Tag Archives: election

ALEC uses Indiana Regulator to help Coal Companies Stall Climate Change Action

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You’re probably familiar with the old “fox in the hen house” story, but what about when a hen joins the fox den?

This is the case with the recent American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) meeting in Washington, DC. Leaked documents obtained by Greenpeace reveal that ALEC’s anti-environmental jamboree was inundated with coal money and featured an Indiana regulator advising coal utilities on delaying US Environmental Protection Agency rules to control greenhouse gas emissions and hazardous air pollution.

Bottom of blog: View contents of the ACCCE USB drive from ALEC's 2012 States & Nation Policy summit.

At ALEC’s coal-sponsored meeting, where state legislators and corporate representatives meet to create template state laws ranging from attacks on clean energy to privatization of public schools, Indiana’s Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Management Tom Easterly laid out a plan to stall the US EPA global warming action in a power point clearly addressed to coal industry representatives at ALEC’s meeting.

In a USB drive branded with the logo of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE), a folder labeled “Easterly” contains a presentation titled “Easterly ALEC presentation 11 28 12” explaining current EPA air pollution rules and how Tom Easterly has worked to obstruct them. The power points is branded with the Indiana Department of Environmental Protection seal. In the latter presentation, Easterly ended his briefing to ALEC’s dirty energy members with suggestions for delaying EPA regulation of greenhouse gas emissions at coal plants. Continue reading →

The Sun Shined Upon Hurricane Relief Work in Rockaway Park Today

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HELP WITH SUPERSTORM SANDY RELIEF in ROCKAWAY PARK: www.RockawayHelp.com

I cannot get my nose to stop running…

But in the full context of hurricane Sandy relief efforts here in the Rockaways of Queens, New York City, a runny nose doesn’t matter one bit. This incredible video shows why:

My runny nose indicates a major improvement from yesterday–we’re not caught in a slushy blizzard. All this junk floating in the air was suppressed by yesterday’s rain and snow. I’m allergic to dust, and there’s more dust and debris here than anywhere I’ve ever been. Continue reading →

Resilience from Rockaway Residents as Sandy Relief is Interrupted by Nor’Easter

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It’s cold and wet and hectic here in the Rockaway penninsula of Queens, New York City. Disaster relief efforts from hurricane Sandy are being interrupted by a Nor’easter storm that is now rolling in. As I type, the rain is transitioning to snow and word has it that the National Guard and the Red Cross are pulling out.

Snow is starting to collect on the rubble of collapsed buildings in Rockaway, NY.

While much of the country is focused on the outcome of the election, residents of Rockaway NY are buttoning up their coats, grabbing provisions and either buckling down or evacuating. Again.

That is, the folks who are aware that this storm is coming in. Not everybody is aware that an evacuation order is in place, and not everybody is willing or able to leave. Stranded residents are a major concern here right now. When Sandy trashed the area last week, some nursing homes along the beach were ordered not to evacuate, something fellow residents are feeling sore about as they look out for one another.

Enduring Sandy: A United Community Faces Challenges Head On

Despite miserable weather in the disaster zone and an ongoing lack of basic conveniences, I have seen incredible resilience from residents and relief volunteers in the Rockaways. Continue reading →

VIDEO: Romney confronted in Ohio, “Do you still think the rising of the seas is funny?”

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At a campaign event today in Etna, Ohio, Governor Romney was asked, “Do you still think the rising of the seas is funny?” Romney responded, “I never imagined such a thing is funny,” despite using rising sea levels as a punchline in his speech to the Republican National Convention.

Woman: “Do you still think the rising of the seas is funny?”

Romney: “I never imagined such a thing is funny.”

Man: “Is climate change still a joke to you?”

Romney: “As a matter of fact, if you’d like to – I know you’re filming – if you’d like to see my view on global warming, I wrote a book, and there’s a chapter on global warming and you’ll see what I think we can do to deal with it.” Continue reading →

Monsanto supports GMO labeling in the UK but not in the US

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“Monsanto fully supports UK food manufactures and retailers in their introduction of these labels.  We believe you should be aware of all the facts before making a purchase.”

This quote comes from an advertisement that Monsanto ran in the UK in the late 1990′s when consumers demanded that genetically engineered food be labeled.  Monsanto may not have initially  liked the idea, but as the policy became inevitable, they began running ads in support of labeling, to pretend they supported it all along.  The European Union mandated labeling of all genetically engineered foods in 2003.

Nearly a decade later, California may become the first state in the US to require genetically engineered food to be labeled.  With only a few days until the proposal is put to a vote, Monsanto has already given over $8 million to a front group that is blitzing California’s airwaves with anti-labeling advertisements. The “No on 37″ group has raised well over $40 million so far, with Monsanto as the largest donor.

What gives? Do Monsanto executives think it’s okay for British parents to know what’s in the food they feed their kids, while treating America’s children as “guinea kids”?

Vote Yes on Proposition 37 to ensure the labeling of genetically engineered food in California, because we have the right to know.

Read more about how companies like Monsanto have power over your food options at the grocery store.

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Record amounts of ad spending by dirty energy industries, same old deceptions

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This year, the oil, gas and coal industries combined have spent more than $153 million on ads promoting fossil fuels and attacking renewables, according to the New York Times. That’s almost four times the amount spent on clean energy advertising in the same time frame.

It’s also a third more than was spent by the fossil fuels industries in 2008.

So what message is worth the record amounts of advertising dollars?

Well, as it turns out, the fossil fuel industries really don’t like regulation, the EPA, or president Obama, and they want the voting public behind them.

Though the dirty energy industries’ dislike of Obama seems a bit misplaced, (between allowing widespread fracking and his support of drilling offshore and in the arctic, Obama has given the fossil fuel lobby plenty) it does make sense that they would support Mitt Romney.  After all, Romney is not concerned with “healing the planet,” and neither are the oil and coal corporations of America. It’s a natural fit.

However, the majority of the fossil fuel funded commercials are actually repeats of the same messages that the Big Coal and Big Oil have been trumpeting for years

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Zjt03uHaxMY#!

A recent Greenpeace investigation in to coal advertising over the last 40 years has found that the fear mongering and hysterical accusations made today by coal companies – that regulations kill jobs or coal can be “clean” for instance – are literally decades old.

The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE), a coal front group, has spent $12 million dollars so far this year on ads that, except for being in color and on youtube, could have been straight from 1970.

“The stakes are high,” said Steve Miller, the recently retired president of ACCCE. Well, hopefully Mr. Miller is high if he thinks people will buy the same tired deceptions that the coal industry has been threatening us with for years.