco.org Website, Accessed 31 January 2010
  6. ↑ Cato Annual Reports Cato Website Annual accounts, *(search PDF for "foundation sponsors"), Accessed 31 January 2011
  7. ↑ Cato Institute Rightwingwatch.org, Accessed 31 January 2011
  8. ↑ Cato Institute, Sourcewatch.org, Accessed 31 January 2011
  9. ↑ Cato Institute, Sourcewatch.org, Accessed 31 January 2011
  10. ↑ Donors Trust, 990 Form, 2014
  11. ↑ Donors Trust, 990 Form, 2013
  12. ↑ Donors Trust, 990 Form, 2012
  13. ↑ Moore, C (2002) Rethinking the Think Tanks How industry-funded "experts" twist the environmental debateSierra Club magazine, Accessed 25 January 2011
  14. ↑ Feature Story, Exposing the dirty money behind fake climate science, Greenpeace, 30-March-2010
  15. ↑ Feature Story, Exposing the dirty money behind fake climate science, Greenpeace, 30-March-2010
  16. ↑ "Political Economy Research Institute: 100 Toxic Air Polluters”, access 14.10.10
  17. ↑ "Center for Public Integrity: Politics of Oil", access 15.10.10
  18. ↑ Moore, C (2002)Rethinking the Think Tanks, Accessed 31 January 2011
  19. ↑ Cato Institute, Cato Institute: News Note- Rupert Murdoch joins Board of Directors”, accessed 1.11.10
  20. ↑ Fair, Fair: Media Moguls on Board, accessed 1.11.10
  21. ↑ Fair, Fair: Media Moguls on Board, accessed 1.11.10
  22. ↑ The Cato Institute, Institute for Public Accuracy: The Cato Institute, Libertarian in a “Corporate Way”, Institute for Public Accuracy, accessed 1.11.10
  23. ↑ Fair: Media Moguls on Board, FAIR, accessed 1.11.10
  24. ↑ Philip Morris Federal Government Affairs Tobacco Allies Notebook Index List. October 19, 1999. Philip Morris Bates No. 2080355491/5613
  25. ↑ Philip Morris National Allies List. February, 2000. 2 pp. Bates No. 2077285645/5646
  26. ↑ R.J. Reynolds Reframing the Debate Communications Plan Report/email. September 26, 2000. Bates No. 528985216/5223
  27. ↑ Peter Van Doren, "Smokers Actually Pay Their Way", Unknown newspaper, January 10, 1998. Bates 2074058288.
  28. ↑ Paul Duggan, "Lawyer Who Wiped Out D.C. Ban Says It's About Liberties, Not Guns", Washington Post, March 18, 2007; Page A01.
  29. ↑ Robert A. Levy and Rosalind Marimont, "Lies, Damn Lies & 400,000 Smoking-Related Deaths", Regulation, Volume 21, Number 4, 1998. Bates 106039821/9827.
  30. ↑ R.A. Levy, Clinton's Illegal Assault on the Tobacco Industry", Wall Street Journal, February 8, 1999. Bates 106039481.
  31. ↑ Thomas C. O'Brien, "Constitutional and Antitrust Violations of the Multistate Tobacco Settlement", Cato Policy Analysis, No. 371, May 18, 2000.(O'Brien is assistant general counsel to Corning Incorporated.)
  32. ↑ Robert A. Levy, "Tobacco Cartel: Alive and Well", Cato Institute, May 11, 2001.
  33. ↑ Radley Balko, "Testimony of Radley Balko, Policy Analyst, Cato Institute, before the District of Columbia City Council", District of Columbia City Council, June 14, 2005.
  34. ↑ Radley Balko, "Testimony of Radley Balko, Policy Analyst, Cato Institute, before the District of Columbia City Council", District of Columbia City Council, June 14, 2005.
  35. ↑ Downsizinggovernment, “Downsizing federal government - Agriculture”, Downsizinggovernment.org, accessed 30 October 2010
  36. ↑ Downsizinggovernment.org, ”Downsizing Federal government - energy”, Downsizinggovernment.org, accessed 30 October 2010
  37. ↑ ”Downsizing Federal government - Transportation”, accessed, 30 October 2010
  38. ↑ “Downsizing the Federal Government - Housing and Urban development” cited 30 October 2010
  39. ↑ Downsizinggovernment, “Downsizing Federal Government”,Downsizinggovernment.org, accessed 01 November 2010
  40. ↑ Downsizinggovernment, ” Chris Edwards on new Cato website DownsizingGovernment.org”, Youtube, viewed on the 04 November 2010
  41. ↑ Cato Handbook for Policy Makers, Cato Institute, accessed 12.10.10
  42. ↑ P. J. Michaels (2003) “Posturing And Reality On Warming”, The Washington Times, 16 October
  43. ↑ Patrick J. Michaels, Patrick J. Michaels - Logical Science, Logical Science, accessed 15.11.10
  44. ↑ The Satanic Gases: Clearing the Air about Global Warming (Paperback)Cato Website, Accessed 31 January 2011
  45. ↑ T. Stein (2003) “Unstable Climate Linked To Pollution Boulder Experts Cite Causes Of Warming”, The Denver Post, 5 December 2003.
