New Institute Charts Murky Waters [1]
Submitted by Diane Farsetta [2] on
The multinational law firm Hunton & Williams [3] -- whose clients [4] include Altria [5], DTE Energy, General Dynamics [6] and Pfizer [7] -- has launched The Water Policy Institute [8]. The Institute is chaired by former EPA [9] chief turned PR consultant [10] Christine Todd Whitman [11], who also co-chairs [12] the Nuclear Energy Institute [13]'s Clean and Safe Energy Coalition [14]. The Water Policy Institute describes itself [15] as "a nonpartisan consortium bringing together industry leaders, including water suppliers, water users and nongovernmental organizations, to develop initiatives to address water supply, quality and use issues." Institute members include BP [16], Central Arizona Project and GE [17] Water. Michael Campana, of Oregon State University's Institute for Water and Watersheds, notes that the Institute [18] "is sponsored by a Park Avenue law firm, has corporate members, and has an advisory panel with attorneys for 6 of its 8 members. Ask me why I'm not expecting anything but the SOS."