Exelon Quits Chamber Of Commerce Over Climate Change Legislation

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has lost another member because of its opposition to climate change legislation, reports the Washington Post.

The nation's largest nuclear power generator, Exelon, has announced it will leave the nation's largest business association. John Rowe, chairman and chief executive for the company, said "inaction on climate is not an option" in a speech at an energy efficiency conference.

From the Post:

"If Congress does not act, the EPA will, and the result will be more arbitrary, more expensive and more uncertain for investors and the industry than a reasonable, market-based legislative solution."

Exelon is not alone in dropping its Chamber of Commerce membership. New Mexico's Public Service Company and Pacific Gas and Electric have also quit, both citing the Chamber's stance on climate change legislation.

Comments

[LightningJoe]

Another plug to read "Entropy" by Jeremy Rifkin, wherein he details the same patterns of social response, at every watershed of the human uses of stored energy.

At first, energy was used as found, in the hunt-and-gathered food resources nature freely gave us. Then, when agriculture became common, the forests were harvested for energy (by burning them). When the forests started giving out, we invented new technologies (steam power) to help us find and use coal for energy. When coal started getting scarce, in relation to how much we wanted more energy, we found oil and further developed our technologies in order to reliably obtain and use it. Every transition was marked by social chaos, as the new systems were designed and instituted.

Now oil is showing seams as a source of energy, and we are back in the chaos of figuring out what is next, and how to make it happen. At every energy transition we had more people to feed, clothe, and heat, and needed even more energy.

Nuclear is not the long-term answer, even if the waste problem is solved -- there is just not enough of it. We need to design systems that tap current energy flows, rather than the stored energy we've always gone to and used up.

[babyboomerorig]

Absolutely right.

Another thing that's crossed my mind is questioning how much our depletion of the earth's riches have been pulled from the ground to create the climate change quickening over the time span that you've mentioned.

Even though "necessity is the mother of invention", we could have "invented" ourselves out of a planet at some point in time. What will come up from the diamond mines, oil fields and coal mines that we can't comprehend right now?

[fumes]

boy o boy o boy..

here's professor happer @ princeton:
"But the climate is warming and CO2 is increasing. Doesn’t this prove that CO2 is causing global warming through the greenhouse effect? No, the current warming period began about 1800 at the end of the little ice age, long before there was an appreciable increase of CO2. There have been similar and even larger warmings several times in the 10,000 years since the end of the last ice age. These earlier warmings clearly had nothing to do with the combustion of fossil fuels. The current warming also seems to be due mostly to natural causes, not to increasing levels of carbon dioxide. Over the past ten years there has been no global warming, and in fact a slight cooling. This is not at all what was predicted by the IPCC models." http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/reprint/happer_senate_testimony.html

[tiredofthesameoldstuff]

Professor Happer is not a climatologist he is an atomic physicist. His arguments come from right wing websites and have been debunked. He is also funded by Exxonmobil. He isn't mainstream at all.

Any one who bothers to look up what he claims will see he has been debunked.

The man claims that humans evolved in an enviroment with two to three times the CO2 we have today when in reality the amount of C02 was nearly half that of which we have today.

Most of the CO2 that has been found in the atmosphere comes from burned fossil fuel. It is not natural. Also here is another piece of info you seem unaware in the times of Earth's past in which natural was higher in the atmosphere the amount of land mass was much less and the Earth was hotter almost all of it was tropical and the atmospheric pressure was higher too. Most humans would pass out from it or die.

[tiredofthesameoldstuff]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/12/18/MNGNV3PH9D1.DTL&type=printable
Leaders of one of the nation's top scientific organizations issued a new warning this week that human activities -- most notably the greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and other industries -- are warming Earth's climate at a faster rate than ever.

The statement came from the 28-member council of the American Geophysical Union, whose 41,000 members include more than 10,000 experts on the planet's atmosphere and changing climate.

Although the vast majority of climate researchers are persuaded that the evidence, combined with computer models, show that global warming is real and dangerous, a few scientists still hold to the view that most of the changes are due more to natural cycles than human-induced causes ""

[alvdh1]

It couldn't happen to more screwed up organization. I am a small business owner and I wouldn't give them a thin dime no matter how hard they begged for it. They were opposed to any type of environmental legislation during the 70's and ever since. Yet, environmental legislation spawned a trillion dollar industry. The green industry is will be the next trillion dollar industry and they will do everything in their power to thwart it. They are always looking for a buck and a membership at the expense of the health of Americans.

