What a twin reversal of fortune. While the Heartland Institute has melted down because of its overreaction to climate scientist Peter Gleick’s release of their funding documents, Gleick himself has now been reinstated as president of the Pacific Institute following an independent investigation.

On May 21, the UK Guardian broke the news that an external investigation conducted for the Institute cleared Gleick of the charge of faking material in his elaborate effort to obtain internal Heartland strategy and finance documents.

Today, the Institute released this short statement from the Institute’s Board of Directors:

The Pacific Institute is pleased to welcome Dr. Peter Gleick back to his position as president of the Institute. An independent review conducted by outside counsel on behalf of the Institute has supported what Dr. Gleick has stated publicly regarding his interaction with the Heartland Institute. This independent investigation has further confirmed and the Pacific Institute is satisfied that none of its staff knew of or was involved in any way.

Dr. Gleick has apologized publicly for his actions, which are not condoned by the Pacific Institute and run counter to the Institute’s policies and standard of ethics over its 25-year history. The Board of Directors accepts Dr. Gleick’s apology for his lapse in judgment. We look forward to his continuing in the Pacific Institute’s ongoing and vital mission to advance environmental protection, economic development, and social equity.

“I am glad to be back and thank everyone for continuing their important work at the Pacific Institute during my absence,” said Dr. Gleick in a statement. “I am returning with a renewed focus and dedication to the science and research that remain at the core of the Pacific Institute’s mission.”

I immediately called up the media contact at the Institute provided with the statement, Nancy Ross. She said that that statement represents the full extent of everything the Institute plans to release on this matter. As of now, the Institute is not going to release the independent review.

The May Guardian story provided this background:

Gleick’s sting on Heartland brought unwelcome scrutiny to the organisation’s efforts to block action on climate change, and prompted a walk-out of corporate donors that has created uncertainty about its financial future.

Gleick, founder of the Pacific Institute and a well-regarded water expert, admitted and apologised for using deception to obtain internal Heartland documents last February.

He has been on leave from the institute pending an external investigation into the unauthorised release of the documents, although it is not entirely clear what the investigation entailed. That investigation is now complete, and the conclusions will be made public.

For those who don’t remember the history, I’d suggest Greg Laden’s post, “An important revelation regarding Heartland Gate.” See also my February post “Crossing the Line as Civilization Implodes.”

Anyone familiar with the facts of the matter cannot be surprised by the outside counsel’s finding. It does raise the question of who created the strategy memo. I’m not sure we will ever find out the answer to that question.

All we know for sure is that the senior leadership of Heartland 1) is capable of the most outrageous and offensive falsehoods and 2) has such catastrophically bad judgment that they continued to push those falsehoods for weeks after being widely denounced, even by their own (former) supporters:

• Heartland Institute Compares Climate Science Believers And Reporters To Mass ‘Murderers And Madmen’
• Heartland’s Board Backs Campaign To Smear Climate Science Believers, Even As Eleven Companies Drop Support

by Matt Kasper

At a House hearing last week, witnesses were intending to focus on coal mining. Instead, a photo of a five year old child is getting all the attention.

Testifying in front of the House Natural Resources Commitee on the impact of coal mining, activist Maria Gunnoe intended to show a picture of a five year old child bathing in polluted water from mountaintop mining. But House Republicans censored the image, calling it child pornography.

The photo was taken by photojournalist Katie Falkenberg, who wrote this caption about the image:

Erica and Rully must bathe their daughter, age 5, in contaminated water that is the color of tea. Their water has been tested and contains high levels of arsenic…. The coal company that mines the land around their home has never admitted to causing this problem, but they do supply the family with bottled water for drinking and cooking. Contaminated and colored water has occurred in other coalfield communities as well where mountaintop mining is practiced.

Members of the committee were not able to see the informative image, because Republican committee staff barred Gunnoe from displaying the picture during her testimony.

Gunnoe complied with the request, but after the hearing was escorted into an empty room by Capitol Police and was questioned for 45 minutes about the photo at the request of an unnamed GOP senior committee staffer to Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO). Gunnoe is a renowned activist against mountaintop coal mining, who has testified before the committee three other times.

Intimidation tactics against coal activists are nothing new, especially against Gunnoe. She has faced threats and intimidation directed at her and her family for her environmental justice work:

In return for her passionate activism, mine managers have singled out Gunnoe as an enemy of mine workers and their jobs. She has received threats on her life and her children are frequently harassed at school. Her daughter’s dog was shot dead, wanted posters featuring her photo have appeared in local stores, and she has had to take serious measures to protect her family and property.

It is not difficult to see why the Goldman Environmental Prize winner is seen as a threat. As Gunnoe pointed out in her testimony about the Spruce coal mines in West Virginia, mountaintop removal is an extraordinarily destructive process that the coal companies don’t want the public to know about:

Read more

by Rebecca Lefton

In a visit to Sweden this week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for greater international cooperation to address climate change.

“We do need more action in the fight against climate change. We need real-world solutions and we need results,” said Clinton in a meeting with environmental officials.

Secretary Clinton and Sweden’s Minister for the Environment, Lena Ek, announced the launch of a global awareness campaign as part of the Clean Air and Climate Coalition to spread information about the potential for cost-effective solutions to combat short-lived climate pollutants (slcp’s).  Short-lived climate pollutants — such as black carbon, soot, methane, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and tropospheric ozone — are shorter lived than carbon dioxide, but much more potent. They contribute to more than 30 percent of current global warming and limiting them can significantly reduce temperatures.

Many of the solutions to avoid SLCP’s already exist but are not being utilized. The coalition is working with industry to share solutions and spread information on the benefits of action. Addressing the problem isn’t just good for climate — it’s good for human health. Action to reduce slcp emissions can save 2.5 million lives a year by improving air quality, and increase crop yields by 30 to 135 million metric tons by 2030.

Minister Ek pointed out that there are also important social benefits, as solutions for global warming also offer opportunities to promote gender equality and women’s rights.

The Clean Air and Climate Coalition was launched in February, 2012.  The Coalition got a boost last month when G8 members joined at Camp David, bringing the membership to 16 countries plus the European Commission, United Nations Environment Program, and the World Bank.

Both Clinton and Ek affirmed commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But Clinton said these ongoing (and complicated) efforts should not prevent action now to reduce slcp’s.

“While we continue to work on bringing down carbon dioxide emissions and finalizing an international agreement, let’s also deliver a blow to methane, black carbon, and HFCs. We are poised to do both, and we should,” said Clinton.

At the upcoming Rio +20 UN Earth Summit, the coalition will announce plans to engage with oil and gas companies to cut methane through waste-reduction partnerships with cities.

Rebecca Lefton is a Policy Analyst with the International Policy Team at the Center for American Progress.