This Bloomberg Contributor Attacking Renewable Energy Is Paid For By Big Oil

http://mediamatters.org/research/2015/06/09/why-has-bloomberg-given-robert-bryce-a-platform/203936

DENISE ROBBINS
June 9, 2015

Bloomberg has published several columns by contributor Robert Bryce that either attack renewable energy or promote oil without disclosing that he is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute's Center for Energy Policy and the Environment, which has long received significant funding from ExxonMobil.

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But Bloomberg Has Not Disclosed Bryce's Oil Industry Ties. Bloomberg identifies Bryce as simply "a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and the author of 'Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper: How Innovation Keeps Proving the Catastrophists Wrong.'" [Bloomberg, accessed 6/8/15]

Bryce Is Frequently Quoted And Published In The Media But Not Fully Identified. A Media Matters analysis found that in 2011, Bryce was quoted at least 39 times in energy issue stories that didn't disclose his ties to the oil industry. [Media Matters, 10/7/11]

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ExxonMobil Gives Hundreds Of Thousands To Manhattan Institute's Center For Energy Policy Each Year. ExxonMobil, the world's largest oil refiner, has donated hundreds of thousands to the Manhattan Institute. According to ExxonMobil's 2014 Worldwide Contributions and Community Investments report, the company donated $100,000 to Manhattan Institute's Center for Energy Policy last year. ExxonMobil's annual reports show that the company has given to Manhattan Institute nearly every year from 1998 to 2014, with the amount from that period totaling $800,000. [ExxonMobil Worldwide Contributions and Community Investments, 2014; 2013; ExxonSecrets, accessed 6/8/15]

Manhattan Institute Has Also Received Millions From Koch-Affiliated Organizations. The Manhattan Institute has been given over $1.9 million from the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation and the Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation, whose board of directors includes Charles Koch and his wife. The Kochs made their fortune from oil and currently have significant holdings in oil and gas operations. [Greenpeace.org, accessed 6/8/15; Media Matters, 8/27/14; CNBC, 1/20/15]

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