In a nine-page memo [3], the general manager of the Colorado-based Intermountain Rural Electric Association co-operative, Stanley Lewandowski Jr., rails against the the scientific consensus supporting the need to curb greenhouse gases. The memo, which was circulated in mid-July to more than 900 members of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, was leaked to ABC News. "We decided to support Dr. Patrick Michaels [4] and his group (New Hope Environmental Services, Inc.) ... In February of this year, IREA alone contributed $100,000 to Dr. Michaels." Lewandowski also wrote that IREA had rattled the tin for Michaels amongst other groups and "have obtained additional contributions and pledges for Dr. Michaels group." The memo also reports on others campaigning against taking action to limit climate change. "The Competitive Enterprise Institute [5] (CEI) has been running two ads in ten states that were financed by General Motors [6] and the Ford [7] Motor Company," he wrote.