Coal company backed high-profile climate denier

The smog has lifted from the financial ties between high-profile climate denier Christopher Horner and the coal industry. The now-bankrupt Alpha Natural Resources Inc., one of the largest coal companies in the country, paid Horner $18,600 in three equal installments, according to documents filed as part of the company’s bankruptcy case.

Horner, a lawyer involved with several nonprofits, including the libertarian think tank Competitive Enterprise Institute, has written books intended to debunk climate science, namely Red Hot Lies: How Global Warming Alarmists Use Threats, Fraud and Deception to Keep You Misinformed, and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming and Environmentalism. In public appearances, Horner has dismissed climate data and suggested that environmentalists are aligned with communists. Horner has also been accused of harassing climate scientists by flooding them with information requests.

Financial ties between Horner and the coal industry come as little surprise. In August, The Intercept reported the link.