58-Page UCS Report Details Decades Of Energy Sector Lies; Bonus: Forged Letters From The Dead

[hatrack]

EDIT

In 2009, Congress was debating the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (often known as the Waxman-Markey climate bill), which proposed to institute a federal carbon emissions reduction plan. Two weeks prior to the vote, Rep. Tom Perriello (VA) received a letter opposing the legislation
from Creciendo Juntos, a nonprofit Latino organization based in his Charlottesville district. “My organization, Creciendo Juntos, represents minorities in your district,” the letter began. “We ask you to use your important position to help protect minorities and other consumers in your district from higher electricity bills. Please don’t vote to force cost increases on us, especially in this volatile economy.”

Only after the vote on the bill did Rep. Perriello learn— from Creciendo Juntos—that the letter was a fraud. As it turns out, the letter on Creciendo Juntos stationery was not the only forgery, and Rep. Perriello was not the only
member of Congress to receive forged letters opposing the bill. Forged letters were sent purportedly on behalf of organizations including the National Association For The Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) (Figure 6), the American Association of University Women, the American Legion, and the Jefferson Area Board on Aging. Fraudulent letters were also sent to Representatives Kathy Dahlkemper (PA) and Chris Carney (PA) (Perriello 2009).

Public exposure of the fraud resulted in a congressional investigation and hearing before the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. The congressional investigation revealed that the fraud was perpetrated by Bonner and Associates, a lobbying firm subcontracted by
a front group called the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE), composed of and funded primarily by coal industry representatives (Center for Media and Democracy 2014a). The ACCCE, which remains in operation today,
counts among its corporate members Arch Coal, Murray Energy, and Peabody Energy

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Not surprisingly, the nonprofit groups involved were outraged. Hilary O. Shelton, director of the NAACP’s Washington Bureau and senior vice president for advocacy, said of the incident: “The NAACP is appalled that an organization
like Bonner and Associates would stoop to these depths to deceive Congress. In this case Bonner and Associates are exploiting the African-American community to achieve their misdirected goal” (Shelton 2009). Lisa Maatz, director of public policy and government relations at the American Association of University Women, called the forgery a “very personal deceit.” Bonner and Associates had resurrected a defunct Charlottesville branch of her organization, used its logo and the home address of the group’s former president, and used the name of a staff member who had died before the congressional debate over regulating carbon emissions had ever arisen.

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http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2015/07/The-Climate-Deception-Dossiers.pdf

[mackdaddy]

1. Frank Luntz how to paper for climate denial for Republicans paper from 2002

All the same old talking point in one place.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Nnyie7hrIuZkFaR2pfWGhVTVk/view?pli=1

"I don’t have to remind you how often Republicans are depicted as cold, uncaring,
ruthless, even downright anti-social. These attacks appeal to resentment and fear.
Because they are primarily emotional in nature, they cannot be blunted with logic or
statistics. Therefore, any discussion of the environment has to be grounded in an effort
to reassure a skeptical public that you care about the environment for its own sake –
that your intentions are strictly honorable. Otherwise, all the rational arguments in the
world won’t be enough for you to prevail."