Energy

Corn Ethanol Industry Trying to Butter Up Congress, Public

by Anne Landman — April 13, 2010 - 11:52am

Just as Congress is set to begin debating ethanol-related subsidies, Growth Energy, a lobbying group for the ethanol industry, is starting a $2.5 million, 6-month national television ad campaign aimed at defending ethanol, and portraying it a way to break the country's addiction to foreign oil.

Main Source: 
KARE11.com (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota), April 13, 2010

Burning Tires: Illinois' "Renewable Energy"?

by Anne Landman — March 22, 2010 - 11:58am

A Democratic Illinois state representative quietly slipped five words into the definition of renewable energy in a bill that would clear the way for a power company to burn tires as a way to reap green energy credits. Representative David Miller, who is running for state Comptroller, inserted the words "incineration of burning tires" into the definition of renewable energy in a measure that was intended to promote wind and solar energy.

Main Source: 
Chicago Tribune, March 21, 2010

Oil-Funded Gov Joins with Oil-Funded Front Group to Appeal Greenhouse Gas Regs

by Lisa Graves — February 17, 2010 - 1:07pm
  • Topics: Global Warming, Energy, Environment

    • Although it seems a bit like a dog-bites-man story, the New York Times reported that Texas Governor and 2012 presidential aspirant Rick Perry (R-TX) has joined with the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) in challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to regulate carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. As the Center for Media and Democracy has documented on our SourceWatch site, CEI has been well-funded by Exxon and other oil companies, and is one of the main U.S. corporate front groups fighting efforts to address global warming and regulate the industry that feeds it funding. But, the courts are now stacked in Perry's favor, as noted below.

    Anonymous Funder Fills Sails of Pro-Nuclear "Documentary"

    by Bob Burton — January 2, 2010 - 2:14pm

    Gary Jobson, a leading U.S. sailor and sailing commentator, is working on a 90-minute "documentary" promoting nuclear power.

    Main Source: 
    The Capital (Annapolis, Maryland), December 27, 2009

    The Airline Industry's Global Warming Denial

    by Bob Burton — December 1, 2009 - 6:28pm
  • Topics: Global Warming, Energy, Lobbying

    • Giovanni Bisignani, the director general and chief executive of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), is a worried man. As the head of the global civil aviation's main lobby group, which represents companies such as American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Qantas, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, Bisignani (right) has been frantically working to ensure that IATA isn't stripped of its its exemption from the Kyoto Protocol at the COP15 conference, which opens in Copenhagen next week.

     

    The Nuclear Energy Institute's Missing Link

    by Bob Burton — November 26, 2009 - 4:01am

    The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the peak nuclear industry lobby group in the U.S., is an enthusiastic promoter of the idea of a "nuclear renaissance." NEI publishes NEI Nuclear Notes, a blog linking to stories hyping the prospects for an expanded role for nuclear power in a carbon-constrained world.

    Main Source: 
    The Economist, November 19, 2009

    Unhealthy Lobbying

    by Bob Burton — November 23, 2009 - 12:15am

    The President of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Steve Roberts, wants West Virginia's Senators Robert Byrd and Jay Rockefeller to "withhold voting to advance national health care reform until the Obama Administration, particularly the U.S.

    Main Source: 
    Mother Jones, November 20, 2009

    Old Consultant Welcomes New Sucker

    by Bob Burton — November 6, 2009 - 4:30am

    The Philadelphia Inquirer is the latest news outlet to fail to disclose the fact that Patrick Moore, a former Greenpeace activist turned PR consultant, is on the nuclear industry payroll.

    Main Source: 
    Philadelphia Inquirer, November 5, 2009

    Drilling Through the Appalachian Shale Gas Hype

    by Bob Burton — November 6, 2009 - 12:14am

    While the U.S. economy continues to reel from the fallout from the global financial crisis, there's a boom on in the gas industry wanting access to Appalachian areas underlain by the Marcellus Shale deposits. The gas-industry boom has environmentalists and many residents worried about the environmental impacts.

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