All of us who want to see the world changed for the better struggle with whether it is better to fight for that change from the inside or the outside.
But you can’t fight for change from inside an organization dedicated to stopping change, like, say, the scandal-ridden front group American Coalition for Clean Coal Energy. You know that a coal-industry-funded group is beyond redemption when one of the largest coal utilities in the country abandons them (see “Breaking: Duke Energy quits coal front group over climate bill — GE and Caterpillar should do the same“). Duke explained in a statement:
“We believe ACCCE is constrained by influential member companies who will not support passing climate change legislation in 2009 or 2010.”
Duh.
The Center for Public Integrity’s excellent staff writer Marianne Lavelle managed to get GE on record with a truly laughable defense for their refusal to join Duke (and Alcoa):
But some companies that support climate legislation remain in the ACCCE fold — the largest and most diverse being General Electric. GE spokesman Daniel Nelson said in an email that ACCCE does not reflect GE’s views on climate change legislation, which is that cap and trade would help “drive American technological innovation and competitive leadership… We advocate that view within ACCCE and have and will work to make it the majority view in that organization.”
I feel those monkeys trying to fly out of my butt again….
Seriously, GE? Even aluminum giant Alcoa, who quit more quietly, wouldn’t offer up such nonsense:
After the Duke story broke, the blog EnviroKnow confirmed that aluminum maker Alcoa had earlier quit the group.
The aluminum maker decided to quit paying dues to the coal advocacy group about a month ago as part of its company-wide effort to reduce costs. “You may have heard of a little thing called the economic downturn,” Alcoa spokesman Kevin Lowery said in an interview with The Center for Public Integrity. So it was an economic, rather than a philosophical decision? “Any kind of economic decision has to have a business case — whether you invest money and make money at the end of the day,” Lowery said.
C’mon GE. Do you really want to tarnish the EcoMagination brand? Do you really want to be seen as a have-it-both ways greenwasher? It’s bad enough that one of the members of the uber-disinformer American Petroleum Institute is GE Inspection Services — with a broken link that takes us to GE Energy!
Let’s remember:
- ACCCE funded fraudster Bonner, who put out those fake anti-Waxman-Markey letters.
- ACCCE hired top GOP voter-fraud company to run massive “grassroots” efforts to undermine climate and clean energy action.
- An ACCCE flack said mountaintop removal solves “lack of flat space” in Appalachia.
General Electric has about as much chance of getting ACCCE to change their position on the climate bill as they do of getting Sen. James Inhofe (R-OIL) to change his.
