Environmental Defense Fund

Duke Energy Caves In to Pressure Groups’ Demands

Submitted by Paul Chesser on Tue, 12/13/2011 - 23:54

Rogers photo In yet another ploy to overcome opposition to their merger, Duke Energy and Progress Energy agreed with environmental groups last week to a few million more dollars in payoffs for “clean” energy schemes, and to implement energy efficiency programs that would reduce customers’ electricity use by seven percent of retail sales by 2018.

The deal has been planned for months, and when approved by state and federal regulators, will create the largest investor-owned electric utility in the nation. Combined the companies serve residents and businesses in Florida, the Carolinas, Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana.

Corporate America Can’t Keep Up with All the Sustainability Demands

Submitted by Paul Chesser on Thu, 12/01/2011 - 07:45

score card The competition in corporate America to show who is “Greenest” or “most sustainable” has spun out of control, with the Alinskyite effect that drives corporations to spend vast amounts of time and money trying to address the whims and requests of every Leftist niche group that waves some kind of scorecard in their faces.

Duke Energy Juggernaut Won't Stop Shakedown Artists

Submitted by Paul Chesser on Mon, 09/26/2011 - 11:02

Jim Rogers photo If it wasn’t already obvious, then a report in Friday’s Raleigh News & Observer about the merger hearings between Duke Energy and Progress Energy into the nation’s largest utility makes it clear: That Duke’s strategy is continued growth into “a political juggernaut.”

That’s what came out of the final day of testimony about the deal before the North Carolina Utilities Commission, which appears to be the final major hurdle for the merger’s approval. The N&O cited “hints” by company executives about “further acquisitions down the road,” in which Duke would wield even more power than they do now.

Duke - Progress Merger Provides Shakedown Opportunity for Activists

Submitted by Paul Chesser on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 15:49

Rogers photo It seemed the merger of Duke Energy and Progress Energy into the nation’s largest (by several measures) utility would sail through by the end of this year, but several activists in North Carolina have intervened at the last minute. The moves by environmental groups to extract funds for their pet projects out of the deal would make shakedown artists proud. Among the organizations – who have myriad methods of wringing dollars from taxpayers through lawsuits and corporate campaign-type pressure tactics – are Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund, and Southern Environmental Law Center.

Walmart Heirs Fund Anti-Fishing Activists

Submitted by Paul Chesser on Wed, 08/24/2011 - 12:51

Walmart logo Recently NLPC reported that Walmart’s top “sustainability” adviser, who provided significant help in getting the company’s “Green” credibility with environmentalist groups in gear, was Jib Ellison – a former wilderness expeditionist and river guide, and author of a guide on whitewater rafting. The story of his relationship with Walmart, which began with the introduction of Ellison by Rob Walton (son of founder Sam) to former company CEO Lee Scott, is documented in the new book Force of Nature: The Unlikely Story of Walmart’s Green Revolution by Edward Humes.

Duke Energy Can Burn Forests for ‘Green’ Credits

Submitted by Paul Chesser on Wed, 08/10/2011 - 16:20

forest fire photo It’s (once again) the law of unintended consequences for Green groups: In order to fulfill a 2007 state mandate that they derive 12.5 percent of electricity from so-called “renewable” sources, a North Carolina appeals court has ruled that Duke Energy – which will soon be more or less the only investor-owned utility in the Tar Heel state – may burn whole trees to comply with the regulation.

Green Pressure Groups Want More Corporate Climate Disclosure

Submitted by Paul Chesser on Fri, 03/11/2011 - 11:37

Ceres logo Environmental pressure group Ceres, whose primary activity is to drive corporations to report their greenhouse gas emitting activities and disclose climate risk in their Securities and Exchange Commission filings, recently released a report that outlines exactly what companies should be disclosing.

Green Leader Says Corporate Shakedowns Will Continue

Submitted by Paul Chesser on Wed, 11/17/2010 - 15:13

Taking measure of the new political construct nationally, and of the overall blowback against the global warming movement's corrupt science and disturbing public relations, you'd think the Environmental Defense Fund's Fred Krupp would be somewhat humble and conciliatory. Instead he has taken some tips from his union allies in the "Green Jobs" movement and is issuing new threats against businesses who reject climate change environoia, as exhibited in a piece he wrote for the Huffington Post:

Greens to Ratchet Up Shareholder Activism

Submitted by Paul Chesser on Thu, 08/19/2010 - 16:48

$ green image If you think environmentalist shareholder tactics like those employed by Rockefeller descendants on Exxon – which push their agenda via resolutions at annual meetings rather than promote company profitability – then you haven’t seen anything yet, according to a Marketwatch report yesterday. After the BP oil leak disaster and the Massey Energy coal mining accident that killed 29 workers, green activists are expected to increase pressure on corporate executives next year:

Obama Failing Leadership Test on BP Oil Disaster

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Wed, 06/16/2010 - 11:41

Instead of trying to hijack BP’s capital or to use the disaster to advance Cap and Trade, Obama should be trying to stop the leak.

Since the April 20 disaster, I have made separate trips to West Texas and Tulsa. Oil men in both places were full of ideas about how to deal with this crisis. Obama should have put together a commission of technical experts so that the decisions of BP can be critically evaluated. Right now, Obama claims that the U.S. government is in charge of the operation, but it is really at the mercy of BP’s decision making at the well site.