I decided to have joint winners of this Highly Commended award because both institutions share a common rejection of science. Having one from Australia (Lavoisier Group) and one from the US (Heartland Institute) shows that no country has a monopoly on nonsense.

Both groups deny the reality of climate change and reject any suggestion that humans can affect the climate. The are climate change deniers. I know they hate being called deniers and prefer to call themselves skeptics, but skeptics are people who accept evidence and follow where it leads whereas deniers start from a preconceived position and stick with it in the face of evidence. They say that using the term "denier" likens them to Holocaust deniers and might even diminish the story of the Holocaust. Well, Holocaust deniers start from a position of bigotry and reject any evidence that doesn't fit in with their prejudices. Climate change deniers start from a political position and reject any evidence that doesn't fit with their prejudices. Don't like being called a denier? Then stop denying.

I assume that naming one of these groups after one of the greatest scientists of all time is an attempt to convince observers that there is something legitimate going on there. Just another form of deception, like using the word "skeptic" instead of the correct term.