Coalition of the Willing to Go Green
Yesterday, ten major companies announced a new group they’ve formed, the United States Climate Action Partnership. The coalition’s goals are both eco- and bottom line–friendly, we learned from a New York Times article:
According to the article, one of the participating companies is the chemical manufacturer DuPont. (DuPont is also a member of the Chicago Climate Exchange.) Here’s who else has signed on:
Aside from General Electric and Alcoa, Caterpillar is the leading manufacturing company among the group, which also includes four utilities — Duke Energy, based in North Carolina; PG&E of California; the FPL Group of Florida; and PNM Resources of New Mexico. The group counts the multinational oil company BP and Lehman Brothers as members as well.
Talk about lobbying power. All those who think greenies exist in some dank and anachronistic basement amongst macramé plant baskets, pot brownies, and wafting patchouli, kindly hang your heads in shame.
"Introduction of this group…is aimed at adding to the recent impetus for Congressional action on emissions controls and the creation of a market in which allowances to emit carbon dioxide could be traded in a way that achieves the greatest reduction at the lowest cost."
According to the article, one of the participating companies is the chemical manufacturer DuPont. (DuPont is also a member of the Chicago Climate Exchange.) Here’s who else has signed on:
Aside from General Electric and Alcoa, Caterpillar is the leading manufacturing company among the group, which also includes four utilities — Duke Energy, based in North Carolina; PG&E of California; the FPL Group of Florida; and PNM Resources of New Mexico. The group counts the multinational oil company BP and Lehman Brothers as members as well.
Talk about lobbying power. All those who think greenies exist in some dank and anachronistic basement amongst macramé plant baskets, pot brownies, and wafting patchouli, kindly hang your heads in shame.
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Comments
Sorry but this is window dressing. In North Carolina Duke is trying to build new coal plants without seriously investing in renewables or efficiency to reduce the need for the plants. The policy in NC is in-action.
Posted by:gregflynn |January 23, 2007 10:10 AM
I was looking into Duke's "Go Green" program for consumers in Indiana. They charge you extra to purchase "green" power -- really, an offset, to my understanding, because we still personally get the same coal power or whatever that we usually do. I think Greg Flynn's comment nails the problem. If the big corporations - and we individuals - are serious about cleaning up the environment and reducing global warming, we'll actually cut down our own emissions, not just pay a "feel good tax" everytime we want to pollute some more, in the hopes that someone else who gets the money will make up for our excesses. Not that it hurts to pay it if you're going to pollute anyway, and maybe it will slow us down a bit, like having a curse jar, and produce some amelioration. But the real formula for preserving the environment -- especially now that we really need to actually reverse the damage --is the same as ever -- reduce, reuse, recycle. And you must do it YOURSELF! This offset stuff is only accessible to people with extra money, making it more of a bourgeois self-pat on the back.
Posted by:ravingmoderate.com |April 21, 2007 4:40 PM