Industry & Lieberman-Warner

As I have discussed here and on my other eco-pragmatism blog, Friends of the Earth and some other liberal environmental groups are continuing to wage their war on the Lieberman-Warner climate bill. Check out their web campaign by clicking here.

Industry is starting to come to the conclusion (rightfully so in my view) that this type of action from the left shows just what they might be facing if they wait to pass a climate bill in the next administration when these groups may have more sway over Congress and possibly the President. Take a look at an excerpt from the blog of OpenCongress -- a website that tracks whats going on at Capitol Hill:

But just as the blog and non-profit driven opposition to Lieberman-Warner is starting to be considered an actual threat, the energy industry is increasingly throwing its powerful support behind it. Ryan Grim of the Politico quotes a top House aide saying that there is “'consensus among leadership that there is a good chance' a climate change bill will pass in 2008, partly because industry — worried about getting a tougher bill in 2009 — is getting behind it." And Tom Athanasiou of Foreign Policy in Focus quotes an anonymous congressional staffer saying that "Lieberman-Warner is increasingly looking like 'the best deal that American business will ever get.'”

A couple of weeks ago, representatives of the coal, gas and oil industry met for a conference and agreed to support the Lieberman-Warner bill because, as David Parker, president and CEO of the American Gas Association, said, "future legislation could be even harder on the industry." A link to a full video of the conference has been posted in the bill's comment section on OpenCongress.

To read the full article on this, click here for OpenCongress