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Koch-Funded Former Lobbyist Replaces Koch Lobbyist on Trump’s Energy Transition Team

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Thomas Pyle, President of the Koch-funded Institute for Energy Research and its advocacy arm, the American Energy Alliance, has been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the transition to the Department of Energy. E&E News reported on Monday that Pyle would be replacing Mike McKenna, who had to step down from the transition team because of the Trump team’s crackdown on registered lobbyists.

McKenna, President of MWR Strategies, currently lobbies for a number of energy industry companies , including a contract with Koch Industries that dates back to 2008.

Michael Catanzaro also stepped down from the DOE landing team. Catanzaro is currently a registered lobbyist for Koch Industries. (More on Catanzaro’s lobbying history and deep oil ties on DeSmog.)

As Lee Fang wrote in The Intercept,

The Koch Industries lobbyist who was overseeing transition efforts on energy and the environment will be replaced — by a former Koch Industries lobbyist who leads a think tank funded by Koch Industries.

The Trump transition team publicized some ethics standards that essentially demand that anyone on the team deregister as a lobbyist and promise not to lobby for five years. But former lobbyists (even those registered as lobbyists at the time of assignment to the transition team) are totally fine, as is anyone working for a lobbying firm without formal registrations.  

Fang described Catanzaro’s and Pyle’s trip through the revolving door to the DOE’s transition team.

Michael Catanzaro, who was set to oversee the transition at the Department of Energy, is a registered lobbyist for fossil fuel giant Koch Industries.

Catanzaro’s departure on Friday made way for Thomas Pyle as his replacement.

Pyle is currently the president of the Institute for Energy Research, a think tank founded directly by Charles Koch, the chief executive of Koch Industries, and also funded by Koch-backed nonprofits. IER broadly supports more drilling and mining of fossil fuels, and regularly criticizes climate change scientists for daring to call for controls on pollution. Before joining IER, Pyle worked as a registered lobbyist for Koch Industries and served as the Koch Industries Director of Federal Affairs, a lobbying job, from 2001 through 2005.

McKenna, Catanzaro, and Pyle aren’t the only Koch affiliates to make their way into Trump’s transition efforts, and we’ll be looking at other Koch ties to the Trump administration in coming weeks.

Trump himself offered a glimpse at his energy policy priorities in a YouTube video published Monday that briefly outlined his plan for his first 100 days in office.

“I will cancel job killing restrictions on the production of American energy, including shale energy and clean coal, creating many millions of high-paying jobs,” Trump said. “That’s what we want. That’s what we’ve been waiting for.” The President-elect didn’t speak to any particular Department of Energy efforts, nor did he discuss how his administration would address the two energy sectors that are fastest growing in terms of both employment and electric generating capacity—solar and wind.

Image: Screenshot from IERDC on YouTube.

Taking a More Comprehensive Look at Coal Subsidies

Earlier this month, Robert Murray, President and CEO of coal giant Murray Energy Corporation, sparred with Tesla founder Elon Musk on the issue of subsidies. Murray called Tesla a “fraud” for failing to achieve a profit despite benefitting from consumer-facing electric vehicle tax credits, and then Musk lobbed back that EVs get “pennies on the dollar” compared to coal. Continue reading “Taking a More Comprehensive Look at Coal Subsidies”

Obama Administration Announces Extensive National EV Charging Network

p091316ps-0088Today, the White House announced a plan to establish 48 national electric vehicle corridors on major highways across the country.

These corridors, located on 48 interstates, will cover nearly 25,000 miles across 35 states. They will also serve as the foundation for an even larger network of “alternative fuel” corridors.

In the same way highways currently alert drivers of nearby gas stations via roadway signs, the electric vehicle corridors will have signs highlighting nearby charging stations. According to the plan, drivers can expect charging stations every 50 miles.

Responding to the announcement, Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council said:

“This all-in approach exemplifies the sprint-to-the-finish attitude we’ve come to expect from someone who promised us hope and change. Eight years later, President Obama has done more than his 43 predecessors combined to protect Americans and future generations from the ravages of climate change.”

For more on President Obama’s initiatives to scale up adoption of electric vehicles, read this fact sheet.

Image credit: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

The Doubt Machine: Documentary Reveals How the Koch Brothers Wage War on Climate Science

The Koch brothers‘ attack on clean energy solutions is just one prong of their war on anything that threatens the dominance of fossil fuels. While funding fights against renewable energy policies at the federal and state levels, the Koch brothers have also been using their vast wealth to sow the seeds of doubt about the science of climate change.

