Obvious Headline of the Day: Energy Firms Deeply Split on Bill to Battle Climate Change
Nothing especially new here, but it is a shame they give Don Blankenship of Massey Energy the last word. Blankenship, who never passes up an opportunity to say something stupid, doesn’t disappoint:
“A lot of coal-using utilities seem to be on the wrong side of this issue,” said Don L. Blankenship, the chief executive of Massey Energy, the largest producer of Appalachian coal, who has called climate legislation a hoax and a Ponzi scheme. “How can they be so confident that man is changing the world climate?”
Daniel Weiss of the Center for American Progress makes a point worth considering:
Some supporters of global warming legislation believe that the division in the once-monolithic oil and gas industry, as well as other splits among energy producers, could improve the prospects for the legislation.
“It’s much harder to pass clean-energy legislation when big oil and other energy interests are united in their opposition,” said Daniel J. Weiss, climate policy director at the liberal Center for American Progress. “The companies that recognize the economic benefits in the bill can help bring along their political supporters.”
All in all, a pretty good summary of the state of play, but nothing new.
