A number of people have reached out to me about the letter and petition that were released yesterday, calling on natural history and science museums to cut ties to the fossil fuel industry, and more pointedly calling on the American Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian to remove David Koch from their boards. (The allegation being that, as a generous funder of efforts to deny the human role in climate change, or the dangers of climate change, Koch's presence on the boards of these institutions is a conflict of interest.) Here on the forum I see thatPeter Durbin posted a related query.
I shared some thoughts on the letter on the CFM Blog ("What do Ethical Consumers Expect of Museums") and would love to hear yours, here or over on the blog comments.
You might also want to look at Chris Norris' post on the topic over on Prerogative of Harlots. And the SI issued a statement today responding to the petition.
Also note that the mobile, pop-up Natural History Museum (which organized the letter and petition drive) will be parking their museum van in MuseumExpo at the annual meeting in Atlanta next month, so you will have a chance to meet their director Beka Economopoulous and talk to her and her staff about the issues of museums, ethics, funding and conflict of interest. (And, of course, climate change.)
--Elizabeth
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Elizabeth Merritt
Director, Center for the Future of Museums
American Alliance of Museums
Washington DC
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