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| '''Global warming conspiracy'''<ref name="Equinox">{{cite web | title = Equinox:Global Warming Conspiracy| url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/444184}}</ref> and '''global warming conspiracy theory'''<ref name = "Houghton">{{cite web |title =The Great Global Warming Swindle| publisher = The John Ray Initiative |url=http://www.jri.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=137&Itemid=83}}</ref> are terms used to refer to the claim that the theory of ] is a fraud, perpetuated for financial or ideological reasons.<ref>More examples of this claim, and of the use of the terms "conspiracy" and "conspiracy theory" to describe it, are given in the body of the article</ref> The term ] can be used in a ] manner, and proponents of the claim often refer to a "global warming ]"<ref name="hoax">{{cite web | title =Revisiting the global warming hoax| url =http://www.enterstageright.com/archive/articles/0603/0603warming.htm}}</ref> or "global warming ]"<ref name = "MP">{{cite web |title ="The global warming fraud"| publisher = Daily Mail |url=http://www.melaniephillips.com/articles/archives/000255.html}}</ref> instead. | |||
| ==Claims== | |||
| * The suggestion of a conspiracy to promote the theory of global warming was put forward in a 1990 documentary '']'' broadcast by ] in the ] on ] ]. The program was part of the ] series,,<ref name="Equinox"/> and it asserted that scientists critical of global warming theory were denied funding.<ref>{{cite web | title = Global Conspiracy | url=http://members.iimetro.com.au/~hubbca/greenhouse_conspiracy.htm }}</ref> Although the program title referred to a conspiracy, ] downplayed the idea, saying, "It may not quite add up to a conspiracy, but certainly a coalition of interests has promoted the greenhouse theory; scientists have needed funds, the media a story, and governments a worthy cause". <ref name ="Transcript of The Greenhouse Conspiracy">{{cite web | title = Greenhouse Conspiracy|url = http://fufor.twoday.net/stories/3428768/}}</ref> | |||
| * Writing in the '']'' in 1997, Ron Bailey said, "] are famously worried that ] are practicing maneuvers with blue-helmeted ] troops in a plot to take over America. But the actual peril is more subtle. A small cadre of obscure international bureaucrats are hard at work devising a system of 'global governance' that is slowly gaining control over ordinary Americans' lives. ], a 68-year-old Canadian, is the 'indispensable man' at the center of this creeping UN power grab."<ref name ="Bailey">{{cite web | title = Who is Maurice Strong|url =http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/strong.htm|publisher=National Review}}</ref> Bailey notes that Strong's most prominent and influential role to date was as Chairman of the ] which gave rise to the ], and asserts that proposals to restrict emissions of greenhouse gases (then under negotiation) would cost the US "$90 billion to $400 billion annually in lost ] and a loss of between 600,000 and 3.5 million jobs." Bailey alleges Strong's list of contacts includes: | |||
| **Former United States Vice President ]; | |||
| **Former ] President ]; | |||
| **], head of the ]. | |||
| **], formerly Secretary General of the (British) ], | |||
| **], President of the World Resources Institute; | |||
| **], former Swedish prime minister | |||
| **]; and | |||
| **Former United States President ]. | |||
| :Bailey remarks "It's not a conspiracy, of course: just a group of like-minded people fighting to save the world from less prescient and more selfish forces -- namely, market forces." <ref>{{cite web | |||
| | title = Who is Maurice Strong? - International political player - Cover Story | |||
| | url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n16_v49/ai_19722906/pg_1 | |||
| | author=Ronald Bailey | |||
| | date=1997-09-01 | |||
| | pages=3 }}</ref> | |||
| * In a speech given to the US Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works on July 28, 2003, entitled "The Science of Climate Change",<ref name=Inhofe></ref> Senator ] (R-Okla) concluded by asking the following question: "With all of the hysteria, all of the fear, all of the phony science, could it be that man-made global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people?" Inhofe has suggested that supporters of Kyoto such as ] are aiming at ].<ref>{{cite web | title = Senate Environment And Public Works Committee|url=http://epw.senate.gov/speechitem.cfm?party=rep&id=263759}}</ref> | |||
| :* In an article which also quoted Inhofe, the ] stated, "It was an unguarded moment for Chirac. World government is the main goal of the secret ], of which he is a luminary."<ref name="americanfreepress.net">{{cite web | title =Kyoto| url = http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/kyoto.html}}</ref> | |||
