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The Heartland Institute's failed billboard campaign attacking theexistence of climate change is driving a surge of corporate donorsto abandon the group and prompting a mutiny among itsWashington-based staff, which is decamping for less volatilesurroundings, according to sources. At the center of the retreat is a contingent of insurance companiesand trade groups that donated more than $1 million over the lasttwo years to the libertarian group's Center on Finance, Insuranceand Real Estate in Washington, D.C., for programs related tofederal insurance reform. The center's efforts, which are often entwined with environmentalpolicies, were damaged beyond repair by the increasingly stridentcampaign against climate change science coming from Heartland'sChicago headquarters, according to industry sources. Growing unease among insurers crystallized late last week whenHeartland purchased the first billboard in a campaign that likenedclimate advocacy to murder, terrorism and despotism. The electronichighway-side ad displayed a picture of Ted Kaczynski, who killedthree people, next to the words "I still believe in Global Warming.Do you?" "It was disgusting. It was revolting," Brad Kading, president ofthe Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers, said of the adin an interview over the weekend. "It was a terrible mistake." Insurers express 'disgust and shock' His group, which donated $125,000 to Heartland over the last twoyears, told the libertarian president of Heartland, Joe Bast, thattheir relationship is "untenable" in a letter Friday evening. Other insurers are also cutting ties in a major upheaval thatcoincides, sources say, with the departure of Eli Lehrer fromHeartland's Washington-based center, known by its acronym, FIRE.Lehrer and his staff were shocked by the billboard campaign, whichthey learned about in an emailed press release from Heartlandheadquarters Thursday, said Ray Lehmann, deputy director of thecenter. "I don't know what the goal was," Lehmann said of the ad, which hecalled an "ad hominem attack" on climate advocates. "But itcertainly was outside our project, and it did reflect badly." The Bermuda association is the only insurance group to publiclyannounce its withdrawal from Heartland as of Sunday, but others arealready canceling their support as Lehrer completes his separationfrom the Chicago group, according to a source at one insurancecompany that is terminating its sponsorship. "All of the insurers and reinsurers that funded Eli are either inthe process of withdrawing funding from Heartland or areconsidering doing so," said the source, who asked not beidentified. "I think everybody's reaction [to the billboard] wasone of disgust and shock. It was the last straw for everybody." Lehrer was largely responsible for raising $1.03 million frominsurers over the last two years for programs that seek reducedgovernment subsidies in federal flood insurance, decreaseddevelopment along coastlines and increased funding for efforts tostrengthen homes against natural catastrophes. An awkward relationship shatters Those efforts won support from environmentalists who are concernedthat the federal government is promoting new development alongseashores and in floodplains, even as those areas are increasinglyvulnerable to the impacts of rising oceans and intensifyingdownpours. Many of the insurers sponsoring Lehrer's work also publicly endorsethe evidence behind climate change, requiring sometimes awkwardexplanations to justify their support of Heartland's insuranceprograms even as the group agitates skepticism about the impacts ofgreenhouse gases. They emphasized that their donations were used strictly forinsurance-related programs, not the campaigns against climatescience emanating from the Chicago headquarters. And havingHeartland as a partner in a consortium of insurers andenvironmentalists also opened doors to conservative lawmakers,insurers said. But as Heartland's climate positions gained attention and, somesay, became more strident following the release of its privatebudget documents in February, insurers found it harder to avoidbeing tainted by the group's vociferous antagonism toward evidenceof climate change. "The billboard just crystallized what the divide was," Kading said,referring to the differences between insurers and Heartland. "Itjust means the brand is tarnished and there really is no way toseparate yourself without just leaving." In the past two years, Heartland has collected about 8 percent ofits budget from insurers, including Renaissance Reinsurance, StateFarm, Allied World Assurance Co., United Services AutomobileAssociation and the Bermuda trade group. Washington staff weighs departure When Lehrer learned of the billboard campaign, he began callingthose companies to warn them, according to sources. During some ofthose conversations, Lehrer said he was seriously consideringleaving Heartland. "He's gone," the industry source said of Lehrer. "They'renegotiating out a departure for him and his team." Lehrer declined to comment. His departure, combined with the retreat of insurers, would almostcertainly mean that Heartland's Washington presence provided by theFIRE center would disappear, the source said. That could be a financial and reputational blow to Heartland, whichanticipates receiving increased revenue this year by expanding thecenter's number of noninsurance programs. Lehrer also has helped to moderate Heartland's severe positions onclimate change by forging relationships with environmentalists. Hiscurrent allies include the National Wildlife Federation, AmericanRivers and Friends of the Earth. That helped give Heartland some legitimacy as a policy advocatethat could work with diverse coalitions. If Lehrer and his teamleave, it is unclear if Heartland could fill those vacant seats ingroups that work on insurance and environmental issues, likeSmarterSafer.org. Heartland launched the billboard campaign Thursday in preparationfor its seventh annual conference on climate change later thismonth. The event attracts people with varying degrees of skepticismabout the impact of greenhouse gases. 'We do not apologize' The campaign lasted about 24 hours before Heartland abandoned itamid pressure from its supporters. Donna Laframboise, creator of the blog NOconsensus.org and theauthor of a book that is critical of the Intergovernmental Panel onClimate Change, canceled her speaking engagement at Heartland'sconference because she felt "blindsided" by the billboard. "Suddenly, we were all publicly linked to an organization thatthinks it's OK to equate people concerned about climate change withpsychopaths," she wrote on her blog. "Forget disappointment. In myview, my reputation has been harmed. And the Heartland thinks ithas nothing to apologize for." Ross McKitrick, an economics professor at the University of Guelphin Ontario, threatened late last week to cancel his appearance atthe conference if Heartland did not end the campaign, which he saidis "truly objectionable." "You cannot simultaneously say that you want to promote a debatewhile equating the other side to terrorists and mass murderers," hewrote in a letter to Heartland's president, Joe Bast, according tothe blog Climate Audit. "Once you have done such a thing you havelost the moral high ground and you can never again object ifsomeone uses that kind of rhetoric on you." Heartland appeared unremorseful and questioned why its tacticsreceived so much criticism compared to extreme climate advocates. "We know that our billboard angered and disappointed many ofHeartland's friends and supporters, but we hope they understandwhat we were trying to do with this experiment," Bast said in astatement Friday evening. "We do not apologize for running the ad,and we will continue to experiment with ways to communicate the'realist' message on the climate." Want to read more stories like this? E&E is the leading source for comprehensive, daily coverage ofenvironmental and energy politics and policy. Click here to start a free trial to E&E -- the best way to track policyand markets. Back to Public index page. Advertisement. 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