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After 23 Years, David Koch Leaves Board of American Museum of Natural History

HeadlineJan 21, 2016

And billionaire Republican donor David Koch has left the board of the prestigious American Museum of Natural History after 23 years. This comes after a campaign called on the American Museum of Natural History and other top scientific institutions to divest from the fossil fuel industry and cut ties with David Koch, whose company, Koch Industries, has poured millions into climate denial. Earlier this week, we spoke with award-winning New Yorker writer Jane Mayer about the Koch brothers’ interest in funding climate denial.

Jane Mayer: Their fortune is built on fossil fuels. I mean, they are refiners, and they have tremendous numbers of pipelines, and they own a huge amount of the tar sands that are up in Canada. And so, if America moved off fossil fuels, it would be catastrophic for their business. It’s a direct interest that they’ve got in this. And so, one of the things I do is try to follow the money in the denial of climate change, and an awful lot of it goes back to the Kochs and their circle.”

David Koch says the campaign did not influence his decision to leave the board of the American Museum of Natural History. He still sits on the advisory board of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

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