environmental policy alliance

=<div><div><a href="http://www.alternet.org/environment/house-science-committee-russia-secretly-backed-anti-fracking-campaigns">http://www.alternet.org/environment/house-science-committee-russia-secretly-backed-anti-fracking-campaigns</a></div><div>
</div><div> a pair of House Republicans are hoping to inspire a Russia investigation of their own.Reps. Lamar Smith and Randy Weber, both of Texas, say the Kremlin funneled money to environmental groups with the aim of undermining U.S. oil and gas interests.In a <a href="https://science.house.gov/sites/republicans.science.house.gov/files/documents/06_29_2017%20CLS%20%26%20Weber%20-%20Mnuchin.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none;">six-page letter</a> dated June 29, the GOP lawmakers asked Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to investigate whether Russia secretly backed American environmental campaigns against fracking, a technology that <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/23/fracking-russia-republicans-240834" style="text-decoration-line: none;">helped the U.S. overtake Russia in gas production</a>. They argue the Kremlin intended to distribute “propaganda” and “misinformation” about fracking to prop up its own natural gas sector in the face of increasing U.S. exports, Politico reported in July.Short for <a href="https://www.epa.gov/hydraulicfracturing/process-hydraulic-fracturing" style="text-decoration-line: none;">hydraulic fracturing</a>, fracking is a method of injecting high volumes of chemical brine into rock formations to extract oil or natural gas. The method is over 60 years old, but as it became more widespread, American communities and green groups began to wonder about negative consequences.While some scientists remain concerned about <a href="http://www.eeb.cornell.edu/howarth/publications/f_EECT-61539-perspectives-on-air-emissions-of-methane-and-climatic-warmin_100815_27470.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none;">fugitive methane emissions</a> and their contribution to climate change, the most publicized qualms centered not around fracking itself but the disposal of fracking chemicals and wastewater. By 2014, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/01/05/some-states-confirm-water-pollution-from-drilling/4328859/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">hundreds of complaints</a> had rolled in from small-town residents who said their well water was fouled by fracking chemicals.Most of the early opposition to fracking came from local coalitions, but Smith and Weber directed their accusations to larger green groups. Their letter alleges that Russia used a Bermuda-based shell company to direct funds to nonprofits in the U.S., which eventually made their way to big-name groups like the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters.Caught in the frayThe groups dismissed the allegations as a cheap ploy to distract the public from Mueller’s ongoing investigation. "If Congressional Republicans are <a href="http://mashable.com/2017/07/07/lamar-smith-wants-investigation-russia-fracking/#zW7FhYsKSGqU" style="text-decoration-line: none;">so concerned about Russian influence</a>, they should start seriously investigating that country's interference in our election, not attacking long-standing environmental organizations,” Melinda Pierce, legislative director of the Sierra Club, said in a statement, as cited by Mashable.“<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/23/fracking-russia-republicans-240834" style="text-decoration-line: none;">This is false</a>,” David Willett, a spokesman for the League of Conservation Voters, told Politico. “We have no connections to Russia and have been an effective advocate for environmental protection for over 45 years. This seems like nothing more than an attempt at distraction away from the Trump campaign’s well-publicized interactions with Russian interests to influence the election.”Smith and Weber both have longstanding ties to the oil and gas sector. Smith received <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/industries?cid=N00001811&cycle=CAREER" style="text-decoration-line: none;">more than $736,000 in campaign contributions</a> from the industry during his 30-year Congressional career, over $200,000 of which came after he took the seat as chair of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. Weber, who also serves on the committee, raked in over $200,000 from oil and gas companies since 2011, and the sector remains his <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/industries?cid=N00033539&cycle=CAREER" style="text-decoration-line: none;">largest campaign backer</a>.If you believe campaign contributions can sway a lawmaker’s behavior, this isn’t a bad tactic for Smith and Weber: By stoking fears about a Russian connection at a time when U.S.-Russia relations are at their lowest point since the Cold War, the pair can discredit environmental groups and bolster their buddies in the gas sector. Their campaign financing alone isn’t enough to dismiss their theory as bogus, but proving such a money train exists takes facts, not conjecture.A few days after Trump’s inauguration, Smith said Americans should get their news “<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/25/politics/lamar-smith-donald-trump-news/index.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">directly from the president</a>” and derided the media’s use of anonymous sourcing, so it’s worth taking a look at the sources he and Weber use for their flagrant claim.Consider the source“We were even up against phony environmental groups, and I’m a big environmentalist, but these were funded by the Russians,” the alleged transcript reads. The context of this statement is murky, as journalists including Ben Lefebvre of Politico and Matthew Sheffield of Salon pointed out.The most controversial source cited in the letter is a speech attributed to 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The transcript excerpt, said to be from a paid speech Clinton gave to a Canadian marketing firm in 2014, is part of the document dump published by WikiLeaks in the run-up to the election.Clinton promoted shale drilling in Europe as secretary of state, so it is unclear whether she was referring to environmental groups in Europe or the U.S. It’s also unlikely that Clinton would use the term “phony environmental groups” to describe well-established organizations such as the League of Conservation Voters, regardless of any questions about unknowing receipt of Russian funds.And the authenticity of the transcript remains in question, as the campaign “has refused to confirm or deny the content of any of the leaked materials,” wrote Lefebvre of