The American Tradition Institute a.k.a. ATI a.k.a. Energy & Environmental Legal Institute is a “think” tank that supports or engages in climate science denialism. You can read about it here and here. Michael Mann is a climate scientist, famous for bringing to the world’s attention the alarming problem of hockey-stick style global warming. According to Wikipedia:

The IPCC acknowledged that his work, along with that of the many other lead authors and review editors, contributed to the award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize…

The ATI, Michael Mann, and the University of Virginia have been engaged in certain legal activities and a decision was made a couple of days ago about one aspect of this.

From Southern Studies:

Virginia’s highest court has ruled that the American Tradition Institute (ATI), a free-market think tank that promotes climate science denial, must pay damages to the University of Virginia and … Michael Mann for filing a frivolous lawsuit against them. The decision comes in a case that has sparked controversy about the abuse of public records laws to harass climate scientists.

Mann … has been a target of climate science deniers for his research .. ATI had connections to fossil-fuel interests…

On July 8, the Supreme Court of Virginia affirmed the ruling by the Circuit Court of Prince William County on appeal, ordering ATI to pay $250 in damages….

The case can be traced back to 2010, when then-Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) filed investigative demands ordering UVA to produce documents related to Mann as part of a widely criticized investigation into whether the scientist violated the state’s Fraud Against Taxpayers Act by allegedly falsifying data — a charge that has been discredited by several investigations by Penn State and other institutions. …

Meanwhile, in January 2011, ATI submitted a Freedom of Information request to UVA for emails sent by Mann… In September 2012, the Virginia circuit court ruled against ATI [upheld by the VA supreme court].

EXCLUSIVE

National Geographic Scienceblogs Greg Laden’s Blog has obtained exclusive information pertaining to the aftermath of this Virginia Supreme Court decision.

We have learned what Dr. Michael Mann intends to do with the windfall that comes from this judgement against the Koch funded science denialist group ATI a.k.a. Energy & Environmental Legal Institute. Mann tells us, “I intend to donate to the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund, of course!”

Climate Science Legal Defense Found is HERE on the internet. Readers of this blog will want to donate to the fund, of course. Also consider buying one of their very cool shirts.

I’ve got one of these shirts and it is very nice. I intend to buy a new one soon. It is a great conversation starter at family gatherings, but it is important to always have a spiffy looking new one.