Guest essay by Eric Worrall

According to E&E News, most of the members of the new Democrat dominated House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis are either invested in or take donations from fossil fuel companies.

Select committee Dems still rely on fossil fuels Corbin Hiar, E&E News reporter

Published: Friday, February 8, 2019 The panel that House Democrats created to combat global warming is called the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, but the fossil fuel connections of the members named yesterday suggest to some environmentalists a certain lack of urgency. Industry advocates, however, support the watered-down aims of the panel and defend the campaign and pocketbook ties its nine Democratic members have to fossil fuel companies (Greenwire, Feb. 7). … Many of the committee members — including Chairwoman Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) — also have investments in fossil fuel assets, E&E News found during a review of their financial disclosures. … So far, just 41 of the House’s 435 members have pledged “to not take contributions from the oil, gas, and coal industry and instead prioritize the health of our families, climate, and democracy over fossil fuel industry profits.” No Republicans have made that commitment (E&E Daily, Jan. 30). The only current pledge-taker on the climate crisis committee is Rep. Mike Levin, a freshman Democrat from California. …

Read more (Requires Registration): https://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2019/02/08/stories/1060120009

I actually feel a little sorry for Democrat voters. Stuffing a committee called the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis with people who invest in fossil fuels is probably not what Democrat voters expected.

I don’t agree with the Democrat public position on climate change, I think genuine action to shut down fossil fuel would be terrible for the US economy, which is currently booming thanks to the flood of cheap energy unleashed by President Trump and the previous Republican Congress and current Republican dominated Senate.

But promising action then letting voters down can undermine Democracy. If voters feel betrayed by their elected representatives, sometimes they turn to political extremists like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Democrat voters in Alexandria’s district might not agree with a lot of what she stands for, but in a horrible way her extremism is a form of political integrity; she probably intends to do exactly what she promised to do.

Maybe the members of the committee have had a change of heart, and all intend to crack down on their former fossil fuel industry friends. But if I was a climate concerned Democrat voter, right now I would be feeling very let down by the party to whom I entrusted my vote.

Share this: Print

Email

Twitter

Facebook

Pinterest

LinkedIn

Reddit



Like this: Like Loading...