Comments b e r n a r d o has made

  • There's much that should be said about this matter, but just a quick comment in response to LLogan, and perhaps it bears on the larger issue of this post, but I'm not going into that now. Yes, Hansen was recognized with one of these Heinz Awards from John Kerry's wife Teresa Heinz. But that was how long ago? 2001. Since then Hansen has been outspoken in support of a carbon tax and against cap and trade -- views that put him at odds with the agenda to address climate change as put forth in Kerry's proposed legislation. LLogan, maybe I've missed your previous commentary in regards to IPCC, but if you make such strong accusations, I think your point would have greater strength if you provided a reference and/or link for such charges. I'll try to look up the matter you refer to, but if anything, I've gathered that the ultimate IPCC report has been criticized at times for being to conservative in regards to the risk it puts forth for the likelihood and severity of greenhouse gas related chaos. My recollection is quite superficial on the matter, but if anything, I'd hazard that these govt. officials and NGO types that you refer to are responsible for toning down the IPCC reports. Cheers,On Is John Broder embarrassed to have a baseless hit job on Gore under his byline? posted 3 weeks, 5 days ago 25 Responses
  • SHELLYT, if Exxon were joining many of the other oil companies and supporting Waxman Markey and USCAP, would you then be as equally suspicious of that agenda? I'm cynical enough to ponder whether Exxon might be adopting the stance to feign some concern and as empty gesture to take some heat off of itself, or perhaps with the explicit purpose of undermining the critics of cap n trade. And by the the way, Exxon is not that distant from some of the leading proponents of WaxmanMarkey/KerryBoxer.On ‘No compromise’ faction attacks climate bill posted 1 month, 3 weeks ago 104 Responses

  • No Regrets re Sue

    Mr. Romm, you strike me as a straight shooter and I'm often pleasantly surprised and impressed by the extent to which you on occasion will challenge other enviros on policy that you view as misguided.  However, regarding Sue Tierney, I believe your assessment is flawed.

    To me, she's the embodiment of conflicted environmentalism:  she consults for energy companies while currently chairing the board of a Energy Foundation (EF), a major funder to environmentalists.  

    Critics have take the foundation to task for having driven the deregulatory agenda on electricity that manifested during the Clinton years, favoring with financial largess groups supportive of deregulation while cutting off critics.  These same groups favored by EF are the ones pushing the trading agenda towards dealing with global warming.

    I'm sure that Tierney is quite personable, capable and smart, but gross conflicts of interest are what got us into the current economic abyss, opened up California to be looted by Enron and its ilk, and  I fear that the same amongst elite enviros doesn't bode well for the future of the planet.

    While I don't regret that she's had to pull out, I imagine that whoever replaces her will be no better regarding these matters that concern me.On Sue Tierney withdraws her name as candidate for deputy secretary of energy posted 9 months ago 1 Response

  • Sorry ED, can't help but believe you are corrupt

    based on the below bio of one of your trustees as well as looking closely at you in the past.  

    Feel scared of entrusting the future to an agenda of a group that gave us NAFTA and defended utility deregulation in California while playing footsie with Enron and in the past tried to offset a "self-chilling beverage can" which released a potent greenhouse gas (one can was deemed comparable to driving 100 miles).

    The below is excerpted from "Crony Environmentalism: Do conflicts of interest taint EDF's Advocacy on climate change?"
    http://www.nonprofitwatch.org/edf/
    ( ED hadn't dropped Fund from its name at the time, thus is referred to as EDF)  In the actual report are footnotes for the below.

    Noting that this trustee Benkard has defended polluters and Wall Street interests, wouldn't you expect that a group he's affiliated with would pursue a controversial corporate-oriented global warming policy?  But should we trust our planet to such people with their "Enronic" policies?

    James W.B. Benkard

    Partner, Davis, Polk & Wardwell
    . . . . defends polluters, despoilers, and fiascoes

    Benkard has been a trustee of EDF since 1982.

