[Nhcoll-l] Gauntlet thrown (in case your copy was lost in the mail)
Furth, David
FURTHD at si.edu
Tue Mar 24 18:31:50 EDT 2015
But many DO believe this, including most public visitors.
________________________________
From: Ellen Paul [ellen.paul at verizon.net]
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2015 11:33 AM
To: Furth, David; nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: Gauntlet thrown (in case your copy was lost in the mail)
I was joking.
Ellen Paul
Executive Director
The Ornithological Council
Email: ellen.paul at verizon.net<mailto:ellen.paul at verizon.net>
"Providing Scientific Information about Birds"
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nmnh.si.edu_BIRDNET&d=AwIF-g&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=Djs_880lETIm3rZrOszocbMAB5lwL0QpE4SG05QFMa0&s=5b0xgLQeNMEvtMW832PV3eOfmbz-GyhBqRvhg85eyIQ&e= "<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nmnh.si.edu_BIRDNET&d=AwIF-g&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=Djs_880lETIm3rZrOszocbMAB5lwL0QpE4SG05QFMa0&s=5b0xgLQeNMEvtMW832PV3eOfmbz-GyhBqRvhg85eyIQ&e= >
On 3/24/15 11:31 AM, Furth, David wrote:
Correction, SI gets relatively little from the gift shops and food concessions. They are actually run by private concerns. The other ca. 1/3 comes from Trust funds (investments, etc.).
******************************************************
David G. Furth, Ph.D.
Emeritus Collections Manager & Research Associate
Department of Entomology
MRC 165, P.O. Box 37012
National Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, D. C. 20013-7012 USA
Phone: 202-633-0990
Fax: 202-786-2894
Email: furthd at si.edu<mailto:furthd at si.edu>
Website: www.entomology.si.edu<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.entomology.si.edu_&d=AwIF-g&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=Djs_880lETIm3rZrOszocbMAB5lwL0QpE4SG05QFMa0&s=8W3bDZf69PgbDnFTqGp6CllkwrqAHYgTvnp3AiCN8y4&e= >
New Contacts:
Acting Collections Manager:
Dr. Floyd W. Shockley
shockleyf at si.edu<mailto:shockleyf at si.edu> 202-633-0982
Collections Information Manager:
Dr. Patricia Gentili-Poole
gentilip at si.edu<mailto:gentilip at si.edu> 202-633-1046
From: nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu<mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Ellen Paul
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2015 11:09 AM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu<mailto:nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Gauntlet thrown (in case your copy was lost in the mail)
The Smithsonian is similarly blessed. Its board includes all sorts of high-end names like the Chief Justice of the United States and the Vice-president of the United States, along with people like David Rubenstein, co-founder of the Carlyle Group, the chief executive of Sony Entertainment, the president of one of the largest real estate companies in the DC area, Steve Case (founder of AOL). It helps to have powerful and wealthy friends. The federal appropriation is $819.5 million, which is about 2/3 of the institutions' income. And then there are those gift shops and the real source of SI's wealth - the cafeterias (home of the $16 sandwiches and $4 cans of soda...).
Ellen
Ellen Paul
Executive Director
The Ornithological Council
Email: ellen.paul at verizon.net<mailto:ellen.paul at verizon.net>
"Providing Scientific Information about Birds"<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nmnh.si.edu_BIRDNET&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=cpPpN7wteXS-pdHdoCuP_2zm5MBCbXO8D-_UnOTTbGc&s=p5loUkCPyodnak9EySXx8WFMfcaGSg7diQL4m7IxPmc&e=>
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nmnh.si.edu_BIRDNET&d=AwIF-g&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=Djs_880lETIm3rZrOszocbMAB5lwL0QpE4SG05QFMa0&s=5b0xgLQeNMEvtMW832PV3eOfmbz-GyhBqRvhg85eyIQ&e= "<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nmnh.si.edu_BIRDNET&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=cpPpN7wteXS-pdHdoCuP_2zm5MBCbXO8D-_UnOTTbGc&s=p5loUkCPyodnak9EySXx8WFMfcaGSg7diQL4m7IxPmc&e=>
On 3/24/15 10:33 AM, Prondzinski, Mary Beth wrote:
I always wondered why these two major museums were able to survive when others were going under (!)
From: nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu<mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Ellen Paul
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2015 9:28 AM
To: AVECOL
Cc: NHCOLL-new
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Gauntlet thrown (in case your copy was lost in the mail)
>From today's NYT and the full text of the letter, below.
