Koch Brothers Struggle to Block Climate Action in State Legislatures

[eridani]

http://www.nationofchange.org/news/2016/05/08/koch-brothers-struggle-block-climate-action-state-legislatures/

An alphabet soup of polluter-funded groups is taking credit for the latest state legislative push against climate action. The groups, including the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the American Energy Alliance (AEA) and the State Policy Network (SPN), all receive funding from the Koch brothers and their goal is to stymie the Clean Power Plan (CPP), President Obama’s signature effort to cut carbon pollution from power plants.

The good news is that, so far, polluter interests are not yielding much return on their investment from the money and these front groups they’ve injected into state capitols.

Of the 50 state bills introduced this year to obstruct the CPP, 56 percent already have died. Another 34 percent of those bills are languishing and we expect most of them to expire when state legislatures adjourn. Polluter interests lost ground in West Virginia, whose legislature passed a bill that improves its ability to act on the Clean Power Plan. The Koch brothers did score a recent victory in their home state of Kansas to stop the state’s work on the CPP, but it’s not a huge loss because the state had already suspended the process anyway. Additionally, the wind industry in Kansas still plans to expand generation despite Clean Power Plan setbacks, because the state has incredible wind energy resources.

[Botany]

1. They really are evil .... Because of Climate Change, Five Pacific Islands Have Vanished

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027817819

[eridani]

2. Yes--I saw that online today. Yeecchhh!!! n/t

[mackdaddy]

3. Not much of a struggle here in Ohio

The Kochs and Alec pretty much own the Republicans here lock stock and barrel.

At the same time they are guaranteeing profits from coal fired plants, they are eliminating all supports and Clean energy requirement because Clean energy needs to compete in the "free market".

Hard to make this stuff up.