Despite claiming to the contrary, Charles and David Koch are actively trying to dismantle and destroy the renewable energy industry, reported TruthOut. Amazingly, President Barack Obama called out the Koch brothers for doing just that.
Obama said this week:
When you start seeing massive lobbying efforts backed by fossil fuel interests, or conservative think tanks, or the Koch brothers pushing for new laws to roll back renewable energy standards or prevent new clean energy businesses from succeeding – that’s a problem. That’s not the American way. That’s not progress. That’s not innovation. That’s rent-seeking and trying to protect old ways of doing business and standing in the way of the future.
Charles Koch responded and denied that he and his brother ever tried to interrupt the progress of clean energy. However, the history of Koch’s actions illustrate the opposite.
For example, the Arizona Public Service Company, the state’s largest electric utility company, worked with Koch-backed groups to place additional charges on homeowners who used solar panels. The group, 60 Plus Association, is currently working with utility companies in Florida to deter customers from investing in solar energy.
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a Koch-backed conservative group that drafts bills, many of which are designed to repeal and weaken renewable energy laws and standards state-by-state. Republican politicians, who are funded by the Kochs, push these laws in their respective state legislatures.
Koch-backed groups have tried to curtail the development and progress of renewable energy for decades. Claiming that the Kochs don’t engage in such legal manipulation is an outright lie.
Watch Thom Hartmann’s take on this issue:
