Originally posted at the Wonk Room.

Marc Morano, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK)’s environmental aide, sits at the center of the right-wing global warming denier propaganda machine — of fifty-two people. Conservative columnist Fred Barnes recently refused to tell TPM Muckraker who’s informed him “the case for global warming” is falling apart, but all signs point to Marc Morano. Morano’s “entire job,” David Roberts explains, “is to aggregate every misleading factoid, every attack on climate science or scientists, every crank skeptical statement from anyone in the world and send it all out periodically in email blasts” to the right-wing echo chamber. The Wonk Room has acquired Morano’s email list, and we can now reveal the pack of climate skeptics, conservative bloggers, and corporate hacks who feed the misinformation machine.

Promoted on the Drudge Report and Fox News, Morano’s moronic misinformation enters mainstream discourse through columns by Barnes, George Will, Robert Samuelson, and others. Many in the Morano gang are funded by right-wing think tanks, though a few are committed activists, conspiracy theorists who believe their home-brew interpretations of climate data. Others are aging scientists with strong conservative beliefs, motivating them to challenge action on global warming not because they disbelieve its existence, but because they are ideologically opposed to regulation of pollution:

Marc Morano’s Pack Of Climate Denial Jokers
Marc Morano, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), Committee on the Environment and Public Works
The Scientists
Name Website Affiliations
David Deming University of Oklahoma /
National Center for Policy Analysis
David Douglass University of Rochester
Don Easterbrook Western Washington University
Bob Carter James Cook University, Queensland, Australia
John Christy University of Alabama at Huntsville
Stanley Goldenberg NOAA
Vincent Gray New Zealand Climate Science Coalition /
Natural Resources Stewardship Project
William Gray Colorado State University (ret.)
Ben Herman University of Arizona
Craig Idso co2science.org Arizona State University /
Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change
Richard Lindzen Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Roger Pielke Colorado State University (ret.)
James A. Peden Extranuclear Laboratories (ret.)
Hans Schreuder ilovemycarbondioxide.com Rocky Mountain Research Station
Thomas P. Sheahen Western Technology, Inc.
Fred Singer University of Virginia (ret.) /
Science and Environmental Policy Project /
National Center for Policy Analysis
George E. Smith Bell Labs (ret.)
Roy Spencer drroyspencer.com University of Alabama at Huntsville /
Marshall Institute /
Interfaith Stewardship Alliance
Philip Stott University of London (ret.)
Willie Wei-Hock Soon Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics /
Marshall Institute /
Fraser Institute /
Science and Public Policy Institute
The Bloggers
Michael Asher dailytech.com
Joseph Bast globalwarmingheartland.org Heartland Institute
Edward John Craig planetgore.nationalreview.com National Review
Dan Gainor newsbusters.org Media Research Center
Barry Hearn junkscience.com
Steven Milloy junkscience.com Competitive Enterprise Institute
Tom Nelson tomnelson.blogspot.com
Lubos Motl motls.blogspot.com Harvard University (ret.)
Roger Pielke, Jr. sciencepolicy.colorado.edu University of Colorado
Jon Jay Ray jonjayray.blogspot.com
Gabriel Rychert co2sceptics.com
Marc Sheppard opinioneditorials.com Frontiers of Freedom
Noel Sheppard newsbusters.org Media Research Center
Matthew Sheffield newsbusters.org Media Research Center
Phil Valentine philvalentine.com The Phil Valentine Show
Anthony Watts wattsupwiththat.com
surfacestations.org
The “Think Tankers”
Dennis Avery hudson.org Hudson Institute
Mike Burita accf.org American Council for Capital Formation
Terry Dunleavy climatescience.org.nz New Zealand Climate Science Coalition
Robert Ferguson scienceandpublicpolicy.org Science and Public Policy Institute
Tom Harris climatescienceinternational.org International Climate Science Coalition
Christopher Monckton scienceandpublicpolicy.org Science and Public Policy Institute
Craig Rucker cfact.org Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow
James Taylor heartland.org Heartland Institute
The Weathermen
William M. Briggs wmbriggs.com statistician
Richard S. Courtney CoalTrans International
Joseph D’Aleo icecap.us Weather Channel (ret.)
Art Horn theartofweather.com weatherman (ret.)
Alan Siddons
James Spann jamesspann.com weatherman, ABC 33/40
Herb Stevens weatherman (ret.)
  • The Scientists: Ph.D.s, often with strong industry ties, who may or may not have experience in climate science, but are ready to denounce the scientific consensus.
  • The Bloggers: They flood the Web with “news” and opinion, ready to be picked up by Drudge, Fox News, and the rest of the right-wing echo chamber.
  • The “Think Tankers”: Ready spokesmen associated with impressive-sounding organizations, often founded by themselves.
  • The Weathermen: Meteorologists, statisticians, and corporate scientists not associated with a think tank or university, but happy to give reporters their “expert” opinion.