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http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/editorial/2730109.htm
By Bill Lickert and Christopher Morris
Special to the Star-Telegram
The media are looking for any shred of evidence linking collapsed energy giant Enron to the Bush administration's energy policy. But they're not reporting the story of how Enron built ties to environmental activist groups during the Clinton administration.
And the media are not describing how Enron pushed hard for President Clinton's global warming and climate control policies - the same policies that President Bush firmly rejects.
Enron executives worked closely with the Clinton administration to secure support for the Kyoto Protocols because the company believed that the treaty could provide it with a financial windfall. An internal Enron memo circulated immediately after the 1997 Kyoto meeting - and first reported by The Washington Post - shows that the company believed the treaty "would do more to promote Enron's business than will almost any other regulatory initiative outside of restructuring the energy and natural gas industries in Europe and the United States."
So Enron philanthropists lavished almost $1.5 million on environmental groups that support international energy controls to reduce so-called global warming. From 1994 to 1996, the Enron Foundation contributed nearly $1 million ($990,000) to the Nature Conservancy, whose "Climate Change" project promotes global warming theories.
President Bush refused to sign the treaty, saying last June that it "is, in many ways, unrealistic" and "not sound public policy." Despite pressure from environmental groups, the administration pulled out of last fall's meeting to discuss the treaty's implementation.
Since the start of the Kyoto negotiations, Enron has been active in the global warming debate and has made no secret about supporting the climate change pact. In fact, the company did much more than simply provide financial backing for the Clinton administration's support of Kyoto:
In January 1997, it announced formation of the Enron Renewable Energy Corp. to offer alternatives to the "$250 billion U.S. electricity market." Renewable Energy CEO Tom White supported President Clinton's $6.3 billion plan to fight global warming.
Later that year Enron CEO Kenneth Lay was named a member of Clinton's "Council on Sustainable Development," joining Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, EPA Administrator Carol Browner, and Fred Krupp, executive director of the Environmental Defense Fund. The task force also included representatives from the Sierra Club, the National Wildlife Federation and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The National Environmental Trust, a public relations organization heavily funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts to promote environmental policies, worked with Lay to place pro-Kyoto Op-Ed columns under his signature in various newspapers.
When Clinton called for a gradual reduction in greenhouse gases to lay the groundwork for U.S. backing of Kyoto, Enron executives expressed their support. In an Atlanta Constitution article, Enron Senior Vice President Terry Thorn called the announcement "a measured, appropriate action plan given what we know today about global warming. This will unleash the ingenuity of American business to find creative solutions."
Enron also built ties to Environmental Defense, formerly the Environmental Defense Fund. EDF lauded Enron's "Enron Earth Smart Power," a 39-megawatt wind farm in Southern California that was intended to offer consumers "environmental friendly" electricity.
Daniel Kirshner, an EDF senior economic analyst, commended Enron's achievement, saying: "The Environmental Defense Fund hopes that buying environmentally friendly electricity will soon be as popular as recycling is now."
Enron's environmental activities were not limited to Kyoto. It solicited support from environmental groups for its business ventures - such as the 1997 purchase of Portland General Electric. Enron urged the Natural Resources Defense Council and a coalition of Oregon environmental groups to sign a memorandum of agreement endorsing the purchase, despite objections by the state Public Utility Commission.
Portland's Willamette Week newspaper has reported that the groups subsequently received Enron grants totaling nearly $500,000. Among the green beneficiaries: Northwest Environmental Advocates ($30,000), Salmon Watch ($15,000) and American Rivers ($5,000).
Enron finances are a twisted, murky mess that probably will take years to sort through. But it has been clear since Day One that Enron and the Bush administration have not seen eye to eye on energy and environmental policy. And it's certain that the vast majority of eco-activists whom Enron cultivated with cash are no friends of Bush. Enron's campaign contributions, it should be noted, appear to have paid off only when Clinton was in the Oval Office.
