Heartland Institute trying to make the old new

picture-8-1346574554.jpg
on

Iโ€™m here again at the Heartland Instituteโ€™s climate change conference in New York – or as I like to call in DenialPalooza Take 2 – and what really strikes me so far is that itโ€™s the same people attending and talking about the same things they did lastย year.

Iโ€™ve been to a lot of different conferences over the years and thereโ€™s always excitement in the sharing of new studies published and hearing the lastest discoveries. After all thatโ€™s what conferences are about, a time to share and advance knowledge. You wouldnโ€™t go to a mainstream conference one year and then go the next just to be presented the same information by the same people you heard lastย year.

That is, unless thereโ€™s really nothing new to share. And that appears to be the case with this yearโ€™s climate chage DenialPalooza. The schedule of speakers and the panel topics are almost a carbon copy of lastย year.

Take a look at the 2008 schedule and compare it to the 2009 one – same people, same topics, nothing reallyย new.

So whatโ€™s this conference about?


This month weโ€™re giving away FREE copies Keith Farnishโ€™s new book Times Up: an uncivilzed solution to a globalย crisis.

Go here to find out more details about DeSmogBlogโ€™s monthly bookย give-away.

picture-8-1346574554.jpg
Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmog. He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a โ€œGreen Heroโ€ by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the โ€œTop 50 Tweetersโ€ on climate change and environment issues, Kevin has appeared in major news media outlets around the world for his work on digital campaigning. Kevin has been involved in the public policy arena in both the United States and Canada for more than a decade. For five years he was the managing editor of DeSmogBlog.com. In this role, Kevinโ€™s research into the โ€œclimate denial industryโ€ and the right-wing think tank networks was featured in news media articles around the world. He is most well known for his ground-breaking research into David and Charles Kochโ€™s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea partyย networks. Kevin is the first person to be designated a โ€œCertified Expertโ€ on theย political and community organizing platformย NationBuilder. Prior to DeSmog, Kevin worked in various political and government roles. He was Senior Advisor to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and a Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Asia Pacific, Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Kevin also worked in various roles in the British Columbia provincial government in the Office of the Premier and the Ministry of Health. In 2008 Kevin co-founded a groundbreaking new online election tool called Vote for Environment which was later nominated for a World Summit Award in recognition of the worldโ€™s best e-Content and innovative ICTย applications. Kevin moved to Washington, DC in 2010 where he worked for two years as the Director of Online Strategy for Greenpeace USA and has since returned to his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.

Related Posts

on

DeSmog reflects on some of the major moments in U.S. LNG policy, the courts, and protest in a turbulent year for this fossil fuel.

DeSmog reflects on some of the major moments in U.S. LNG policy, the courts, and protest in a turbulent year for this fossil fuel.
Analysis
on

Our editors and reporters weigh in on a year of seismic political events, and what theyโ€™re paying close attention to in 2025.

Our editors and reporters weigh in on a year of seismic political events, and what theyโ€™re paying close attention to in 2025.
on

A new lawsuit alleges toxic, radioactive waste leaked into a PA familyโ€™s water well, uncovering a regulatory abyss for miles of fracking pipelines in the state.

A new lawsuit alleges toxic, radioactive waste leaked into a PA familyโ€™s water well, uncovering a regulatory abyss for miles of fracking pipelines in the state.
Analysis
on

The celebrity investor pitched โ€˜Wonder Valleyโ€™ with no committed investors, no Indigenous partnership, and about 27 megatonnes of projected annual emissions.

The celebrity investor pitched โ€˜Wonder Valleyโ€™ with no committed investors, no Indigenous partnership, and about 27 megatonnes of projected annual emissions.