Politico.The letter also cites Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a former secretary-general of NATO. “I have met allies who can report that Russia, as part of their sophisticated information and disinformation operations, engaged actively with so-called non-governmental organizations — environmental organizations working against shale gas — to maintain European dependence on imported Russian gas,” Rasmussen said in a speech that strangely came <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jun/19/russia-secretly-working-with-environmentalists-to-oppose-fracking" style="text-decoration-line: none;">one day after Clinton’s alleged remarks</a>.As Sheffield of Salon pointed out, “He <a href="http://www.salon.com/2017/07/16/is-putin-funding-anti-fracking-groups-republicans-think-so-and-so-did-hillary-clinton/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">did not present any evidence</a> for his allegation.” And the Congressmen’s connection to the United States is even weaker: “Other officials have indicated the same scheme is unfolding in the U.S.,” they wrote simply.To whom they are referring is unclear, but they also cite the January intelligence report that <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-orders-review-of-russian-hacking-during-presidential-campaign/2016/12/09/31d6b300-be2a-11e6-94ac-3d324840106c_story.html?utm_term=.963c3ccba1e0" style="text-decoration-line: none;">formally accused Russia</a> of hacking the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign. The report notes anti-fracking coverage on Russia’s international television station, RT, but the <a href="https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ICA_2017_01.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none;">unclassified version</a>makes no mention of a money-laundering scheme involving green groups.A deeper dive into the footnotes reveals that the bulk of the Congressmen’s theory relies on a <a href="https://www.biggreenradicals.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Klein_Report_12-2015.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none;">2015 report</a> from a right-wing think tank called the Environmental Policy Alliance. The Alliance has positioned itself as a watchdog that seeks to expose the “hidden agendas” behind environmental organizations, though Sourcewatch calls it a “<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance" style="text-decoration-line: none;">front group</a>.”<a href="https://www.biggreenradicals.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Klein_Report_12-2015.pdf">https://www.biggreenradicals.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Klein_Report_12-2015.pdf</a>  [ from russia with Love? no names]The report highlights $23 million that Bermuda-based Klein Ltd. donated in 2010 and 2011 to the American nonprofit Sea Change Foundation, which distributes funds to groups like the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council. It goes on to present a tangled web that allegedly connects Klein and its co-founders to Russian businessmen, but the Alliance notes that it can’t prove anything and admits, “It is unclear who is funding Klein.”In their letter, Smith and Weber argue that although “the source of Klein’s capital has not been documented,” these business connections are enough to “strongly suggest” Klein is being funded by Russia’s oil and gas sector.Representatives from both Klein and Sea Change vehemently denied receiving Russian funds. An attorney representing Klein decried the allegations as “completely false and irresponsible” in an interview with Salon and seemed to threaten legal action. And a Sea Change spokesperson told Politico that its grants were not earmarked for anti-fracking campaigns.The bottom lineOn its face, it appears that Smith and Weber are using decontextualized and circumstantial evidence to equate Klein and Sea Change—and, by extension, environmental groups—with fraudsters and money launderers. But it’s important to understand this letter for what it is: a petition for the start of an investigation.As one House Science Committee aide who requested anonymity told Politico, “The chairman is saying there’s data points pointing to this theory, and he’s saying the Treasury secretary can shine some light on this.” That being said, the use of phrases like “covert anti-fracking campaigns” are clearly used to sensationalize the argument when really it relies on evidence that is shoddy at best.The Sierra Club has already said it can confirm its grant money from Sea Change came from a private American donor. And although Energy Secretary Rick Perry indicated he <a href="http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/5502233162001/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">expects Mnuchin to take up the investigation</a>, whether or not he will remains unclear. Given the ongoing discussions about <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/22/trumps-team-and-lawmakers-making-strides-on-tax-reform-plan-241873" style="text-decoration-line: none;">tax reform</a> and the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/25/treasury-secretary-mnuchin-says-debt-ceiling-will-be-raised.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">debt ceiling</a>, he may very well have bigger fish to fry.<div wibbitz="embed-main-player" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="bio-new body_environment" style="width: 630px; line-height: 22px; height: auto; border-top: 3px solid rgb(223, 223, 218); clear: both; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="author-bio"><a href="http://marymazzoni.pressfolios.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Mary Mazzoni</a> is a freelance environmental journalist and editor based in Philadelphia</div></div></div><div>