  46. ↑ P. J. Michaels (2003) “Posturing and Reality On Warming”, The Washington Times, 16 October
  47. ↑ P. J. Michaels (2003) Kyoto: The Hidden Cost Of Victory In Iraq, The Cato Institute; quoted in United Press International (2003) “Think tanks wrap-up V”, 17 April 2003
  48. ↑ [J. L. Brady (2003) “With Clock Ticking, McCain's Push for Climate Change Bill Irritates Colleagues”, Roll Call, 30 October (2003) “Think tanks wrap-up V”, 17 April]
  49. ↑ Rampton,S ;Stauber, JHow Big Tobacco Helped Create "the Junkman"PR Watch Website, Accessed 31 January 2011
  50. ↑ Cato InstituteMedia Transparency.org Web Archive (2005), Accessed 31 January 2011
  51. ↑ Source Greenpeace - data from company reports for 98, 00, 01, 02 – data not available for 99 and pre-98.
  52. ↑ Cato InstituteRight Wing Watch Website, accessed 31 January 2011
  53. ↑ Cato Institute Sourcewatch website, Accessed 31 January 2011
  54. ↑ Charman, K (1999)Force Feeding Genetically Engineered Foods, Pr Watch Website Accessed 31 January 2011
  55. ↑ ANNE E. KORNBLUT and PHILIP SHENON, Columnist Resigns His Post, Admitting Lobbyist Paid Him, New York Times, 17-November-2005
  56. ↑ New Staff in Defence, Education, and Information Cato Institute Website, Accessed 31 January 2011
  57. ↑ Charman, K (1999)Force Feeding Genetically Engineered Foods, Pr Watch Website Accessed 31 January 2011
  58. ↑ Board of DirectorsCei.org web archive (2007), Accessed 31 January 2011
  59. ↑ Randal O'Toole Cato Institute Website, Accessed 31 January 2011
  60. ↑ Richard L. StroupCato Institute Website, Accessed 31 January 2011
  61. ↑ David SchoenbrodCato Institute Website, Accessed 31 January 2011
  62. ↑ Jerry TaylorCato Institute Website, Accessed 31 January 2011
  63. ↑ ExpertsCato Institute Website, Accessed 31 January 2011
  64. ↑ Peter Van DorenCato Institute Website, Accessed 31 January 2011
  65. ↑ Benjamin ZycherCato Institute Website (web Archive 2007), Accessed 31 January 2011
  66. ↑ CLEAR CLEAR PROFILE: CATO INSTITUTE Clearproject web Archive (2004), Accessed 31 January 2011
  67. ↑ C. Coon, & Erin. Hymel (2003) Sound Policy for the Energy Bill, Heritage Foundation Reports, 23 September
  68. ↑ The Backlash Industry in Kyoto(1997), EWG.org web archive
  69. ↑ A. Rowell (1996) Green Backlash – Global Subversion of the Environment Movement, Routledge, 140-143; S. Rampton & J. Stauber (2001) Trust Us, We’re Experts, How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambles with Yours Future, Tarcher / Putnam, p272-274
  70. ↑ S. Rampton & J. Stauber (2001) Trust Us, We’re Experts – How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambles with Yours Future, Tarcher / Puttnam, p273
  71. ↑ WORLD CLIMATE REPORTEditors Co2 and climate web archive (2005) accessed 31 January 2011
  72. ↑ R. C. Balling Jr. (1992) The Heated Debate, Greenhouse Predictions Versus Climate Reality, Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy, pxv
  73. ↑ [missing 38]
  74. ↑ L. Miller (2003) “Enviro Trends: Poor to Bear Brunt Of Climate Change --; Worldwatch”, Greenwire, 23 May
  75. ↑ Rampton, S (2001)Terrorism as PretextPR Watch Fourth Quarter 2001, Volume 8, No. 4, Accessed 31 January 2011
  76. ↑ Charman, K(1999)Saving the Planet With Pestilent StatisticsPR Watch, Fourth Quarter 1999, Volume 6, No. 4, Accessed 31 January 2011
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