There was a long list of organizations represented that week. Among them was an environmentalist organization called the Energy & Policy Institute (EPI). EPI is fairly typical of most environmentalist groups — it relies on bullying and hoodwinking of policy-makers to get what it wants. Their goal is to teach states like Alabama where it is wrong.

They saw hearings at the Public Service Commission (PSC) in March as the perfect chance to explain to the people of Alabama everything they were doing wrong. Their goal was to kill natural gas and kill Alabama’s economy in the process.

So in marched an army of lawyers and so-called experts representing a slew of environmental groups. They came from California, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C.

They feared Alabama would make its own decisions on energy policy.

Similar to other groups, EPI is based out of San Francisco, California. The interesting fact about EPI is that it does not disclose its donors.

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Its donors are likely the usual suspects: the Obamas, the Clintons and Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio, among many.

The Clintons have never met a fuel-burning private jet they did not like. The four engines which power DiCaprio’s super yacht burn 724 gallons of diesel fuel per hour.

The Obamas are an interesting case. They purchased a $15 million seaside mansion on Martha’s Vineyard last year. This investment would seem to run counter to their belief that global warming is going to cause a massive destruction of coastal areas.

Either way, it is easy to see why EPI would want to hide donations by hypocrite elitists like DiCaprio, the Obamas and the Clintons.

Leaders in Alabama seem to think EPI and other out-of-state groups just do not understand that we want to make our own decisions on how we run our small businesses or heat our homes during a cold winter.

“The fact that they won’t disclose their donors is the least surprising thing to me,” PSC President Twinkle Cavanaugh told Yellowhammer News. “The people of Alabama are too smart to buy what these liberal California groups are selling. What they are selling is rolling blackouts and higher bills. They want to keep their donors in the dark and then keep Alabama families in the dark when the grid crashes. That’s exactly what happened when the environmentalists got their way in California.”

RELATED: Alabama leaders cite poor energy decisions as cause of California’s rolling blackouts

It does take a special kind of arrogance to leave a Manhattan high-rise and come to Alabama to lecture the citizens of this state on how they should be taking care of the earth which God created and sustains. Of all people, Alabamians know how important conservation is to their own well-being.

Hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation forms a $3.5 billion industry in Alabama. Alabamians grow up on land and spend far more time outdoors and have a much greater appreciation for its beauty than environmentalist groups like EPI and its mysterious donors or Hollywood elites like Jane Fonda.

Secretary of State John Merrill has undertaken an effort to solve the mystery and hold EPI accountable.

He has asserted that these environmental activists are promoting their “political agenda by threatening the economic livelihood of Alabama businesses.” Merrill has requested the group provide a clarification of its legal status, as well as disclosure of its donors.

Cavanaugh is confident EPI, Sierra Club and others will be unable to enact Green New Deal policies here.

“Alabamians are too smart to fall for that,” she concluded. “We’ll fight it every step of the way.”

They still bear watching, though. Fear is a great motivator, and they are scared senseless that Alabama might actually decide energy policy for itself.

Tim Howe is an owner of Yellowhammer Multimedia