Facebook Part of ALEC

Facebook plans to power 25 percent of its operations with renewable energy sources, informed Bill Weihl, a representative of the social media giant; however, last year, it joined the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a powerful lobbying organization that actively seeks to “roll back renewable power standards that support Facebook’s targets,” reports Brad Johnson of Grist magazine, a nonprofit news source that mainly delivers news related to the environment.

According to a quote by Johnson in an article by Tim Worstall on Forbes’ website, ALEC is a nationwide lobbying group that connects conservative corporations to state-level Republican legislators. Worstall asserts that companies have to join lobbying groups from all sides in order to influence politicians from all spectrums – maybe to prevent them from doing something stupid that would undermine the companies’ goals. However, if that was the case, then why did the representative of Facebook, Bill Weihl, not say so on a forum on the Internet industry’s support for green energy, which is part of what Johnson is questioning.

Not only is Facebook a member of ALEC, but so is Google. Johnson reports that representatives from Google and Facebook could not explain why their companies belong to powerful lobbying organizations that oppose their mission of using renewable energy sources.

The forum, held at the San Francisco Exploratorium last year by the environmental organization Greenpeace, titled “Greening the Internet,” allowed several companies, such as Google and Facebook, to express why their companies are committed to renewable energy when it comes to powering their data centers, informs Johnson.

However, Brad Johnson, the editor and publisher of Hill Heat, a website that covers environmental issues in the realm of politics, asked during the forum the following question: “…As kind of a failed climate scientist, I’ve dedicated my life to fighting climate change, and you’re actually getting real results in that. One thing that concerns me is that the American Legislative Exchange Council — which is a corporate group that anyone who is a member of Greenpeace or has read anything of their work [knows] — works to block renewable energy legislation at the state level, question the science of climate change, and basically establish policies that prevent the kind of work that you’re doing. So I’m wondering why Google and Facebook are members of this organization, and how it makes you feel that the work that you’re doing is essentially being countered by the political arms of your own groups?”

In response to Johnson’s probing, Weihl stated the following: “We’re not an advocacy or a single-issue organization. We’re a company. We are members of many different organizations, that one included. We don’t necessarily agree with everything that these organizations says and certainly individual employees may not, but we do an enormous amount of good, and we’re really proud of the work we’ve done through other organizations. We work with Greenpeace, [Businesses for Social Responsibility], [World Resources Institute], [World Wildlife Fund], and etc.” What is the point of mentioning Facebook’s work with those organizations since they would likely oppose the use of Facebook’s membership to ALEC. Greenpeace certainly does.

Johnson points out that Greenpeace simultaneously challenges ALEC’s agenda, blows the whistle on companies like Google for supporting the politics of climate denial, and encourages internet companies to “clean the cloud.” Greenpeace considers political advocacy a major component when scoring companies for their “Cool IT” rankings. Google outscored all other tech companies in 2012, which Johnson reveals was partly due to the fact companies like Microsoft and AT&T were members of ALEC.

Brad Johnson reported on Hill Heat what Google representative Gary Demasi stated during a panel about climate change: “The DNA of Google isn’t just about being an environmental steward…It’s a basic fundamental issue for the company.” Like Weihl, Demasi was unable to explain why Google was a member of ALEC, Johnson informs, even though “[Demasi] expressed discomfort with the company’s action.” When a reporter asked Demasi why Google supports ALEC, he responded, “I would say the same as Bill [Weihl].” Neither Demasio nor Weihl had an answer then.

Johnson shows that ALEC’s corporate board is dominated by fossil-fuel and tobacco interests, including Koch Industries, Exxon Mobil, Altria and Peabody Energy. Policy briefs, states Johnson, illustrate that ALEC questions the science of climate change and opposes renewable energy standards, regulation of greenhouse pollution, and other climate initiatives. So, if Google and Facebook are truly committed to renewable energy sources and the future of clean energy, then they might want to rethink their membership into ALEC.

Those who oppose Facebook’s membership into ALEC can sign a petition from the Union of Concerned Scientists at https://secure3.convio.net/ucs/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=4072.