Dan Harding recently wrote a post about the BP Republicans in Congress. Those are the no-brainers like Joe Barton who apologized to the now infamous oil (spilling) company because President Obama took some semblance of leadership on the issue by forcing BP to set aside billions for the relief effort.

The actual list of BP Republicans was put together by the Democratic National Committee and Dan took a lot of guff for harboring “one-sided,” “partisan” and [insert other buzzword] politics.

Now while Dan regrets no part of the word-lashing he gave these frankly out-of-touch and steeped-in-oil-money Republicans (Joe Barton is the leading beneficiary of oil money in the 111th House of Representatives), those who admonished Dan are not wrong, either.

Obviously, the DNC is not an impartial source of information, and while Barton and the BP Republicans are, in Dan’s opinion, fools, at least they had the wherewithal to openly stand up for their benefactors. Many Democrats in Congress will loudly scold BP for its negligence and incompetence but quietly take their money at the same time, defending them in any way they can in the legislative process (i.e. yell NAY, vote YEA).

Democrat Chet Edwards (TX) is the second-leading beneficiary of oil money in the 111th House of Representatives.

So Dan thought hard about writing up a “Who are the BP Democrats?” piece in fairness, and knowing even without looking at any data that perhaps the only non-partisan deals in Washington were political contributions, especially from the energy industry. However, when Dan did look at the data, he noticed BP contributions were small potatoes in the grand scheme of oil and gas donations; BP is not even in the top 75 percent of total contributions by company in either house.

Nevertheless, oil money flows freely and abundantly throughout Congress, and like tributaries, the majority of senators and representatives feed into a system that carefully and quietly protects dirty energy interests.

The proof-laden pudding containing all this information regarding oil money is a web tool developed by Oil Change International. There you can follow every dime of oil money straight to its Congressperson.

For instance, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) has accepted nearly $34,000 of oil money since 1999, although very little since 2002, and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Kerry’s co-author of recent climate change legislation, has received nearly $100,000 since 1999.

You can also check contributions during political campaigns. Barack Obama received $898, 251 from oil companies during his winning 2008 campaign, most of that coming from ExxonMobil ($113,646). BP gave President Obama $39,405.

Obama’s rival, Senator John McCain (R-AZ), blew everybody out of the water in oil contributions. He pulled in more than $2.4 million from oil and gas companies, spread out over a wide range of sources. McCain did receive a comparatively small $18,850 from BP.

Bear in mind that every major party candidate, including the likes of Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney, Rudolph Giuliani, and Bill Richardson, took money from oil companies during their 2008 campaign. And in an election system where the candidate with the most money tends to win, who’s going to turn it down? Not to excuse politicians that prize oil companies over constituents, but the problem may be more systemic than it is individual.

The oil and gas industry has in the realm of 600 registered lobbyists pestering Capitol Hill, and three out of every four of them once worked for the federal government. That, in political jargon, is what you call a revolving door (by far the most used door in D.C.).

How does an out-of-work shrimper in Louisiana stand up against that?

Whether Republican or Democrat, the money can be followed — as required by law — and it’s important that we follow it. This way, we can know why on one hand John Kerry wants to put a cap on carbon emissions but on the other votes no on ending tax subsidies for the oil and gas industry.

Here are the top 10 recipients of oil and gas contributions in each house during the current 111th Congress:

Top Ten House Members (contributions 2009-2010)

1. Joe Linus Barton (R-TX) – $85,770
2. Chet Edwards (D-TX) – $73,430
3. Michael Conaway (R-TX) – $72,800
4. Eric Cantor (R-VA) – $69,400
5. David Daniel Boren (D-OK) – $65,100
6. Randy Neugebauer (R-TX) – $64,750
7. Peter G. Olson (R-TX) – $54,400
8. Michael Avery Ross (D-AR) – $54,250
9. Charles Boustany Jr. (R-LA) – $49,450
10. John Calvin Fleming Jr. (R-LA) – $44,800

Top Ten Senate Members (contributions 2009-2010)

1. Blanche Lambert Lincoln (D-AR) – $216,700
2. David Vitter (R-LA) – 170,200
3. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) – $146,550
4. Robert F. Bennett (R-UT) – $117,650
5. John Cornyn (R-TX) – $87,575
6. Thomas Coburn (R-OK) – $76,500
7. Arlen Specter (D-PA) – $74,000
8. Byron Dorgon (D-ND) – $70,950
9. Evan Bayh (D-IN) – $62,150
10. James Demint (R-SC) – $58,850

Look to Oil Change International to learn more about oil contributions for these as well as your own representatives in Congress. Follow the money and then follow their actions. Connections between the two are hard to miss.

Also check out OpenSecrets.org for more comprehensive information on campaign contributions to senators and representatives

Escape the Energy Insanity

Contact Us to take control of your energy future and opt out of big oil and the special-interest legislators.

NOTE: The original posting of this article is at the Vote Solar website.

Giving Albany a sign it's time for solar. Literally.

