THE MONEY BEHIND THE ANTI-NEW ENERGY PROPAGANDA

The “Spanish Study” on Green Jobs and Koch Industries; A report appeared in spring of 2009 called the "Study of the effects on employment of public aid to renewable energy sources" by Gabriel Calzada Alvarez.
1 April 2010 (Regulacion Eolica con Vehiculos Electricos)

"Since the creation of new clean energy jobs in wind power and solar energy is a critical benefit of climate and energy policy, opponents have focused on discrediting ‘green’ jobs...

"...[The repeatedly discredited conclusions and methodology of] Study of the effects on employment of public aid to renewable energy sources by Gabriel Calzada Alvarez, an economics professor at King Juan Carlos University in Madrid...[included the dubious claim that] Spain’s policy commitments to renewable energy development had actually cost Spain...2.2 jobs...for each clean energy job created...[The report became a favorite reference]for opponents of wind energy, who seized on the study when it was released in March, coinciding with the House Energy and Commerce Committee discussions on the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES). The study was trumpeted by opposition groups, covered by reporters, and repeated in congressional testimony by US Representatives opposed to clean energy policy and climate mitigation measures.

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"...[The conclusions and methodology of] the study by Alvarez have repeatedly [been] proven unsupportable...[by independent authorities as well as the U.S. DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory and ministers with the Spanish government, but it] recently made its way into fact sheets circulated by clean energy opposition group Americans for Prosperity...founded and chaired by David Koch...Several organizations and individuals – each supported through the Koch web - have played key roles in supporting, disseminating and promoting the research..."

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"Billionaire oilman David Koch likes to joke that Koch Industries is 'the biggest company you've never heard of.' But the nearly $50 million that David Koch and his brother Charles have quietly funneled to climate-denial front groups that are working to delay policies and regulations aimed at stopping global warming is no joking matter."

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"Charles G. Koch and David H. Koch have a vested interest in delaying climate action: they’ve made billions from their ownership and control of Koch Industries, an oil corporation that is the second largest privately-held company in America...[and has] an especially poor environmental record...It’s time more people were aware of Charles and David Koch and just what they’re up to.

"Greenpeace...[released] Koch Industries: Secretly Funding the Climate Denial Machine to expose the connections between these climate denial front groups and the secretive billionaires who are funding their efforts. The Koch brothers, their family members, and their employees direct a web of financing that supports conservative special interest groups and think-tanks, with a strong focus on fighting environmental regulation, opposing clean energy legislation, and easing limits on industrial pollution. This money is typically funneled through one of three "charitable" foundations the Kochs have set up: the Claude R. Lambe Foundation; the Charles G. Koch Foundation; and the David H. Koch Foundation."