     As a longtime partner at the law firm Davis, Polk & Wardwell, Mr. Benkard has represented numerous corporations, including General Electric(GE), Freeport McMoRan, International Paper, NCNB(Nations Bank's predecessor), Melville(CVS Drugstore Chain), Prudential Insurance Co., Morgan Stanley, Morgan Guaranty Trust, and other financial services companies. For ten years
    he defended International Paper from charges that the company had polluted Lake Champlain. One of his clients, GE, constructs nuclear reactors, power turbines, and incinerators. Another client, Freeport McMoRan, has long been accused of reckless mining in ecologically important rainforests and of human rights violations for its treatment of indigenous peoples. Benkard's presence on EDF's board is therefore troubling, at best.

    Benkard's law firm Davis, Polk & Wardwell as a whole has an equally questionable record of environmental consciousness, boasting that it "successfully represented Merrell-Dow, Babcock & Wilcox, Manville, and Exxon in major cases concerning prescription drugs, nuclear power, asbestos, and oil spills . . . [and represents] Suzuki Motors in litigation concerning the Samurai sport-utility vehicle." The firm has also represented Philip Morris and RJR Nabisco on company business and in tobacco liability matters.

    Davis Polk even represented Exxon's board
    of directors in the matter of Exxon Valdez oil spill. Not coincidentally, years earlier the law firm had counseled Morgan Stanley when the finance company was raising money for Exxon to build the Alaska pipeline later serviced by the Valdez. Exxon has also benefited from Davis Polk's legal representation in New York and New Jersey investigations of an oil spill that occurred . . .

    Benkard has developed expertise in cases of financial catastrophe. Benkard has been
    defending Morgan Stanley in a lawsuit by Orange County which alleged that Morgan Stanley "allowed county officials to engage in a 'speculative investment scheme' thereby violating the California constitution and government
    code requirement," according to American Lawyer. Previously he had defended Morgan Stanley in a similar case involving the state of West Virginia which sued the investment firm for liability in the state's loss of $ 300 million
    on the stock market.

    . . .

    ( there's more about him in the report )On Getting something done is the priority posted 2 years, 6 months ago 10 Responses

  • Can't TerraPass Offset Use of the Can for Me?

    On Why we should ban compressed chemical dusters posted 2 years, 7 months ago 31 Responses

  • unfortunately . . .

    too many of the mainstream enviros are happily intertwined through their boards of directors and donors w/ the corporate sector and thus unlikely too demand true accountability and compensation  from these interests that bear responsibility for promoting the climate meltdown

    but then that has been clear for years as these groups have ignored or given constrained attention to the implications and effects of development and resource extraction in the developing world

    as an example of this, my favorite group NRDC is chaired by someone who in some respects seems like a good guy but has also long been a corporate lawyer with Cravath Swaine and Moore, a law firm that represents various dastardly corporations, including Shell in a lawsuit regarding the murder of Nigerians

    in this matter, NRDC I don't believe ever had anything to say though its current leader Beinecke was associated with a Conde Nast award which i believe gave Ken Saro-Wiwa a posthumous recognition -- how nice

    and NRDC poster boy and fundraiser RFK Jr. was also silent, all while his family charity was taking money from Chevron in that time frame; thus no word from him or his sister the human rights activist regarding the pathetic policies of the Clinton administration in regards to Nigeria, Angola and other parts of the world exploited by Western oil companies
    On The view from Washington posted 2 years, 7 months ago 6 Responses

  • but from this heretic's view . . .

    Sadly I'm not too excited by what the A-list celebrities have done by associating with and promoting the big wealthy mainstream enviros who have supported controversial policies at odds with the grassroots -- for example NAFTA, utility deregulation, green-coal, global warming credit for nuclear power, and more -- while being intertwined with corporate interests that benefit from weak environmentalism.

    I realize this may seem very strange in that these views aren't well articulated and explored by the mainstream media, which in my view has a preference for watered-down environmentalism which won't confront them or their sponsors.  Or as one activist put it, certain groups have "press protection."

