Corporations

BP's Tony Hayward: Clueless or Careless?

Tony HaywardBP CEO Tony Hayward has gone from being a little known CEO to a household name made infamous by the Deepwater Horizon disaster that has led to 70,000 to 90,000 barrels of oil, according to a new analysis, pouring into the Gulf daily, for over a month. At 42 gallons per barrel, that's an astonishing 2.94 to 3.78 million gallons of oil pouring into the Gulf every day. Ever since the incident, Hayward has provided the public with a goldmine of quotes and misleading information. Possibly the most famous instance of poor propriety was when Hayward, while apologizing to the people of Louisiana, told them "I would like my life back", a comment that sounded particularly insensitive after the Gulf catastrophe claimed 11 lives in the Deepwater Horizon explosion. Further casualties now include nearly 500 birds, 227 turtles, and 27 mammals, including dolphins. Hayward's poorly-conceived statements do not stop there; he also famously said, "The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume."

Who is Trying to Undo Montana’s Century-old Clean Elections Law?

MontanaMontana's law states, "A corporation may not make a contribution or expenditure in connection with a candidate or a political committee that supports or opposes a candidate or a political party." The law was passed in 1912 to curb the influence of the notorious mining interests, known as the "Copper Kings." Now, a right-wing, 501(c)(4) group based out of Colorado called Western Tradition Partnership, has teamed with the local Bozeman, Montana Champion Paint store to challenge the constitutionality of that law in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United. The suit was filed in the Helena District Court.

California's Electricity Company Has Two Faces

Submitted by Anne Landman on

angel / devil graphicCalifornia's biggest utility, the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has two starkly different faces: the one it shows Californians, and the one people see nationally. On the national scene, PG&E has appeared to be a strong advocate for renewable energy, and backs climate change legislation in Washington, D.C.

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Main Source: 
San Francisco Chronicle, June 5, 2010
Topics: 
Corporations
Energy

CMD Director Lisa Graves to Address America’s Future Now!

Lisa GravesCMD Executive Director Lisa GravesAmerica's Future Now! -- the biggest progressive conference of the year organized by Campaign for America’s Future -- convenes June 7-9 in Washington, DC. Join Lisa Graves, Mary Bottari, and Dave Johnson from the Center for Media and Democracy as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Alan Grayson, Arianna Huffington, Markos Moulitsas, Van Jones, Gov. Howard Dean, Rep. Donna Edwards, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Richard Trumka, Andy Stern, Bob Herbert, Juan Cole, Digby, Deepak Bhargava, James Rucker, Drew Westen, Katrina vanden Heuvel, Robert Kuttner, Lizz Winstead and thousands more.

Progressives must lead to make sure 2010 is not the year of the Tea Party. Jobs, financial reform, clean energy, clean elections, fair workplaces, civil liberties, health care and human rights are at all stake. Let's show Washington that progressives now how to fight!

Full Disclosure: A Response to Citizens United

hiding behind a fenceWhen the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Citizens United, many people thought a flood of corporate funded, pro-industry political ads would hit the airwaves. Corporations, however, have hesitated in exercising their newly-announced freedom to spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns. Why would corporations pass on the opportunity to exert even more influence on the government? The answer seems to be fear of backlash: corporations may want to support campaigns against certain regulations, but not at the risk of antagonizing Congressmen, consumers, and employees. Instead of offering outright support for campaigns, it seems some corporations have funneled funds into political organizations. According to an article in the Washington Post, the Chamber of Commerce, American Crossroads, and American Action Network have pledged to raise $127 million for the upcoming election season.

Shifting BP's Clean Up Costs to Consumers? Say It Ain't So!

Who is going to pay to clean up BP's disastrous oil spill, besides BP? After all, they made $14 billion in profit last year alone. BP has asserted it will pay all "legitimate claims" for damages -- talk about a lot of wiggle room there -- but beyond actual cleanup costs, BP's economic damage liability is legislatively, and outrageously, capped at $75 million, a pittance to a company that made 186 times that amount in profit in 2009. Senate Democrats attempted to increase the liability cap to $10 billion by proposing and passing a bill, but their efforts were thwarted by Senate Republicans. The current tally for the cleanup cost stands at $760 million, but that is surely understated.

How Much Oil Is Really Spilling into the Gulf of Mexico?

Gulf Spill Fishing closureMap of Gulf spill on May 8, with fishing closure areaAt first, right after the BP Deepwater Horizon offshore rig exploded on April 20, BP and U.S. government officials reported the underwater well was pumping about 1,000 barrels a day into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A few days later, that figure was challenged by the non-profit group SkyTruth, which uses remote sensing and digital mapping to evaluate environmental issues globally. Ten days later, by April 30, some industry experts said the well could be leaking at a rate of 5,000 barrels daily -- five times the previous estimate, and the one that has been the most widely and persistently used in the media.

Wildly Disparate Estimates

But estimates continue to change. On May 4th, BP executives in a closed-door meeting reportedly told Congress that the well is discharging anywhere from 5,000 to 60,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf per day. At 42 U.S. gallons per barrel, that means the spill could be growing by 210,000 to 2.52 million gallons of oil each day. But how much is that, really?

BP Lobbied Against Better Safety Systems

Submitted by Anne Landman on

BP logoFederal regulators have warned offshore drilling rig operators numerous times over the past decade that they needed to install backup systems for their undersea blowout preventers, the devices that are used to stop the flow of oil from a well during an emergency.

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Main Source: 
New York Times, May 7, 2010
Topics: 
Corporations
Environment
Lobbying

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