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nytimes.com_2015_03_24_science_science-2Dmuseums-2Durged-2Dto-2Dcut-2Dties-2Dwith-2Dkochs.html-3Fref-3Dus&d=AwIF-g&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=Djs_880lETIm3rZrOszocbMAB5lwL0QpE4SG05QFMa0&s=-HQt_alWQ2SNaxr-BW4ZALTXNv-WRBqkEx6kwWptmtM&e= <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nytimes.com_2015_03_24_science_science-2Dmuseums-2Durged-2Dto-2Dcut-2Dties-2Dwith-2Dkochs.html-3Fref-3Dus&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=ioAD92qPrkKwUMQDiYtJ0y01kcFv0xdP5Z1GwQGEv84&s=spNR6EFxNzVmcjcpZqPlZbm5c3iM0SHDIjgt9R-zRYk&e=>
Dozens of climate scientists and environmental groups are calling for museums of science and natural history to “cut all ties” with fossil fuel companies and philanthropists like the Koch brothers.
A letter<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__thenaturalhistorymuseum.org_open-2Dletter-2Dto-2Dmuseums-2Dfrom-2Dscientists_&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=ioAD92qPrkKwUMQDiYtJ0y01kcFv0xdP5Z1GwQGEv84&s=5FjWPnyDuY-14ieh_QMYTqc93IBLwdLWgzL62byBfbI&e=> released on Tuesday asserts that such money is tainted by these donors’ efforts to deny the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__topics.nytimes.com_top_news_science_topics_globalwarming_index.html-3Finline-3Dnyt-2Dclassifier&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=ioAD92qPrkKwUMQDiYtJ0y01kcFv0xdP5Z1GwQGEv84&s=F7P155gReRIgDZ-Q4C8UblseYwboiDzJsev-kqwy05Q&e=>.
“When some of the biggest contributors to climate change<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__topics.nytimes.com_top_news_science_topics_globalwarming_index.html-3Finline-3Dnyt-2Dclassifier&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=ioAD92qPrkKwUMQDiYtJ0y01kcFv0xdP5Z1GwQGEv84&s=F7P155gReRIgDZ-Q4C8UblseYwboiDzJsev-kqwy05Q&e=> and funders of misinformation on climate science sponsor exhibitions in museums of science and natural history, they undermine public confidence in the validity of the institutions responsible for transmitting scientific knowledge,” the letter states. “This corporate philanthropy comes at too high a cost.”
Continue reading the main story<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nytimes.com_2015_03_24_science_science-2Dmuseums-2Durged-2Dto-2Dcut-2Dties-2Dwith-2Dkochs.html-3Fref-3Dus-23story-2Dcontinues-2D2&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=ioAD92qPrkKwUMQDiYtJ0y01kcFv0xdP5Z1GwQGEv84&s=OYertoP4rfQCO8lT_HDU_u98bAkpwG31r-s1sMI9vWI&e=>
RELATED COVERAGE
[Wei-Hock Soon of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, whose articles have been tied to corporate funding.]<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nytimes.com_2015_02_22_us_ties-2Dto-2Dcorporate-2Dcash-2Dfor-2Dclimate-2Dchange-2Dresearcher-2DWei-2DHock-2DSoon.html&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=ioAD92qPrkKwUMQDiYtJ0y01kcFv0xdP5Z1GwQGEv84&s=9k0OeOvFPYp_r8_WaN694eMDAqyfCVDF-a4oAtzqSzY&e=>
Deeper Ties to Corporate Cash for Doubtful Climate ResearcherFEB. 21, 2015<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nytimes.com_2015_02_22_us_ties-2Dto-2Dcorporate-2Dcash-2Dfor-2Dclimate-2Dchange-2Dresearcher-2DWei-2DHock-2DSoon.html&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=ioAD92qPrkKwUMQDiYtJ0y01kcFv0xdP5Z1GwQGEv84&s=9k0OeOvFPYp_r8_WaN694eMDAqyfCVDF-a4oAtzqSzY&e=>
The letter does not mention specific companies, but it does name David H. Koch<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__topics.nytimes.com_top_reference_timestopics_people_k_david-5Fh-5Fkoch_index.html-3Finline-3Dnyt-2Dper&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=ioAD92qPrkKwUMQDiYtJ0y01kcFv0xdP5Z1GwQGEv84&s=7fEp5E5B9bnFjKEitsiLUsze3-QgkbAS_6nxMx4ebRo&e=>, who sits on the boards of the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and has given tens of millions of dollars to those institutions.
Koch Industries is a privately held corporation with subsidiaries in energy and other industries. Mr. Koch and his family have funded conservative causes, including scientists and organizations that contest the role of humans in climate change.
