The list of climate deniers Google supports with financial contributions isn’t limited to CEI either. The company’s beneficiaries include some of the organizations that are currently working the hardest to prevent any action on climate change. They include the Cato Institute, the Heritage Foundation and Heritage Action. Google has also donated to a variety of Koch-adjacent groups and individuals. One such group is the American Conservative Union whose current chairman, Matt Schlapp, helped shaped Koch Industries’ anti-environmental policies.

The company declined to tell The Guardian how much it gives to these groups. On its website, however, Google describes some of the contributions as “substantial.” It’s important to point out Google also makes significant donations to progressive groups such as the Center for American Progress.

In its defense, a spokesperson for the company said Google’s “collaboration” with groups like CEI “does not mean we endorse the organizations’ entire agenda.” The spokesperson added, “We’re hardly alone among companies that contribute to organizations while disagreeing with them on climate policy.” We’ve also reached out to Google for comment on the story.

Indeed, both Amazon and Microsoft have faced employee scrutiny for donating to organizations like CEI. They’ve also similarly resisted pressure to stop supporting those groups. For instance, when Jeff Bezos announced Amazon’s new climate pledge in September, he didn’t say the company would outright stop working with climate deniers. He instead said Amazon would review its political contributions.

In a separate article, The Guardian suggests one of the reasons Google supports organizations like CEI is that they help maintain the legal status quo. In particular, it points to a law called the Communications Decency Act (CDA). Section 230 positions companies that publish information online from other sources as distributors. In effect, this law protects companies like Google — as well as Facebook and other tech giants — from libel suits.

The CDA has always been beneficial to tech companies. But it’s easy to see how Google may feel, due to the current political climate, its protections are needed now more than ever. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), for instance, is just one of the more notable Republicans who has said it’s time to revisit the law. For its part, CEI has defended Google against claims that its search engine has an anti-conservative bias.

CEI has also tried to defend the company against antitrust accusations. In a recent op-ed published in The Atlantic, Mario Loyola, a senior fellow at the organization, argued the recently launched antitrust investigation by 50 state attorneys general into Google wouldn’t do much good for the public.

One quote, in particular, succinctly captures Google’s likely motives. An anonymous source told The Guardian, “When it comes to regulation of technology, Google has to find friends wherever they can and I think it is wise that the company does not apply litmus tests to who they support.”

Make sure to read the full reports by visiting The Guardian website.

The initial rollout is limited to three campaigns in the company’s home of Virginia, such as decriminalizing marijuana and equal funding for students. Other states are coming by 2020 at the latest, the company told TechCrunch. There is a 25 percent processing fee, although CrowdLobby said this delivered full service that included ongoing communications with lobbyists.

You’re only obtaining a lobbyist’s time, not a guarantee of change — after all, the lobbyist may be competing against companies with deep pockets and overly cozy relationships with politicians. And co-founder Heidi Drauschak is quick to admit this is more of a quick fix than a long-term solution for the existing lobbying system. “Until we can totally change the whole structure, we have to play the game,” she said.

This could still give more of the general public a voice, though, and might be particularly helpful for issues that would otherwise receive little legislative attention. If nothing else, it demonstrates how online crowdfunding can be useful for more than backing clever gadgets and people facing hard times.

Bloomberg plans to bypass Washington, where the Trump Administration is both committed to coal power and denying warnings from climate scientists. “We’re in a race against time with climate change, and yet there is virtually no hope of bold federal action on this issue for at least another two years,” Bloomberg reportedly said in a statement. “Mother Nature is not waiting on our political calendar, and neither can we.”

In addition to targeting the remaining 241 coal plants in the US, the funding will also go towards promoting wind, solar and other renewable power. It will also help elect local lawmakers who prioritize clean energy, The New York Times says.

While renewables are on the rise, so is the demand for fossil fuels — though the US coal industry saw little growth in recent years. At the same time, the UN says climate change is much worse than first thought, and we could see a massive crisis starting in 2040. As long as President Trump clings to coal and the administration works to cut funding for renewable energy, it might be up to private investors to lead the way toward reform.