{"id":394014,"date":"2025-08-09T18:07:33","date_gmt":"2025-08-09T16:07:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=394014"},"modified":"2025-08-09T18:07:34","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T16:07:34","slug":"mother-jones-2009-institute-for-energy-research-american-energy-alliance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=394014","title":{"rendered":"Mother Jones (2009): Institute for Energy Research\/American Energy Alliance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Aerial<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Master Resource<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Robert Bradley Jr.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

\u201cIER\/AEA have thousands of individual donors, reflecting the intellectual case for a free market and the goodness of civil society. This is a proud fact.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A Mother Jones article<\/a> from 15 years read: \u201cMeet the 12 loudest members of the chorus claiming that global warming is a joke and that CO2 emissions are actually good for you.\u201d And number 12 of the \u201cdirty dozen\u201d was the educational nonprofit Institute of Energy Research<\/a> and its advocacy arm, the American Energy Alliance<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IER\/AEA would surely make the list today\u2013and be ranked higher. This is a badge of honor. The message of classical liberalism applied to energy remains strong and consistent. Consumers matter. Taxpayers matter. Energy resource efficiency matters. Respect for the energy decisions of voluntarily consenting adults matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is the piece<\/a> by Josh Harkinson from December 5, 2009, verbatim, with my critical comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert Bradley, the CEO of the Institute for Energy Research, is a former director of policy analysis at Enron, where he once wrote speeches for Ken Lay. While most experts blame Enron\u2019s failure on a lack of government oversight, Bradley cites too much government meddling. In his new book, Capitalism at Work: Business, Government, and Energy<\/em>, he writes that Enron\u2019s collapse \u201cis yet another case of unintended consequences from government intervention.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comment<\/strong>: Yes. And see here<\/a> and here<\/a> for summaries of my thesis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bradley is now committed to keeping the government from regulating carbon. His 2003 book, Climate Alarmism Reconsidered<\/em>, argues that carbon dioxide \u201cis not a pollutant but a building block of a living and vibrant biosphere.\u201d He\u2019s even willing to diss his former employer to make his point, suggesting that CO2<\/sub> foes are as self-centered as Enron was when it pushed for a climate treaty and subsidies for its wind and solar divisions. \u201cThe \u2018green\u2019 energy crusade that Enron in some ways fathered is much more about corporate welfare than true energy sustainability,\u201d he writes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comment<\/strong>: Correct again, and more so today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since April, IER\u2019s advocacy arm, the American Energy Alliance, has been airing television ads in the districts of key members of Congress, stressing the potential costs of Waxman-Markey. One ad claimed that an MIT study found that the bill \u201ccould cost our families more than $3,100 per year in new taxes.\u201d But the author of the study, professor John Reilly, has said that the number was a misrepresentation of his work and \u201cjust wrong<\/a>.\u201d Confronted with that response, Bradley replied that Reilly had since confirmed to the Weekly Standard<\/a><\/em> \u201cthat households will in fact pay this amount.\u201d But Reilly told me that his estimate of Waxman-Markey\u2019s true cost is just $223 per household by 2020 and maintained that the use of the larger number \u201cwas incorrect.\u201d Other AEA ads have been called out for similar distortions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IER\u2019s American Energy Freedom Center<\/a> is chaired by former Virginia Sen. George \u201cMacaca\u201d Allen. Thomas Pyle, the president of the American Energy Alliance, was a policy analyst for former Rep. Tom DeLay<\/a> before becoming director of federal affairs for Koch Industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Correct<\/strong>: And Mr. Pyle is a classical liberal, not a lobbyist for any particular energy and technology. Consumers in a free market decide the business configuration with taxpayers neutral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2007, the most recent year for which tax filings are available, IER had a budget of nearly $1 million. In May, the Guardian<\/em> reported that IER has received donations from Exxon<\/a>, KBR, and trusts set up by Koch. Asked who funds the Institute for Energy Research, Bradley would say only that its money comes from \u201cindividuals, foundations, and corporations\u2014including energy companies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comment<\/strong>: IER\/AEA have thousands of individual donors, reflecting the intellectual case for a free market and the goodness of civil society. This is a proud fact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Appendix: The Twelve<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. ExxonMobil<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Lord Christopher Monckton<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Plants Need CO2<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. American Petroleum Institute\/Energy Citizens<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. The Heartland Institute<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. FreedomWorks<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. Tennessee Center for Policy Research<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  11. Federation for American Coal, Energy and Security<\/a>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  12. Institute for Energy Research\/American Energy Alliance<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A Mother Jones\u00a0article\u00a0from 15 years read: \u201cMeet the 12 loudest members of the chorus claiming that global warming is a joke and that CO2 emissions are actually good for you.\u201d And number 12 of the \u201cdirty dozen\u201d was the educational nonprofit\u00a0Institute of Energy Research\u00a0and its advocacy arm, the\u00a0American Energy Alliance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":394017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"Explore the controversial views of the Institute for Energy Research on climate change and CO2 emissions in this insightful article.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"The Case Against Climate Alarmism: Insights from IER\/AEA","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691837134,691829997,691832812,691818087],"class_list":{"0":"post-394014","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-american-energy-alliance","9":"tag-carbon-dioxide-co","10":"tag-energy-research","11":"tag-global-warming","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQPfGV7oXI999xeXdLldYMDQH-wN53Hbk6zrGAIMJHMkD2sbLcsJ9-k-SOlBCE0cnvmbSO-1_IQTwYco_C6a6tzUH4tkaaS1UgIani8H1LcobmGp_vC92BrxoD_pt7hOKxTSQILoO9WGSF6xHrJmtM-q_R0sXQ-1.jpeg?fit=1280%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1Ev4","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":425024,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=425024","url_meta":{"origin":394014,"position":0},"title":"CO2 Border Tariff? 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