Before criticizing enviros too harshly for their ineffectiveness, as I did yesterday, and numerous others have as well, perhaps I should have looked at the numbers. The Center for Responsive Politics has done just that, and the results are sobering. Here's how it looks for the environment in the 3rd quarter:
ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
A high-profile area for new legislation and reform, the energy and natural resources sector,
like the health sector, remains an influential force on K Street.
Between January and September, these companies and groups spent $300
million on federal lobbying — an increase of about six percent
compared to the same period last year.
Of the main industries within this sector, electric utilities and oil and gas companies
spent the most. Electric utilities spent about $37 million during the
third quarter, which represents a six percent increase compared to the
second quarter — but these companies have spent about eight percent
less on lobbying in 2009 than they did during the first nine months of
2008. Oil and gas companies, meanwhile, spent about $38 million between
July and September — a modest increase over their second quarter
spending. They have now spent about 26 percent more this year than
during the same timeframe in 2008.
The industry within this
sector that has experienced the greatest percentage increase compared
to the first three quarters of 2008 has been the alternate energy production and services industry.
They have only spent about $23 million on federal lobbying so far this
year, but this represents a 40 percent increase over their lobbying
between January and September last year.
Meanwhile, the environmental lobby
has been advocating for reforms opposed by many groups within the
energy sector. Their lobbying is up 14 percent from last year. Still,
they've spent just $6 million on federal lobbying during the third
quarter and about $16 overall between January and September.
| Name | Q3 Lobbying | Q2-Q3 Change | 08-09 Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alternate Energy | $6,579,242 | -25.3% | 40.5% |
| Oil & Gas | $38,351,477 | 1.7% | 26.2% |
| Electric Utilities | $37,419,570 | 6.4% | -8.1% |
| Coal Mining | $3,590,270 | -8.8% | -16.3% |
| Mining | $6,312,045 | -12.2% | -18.9% |
| Environment | $6,066,978 | 14.2% | 14.0% |
In other words, environmentalists — even if we include ethanol advocates in that group — are getting outspent by fossil fuelists by an 8-to-1 margin.
No wonder Congress is turning a deaf eaf to the climate bill.
Kit Stolz 