Billionaires Influencing the Politics of Climate Change.

Obviously, the fight to balance the economy and environment, with goals of sustaining jobs and commerce while protecting natural resources, is fought on many levels and has incredible mix of influences.  Some are political, of course, or purely focused on short-term financial considerations.

This article, sent to us by Better World Club, is unsettling in some ways but instructive in many ways. We feel strongly that companies can, and most, be part of the solution.  We can't leave them out or lack their ardent support (see this link to the Environmental Defense Fund and their incredible work with companies:  http://edfclimatecorps.org/blog/2014/01/14/along-new-edf-climate-corps-hosts-new-project-offerings-2014).  Of course, some companies and individuals oppose our collective move to cleaner energy, renewables, energy efficiency, certainly government regulation to push new limits. That is OK...they make us think long and hard about the long-term implications of the changes we make today.  We love the discourse.

This is a fairly long article.  We will finish it Monday:

Third Grader, Alice Bellwether, asks her Social Studies teacher if “checks and balances” is now talking about money.

Hush your valid concerns little girl.  Captain Planet has some work to do.

By Noah Grunzweig

"In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Citizen’s United decision, which allows businesses, unions, and wealthy individuals to fund, without limit, the political candidates and issues they value, the amount of money spent to influence campaigns has more than quadrupled to nearly $1 Billion dollars spent during the 2012 campaign season.  One billion dollars was spent not informing citizens about ideas but fostering the current bitterly divisive political system, tipping the balance of ideas away from democratic discussion to the dogmatic camps of red (mostly white) and blue.

The majority of money contributed is coming from affluent, white individuals like the Koch brothers who have dumped millions into campaigns to lower personal and corporate taxes, minimal social services and less oversight of industry - in particular environmental regulation.  Millions have gone to fund and support organizations that contribute significantly to Republican candidates, and that lobby against universal health care and climate change legislation.  Millions have also gone into more traditionally Democratic issues, but it wasn’t till recently that anyone has focused entirely on environmental issues AND, more specifically, on climate change.

When thinking of the Koch brother, you may be imagining two short villains on a wacky bus wearing black trench coats and bowler hats, sporting evil curly mustaches and sly, impish smiles. And maybe you imagine fists full of cash as their super power and the Koch brothers bribing and buying their way to world domination; and you’d be pretty close – only these guys don’t ride the bus.

Fortunately, billionaire and former Hedge Fund manager, Tom Steyer (the most successful hedge fund manager to date, worth more than $1.5 billion), is planning to spend at least $100 million during the 2014 election season.  The focus of Steyer's political organization, NextGen Climate Action, will be to push climate change not just to the forefront of election issues, but to put it above typically divisive issues.

Steyer and NextGen will pump money into political races to unseat climate change deniers and supporters of the Keystone XL Pipeline – regardless of political/issue affiliation.  They don't care if a candidate is pro-life or pro-choice, for or against gun control.  What they are focusing on is trying to put politicians in office who want to tackle the most important national and global challenge of our time - Climate Change.  One of five candidates targeted for removal is Democratic Senator Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana, who has close ties to the oil and gas industries and has been an outspoken supporter of the Keystone pipeline..."