GM Customers Angry Over Support for Anti-Global-Warming Group

Thousands of owners of General Motors vehicles have joined online protests of the company foundation’s $30,000 in donations in the past two years to an advocacy group noted for challenging the scientific consensus on global warming, McClatchy Newspapers reports.

Some 10,000 GM buyers have posted comments objecting to the firm’s support for the Heartland Institute, which argues on its Website that climate change arises from natural causes rather than human activity such as burning fossil fuels, and that efforts to curb global warming are part of a “liberal political agenda.”

The institute does not reveal its donors, but the GM contribution and others became public last month with exposure of leaked documents from the organization.

Michael J. Robinson, GM’s vice president for sustainability and global regulatory affairs, said the firm does not support the Heartland Institute’s position and has been “operating our business to continually reduce the carbon footprint of our vehicles and operations.”