“La fundación Mercer destinó decenas de millones a una lista de organizaciones que atacan la ciencia del clima y las soluciones políticas”, señalan, citando los trabajos del Heartland Institute, del Cato Institute, del Oregon Institute of Science o la Heritage Foundation. También recuerdan que la hija del financiero formó parte del equipo que preparó la transición de Donald Trump y que propuso a figuras que niegan el cambio climático para su equipo de gobierno.
The American Museum of Natural History in New York (AMNH) is a treasured and influential institution. Museums must be protected as sites that build understanding, help the public make meaning, and serve the common good. We are concerned that the vital role of science education institutions will be eroded by a loss of public trust if museums are associated with individuals and organizations known for rejecting climate science, opposing environmental regulation and clean energy initiatives, and blocking efforts to reduce pollutants and greenhouse gases.
Rebekah Mercer and the Mercer Family Foundation, political kingmakers and the financiers behind Breitbart News, have given tens of millions of dollars to a list of organizations who attack climate science and policy solutions. This includes ringleaders of climate denial such as the Heartland Institute, which garnered $5.9 million from the Mercers from 2008-2016. While on the Trump Administration Transition Team, Rebekah Mercer nominated climate denier Arthur Robinson, board member of Heartland Institute, for consideration as a National Science Advisor. Newly disclosed 2016 tax documents show grants to Heartland Institute for $800,000, the CO2 Coalition for $150,000 and the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide for $125,000. All of those organizations maintain that carbon dioxide pollution is beneficial for ecosystems, agriculture and humanity, a position in clear conflict with the international scientific consensus on climate change.
The renewed attention to Mercer Family Foundation chair Rebekah Mercer, who sits on the AMNH Board of Trustees (since 2013), spurs us to reissue a statement that scientists first co-signed in 2015:
“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.”
Since that original letter, we have seen welcome changes as many museums updated their policies related to fossil fuel financial interests; the American Museum of Natural History increased its focus on climate change concerns and global sustainability in its investments and business plans. But given the prior AMNH funding and board membership associated with Exxon Corporation and David Koch, the prominence of Rebekah Mercer and the Mercer Family Foundation as current AMNH donors and on the Board of Trustees can prompt skepticism and hunts for signs of corruption, no matter the quality of the museum priorities and exhibits overall.