| * A '']'' article describing the views of ] quotes climatologist ] as having "his own conspiracy theory," saying, "He has made a list of 15 reasons for the global warming hysteria. The list includes the need to come up with an enemy after the end of the Cold War, and the desire among scientists, government leaders and environmentalists to find a political cause that would enable them to 'organize, propagandize, force conformity and exercise political influence. Big ] could best lead (and control) us to a better world!'" In this article, Gray also cites the ascendancy of ] to the vice presidency as the start of his problems with federal funding. According to him, the ] stopped giving him research grants, and so did ].<ref>{{cite web |title = The Tempest| url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/23/AR2006052301305_pf.html}}</ref> | |||
| * The March 1, 2007 issue of '']'' magazine, a publication of ], is titled "HYSTERIA: Exposing the secret agenda behind today's obsession with global warming," and asserts that "all the main players –- from politicians and scientists to big corporations and the United Nations –- benefit from instilling fear into billions of human beings over the unproven theory of man-made global warming". | |||
| * Commenting on criticism of the ] by ], the ] notes that "Hamilton accuses the Lavoisier Group of painting the UN's global warming negotiations as "an elaborate conspiracy in which hundreds of climate scientists have twisted their results to support the 'climate change theory' in order to protect their research funding" and adds, "Sounds plausible to us."<ref>{{cite web | title = Antarctic Cooling Down; The Antarctic Ice Sheet is Growing; Hansen Downgrades Warming Threat|publisher = Cooler Heads Coalition | url=http://www.globalwarming.org/article.php?uid=192 }}</ref> | |||
| * ], former professor at the ], wrote in a February 2007 interview, "You’ve got this incestuous little group that is controlling the whole process both through their publications and the IPCC. I’m not a conspiracy theorist and I hate being even pushed toward that, but I think there is a consensus conspiracy that’s going on." <ref name="humanevents.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=19409 |title=A Skeptic's Take on Global Warming - HUMAN EVENTS |accessdate=2007-11-16 |format= |work=}}</ref> | |||
| ===Fictional representations=== | |||
| * The novel '']'' by ] describes a conspiracy by scientists and others to create public panic about global warming. The novel includes 20 pages of footnotes, described by Crichton as providing a factual basis for the non-plotline elements of the story.<ref name = "Footnotes">{{cite web |title ="Checking Crichton's Footnotes| publisher = Boston Globe |url=http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2005/02/06/checking_crichtons_footnotes/}}</ref><ref name = "Heartland">{{cite web |title = Crichton Strikes Devastating Blow to Alarmist|url=http://www.heartland.org/article.cfm?artId=16378| publisher = Heartland Institute | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| ==Participants== | |||
| Many of those claimed to be participants in a conspiracy to promote global warming theory appear prominently in other conspiracy theories. These include organisations such as | |||
| *The ] <ref>{{cite book | |||
| |title=Global Deception: The UN's Stealth Assault on America's Freedom | |||
| |author=Joseph A. Klein | |||
| |date=2005-11-17 | |||
| |publisher=World Ahead Publishing | |||
| |isbn=0974670146 | |||
| |url=http://www.amazon.com/Global-Deception-Stealth-Assault-Americas/dp/0974670146 | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| *The ] <ref name="americanfreepress.net"/> | |||
| *The ] | |||
| *The ] <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.conspiracy-times.com/content/view/194/50/ |title=Conspiracy Times, What does Conspiracy Times believe? |accessdate=2008-03-15 |format= |work=}}</ref> | |||
| * ]<ref name="renewamerica.us"> at www.renewamerica.us</ref> | |||
| * GE- General Electric | |||
| and individuals such as | |||
| *] | |||
| *] <ref name = "Inhofe"/> | |||
| *] <ref name="canadafreepress.com"></ref> | |||
| *] <ref name="canadafreepress.com"/> | |||
| *]<ref name="renewamerica.us"/> | |||
| * ]<ref name="renewamerica.us"/> | |||
| ==Motives== | |||
| A number of different, and sometimes contradictory, motives have been claimed for a ] to promote the idea of global warming | |||
| * A desire on the part of the ] and its supporters to promote a system of world government or ]. Proponents of this theory frequently stress the role of ].<ref name ="Bailey"/> | |||
| * A desire on the part of environmentalists to prevent carbon-based industrial development in Africa<ref name = "Swindle">{{cite news |title ="Global warming labeled a 'scam'"| publisher = ] | date=] ] | author=Al Webb}}</ref> | |||
| * A desire on the part of environmentalists to promote pollution-intensive industrial development in Africa, while reducing industrial output in the United States <ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nationalcenter.org/P21NVPeterson401.html | title=Global Warming: Hot Air That's Going to Make Me Colder and Poorer | author=Edmund Peterson | publisher=] New Visions | month=April | year=2001 | accessdate=2007-08-28}}</ref> | |||
