Brulle's research includes the strategy and funding patterns of what he calls “the climate change countermovement,” the movement critical of action to address global warming. He described the climate change countermovement as "comprehensive" and as "an add-on to the already-existing conservative movement in the United States." Brulle analysed the funding of organizations associated with the
climate change denial movement during a year-long fellowship at the
Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at
Stanford University. Brulle published results in December 2013 in
Climatic Change, a monthly
peer-reviewed scientific journal. According to Brulle, it was "the first peer-reviewed, comprehensive analysis ever conducted of the funding behind climate change denial." The study also found that the amount of money donated to these organizations by means of
Donors Trust and other foundations whose funding sources cannot be traced has risen dramatically over the previous five years. The report was covered by the
Washington Post,
Forbes,
Scientific American,
The Guardian,
Science Daily, and the
International Science Times. The research was featured in the public information website on
climate change from the
Governor of California's Office of Planning and Research. A senior fellow from the
Heartland Institute, one of the organizations included in the study, writing in an opinion piece in
Forbes, criticized Brulle's work and its media coverage on a number of points, including that the organizations included in the study had diverse agendas, and not all of their revenue was devoted to
climate change education. Brulle collaborated on research into factors affecting US public opinion on climate change, and found that politicians are more influential than scientists. The research was featured by
National Geographic and
USA Today. ==Political activity==