Mercury Policy Project : In Their Own Words

What They Tell You About:

Funding

Funding Mercury Policy Project is often portrayed as a grassroots activist group guided by a single advocate Michael Bender - from the relative isolation of the mountains of Montpelier, Vermont.

"...he has spearheaded many groundbreaking and successful reports and activities over the years."

Funding

What They're Not Telling You

The Mercury Policy Project is not quite the independent organization it is made out to be. In reality it is part of a non-profit conglomerate backed by hundreds of millions of dollars in influence from the Tides Center (under the Tides umbrella).

According to the Tides Center's website, "Since 1996, [they have] operated 677 projects with combined revenues of $522.4 million."

Currently, Tides funds around 60 projects it categorizes under "Environment & Health." The Mercury Policy Project is not listed in that section, instead it can be found under the "Policy, Strategy & Global Initiatives" label.

The Tough Questions:
What does an activist group which takes on the appearance of a small, grassroots operation have to gain by masking environmental "policy" and "strategy" as a public health issue?