This is a cross-post from Transition Voice. Written by Erik Curren Can the president who killed Osama bin Laden now stand up to Big Oil? Encouraged by comments made by House Speaker John Boehner that subsidies for oil and gas companies should be on the table, Democrats led by Montana Sen. Max Baucus last week … Read More
Separate Oil and State
ConocoPhillips calls Democrats “Un-American”
Get ready for some fireworks this morning in the Senate. The latest spin coming from the oil industry is that Democrats and the more than 75% of Americans that support ending subsidies to Big Oil are somehow “un-American”. After yesterday’s Annual Meeting of Conoco Phillips the company put out a press release highlighting “concerns over … Read More
Independent oil & gas producers don’t need subsidies any more than big oil does
The Independent Petroleum Producers Association is currently in overdrive parading a commissioned study that makes a number of claims about its member’s value to the economy. According to the study, independent oil and gas producers drill most of the wells in the country, create millions of jobs and pay billions in taxes and royalties. Furthermore, … Read More
Why We Need to Confront Dirty Energy Money
The current Congress is awash in Dirty Energy Money, and the fossil fuel industry is certainly getting its money’s worth these days. In the face of rising gas prices, the top 5 oil companies have reported nearly a trillion (yes, trillion) dollars in profits over the past ten years. Yet these same companies receive billions … Read More
The New Dirty Energy Money Champions
Ever heard of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association? We didn’t know much about them either. But they have popped up on our radar as an organisation that is pouring millions into politics. So we started doing some digging. NRECA calls itself the national service organisations that represents the nation’s more than 900 private, not-for-profit, … Read More
Upton / Koch Committee’s Witnesses for Big Oil
This is a cross post from Brad Johnson and Noreen Nelson at the Center for American Progress. The House Energy and Commerce Committee, now under Republican control, is holding a hearing right now to discuss blocking the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to reduce global warming pollution. Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY), who has received $9,000 from … Read More
“Clean” Obama Versus Newt King Coal?
So we have been here before. A year ago Obama called for the ending of fossil fuel subsidies in his state of the Union address. Since then we have had two significant events: the Gulf oil spill, that you would have thought would have made it easier for politicians to stop subsidising oil companies. Then … Read More
Opponents to Fracking Disclosure Take Big Money From Industry
This post is cross-published from ProPublica. Congress isn’t going to regulate hydraulic fracturing any time soon. But the Department of Interior might. [2] For starters, Interior is mulling whether it should require drilling companies to disclose the chemicals they use to frack wells drilled on public lands, and already the suggestion has earned Interior Secretary … Read More
Oil and Coal-Backed Politicians Attack the EPA
It is widely accepted that people give money to politicians to curry favour and buy influence. So there will be no surprises that there are smug smiles on the faces of the oil and coal barons this week as the people they pay, the Republicans, begin their assault on climate legislation and environmental protection. As … Read More
PriceofOil.org: Dirty Energy Money Fuels California’s Prop 23
For those who may not have heard yet, there’s a huge and historic battle brewing in California. Proposition 23, if passed would suspend the California Global Warming Act of 2006 (AB 32) which requires that greenhouse gas emissions in the state be cut to 1990 levels by 2020. At least 92% of contributions being pumped … Read More