The Doubt Machine: Documentary Explores Koch Brothers' War on Climate Science

onNov 3, 2016 @ 12:39 PDT

The Koch brothers‘ attack on clean energy solutions is just one prong of their war on anything that threatens the dominance of fossil fuels. While funding fights against renewable energy policies at the federal and state levels, the Koch brothers have also been using their vast wealth to sow the seeds of doubt about the science of climate change.

This week, the Real News Network released “The Doubt Machine: The Koch Brothers’ War on Climate Science,” a documentary that explores how Koch-funded entities attacked and threatened climate scientists like Michael Mann and journalists like Jane Mayer. Both Mann and Mayer feature prominently in the documentary, which is narrated by Emma Thompson. You can watch it right here, and it’s well worth your half hour:

Learn more about The Real News’ Global Climate Change Bureau. The Real News Network

Mann, as the film reveals, was dragged through the “Climategate” faux-scandal” and then subjected to subpoenas, harassment, and even death threats. The whole senseless (and seemingly endless) attack on Mann and his climate science colleagues was well documented on DeSmog in real time.

Yes, the climate change denial movement has been well chronicled in Merchants of Doubt, Climate Cover-up and elsewhere, but The Doubt Machine definitely adds some useful personal context from Mann and Mayer, and also draws the clear connections from the denial-sphere to the Koch brothers.

By Ben Jervey

Ben Jervey is a Senior Fellow for DeSmog and directs the KochvsClean.com project. He is a freelance writer, editor, and researcher, specializing in climate change and energy systems and policy. Ben is also a Research Fellow at the Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law School. He was the original Environment Editor for GOOD Magazine, and wrote a longstanding weekly column titled “The New Ideal: Building the clean energy economy of the 21st Century and avoiding the worst fates of climate change.” He has also contributed regularly to National Geographic News, Grist, and OnEarth Magazine. He has published three books—on eco-friendly living in New York City, an Energy 101 primer, and, most recently, “The Electric Battery: Charging Forward to a Low Carbon Future.” He graduated with a BA in Environmental Studies from Middlebury College, and earned a Master’s in Energy Regulation and Law at Vermont Law School. A bicycle enthusiast, Ben has ridden across the United States and through much of Europe.