    However when an environmental group is advocating for contested policies beneficial to Enron while it's vice chair is comfy having Ken Lay over to dinner, or a group adopts a stance counter to grassroots groups regarding a major heavily-protested development project while its donors and board members have ties to development interests, something is seriously conflicted if not corrupted -- at least so it seems to me.

    If you are interested in this matter, you may peruse some of my past writing at http://www.NonprofitWatch.org , but I plan to soon release some new materials which I find quite disturbing.  
     On How many washed-up reality stars does it take to screw the environment? posted 2 years, 7 months ago 2 Responses

  • Some Brooklyn Suggestions

    Perhaps visit Coney Island and see it before it is Disneyfied.  http://www.myspace.com/saveconeyisland

    Brooklyn Museum holds a First Saturday event.
    http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/visit/first_saturdays.php

    If you get to Brooklyn Heights, you might want to check out DUMBO which used to be an industrial area below Brooklyn Heights.  From here you could walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and enjoy a bridge that seems to have been built with the pedestrian in mind.
    http://www.forgotten-ny.com/STREET%20SCENES/DUMBO/dumbo.h ...

    Some good places for a drink or food in Dumbo area include:
    ReBar http://www.retreatnyc.com/ ( started buy a guy who left Wall Street to pursue his dream of creating a restaurant )
    Grimaldi's Pizzeria  http://www.grimaldis.com/ ( considered one of NYC's best, can have a line of 20 people at times )
    SuperFine ( goes for local and organic ingredients )
    http://nymag.com/nymetro/food/reviews/underground/5390/

    If in Brooklyn Heights, visit the promenade which overlooks NY Harbor and Lower Manhattan.  The promenade is above a Robert Moses expressway which split the neighborhood from the waterfront, an example of his neighborhood altering roadways that he placed in other parts of NYC.
    http://www.pps.org/great_public_spaces/one?public_place_i ...

    Looking down from the Promenade you could see the piers that will be transformed into a park project with underwriting for maintenance coming from luxury condos and a hotel which will abut the main entrances of the park.  Some in the local community are unhappy that the original plan for a park without housing has been altered.  Also, the current plan has lost ameneties such as an amphitheater and pool and gained vital recreational elements such as a marina.  In defense of the plan for condos underwriting maintenance, it is noted that other parks in NYC often suffer for lack of upkeep and this model ( which has been dubbed Brooklyn Bridge Park Backyard ) will allow for cash flow and will not take away funds that could go to parks in needier areas.  Nonetheless, the advocates of the condos in park agenda are deeply intertwined with NYC elites who have tolerated politicians who grossly underfund the parks in NYC. Here are websites of critics and advocates of the current plan for Brooklyn Bridge Park (Project). http://www.parkdefense.org/ &
    http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/On Brooklyn bleg posted 2 years, 8 months ago 18 Responses

  • About E.D.'s Integrity and Judgement

    I can't claim to be an expert on the pros and cons of emissions trading versus a carbon tax.

    However having thought a bit about Environmental Defense (E.D.) as well as the Natural Resources Defense Council, I am quite cynical about some of their policy approaches.  These groups are structurally quite close to elite and corporate interests which in my view skews their agenda.  

    You find a little discussion of my concerns about E.D. in my comments regarding the new book by Teresa Heinz and John Kerry.  While I applaud their concern for environmental issues, I find Heinz's association with E.D. at odds with the grassroots environmentalism that is celebrated in their book A Moment On Earth.  http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2007/03/29/kerry/

    In the post by Bill Chameides defending E.D.'s integrity, he points out that "Environmental Defense also does not accept money or donations from any business or corporation that we partner with."
    http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/2/12/102851/837

    The webpage on E.D.'s corporate partnerships, we do find FedEx and McDonalds as mentioned by Chameides, but we also see Wal-Mart.  (By the way, E.D. has consistently failed to reference the grassroots campaign against McDonald's and its foam packages which moved the company to partner with E.D.)