Public records show that many fossil-fuel companies have made similar contributions<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nytimes.com_2015_02_22_us_ties-2Dto-2Dcorporate-2Dcash-2Dfor-2Dclimate-2Dchange-2Dresearcher-2DWei-2DHock-2DSoon.html&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=ioAD92qPrkKwUMQDiYtJ0y01kcFv0xdP5Z1GwQGEv84&s=9k0OeOvFPYp_r8_WaN694eMDAqyfCVDF-a4oAtzqSzY&e=> to such organizations and scientists over the years.
The letter is a project of the Natural History Museum<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__thenaturalhistorymuseum.org_&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=ioAD92qPrkKwUMQDiYtJ0y01kcFv0xdP5Z1GwQGEv84&s=5n-X-M34DIWQp8wXeFiioLgs1inI3m6BwyY9BrX7uHw&e=>, a mobile museum that draws attention to “social and political forces that shape nature yet are left out of traditional natural history museums,” said its co-founder and director, Beka Economopoulos.
A petition<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.kickkochofftheboard.com_-3Fcode-3Dnhm&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=ioAD92qPrkKwUMQDiYtJ0y01kcFv0xdP5Z1GwQGEv84&s=yLZiAvvi2X7rM2LEqn5ugORrm3T25LRI6inoAFJvu7c&e=> drive, also released on Tuesday and sponsored by environmental organizations including Greenpeace<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.greenpeace.org_usa_en_&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=ioAD92qPrkKwUMQDiYtJ0y01kcFv0xdP5Z1GwQGEv84&s=8-wBM8tm01ytUeQCaYYHoFV_OC56QTDvoCniMKnxlYo&e=> and the Sierra Club<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.sierraclub.org_&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=ioAD92qPrkKwUMQDiYtJ0y01kcFv0xdP5Z1GwQGEv84&s=z4J1YeDxlApAEjeCA-JmFVIpPR5_RSKK1VFP-_NjMG0&e=>, urges the Smithsonian and the American Museum of Natural History to “Kick Koch off the board!”
Michael Mann, a climate scientist at Pennsylvania State University and signer of the letter, said the donors seek a halo they do not deserve. “Cloaked in the garb of civic-mindedness, they launder their image while simultaneously and covertly influencing the content offered by those institutions,” he said.
Eric Wohlschlegel, a spokesman for the American Petroleum Institute<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.api.org_&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=ioAD92qPrkKwUMQDiYtJ0y01kcFv0xdP5Z1GwQGEv84&s=weuQtdcyO69K1CWyWAD4gS9jwvi2elCtLRcMT-FkZsU&e=>, said he could not comment on the letter because he had not seen it.
Allegations that contributions from donors like Mr. Koch influence institutions exhibits are not new. A 2010 investigation<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.newyorker.com_magazine_2010_08_30_covert-2Doperations&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=ioAD92qPrkKwUMQDiYtJ0y01kcFv0xdP5Z1GwQGEv84&s=IdUKI3KiAmtAHO2cWdl4WoBoYpNvbfpGyd0-gkRBnvw&e=> in The New Yorker noted that an underlying message of exhibits in the David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History is that humans “evolved in response to a changing world.” The article said that such language suggests that climate change has been a feature of the planet since prehistoric times, which plays down human contributions to climate change.
Randall Kremer, director of public affairs for the museum, said that Mr. Koch served on the advisory board, which is “a consultative board not a governing board,” and that “the museum director has no plans to ask any members to step down.”
Continue reading the main story<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nytimes.com_2015_03_24_science_science-2Dmuseums-2Durged-2Dto-2Dcut-2Dties-2Dwith-2Dkochs.html-3Fref-3Dus-23story-2Dcontinues-2D5&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=ioAD92qPrkKwUMQDiYtJ0y01kcFv0xdP5Z1GwQGEv84&s=94nH9aE7z2Pb3EtyvVaUHYG1MK5AUml90sdZj_Q4zoY&e=>Continue reading the main story<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nytimes.com_2015_03_24_science_science-2Dmuseums-2Durged-2Dto-2Dcut-2Dties-2Dwith-2Dkochs.html-3Fref-3Dus-23story-2Dcontinues-2D5&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=ioAD92qPrkKwUMQDiYtJ0y01kcFv0xdP5Z1GwQGEv84&s=94nH9aE7z2Pb3EtyvVaUHYG1MK5AUml90sdZj_Q4zoY&e=>
Continue reading the main story<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nytimes.com_2015_03_24_science_science-2Dmuseums-2Durged-2Dto-2Dcut-2Dties-2Dwith-2Dkochs.html-3Fref-3Dus-23story-2Dcontinues-2D5&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=ioAD92qPrkKwUMQDiYtJ0y01kcFv0xdP5Z1GwQGEv84&s=94nH9aE7z2Pb3EtyvVaUHYG1MK5AUml90sdZj_Q4zoY&e=>
Mr. Kremer added that while Mr. Koch was the largest single donor to the museum, “he signed our standard gift agreement, which prohibits donor or sponsor involvement in content.”