New York: Waiting on a sign

June 11th, 2010

It’s do-or-die time in Albany — the 5 GW New York Solar Jobs Act is in position to pass, but it needs to move before the session ends.

We just need to show the legislators a sign. A really big sign. Literally.

We’d like to buy space on an electronic billboard on the 787 Interstate–practically the driveway of the Capitol. We have some chuckle worthy messages that send a clear directive: Pass the Solar Jobs Act today.

There are two ways you can help make this happen:

First, can you donate to help cover the costs? At a minimum, we suggest 39 cents, which is the average monthly cost New Yorkers would be paying to jumpstart their new solar economy. But feel free to give more if you’d like.

Second, if you have your own clever suggestions for billboard tag lines, please share them in the comments. We’ll be updating our messages as the week unfolds.

To get your juices flowing, here’s our initial list of ideas (as suggested by our funnier friends):

When there is a huge solar energy spill, it’s just called “a nice day.”
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We like The Egg…Sunny Side Up
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Enough already with the fracking natural gas. Give solar a shot.
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Solar Energy. The perfect combination of Woodstock and Wall Street
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The Red Sox installed solar on their ball park. Just saying.
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It’s the new energy economy, stupid.
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The irony of the coal-powered billboard is not lost on us.
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Solar: It’s actually a $30 billion global industry. Please do not tell the hippies.
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NY Solar, what are you waiting for? A sign?
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We could have a new energy economy for just 39 cents a month. Solar: It just makes cents.
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Cost-effective solar energy is just around the corner… Really. This corner.
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The sun’ll come out! Tomorrow! You can bet $20 billion dollars in increased wages. That…tomorrow! There’ll be sun!
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Solar is 99.9% reliable in New York. You’re thinking of the moon-power panels. Those are useless.
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Shovel Ready? You’re looking the wrong direction.
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The Solar Industry does $1 billion a year of business in New Jersey.

A: 22,198

Solar is More Affordable Than Ever

Thanks to Missouri citizen’s demand for electric power that’s cleaner than our coal-intensive generation mix today, several programs are helping Missourians become more independent while they reduce their electric bills without sacrificing their quality of life.  Missouri has several key rewards for homeowners and businesses who decide to run their electrical appliances on sunshine–clean power generated by a solar electric system:

• Net Metering.  This is incorporated into The Clean Energy Initiative but was actually put in place by the Missouri Net Metering Law that went into effect in 2008.
• A Missouri rebate in the amount of $2 per installed watt.
• Compatibile with the 30% federal tax credit for renewable energy systems.
• Ownership of the Renewable Energy Credits associated with the energy produced by renewable resources.

Net Metering
Net Metering basically says that you have a right to generate electricity and connect your generation system up to the electric grid.  It says that you can become a micro-generator and go into competition with the utility company.  Don’t get any big ideas about starting up a mini-utility and selling to your friends and neighbors, though, because the program is designed to offset your usage, and not much more.  But the good news is that youcan set up a wind turbine or solar electric system and generate your own electricity.

(This is a very brief overview of Net Metering.  For a more in-depth look at the subject, see our Net Metering Page.)

$2 Per Watt Rebate
This is a big deal.  You can actually get a check from your utility company for several thousand of dollars to help you pay for your system.  Let’s look at this using an example: If you install a 5kW system (5,000 watts) on your house, you will get a check from your utility company (Ameren, KCP&L, or Empire Electric) for $10,000.  That’s pretty cool!  How would you like to have your utility send YOU a check for a change?

And it gets better…  The current regulatory rules say that the check must be sent within 30 days of application.  Now, that’s service!

(For a more in-depth look at the Missouri rebate, see our Missouri Rebate page.)

30% Federal Tax Credit
This is a separate program at the federal level that your Uncle Sam has in place to reward you for being smart and making the move to clean, renewable energy.  It’s included here because The Clean Energy Initiative to make a huge difference in the cost of a system.  This program allows you to receive up to 30% of the cost of the system as a tax credit.  What’s a tax credit…?  It’s essentially a voucher that you can use to pay your taxes.  When you file your taxes, you will have a credit to apply toward any tax liability you might have to the tune of 30% of the cost of your renewable energy system.  Wind, biomass, solar electric, solar heat, solar hot water, and more!  NOTE: this is a tax matter, so some understanding of tax code is required to maximize your benefit.  Consult a tax professional if you have any question about how to best take advantage of this program.

Renewable Energy Credits
A renewable Energy Credit (REC) is like a birth certificate that’s issued every time a MegaWatt of renewable energy is generated.  The biggest difference is that companies will buy them in order to show that they are encouraaging the generation of “green” energy to offset their emissions.  Right now, the market for REC’s in Missouri is in its fledgling stages.  You might even say it’s still in gestation since many of the rules are not even written yet–much less finalized and approved.  But stay tuned!  We’ll give you the latest news on REC’s as soon as it’s available!

“We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house for fuel when we should be using nature’s inexhaustible sources of energy. I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.“
-Thomas Edison

Contact Us to find out how you can benefit from these great programs!