Big Oil pulls Smithsonian ocean exhibit donation

The American Petroleum Institute on Friday rescinded its offer to give $5 million to the Smithsonian for a major exhibit hall and website on the world’s oceans, ending a controversy destined for the institution’s Board of Regents meeting on Monday.

The decision is a setback for Cristian Samper, the acting secretary of the Smithsonian who has said the ocean exhibition is “very close to my heart.” Samper approved the contribution as acting secretary and helped develop Ocean Hall when he was director of the National Museum of Natural History.

Two leading members of the Board of Regents -- one of them Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) -- indicated they would oppose accepting the gift. They said that oil-and-gas money could taint the “Ocean Initiative” showcase. The regents, who must approve major donations, were expected to review the matter Monday. Approval was delayed at two previous meetings.

Petroleum Institute President and Chief Executive Red Cavaney notified Paul Risser, acting director of Natural History, in a one-sentence letter delivered Friday that he was taking the money off the table: “The purpose of this letter is to inform you that API is rescinding the Aug. 29, 2007, offer of financial support for the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Ocean Initiative, effective immediately.”

Karen Matusic, a spokeswoman for the petroleum institute, explained why the gift was rescinded: “Since API was first approached by the Smithsonian Institution seeking additional funding support, circumstances within the Smithsonian have changed, to say the least.”

Members of the petroleum institute, an 84-year-old trade association representing more than 400 oil and natural-gas corporations, viewed the donation as a way to show the industry’s concern about global warming and other environmental issues.

Risser said he was disappointed. “I thought this was an opportunity to work together. I certainly respect any decision they made, and we’ll find other ways to proceed with the Ocean portal.” Risser envisioned it as a major multimedia website that would publish original research and information. The gift would have extended over five years.

“I think it is unfortunate in the sense that both API and we had worked very hard on an agreement that represented the values of the museum and gave us an opportunity to help people understand and know about the ocean,” Risser said.

A $5-million gift from Saudi Arabia that had been solicited in 1985 by then-Secretary S. Dillon Ripley for buildings near the Smithsonian Castle was ultimately rejected by his successor, Robert McCormick Adams. Members of Congress had objected to a center for Islamic arts and culture on the National Mall.

Also Friday, the Natural History Museum’s handling of an exhibit on the Arctic captured the attention of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who chairs a committee that oversees the Smithsonian. Feinstein wrote to the Smithsonian seeking “further explanation regarding allegations that political pressure influenced the content of a recent exhibit on the Arctic.”

Feinstein’s letter referred to a Washington Post story Friday that quoted internal memos and correspondence from NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists stating they thought that the Smithsonian toned down references to climate change for fear of a political backlash.