A spokesman for the American Museum of Natural History, Roberto Lebron, said, “Donors do not determine the interpretation or presentation of scientific content.”
Eric Chivian, founder of the center for health and the global environment at Harvard Medical School and a signer of the letter, said he was not convinced that policies barring donors from having direct control over exhibits are effective. “It is just human nature not to bite the hand that feeds you,” he said.
Mr. Koch, who has given $100 million to Lincoln Center to renovate the former New York State Theater and supports many other institutions, has said that his contributions to the museums come from a deep love of science, and from being “blown away and just fascinated<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__query.nytimes.com_gst_fullpage.html-3Fres-3D950CE1DC103BF937A35756C0A9649D8B63&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=ioAD92qPrkKwUMQDiYtJ0y01kcFv0xdP5Z1GwQGEv84&s=XNaTPgQ0YfQPiY2AQ_9J_qhaNqYwZdvVVnaV1yReKZ4&e=>” by the dinosaurs on his first visit to the American Museum of Natural History when he was 14. Mr. Koch and his company did not respond directly to a request for comment about the letter.
Dr. Chivian, who as co-founder of the group International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__en.wikipedia.org_wiki_International-5FPhysicians-5Ffor-5Fthe-5FPrevention-5Fof-5FNuclear-5FWar&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=ioAD92qPrkKwUMQDiYtJ0y01kcFv0xdP5Z1GwQGEv84&s=qZBRRwiV1xxowCAo2MFUowBPPDMUbG3w9hjGc5oMz3g&e=> shared the organization’s 1985 Nobel Prize<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__topics.nytimes.com_top_news_science_topics_nobel-5Fprizes_index.html-3Finline-3Dnyt-2Dclassifier&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=ioAD92qPrkKwUMQDiYtJ0y01kcFv0xdP5Z1GwQGEv84&s=yh7cwWjdu_WhI2VTM4pVQzvR7d5mvi3yaTY1AEttAGw&e=>, said natural history museum contributions from the Koch brothers were fundamentally different from their contributions to arts institutions.
“The Koch brothers have no stake in what is played at Lincoln Center,” Dr. Chivian said. But such funding for museums is no more acceptable than it would be if “a major tobacco company offered to fund an exhibit for them devoted to lung diseases.”
Chris Norris, a paleontologist and prominent blogger on museum issues, warned that if museums started removing board members or turning down donations, they risked damaging their reputations for objectivity. Doing so, he added, would enable “others to argue that the information they provide is partisan and not to be trusted.”
--
Ellen Paul
Executive Director
The Ornithological Council
Email: ellen.paul at verizon.net<mailto:ellen.paul at verizon.net>
"Providing Scientific Information about Birds"<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nmnh.si.edu_BIRDNET&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=ioAD92qPrkKwUMQDiYtJ0y01kcFv0xdP5Z1GwQGEv84&s=7cmvMrUrUkBfJygdrbuPAwo__FcOlQ9qfeTx31TpfqM&e=>
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An Open Letter to Museums from Members of the Scientific Community
March 24, 2015
To Museums of Science and Natural History:
As members of the scientific community we devote our lives to understanding the world, and sharing this understanding with the public. We are deeply concerned by the links between museums of science and natural history with those who profit from fossil fuels or fund lobby groups that misrepresent climate science.
Museums are trusted sources of scientific information, some of our most important resources for educating children and shaping public understanding.
The Code of Ethics for Museums, adopted in 1991 by the Board of Directors of the American Alliance of Museums, states:
“It is incumbent on museums to be resources for humankind and in all their activities to foster an informed appreciation of the rich and diverse world we have inherited. It is also incumbent upon them to preserve that inheritance for posterity.”
“Museums are grounded in the tradition of public service. They are organized as public trusts, holding their collections and information as a benefit for those they were established to serve…Museums and those responsible for them must do more than avoid legal liability, they must take affirmative steps to maintain their integrity so as to warrant public confidence. They must act not only legally but also ethically.”
We are concerned that the integrity of these institutions is compromised by association with special interests who obfuscate climate science, fight environmental regulation, oppose clean energy legislation, and seek to ease limits on industrial pollution.
