Don't Let the Koch Brothers Buy Our Elections

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Presidential candidate Mitt Romney may find it easy to mock President Obama about climate change, but Filmmaker Craig Rosebraugh along with executive producer Daryl Hannah reveal how the subject is nothing to joke about.  The searing, award-winning documentary, "Greedy Lying Bastards" relentlessly uncovers a trail of environmental destruction, illness and death. 

With wildfires in the west and "brown-outs" in the east, climate change is no longer a prediction for the future, but a startling reality of today.  Farmers continue to lose crops to the worst drought since the Dust Bowl and unusual weather patterns continue to startle us. The U.S. Pentagon believes it to be a matter of national and international security. Yet, as the evidence of our changing climate mounts and the scientific consensus proves a human causation, there continues to be no political action to thwart the warming of our planet.

"Greedy Lying Bastards" investigates the reason behind stalled efforts to tackle climate change despite consensus in the scientific community that it is not only a reality but also a growing problem that is placing us on the brink of disaster. The film details the people and organizations casting doubt on climate science and claims that human behavior has no affect on greenhouse gases. Mr. Rosebraugh, a political activist, documents the impact of an industry that has continually put profits before people, waged a campaign of lies designed to thwart measures to combat climate change, used its clout to minimize infringing regulations and undermined the political process in the U.S. and abroad.

Oil companies and related interests spend millions annually to fund the think tanks, groups, scientists and politicians waging what the film deems a campaign of deceit regarding the science of climate change and its dire impact on the planet. Between 1998 and 2012, "Greedy Lying Bastards" reports ExxonMobil spent over $25 million to dispel claims of global warming. The Koch brothers, who run the conglomerate Koch Industries, also provide significant funding. From 1997 through 2012, they spent over $60 million. The film reveals that the Koch brothers are bankrolling the Romney campaign contributing an estimated $400 million dollars adding a new dimension to Romney's mocking of Obama's 2008 promise to heal the planet.  Relevant to the 2012 Presidential elections, 'Greedy Lying Bastards' urges Americans to take back the democratic voting process and to boycott Koch Industries and their products – including

• Georgia Pacific building and paper products
• Angel Soft toilet paper
• Brawny paper towels
• Dixie plates, bowls, napkins, & cups
• Quilted Northern toilet paper
• Vanity Fair napkins

A far different story about climate change is told by the residents of Kivalina, a small Alaskan island above the Arctic Circle. Over the last fifty years, winter temperatures have risen nearly seven degrees and the ice that once protected the land is not forming properly leading to increasing erosion. As one tribal administrator notes: "The debate is over, we are dealing with the realities of climate change."

"Greedy Lying Bastards" also presents a shocking analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Citizens United. According to the film, not only did this 2010 ruling pave the way for unlimited corporate contributions to political campaigns, it has additionally highlighted the blatant corruption of the country's highest Court and its cozy relationship with top corporate interests – including the Koch brothers.

Filmed in the US, Tuvalu, Peru, England, Uganda, Kenya, Belgium, Denmark and Germany, "Greedy Lying Bastards" includes interviews with scientists, industry experts, international political delegates, and people impacted by the changing climate as well as deniers. The interviews include:

• UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon
• Rep. Henry Waxman (CA)
• Former EPA head and New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman
• Top U.S. climate scientists Dr. Pieter Tans (NOAA), Dr. Mark Serreze (NOAA), Dr. Michael Mann (Penn State) and Dr. Kevin Trenberth (NCAR)
• Former President of Copenhagen Climate Summit COP15 Connie Hedegaard
• UN Environmental Program Executive Director Achim Steiner
• Victims of the 2012 Colorado wildfire and U.S. drought
• Leading climate change deniers Myron Ebell, Ian Plimer, Christopher Monckton, and Jay Lehr

Emmy-Award winner Patrick Gambuti Jr. is the co-writer and editor. Executive producer Daryl Hannah sits on the boards of the Environmental Media Association, Eco America, the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance and the Action Sports Environmental Coalition. Grammy-nominated Michael Brook is the composer.

"Greedy Lying Bastards," in advance screenings, won the 2012 EcoFilm Award at the Boston Film Festival and the 2012 Best Feature Documentary Award at the Burbank Film Festival. For more information about the United Nations Association Film Festival go to www.UNAFF.org.

News contact: Cindy Rakowitz (818)783-3307, [email protected]

SOURCE One Earth Productions/Greedy Lying Bastards