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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by MastCell (talk | contribs) at 18:59, 17 June 2009 (rv blanking; not sure why you consider this "irrelevant", since it was covered in the NY Times and is practically the only appropriately sourced part of the whole article). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Heartland Institute is an American libertarian/conservative free market-oriented public policy think tank based in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1984, and is designated as a 501(c)(3)non-profit by the Internal Revenue Service.

The Heartland Institute is advised by a 15 member board of directors, which meets quarterly. As of 2008, it has a full-time staff of 30, including editors and senior fellows.

The Heartland Institute's research and advocacy cover a variety of issues including government spending, taxation, healthcare, tobacco policy, global warming, and free-market environmentalism. In its early years, it focused on policies relevant to the Midwestern United States. Since 1993 it has focused on reaching elected officials and opinion leaders in all 50 states. In addition to research, the Heartland Institute features an Internet application called PolicyBot which serves as a clearinghouse for research from other think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation, the American Legislative Exchange Council, and the Cato Institute. The Institute's president and CEO is Joseph L. Bast.

Publications

The Heartland Institute publishes five monthly public policy newspapers primarily aimed at state legislators. These include: Budget and Tax News, which advocates lower taxes and balanced budgets for states and the federal government; School Reform News, which calls for greater competition and school choice; Environment & Climate News, which focuses on "market-based environmental protection"; Health Care News, devoted to consumer-driven health care reform; and Info Tech and Telecom News, which features research and commentary from similarly aligned think tanks such as the Cato Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the Progress and Freedom Foundation, and the Reason Foundation. The five monthly publications have a circulation total of nearly 200,000.

Global warming

The institute is a member organization of the Cooler Heads Coalition, "an informal and ad-hoc group focused on dispelling the myths of global warming".

Heartland's publications make the following assertions about climate change:

• "Most scientists do not believe human activities threaten to disrupt the Earth's climate."
• "The most reliable temperature data show no global warming trend."
• "A modest amount of global warming, should it occur, would be beneficial to the natural world and to human civilization."
• "The best strategy to pursue is one of 'no regrets'."

In March 2008, and again in March 2009 the Heartland Institute sponsored a major International conference bringing hundreds of scientests, economists, and policy experts who are global warming skeptics to New York City. Speakers included Dr. Richard Lindzen, a professor of meteorology at MIT; Dr. Roy Spencer, who oversees NASA's satellite temperature record; Dr. S. Fred Singer, who was founding dean of the School of Environmental and Planetary Sciences at the University of Miami and founding director of the National Weather Satellite Service; Dr. Harrison Schmitt, a former NASA astronaut and Apollo 17 moonwalker; and Dr. John Theon, whose responsibilities at NASA included overseeing James Hansen. Participants criticized the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Al Gore.

In April 2008, environmental journalist Richard Littlemore wrote that a bibliography written by Dennis Avery and posted on Heartland’s Web site, titled "500 Scientists with Documented Doubts of Man-Made Global Warming Scares,” included at least 45 scientists who neither knew of their inclusion as "coauthors" of the article, nor agreed with its claims regarding global warming. Dozens of the scientists asked the Heartland Institute to remove their names from the list; for instance, Gregory Cutter of Old Dominion University wrote, "I have NO doubts... the recent changes in global climate ARE man-induced. I insist that you immediately remove my name from this list since I did not give you permission to put it there." Dr. Robert Whittaker, Professor of Biogeography, University of Oxford wrote "Please remove my name. What you have done is totally unethical!"

In response, the Heartland Institute refused to remove any names from the list. It quoted Dennis Avery saying “Not all of these researchers would describe themselves as global warming skeptics,” said Avery, “but the evidence in their studies is there for all to see.” Heartland’s president, Joseph Bast, wrote “They have no right -- legally or ethically -- to demand that their names be removed from a bibliography composed by researchers with whom they disagree. Their names probably appear in hundreds or thousands of bibliographies accompanying other articles or in books with which they disagree. Do they plan to sue hundreds or thousands of their colleagues? The proper response is to engage in scholarly debate, not demand imperiously that the other side redact its publications.”

Tobacco

The Institute has been actively involved in debate over tobacco policy, opposing restrictions on smoking and criticizing science which documents the harms of secondhand smoke. Given the close financial and organizational relationship between the tobacco industry and the Heartland Institute, Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights described the Heartland Institute as "an active partner of the tobacco industry".

Heartland has been criticized for employing executives from such corporations as ExxonMobil and Philip Morris on its board of directors and in its public relations department. The Heartland Institute disputes this criticism, stating that "no one on Heartland's board of directors works for a tobacco company (Roy Marden retired years ago) or for an oil company (Walter Buchholtz was on the board but no longer is)." Heartland states that it does not accept government funds and does not conduct "contract" research for special-interest groups.

Funding

The Heartland Institute receives donations from approximately 1,600 individuals, foundations, and corporations. No single corporate entity donates more than 5% of the operating budget according to brochures from the company. MediaTransparency reported that the Heartland Institute received funding from politically conservative foundations such as the Castle Rock Foundation, the Sarah Scaife Foundation, the John M. Olin Foundation, and the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.

In a statement made by Dr. James McCarthy on March 28, 2007 to the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight (House Science Committee), it was disclosed that ExxonMobil contributed a total of $560,000 to the Heartland Institute between 1998 and 2005.

References

1. IRS Form 990 (2006), The Heartland Institute
2. http://www.heartland.org/about/
3. "Staff: Joseph Bast". Heartland Institute. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
4. "About GlobalWarming.org". Cooler Heads Coalition. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
5. ^ Heartland Institute's "Instant Expert Guide: Global Warming" retrieved 4 March 2008
6. Cool View of Science at Meeting on Warming, by Andrew C. Revkin. Published in the New York Times on March 4 2008; accessed March 4 2008.
7. Tobacco and oil pay for climate conference, by Steve Connor. Published in The Independent on March 3, 2008; accessed March 4, 2008.
8. 500 Scientists Whose Research Contradicts Man-Made Global Warming Scares, by Dennis T. Avery. From the Heartland Institute website; published September 14 2007, accessed June 20 2008.
9. 500 Scientists with Documented Doubts - about the Heartland Institute?, by Richard Littlemore. Published April 29 2008; accessed June 20 2008.
10. "Controversy Arises Over Lists of Scientists Whose Research Contradicts Man-Made Global Warming Scares" (press release). Heartland Institute. May 5, 2008.
11. Talking Points on the Proposed Chicago Smoking Ban
    by Joseph L. Bast - by Joseph L. Bast - The Heartland Institute
12. Heartland Institute page from Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights. Accessed June 20 2008.
13. Fleishman, Glenn. "Sock Puppets of Industry", WNN WiFi Net News. February 1, 2005.
14. Smith, Kit. "A Mighty Wind: Wind Power Threatens Corporate Bottom Line". The Beast Issue #81: August 10–24, 2005.
15. "Frequently Asked Questions: Is Heartland a 'Front Group'?". Heartland Institute. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
16. Bast, Joseph L. Welcome to The Heartland Institute!". Heartlander. The Heartland Institute. April 13, 2007.
17. http://www.heartland.org/FAQArticle.cfm?faqId=7
18. Heartland Institute Funding, from MediaTransparency. Accessed June 20 2008.
19. Statement of Dr. James McCarthy, p. 4, House Science Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, March 28, 2007. Accessed August 21, 2008.

External links

• Heartland's official website
• Sourcewatch - More detailed funding information

• Libertarian think tanks based in the United States
• Non-profit organizations based in Illinois
• Bradley Foundation
• Organizations of environmentalism skeptics and critics