How a Climate-Denial 'Think Tank' Funded by Big Oil is Now Biting the Hand that Feeds It

[LAOIL + 33]

Interesting story on this 'think tank', Heartland, which was funded by Big Oil to get the Climate denial message out, but is now out of control to the dismay of Big Oil itself ... 

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/22122017/big-oil-heartland-climate-science-misinformation-campaign-koch-api-trump-infographic

[Kate Turlington + 44]

This is, indeed, a good example of how there is no real climate debate on any serious level. But the take home is tricky and I would sum it up as this: 

1. We, as in all non-degree-holding scientists, will never know the real extent of climate change affects. Climate change is obviously real because the climate has been changing since the beginning of time. The question that has not been answered is what the affects of that will be on our future, which is extremely difficult to assess given all the variables. None of this has anything to do with science anymore, sadly. 

2. The entire climate discussion has been hijacked by politics on both sides of the spectrum. No one thinks clearly anymore because this country divides all serious subjects into distinctly partisan groupings. Heartland is the hijacker on one side, but the other side has equally adept hijackers. 

3. As soon as one hears the phrase 'think tank', one should immediately stop reading. They should be renamed "lobby tanks". Think tanks don't think, they spin. Again, on both sides of our highly subjective partisan country. 

The more interesting part of this story is how Big Oil has now created a monster that it would very much like to put back in its cage.