This week, the Real News Network released “The Doubt Machine: The Koch Brothers’ War on Climate Science,” a documentary that explores how Koch-funded entities attacked and threatened climate scientists like Michael Mann and journalists like Jane Mayer. Both Mann and Mayer feature prominently in the documentary, which is narrated by Emma Thompson. You can watch it right here, and it’s well worth your half hour:

Learn more about The Real News’ Global Climate Change Bureau. The Real News Network

Mann, as the film reveals, was dragged through the “Climategate” faux-scandal” and then subjected to subpoenas, harassment, and even death threats. The whole senseless (and seemingly endless) attack on Mann and his climate science colleagues was well documented on DeSmog in real time.

Yes, the climate change denial movement has been well chronicled in Merchants of Doubt, Climate Cover-up and elsewhere, but The Doubt Machine definitely adds some useful personal context from Mann and Mayer, and also draws the clear connections from the denial-sphere to the Koch brothers.

 

U.S. Electric Vehicle Market is Heating Up

In case you haven’t heard:  the U.S. electric vehicle market is charged up and getting hotter.

What exactly does this mean? We’ll tell you.

  1. More than 45,000 electric vehicles were purchased in the third quarter of 2016. This is a 60% increase from the third quarter of 2015.

  2. Growth is happening despite low oil prices and the limited availability of EVs across the country. Even with low gas prices, it’s still cheaper to drive on electric fuel.

  3. Sales will likely increase with policy shifts on the horizon. On the whole, EVs are not readily available outside of California. Thanks to the California Zero Emission Vehicle program, automakers are required to sell electric cars and trucks within the state. Starting in 2018, nine other states will adopt similar policy: Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

  4. Automakers are investing in and rolling out new electric models, big time. Here’s a short list of what’s in the pipeline: Tesla Model 3, Chevy Bolt, Toyota Prius Prime, Hyundai Ioniq, and Audi’s yet-to-be-named electric SUV.

The Union of Concerned Scientists have captured these developments in more depth and visually through some great charts. See them here: The State of the Electric Car Market in 4 Charts and Graphs

Image: Toyota Prius Prime

Charles Drevna Talks Rising Natural Gas Prices on Fox Business

Charles Drevna, President and CEO of the Koch-funded oil and gas PR campaign Fueling U.S. Forward, appeared on Fox Business last week to answer questions about the rising prices of natural gas. Watch the exchange:

In case you didn’t quite follow the exchange, the host is  referring to a couple of reports by the Energy Information Agency. The first is the annual Winter Fuels Outlook, which predicts significantly higher natural gas costs than last winter.

EIA forecasts gas prices will average $10.37/Mcf, 11% higher than last winter and the highest since the winter of 2010–11. EIA expects households heating primarily with natural gas to spend $116 (22%) more this winter compared with last winter, a result of the higher prices and increased natural gas consumption.

The second is about natural gas rig counts, which have been steadily plummeting from a late 2008 peak, as can be seen in this EIA graph. 20161013_rigsDrevna explains the reduction in rig count by talking about “American ingenuity.” But he neglects to mention that the easiest, most economically efficient path to lower natural gas prices is to reduce demand, which can be done—at a personal economic gain—through home building efficiency, weatherization, and replacing natural gas boilers with truly innovative, clean electric heat pumps.

It’s Cheaper to Fuel Cars with Electricity than Gas in All 50 States

A common refrain is that electric vehicles are expensive. Yes, they can cost more to purchase, but that is just one of the costs associated with car ownership. After purchase, your largest expense is usually fuel. So, how do electric vehicles measure up to their gas counterparts on fuel costs?

Comparing electricity and gas markets is complex and tricky. Nevertheless, Plugless has done it. And, the company’s findings are telling:  its cheaper to drive on electricity than gas in all 50 states. Let that sink in, anywhere you drive, electric fuel is cheaper than gas. This is the case when national gas prices sit very low — $2.20/gallon. 

Plugless’ analysis found that on average electric vehicle owners save $60 per month on fuel costs. That’s $720 per year. In states such as Oregon, Washington, and Montana, savings sit at more than $1,000 per year.

See the data on all 50 states and read the full story at Plugless: Driving on Electricity is Cheaper Than Gas in All 50 States

Image credit: Nissan Leaf Charging by Myrtle Beach TheDigitel

Fueling U.S. Forward President Calls Fossil Fuels “Sustainable”

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While Charles Drevna was unveiling the Koch-funded Fueling U.S. Forward campaign to attendees at the Red State Gathering, he used a curious term to describe nonrenewable resources with limited reserves and wide-reaching environment impacts:

“We need a sustainable energy to ensure the future of the country. Folks, that’s of course the fossil fuels.”

As Sharon Kelly reported first for DeSmog, Drevna then proceeded to refer to fossil fuels as “reliable, abundant, efficient and sustainable fuels.”

The rhetoric provides a glimpse of how Fueling U.S. Forward organizers hope to “rebrand” oil and gas in their effort to bolster public opinion of the fossil fuels. Stay tuned to KochvsClean.com as we track the Koch-backed efforts and counter the fossil-funded PR campaign.

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