The Oil Industry Promotes Carpooling?

Why were employees of area oil companies bused to an "Energy Citizens" rally in Houston, Texas, organized by the American Petroleum Institute (API) to oppose climate change legislation? "If we all drove in cars, it wouldn't look good," said the head of Anadarko Petroleum, pointing to the environmental benefits of well-organized (and well-funded) Astroturf. At the Houston rally, "mentions of the legislation, which narrowly passed the House in June, drew boos. ... Hundreds of people wore yellow T-shirts with slogans like 'Create American Jobs Don't Export Them' and 'I'll Pass on $4 Gas.'" As an API email leaked to the environmental group Greenpeace detailed, "the oil industry plans to raise the pressure in coming weeks through its public rallies" in some 20 states, "so that it can negotiate more favorable terms in the Senate than it got in the House."