| * A desire on the part of ] researchers to attract financial support<ref name = "Swindle"/> | |||
| * A desire by the government to raise taxes and earn more revenue as with the Global Warming Tax already in California. | |||
| * A desire on the part of ] political activists to promote an agenda described by Melanie Phillips<ref name = "MP"/> as a "left-wing, anti-American, anti-west ideology which goes hand in hand with anti-globalisation and the belief that everything done by the industrialised world is wicked. The agenda to cripple this world is revealed by highly questionable assumptions made by climate modellers about likely developments in economics, technology or population movements, which affect emissions and consequent temperature predictions." | |||
| * A desire on the part of ] political leaders including ],<ref name = "Swindle"/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,258993,00.html | title=Must-See Global Warming TV | author=] | publisher=] |date=] ] | accessdate=2007-08-28 }}</ref> and ] <ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/04/08/1112815726833.html | title=A cold, hard look at a hot topic | author=] | publisher=] | date=] ] | accessdate=2007-08-28}}</ref> to promote ] while attracting the political support of Green groups | |||
| * A desire on the part of leftwing political leaders to promote ]: | |||
| ** According to a critical special contribution written by Lawrie McFarlane in ]'s ''Times Colonist'', "For socialism, at least in its early form, shared those same instincts -- distrust of private enterprise, animus toward wealth, the urge to proselytize and faith in big government. And like environmentalism, it marched under the banner of a superior morality. (...) Environmentalism is neither religion nor science. It is a political mission, every bit as unquestioning as socialism in its heyday, and offering the same giddy promise to followers: The delicious prospect of being in the right, and better still, running things." <ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/comment/story.html?id=b58a489b-5cc4-4167-9c8c-670e39ae1a12 | title=Environmentalism: The new socialism | author=Lawrie McFarlane | publisher=] | date=] ] | accessdate=2007-08-28}}</ref> | |||
| ** Czech President ] said that "This ideology preaches earth and nature and under the slogans of their protection – similarly to the old Marxists – wants to replace the free and spontaneous evolution of mankind by a sort of central, now global, planning of the whole world" <ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/3/21/141212.shtml | title=Czech President: Environmentalist 'Religion' Like Communism | author= | publisher=] | date=] ] | accessdate=2007-08-28}}</ref> | |||
| === Ideological motives === | |||
| Statements made or allegedly made by various supporters of climate change policies have been quoted as giving support to the idea that ] global warming may be used primarily for political purposes. | |||
| * According to a critical editorial written by Peter Menzies in the '']'', Christine Stewart, former Canadian Environment Minister for the ], said in 1998 that "No matter if the science is all phoney, there are collateral environmental benefits.<ref></ref> | |||
| * According to the 1993 book ''Science under Siege'' by ], former US Senator ], (D-Colo) said that "We've got to ride the global warming issue. Even if the theory of global warming is wrong, we will be doing the right thing – in terms of economic policy and environmental policy.."<ref></ref> <ref></ref> | |||
| ==Criticism== | |||
| Critics of claims that scientists and others concerned with global warming are promoting a fraud or hoax have commonly used the term "conspiracy theory" to describe this view. On the other hand, those who describe the scientific consensus on global warming as a "hoax", "fraud" or even "conspiracy" often object to the use of the terms "conspiracy theory" or "conspiracy theorists" to describe them and their views.<ref name="humanevents.com"/> | |||
| * Steve Connor links the terms "hoax" and "conspiracy," saying, "Reading through the technical summary of this draft (IPCC) report, it is clear that no one could go away with the impression that climate change is some conspiratorial hoax by the science establishment, as some would have us believe."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article2193668.ece |title=Steve Connor: Global warming is not some conspiratorial hoax - Independent Online Edition > Commentators |accessdate=2007-11-16 |format= |work=}}</ref> | |||
