User:Katefan0/GreenFactsdummy
GreenFacts, formerly the GreenFacts Foundation, is an international non-profit organization in Brussels, Belgium. Its primary function is to summarize other scientific consensus studies and reviews on environment and health issues (such as climate change and tobacco). These summaries are then subjected to peer review by a hand-picked board of scientists and re-published on their [website].
One of GreenFacts' missions is to help further dialogue on environmental concerns between environmentalists and the industry. It has purposefully distanced itself from appearing associated with radical activists and instead stresses its commitment to "dialogue and co-operation, rather than activism and confrontation." (The Research Headlines, published by the European Commission ([1]
Criticism
The organization's close ties to the industry have led some to question the information it presents. GreenFacts was founded in December 2001 with seed money from chemical company Solvay and continues to receive the bulk of its funding from industry, including Solvay, Carrefour, Proctor and Gamble, Suez and others. [2] However, GreenFacts has stated that it plans to distance itself from industry funding beginning in 2006, instead seeking subsidies from public authorities such as the European Commission and the Belgian government. Such subsidies are not generally made available to organizations that have existed for less than three years. In 2005, GreenFacts estimates its total income at €680,000.
Though GreenFacts was established as a non-advocacy organization, some critics — mainly SourceWatch — say it has inserted itself into policy debates seeking to influence certain policies, including helping develop governmental health action plans. [3]
Some critics also charge that GreenFacts' summaries are not completely objective — in particular, some say the organization's information is biased toward the concept of "sound science" — a nebulous, essentially political phrase often used to mean science that seeks to prove a competing — generally conservative — worldview.
External links
- GreenFacts Foundation website
- GreenFacts reports website
- Sourcewatch (formerly Disinfopedia) about GreenFacts
- Beware 'Sound Science.' It's Doublespeak for Trouble, a Washington Post article on "sound science" under president George W. Bush.
- Sourcewatch on front groups
- REACH: Intensive lobbying on eve of Parliament hearing