Bill Lickert and Christopher Morris are research associates at the Capital Research Center. This essay was distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
By Bill Lickert and Christopher Morris
Special to the Star-Telegram
The media are looking for any shred of evidence linking collapsed energy giant Enron to the Bush administration's energy policy. But they're not reporting the story of how Enron built ties to environmental activist groups during the Clinton administration.
And the media are not describing how Enron pushed hard for President Clinton's global warming and climate control policies - the same policies that President Bush firmly rejects.
Enron executives worked closely with the Clinton administration to secure support for the Kyoto Protocols because the company believed that the treaty could provide it with a financial windfall. An internal Enron memo circulated immediately after the 1997 Kyoto meeting - and first reported by The Washington Post - shows that the company believed the treaty "would do more to promote Enron's business than will almost any other regulatory initiative outside of restructuring the energy and natural gas industries in Europe and the United States."
So Enron philanthropists lavished almost $1.5 million on environmental groups that support international energy controls to reduce so-called global warming. From 1994 to 1996, the Enron Foundation contributed nearly $1 million ($990,000) to the Nature Conservancy, whose "Climate Change" project promotes global warming theories.
President Bush refused to sign the treaty, saying last June that it "is, in many ways, unrealistic" and "not sound public policy." Despite pressure from environmental groups, the administration pulled out of last fall's meeting to discuss the treaty's implementation.
Since the start of the Kyoto negotiations, Enron has been active in the global warming debate and has made no secret about supporting the climate change pact. In fact, the company did much more than simply provide financial backing for the Clinton administration's support of Kyoto:
In January 1997, it announced formation of the Enron Renewable Energy Corp. to offer alternatives to the "$250 billion U.S. electricity market." Renewable Energy CEO Tom White supported President Clinton's $6.3 billion plan to fight global warming.
Later that year Enron CEO Kenneth Lay was named a member of Clinton's "Council on Sustainable Development," joining Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, EPA Administrator Carol Browner, and Fred Krupp, executive director of the Environmental Defense Fund. The task force also included representatives from the Sierra Club, the National Wildlife Federation and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The National Environmental Trust, a public relations organization heavily funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts to promote environmental policies, worked with Lay to place pro-Kyoto Op-Ed columns under his signature in various newspapers.
When Clinton called for a gradual reduction in greenhouse gases to lay the groundwork for U.S. backing of Kyoto, Enron executives expressed their support. In an Atlanta Constitution article, Enron Senior Vice President Terry Thorn called the announcement "a measured, appropriate action plan given what we know today about global warming. This will unleash the ingenuity of American business to find creative solutions."
Enron also built ties to Environmental Defense, formerly the Environmental Defense Fund. EDF lauded Enron's "Enron Earth Smart Power," a 39-megawatt wind farm in Southern California that was intended to offer consumers "environmental friendly" electricity.
Daniel Kirshner, an EDF senior economic analyst, commended Enron's achievement, saying: "The Environmental Defense Fund hopes that buying environmentally friendly electricity will soon be as popular as recycling is now."
Enron's environmental activities were not limited to Kyoto. It solicited support from environmental groups for its business ventures - such as the 1997 purchase of Portland General Electric. Enron urged the Natural Resources Defense Council and a coalition of Oregon environmental groups to sign a memorandum of agreement endorsing the purchase, despite objections by the state Public Utility Commission.
Portland's Willamette Week newspaper has reported that the groups subsequently received Enron grants totaling nearly $500,000. Among the green beneficiaries: Northwest Environmental Advocates ($30,000), Salmon Watch ($15,000) and American Rivers ($5,000).
Enron finances are a twisted, murky mess that probably will take years to sort through. But it has been clear since Day One that Enron and the Bush administration have not seen eye to eye on energy and environmental policy. And it's certain that the vast majority of eco-activists whom Enron cultivated with cash are no friends of Bush. Enron's campaign contributions, it should be noted, appear to have paid off only when Clinton was in the Oval Office.
Bill Lickert and Christopher Morris are research associates at the Capital Research Center. This essay was distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.