    Well as Grist has pointed out, it just so happens that Sam Walton Jr., son of Walmart board chair Rob Walton, sits on the board of Environmental Defense.
    http://www.grist.org/news/muck/2006/07/19/gore-walmart/
    An examination of E.D.'s annual report for 2006 shows us that they received a grant of over $100,000 from the Walton Family Foundation (WFF) -- yes the very same Waltons of Walmart. Looking at the website of WFF, we find a donation to E.D. of $541,170.00 in 2004.  

    While this may not be a direct donation from Walmart, clearly the Waltons represent the interests of Walmart.  These donations seem to be odds with the statement by Chameides that E.D. does not take donations from companies with which it partners.

    Furthermore, the case of the Waltons exemplifies the structural straitjacketing of E.D. by interests -- investment bankers, CEOs, corporate lawyers, and others --  that benefit from weak and watered down environmentalism, thereby encouraging and promoting staffers who will advocate policies beneficial to these interests.  Note that Enron which had close ties to E.D. had hoped to make billions in trading carbon.  

    There's more to be said, but I'll leave that for another time.  In closing I'll just note that it was E.D.'s executive director Fred Krupp who met with candidate George Bush and elicited the promise that as president he would address global warming.  We saw what came of that "partnership".
    On Some signs point to yes posted 2 years, 8 months ago 9 Responses

  • Hold On For A Moment Before Praising Heinz

    Teresa Heinz is certainly a force in the environmental community.  

    However I am cynical about her environmentalism.  While in this book she and Senator Kerry embrace the grassroots, my impression is that much of her funding and energy has gone to centrist elite environmentalism as exemplified by her long term association as a board member (even vice-chair of the group for a period) and major financial supporter of Environmental Defense (Fund), to be termed E.D. below.  

    I and others have written critically of the E.D. for many of its stances which have been at odds with grassroots environmentalists.  For example, support of NAFTA and utility deregulation which placed it in league with other elite corporate-linked environmental groups but at odds with the grassroots.

    You can see my website which has been moribund for sometime -- http://www.NonprofitWatch.org -- for an extended but several years old critique of E.D.  in regards to a controversial global warming agenda which even engendered criticism from NRDC.  Moreover, in that report I noted some of the group's conflicted and eco-creepy board members such as a lawyer who had personally defended International Paper for polluting Lake Champlain.  The guy was no Erin Brokovich.

    Also, you'll find a brief critique of Heinz in regards to her close tie with Ken Lay while E.D. pursued policies favorable to Enron's interests.  This brief was released after Enron had fallen and when it appeared that Kerry's presidential run was about to die before the Iowa primary.  At the time he was criticizing Bush about deregulation and the California energy debacle -- a point upon which I agreed with him; however I also noted that I believed Heinz bore culpability as well regarding the California fiasco on account of E.D.'s advocacy for policies that benefitted Enron.

    PR Watch a.k.a. the Center for Media and Democracy has also generated criticism of Teresa's favorite environmental group E.D. -- I term it her favorite group on account of the vast support it has received from her foundations and her role as a board member.  See http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Environmental_ ...

    The grassroots-oriented Environmental Research Foundation which has published Rachel's Democracy & Health News has been also quite critical of Environmental Defense.  Carry out a search with the term "environmental defense" at the project's website http://www.rachel.org and you'll find numerous newsletters with criticism of E.D..

    I apologize for not posting this sooner.  Perhaps the powers that be at Grist will keep this article on the front page through Monday so others will see my comment and be able to respond to it.  

    I should mention E.D.'s advocacy for nuclear power -- an energy source disdained by the grassroots.

    In the past I made several inquiries of Teresa Heinz's office for how much money Ken Lay had donated to the Heinz Center for Science, Environment and Economics of which he was a founding board member; a position he held for almost a decade.  This information was never shared. Perhaps Grist could inquire?On John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry chat about their new environmental book posted 2 years, 8 months ago 20 Responses