[hulagirrrl]

The insurance companies have been hiring environmental scientist for over a decade now, they were the first to realize what is going on. I am glad to see that corporate America is finally waking up, although the politics deserve an F for failure to implement regulations much earlier. Not just Bush, Clinton could have done more also just to be fair.

[plooger]

I had a moment of optimism, there; until I read that it was a nuclear power company. It's not like it was a fossil fuel-based energy company; the nuclear industry is surely lobbying to take advantage of a shift from fossil fuels, so this is likely more a pro-nuclear than pro-climate change action.

[ewoman]

I agree - I was excited until I saw the company name. There's an agenda for ya.

[AJH]

What's our base load without nuclear? Clean coal is a lie, natural gas isn't clean, effective storage technology for solar and wind generated power is a bit of a ways off, geothermal isn't everywhere.

Then lets get to production logistics basic resource count. If we get into a global redirection of energy production how fast can we institute each given technology and in what numbers.

Nuclear will be a part of the worlds clean energy mix. Clean meaning CO2 free. Whether that be russia selling reactors to the third world and using material supply from places like australia to support or if we do it here. Personally I prefer it here to simply keep the fissile material away from third world hands. We live in a finite world and I'ld rather see the developed world take the burden of nuclear.

[tiredofthesameoldstuff]

The thing is nuclear isn't cheap and the number of reactors to even take up 20% of the world's energy needs would take 50 years to build and the places to put the nuclear waste would cost tens of trillions of dollars to build and maintain.

[MidGrounded]

The very men, that started the Chamber of Congress must be rolling in there grave over this! they where very progressive and were behind things like equal pay for women, and a 40 hour work week! The Conservative take over of Organizations like this, is what is keeping America from saving herself. It is no longer free Enterprise­..........­it is Us against them. Talk about death Panels, the Chamber of Commerce has become just that!

[RSKaz]

Nuclear energy is a hoax!

Sorry. Wrong knee-jerk reaction.

[Organic-Guy]

I've been invited to join my local chamber of commerce many times and I always decline, because they are always on the wrong side of every issue. they don't believe in democracy or capitalism. They seem to believe in fear and protectionism, much like the mostly republican members they have.
They seem to be very short sighted and never take the long view of any regulation or climate legislation.

[iMissMollyIvins]

They believe that profits are more important that people and that is amoral.

[lightningbolt]

Exelon is probably going to make a profit from climate legislation since nuclear power will probably get more money, since it is not a fossil fuel. This decision is based mainly on profit.

[silverball]

...i tend to agree with you...BUT, it is an alternative (albeit, a frightening one for many reasons....)...the REAL problem is the chamber....more "LA-LA-LA-LA-LA with their fingers in their ears.....

[dadw5boys]

No actually they are one of the Ethical ones in this market.

[LeeCalif]

The US Chamber of Commerce --- The Dinosaur in the Room.

[dnegri]

For years now, I've had a policy of making voting decisions on many state ballot initiatives on the following:
If the Chamber of Commerce endorses it, I won't vote for it. And vice-versa.

[peter777]

The Chamber of Commerce is stuck in another century, preceding the 17th, I think. They are a powerful, well-funded source for preventing progress in so many ways- from decent wages and benefits for workers to attempts to destroy any vision for change. We can see the results of their promotion of reactionary conservatism and present day Republicanism. There has been an ever evolving concentration of wealth toward fewer and fewer citizens, actual reduction of income of most Americans, and rising unemployment. Their tax exempt status should be removed, just like most of the think tanks and lobbying organizations.

[LesleyAnne]

Excellent blog!

[BPCentrisAmerican]

Glad to hear it, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has done more damage to this nation than any other private business lobbying group.

[Andman0121]

Boy its pretty sad that a NUCLEAR POWER COMPANY leaves the Chamber of Commerce because the GOVERNMENT wont act on climate change.

(Twilight Zone intro)

[nuclearmonkeys]

Obviously you have the reading comprehension of a squirrel. They are dropping out because the Chamber opposes the legislation vehemently.

[Andman0121]

...Yeah, I know. I made that point clear in the post. Perhaps you should READ before you say something stup-...oh wait

[cybersense]

This is not just about climate change. It's about not having enough petro down the line. We use it for everything, including plastic. We over use it. We over depend on it. We can't do it anymore.

it is that simple

You can have a lodge of people worshiping it, but it will not help the rest of us do what we need to.

[sheilaofmiami]

It is good to see someone on the side of BIG saying that change is necessary. I am glad. I hope that all power companies will look to the future.

FP & L uses trash to fuel its incinerators and coal to back it up. They do what they can to filter the refuse air. Miami does have some of the best air around, most of the time. Even the sand storms from across the Atlantic often miss Miami.