For example, David Koch is a major donor, exhibit sponsor and trustee on the Board of Directors at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, and the American Museum of Natural History. David Koch’s oil and manufacturing conglomerate Koch Industries is one of the greatest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Mr. Koch also funds a large network of climate-change-denying organizations, spending over $67 million since 1997 to fund groups denying climate change science.
When some of the biggest contributors to climate change and funders of misinformation on climate science sponsor exhibitions in museums of science and natural history, they undermine public confidence in the validity of the institutions responsible for transmitting scientific knowledge. This corporate philanthropy comes at too high a cost.
Drawing on both our scientific expertise and personal care for our planet and people, we believe that the only ethical way forward for our museums is to cut all ties with the fossil fuel industry and funders of climate science obfuscation.
With concern,
1. James Hansen, Climatologist; former head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
2. James Powell, Geochemist; former President of the Franklin Museum of Science and former President and Director of the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum.
3. Bob Corell, Climatologist; Head of US Office for the Global Energy Assessment; former Assistant Director for Geosciences at the National Science Foundation.
4. Kevin E Trenberth, Distinguished Senior Scientist, Climate Analysis Section, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Lead Author 2001 and 2007 IPCC report which won a Nobel Prize.
5. Danny Harvey, Professor of Geography and Climatology, University of Toronto, IPCC Convening Lead Author and Lead Author; Deputy Editor of Climatic Change.
6. Eric Chivian, founder and Director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School. Co-founder of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985.
7. Henry Pollack, Emeritus Professor of Geophysics at the University of Michigan. Advisor to the National Science Foundation, IPCC member.
8. Michael Mann, Distinguished Professor of Meteorology; Director, Earth System Science Center, The Pennsylvania State University.
9. Joseph J. Romm, Physicist, Climatologist; former Acting Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy; founder and editor of Climate Progress.
10. George Woodwell, Ecologist; Founder and Director Emeritus, Woods Hole Research Center.
11. Calvin B. DeWitt, Environmental Scientist, Co-founder of the Evangelical Environmental Network, President of the Academy of Evangelical Scientists and Ethicists, and Professor Emeritus of Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
12. Dr Stuart Parkinson, Climatologist; Executive Director, Scientists for Global Responsibility, UK
13. Jason Box, Climatologist, Professor of Glaciology at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland. Co-author of 2007 IPCC report which won a Nobel Prize.
14. Mike MacCracken, Chief Scientist for Climate Change Programs with the Climate Institute.
15. Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Director of the Global Change Institute, Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow, University of Queensland, Australia
16. Matt Lappe, Paleoclimatologist, Environmental Hydrologist, Executive Director, Alliance for Climate Education.
17. Greg Laden, Paleoanthropologist, Independent Scholar, Writer at National Geographic Scienceblogs.
18. Sarah Kornbluth, Biologist; Affiliate of Bee Database Project, American Museum of Natural History and Doctoral Candidate, Rutgers University
19. Dr Simon L Lewis, Reader, Global Change Science, at University College London and University of Leeds.
20. Brad Johnson, Science writer; MS geosciences, MIT
21. Emmanuel Vincent, Assistant Project Scientist at the University of California, Merced
22. Jonathan Oppenheim, Professor of Quantum Theory, University College London. Royal Society Research Fellow in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics.
23. David Webb; Emeritus Professor; Previously Professor of Engineering, Leeds Metropolitan University
24. Dr Martin Zaltz Austwick, Physicist, University College London
25. Scott A. Mandia, Asst. Chair /Professor – Physical Sciences, Suffolk County Community College
26. Mona Mehdy, Molecular biologist, faculty at University of Texas at Austin
27. Judith S. Weis, Professor Emerita, Department of Biological Sciences, Rutgers University
28. Jonathan Tunik, Former Evaluation Studies Associate for the American Institute of Physics.
29. Aerin Jacob, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Applied Conservation Science Lab, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
30. Shaun Lovejoy, Professor of Physics, McGill University, Canada, formerly at the Climate Diagnostics Centre of NOAA
31. Lindy Weilgart, Professor of Biology, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada
32. Dr. Sophie Levina, MD, PhD and Doctor of Medical Sciences.
33. Dr. Susan Spencer, Solar Scientist, Founder/President of ROCSPOT.org
34. Erika Crispo, PhD, Evolutionary Ecologist and Biologist, Pace University, NYC
35. Lucky Tran, PhD, Biologist, University of Cambridge
36. Damian Alexander Stanley, Ph.D., Neuroscientist, California Institute of Technology
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