Nucor CEO: Funding Of Heartland Institute’s Climate Denial ‘Is Entirely Appropriate’

by Brad Johnson, Climate Progress, June 14, 2012

By Brad Johnson, campaign manager for Forecast the Facts.

Nucor Corporation (NUE), the third largest U.S. steel manufacturer, is defending its support for the Heartland Institute’s climate denial efforts. In a letter to a private shareholder, Nucor chairman and CEO Daniel R. DiMicco embraced the anti-science advocacy group, describing the $502,000 in recent contributions earmarked for Heartland’s climate program as “entirely appropriate”:

The issues surrounding the "climate" debate are real and difficult questions to answer, but Nucor has been consistent in its support for scientific answers instead of political consensus. Heartland is just such an institution, "bringing together the world's leading scientists and economists to study the issue." It is entirely appropriate for Nucor and other like-minded companies and groups to fund The Heartland Institute. Working together we will find solutions, so that our best days are still ahead of us.

Of course, the entire purpose of the Heartland Institute is to prevent people from finding solutions to climate change.

Nucor CEO Daniel DiMicco

In his letter, DiMicco blamed Forecast the Facts, the group mobilizing Americans against corporate support for Heartland, for ruining the organization’s reputation. His letter was written on May 3, just days before the Heartland Institute launched a billboard campaign equating everyone who believes in global warming to the Unabomber and Osama bin Laden. A letter from the shareholder to Nucor about the Unabomber billboard has not yet received a reply. Greenpeace has launched a petition to DiMicco calling on him to end his support for the Heartland Institute.

DiMicco’s annual compensation is more than $8 million a year. He is also on the board of Duke Energy, a major electric utility that supports action on climate change.

Who are the “world’s leading scientists and economists” claimed by Heartland and cited by DiMicco? Heartland president Joe Bast helpfully provided the list. Forecast the Facts has created this table of the supposed experts listed by Bast, alongside representative quotations revealing them to be ideological conspiracy theorists:

Go to link at bottom of post to see lengthy table of idiotic quotes from climate deniers.

Read the full letter:

CORPORATE OFFICE
3 May 2012

Mr.

Re: Letter to Peter C. Browning dated April 10, 2012

Dear Mr. :

Thank you for your letter to Mr. Peter Browning referenced above as Lead Outside Director of Nucor Corporation (“Nucor”). We appreciate your concern and we have discussed the issue. Please accept the following in response to your inquiry.

As you can see from Nucor’s website, We take environmental issues very seriously, including the debate surrounding “climate change.” (Seehttp://www.nucor.com/responsibility/environment/issues/Warming/) Nucor has been at the forefront these issues and of improving the carbon intensity of steel making. We have correctly noted that countries acting alone to regulate carbon do so at their own economic peril. In fact, such actions likely worsen the global environment by migrating emissions from regulated countries to non-regulated countries. Global issues require global solutions; but, solutions that do not provide true answers cannot be supported by Nucor and should not be tolerated by society.

It is most likely that the information that formed the basis of your inquiry concerning the Heartland Institute (“Heartland”) had its genesis with a group entitled “Forecast the Facts,” whose activities are chronicled at http://fakegate.org/the-heartland-institute-replies-to-forecast-the-facts/. As you can read from the webpage, much of the uproar is a result of stolen and fabricated documentation. Contrary to your assertion, Heartland “does not ‘deny the existence of climate change.’” “It supports research and scholarly debate on the causes and effects of climate change.” In fact, Heartland spokespersons have said repeatedly that: (i) “some warming occurred in the second half of the twentieth century,” (ii) “there is evidence of a small human impact on climate,” and (iii) that “carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas.” Heartland’s views are only controversial because they encourage more debate before governments make policies restricting greenhouse gas emissions and governments and industry spend trillions of dollars. (For more information, go to http://heartlandorg/about.)

The issues surrounding the “climate” debate are real and difficult questions to answer, but Nucor has been consistent in its support for scientific answers instead of political consensus. Heartland is just such an institution, “bringing together the world’s leading scientists and economists to study the issue.” It is entirely appropriate for Nucor and other like-minded companies and groups to fund The Heartland Institute. Working together we will ﬁnd solutions, so that our best days are still ahead of us.

Sincerely,

Daniel R. DiMicco,
Chairman and CEO
Nucor Corporation

cc: Peter C. Browning, Lead Outside Director

1915 REXFORD ROAD, CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA 28211 PHONE 704 366 7000 FAX 704 362 4208