| * In a piece headed ''Crichton's conspiracy theory'', Harold Evans described Crichton's theory as being "in the paranoid political style identified by the renowned historian ]," and went on to suggest that "if you happen to be in the market for a conspiracy theory today, there's a rather more credible one documented by the pressure group Greenpeace," namely the funding by ] of groups opposed to the theory of global warming <ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4319574.stm |title=BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine | Crichton's conspiracy theory |accessdate=2007-11-16 |format= |work=}}</ref> | |||
| * Responding to advance publicity for the documentary '']'', ] described it as "the same old conspiracy theory that we’ve been hearing from the denial industry for the past ten years".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2007/01/30/another-species-of-denial |title=Monbiot.com � Another Species of Denial |accessdate=2007-11-16 |format= |work=}}</ref> | |||
| * Responding to the film ], UK Secretary of State for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs, ] presented a rebuttal of the main points of the film and stated "There will always be people with conspiracy theories trying to do down the scientific consensus, and that is part of scientific and democratic debate, but the science of climate change looks like fact to me."<ref>{{cite web|title = The Great Climate Change Swindle? |url =http://www.davidmiliband.defra.gov.uk/blogs/ministerial_blog/archive/2007/03/14/5960.aspx}}</ref> | |||
| *Also, responding to ''The Great Global Warming Swindle'', ] said, "The most prominent person in the programme was ], former Chancellor of the Exchequer who is not a scientist and who shows little knowledge of the science but who is party to the creation of a conspiracy theory that questions the motives and integrity of the world scientific community, especially as represented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)."<ref name = "Houghton"/> | |||
| ==Overheated rhetoric== | |||
| It has been widely observed that the debate over climate change has given rise to "overheated rhetoric" on both sides .<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.reason.com/news/show/119291.html |title=Reason Magazine - The Convenient Truth |accessdate=2007-11-16 |format= |work=}}</ref> Statements that global warming is a "hoax" or "fraud" may, in some cases, be instances of such rhetoric, intended to emphasize a claim that advocates of anthropogenic global warming theory are egregiously wrong, rather than seriously-intended claims of deliberate dishonesty by a large group of scientists and others.{{Fact|date=October 2008}} | |||
| ==Counterclaims of conspiracy== | |||
| Those who accept the ] that humans have been largely responsible for recent and projected warming have similarly accused their opponents of being motivated by financial or ideological interests, and in some cases have used the term "conspiracy" to describe this. According to an article in ], ] ] stated in 1998 that, | |||
| :"...it’s an unhappy fact that the oil companies and the coal companies in the United States have joined in a conspiracy to hire pseudo scientists to deny the facts... the energy companies need to be called to account because what they are doing is un-American in the most basic sense. They are compromising our future by misrepresenting the facts by suborning scientists onto their payrolls and attempting to mislead the American people."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sepp.org/Archive/controv/controversies/murkowski.html |title=Sen. Murkowski Defends the Greenhouse Warming Debate |accessdate=2008-12-23 |format= |work=}}</ref> | |||
| Further evidence of the energy industry funding ] has been produced by ] with their ] project.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.exxonsecrets.org/|title=Exxon Secrets|accessdate=2008-12-23 |format= |work=}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2006/sep/19/ethicalliving.g2/|title=The denial industry|accessdate=2008-12-23 |format= |work=}}</ref> ] announced in ] that it would cut funding to many of the groups that were denying the ] behind ] but continues to fund over "two dozen other organisations who question the science of global warming or attack policies to solve the crisis."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/28/climatechange.fossilfuels/|title=Exxon to cut funding to climate change denial groups|accessdate=2008-12-23 |format= |work=}}</ref> | |||
| A survey carried out by the ]'s ] found that in ] ]l distributed $2.9m to 39 groups that the society said "misrepresented the science of climate change by outright denial of the evidence".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/28/climatechange.fossilfuels/|title=Exxon to cut funding to climate change denial groups|accessdate=2008-12-23 |format= |work=}}</ref> | |||
| ==Notes== | |||
| {{reflist|2}} | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| *], an opposing allegation | |||
| *] | |||
| <br> | |||
| {{global warming}} | |||
| {{Conspiracy theories}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
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