Richard Tafoya
Sep 23rd, 2009, 11:32 PM
Reuters:
http://www.reuters.com/article/mnCarbonEmissions/idUS155108657720090923
San Francisco based power utility Pacific Gas & Electric has announced it will leave the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in protest over the organization's "extreme" position on climate change.
Last month the Chamber of Commerce called for a "trial" on climate science as a means to thwart efforts in Congress to pass climate legislation, stymie the EPA's endangerment finding regarding CO2 emissions, and needlessly continue to sow discord and confusion over the issue. It is an extremist position with which PG&E apparently wants no association. On a company blog post yesterday entitled Irreconcilable Differences, their position was made clear.
In the post, Jonathan Marshall quoted a letter PG&E chairman and CEO Peter Darbee, citing "fundamental differences" over climate change are forcing the company to leave, despite the Chamber's "long history as a positive force for America's businesses and its economy."
But the idea of holding a "Scopes monkey trial of the 21st century," as the Chamber thought to characterize it, is beyond the pale for Darbee and, he said, does not represent the range of opinion among Chamber members.
"We find it dismaying that the Chamber neglects the indisputable fact that a decisive majority of experts have said the data on global warming are compelling and point to a threat that cannot be ignored," Darbee wrote. "In our opinion, an intellectually honest argument over the best policy response to the challenges of climate change is one thing; disingenuous attempts to diminish or distort the reality of these challenges are quite another."
http://www.reuters.com/article/mnCarbonEmissions/idUS155108657720090923
San Francisco based power utility Pacific Gas & Electric has announced it will leave the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in protest over the organization's "extreme" position on climate change.
Last month the Chamber of Commerce called for a "trial" on climate science as a means to thwart efforts in Congress to pass climate legislation, stymie the EPA's endangerment finding regarding CO2 emissions, and needlessly continue to sow discord and confusion over the issue. It is an extremist position with which PG&E apparently wants no association. On a company blog post yesterday entitled Irreconcilable Differences, their position was made clear.
In the post, Jonathan Marshall quoted a letter PG&E chairman and CEO Peter Darbee, citing "fundamental differences" over climate change are forcing the company to leave, despite the Chamber's "long history as a positive force for America's businesses and its economy."
But the idea of holding a "Scopes monkey trial of the 21st century," as the Chamber thought to characterize it, is beyond the pale for Darbee and, he said, does not represent the range of opinion among Chamber members.
"We find it dismaying that the Chamber neglects the indisputable fact that a decisive majority of experts have said the data on global warming are compelling and point to a threat that cannot be ignored," Darbee wrote. "In our opinion, an intellectually honest argument over the best policy response to the challenges of climate change is one thing; disingenuous attempts to diminish or distort the reality of these challenges are quite another."