<div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></div></div></div></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance">http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance</a></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style=""><div id="mw-content-text" lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr" style="direction: ltr;">The Environmental Policy Alliance is a <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Front_group" title="Front group" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">front group</a> operated by the PR firm <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Berman%26_Co." title="Berman & Co." style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Berman & Co.</a> The firm operates a network of dozens of front groups, attack-dog web sites, and alleged think tanks that work to counteract minimum wage campaigns, keep wages low for restaurant workers, and to block legislation on food safety, secondhand cigarette smoke, drunk driving, and more.The Environmental Policy Alliance describes itself as "devoted to uncovering the funding and hidden agendas behind environmental activist groups and exploring the intersection between activists and government agencies." It is a project of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Center_for_Organizational_Research_and_Education" title="Center for Organizational Research and Education" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Center for Organizational Research and Education</a> (CORE) and consists of several sub-front groups, including <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Big_Green_Radicals" title="Big Green Radicals" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Big Green Radicals</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/EPA_Facts" title="EPA Facts" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">EPA Facts</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Green_Decoys" title="Green Decoys" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Green Decoys</a>, and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/LEED_Exposed" title="LEED Exposed" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">LEED Exposed</a>.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[1]</a>According to the watchdog organization <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Citizens_for_Responsibility_and_Ethics_in_Washington" title="Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington</a> (CREW), the Environmental Policy Alliance "attacks environmental advocacy groups and fights against environmental regulation by the government."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_note-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a>The organization shares a mailing address with notorious lobbyist and front-group operator <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Richard_Berman" title="Richard Berman" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Richard Berman</a> and his firm. Research analyst <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Anastasia_Swearingen&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Anastasia Swearingen (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Anastasia Swearingen</a>, who has published materials on behalf of the Environmental Policy Alliance and its projects, has previously worked for other Berman-associated organizations <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Center_for_Consumer_Freedom" title="Center for Consumer Freedom" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Center for Consumer Freedom</a> and the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Beverage_Institute" title="American Beverage Institute" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Beverage Institute</a> and is a Berman & Co. employee.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_note-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[3]</a><div id="toc" class="toc" style="background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249); border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1;"><div id="toctitle" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;">
</div><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#EPA_Releases_Video_Criticizing_Bill_McKibben_and_a_Global_Day_of_Action_for_Climate_Change" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1EPA Releases Video Criticizing Bill McKibben and a Global Day of Action for Climate Change</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#EPA_Facts_Attacks_New_Obama_Administration_Regulations" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2EPA Facts Attacks New Obama Administration Regulations</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#Big_Green_Radicals_Attacks_Colorado_Anti-Fracking_Groups" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3Big Green Radicals Attacks Colorado Anti-Fracking Groups</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#Attack_on_Food.26_Water_Watch.2C_Sierra_Club.2C_and_NRDC" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4Attack on Food & Water Watch, Sierra Club, and NRDC</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#Contact" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">5Contact</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#Resources_and_Articles" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">6Resources and Articles</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#Related_SourceWatch_Articles" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">6.1Related SourceWatch Articles</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#Other_Berman_Front_Groups" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">6.1.1Other Berman Front Groups</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#References" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">6.2References</a></li></ul></li></ul></div><h2 style="background: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;">EPA Releases Video Criticizing Bill McKibben and a Global Day of Action for Climate Change</h2><div class="embedvideo thumb ev_right autoResize" style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0.5em; width: auto; clear: right; float: right; padding: 10px !important;"><div class="embedvideowrap thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 300px;"><div class="thumbcaption" style="border: none; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;">Breaking Up with Fossil Fuels is Hard to Do</div></div></div><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Richard_Berman" title="Richard Berman" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Richard Berman</a> and his <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Front_group" title="Front group" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">front group</a> the Environmental Policy Alliance released a video entitled "Breaking Up With Fossil Fuels is Hard to Do" on February 10, 2015 on the website of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Big_Green_Radicals" title="Big Green Radicals" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Big Green Radicals</a>, another Berman front group.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_note-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a> The video is an attack on <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Bill_McKibben" title="Bill McKibben" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Bill McKibben</a> and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/350.org" title="350.org" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">350.org</a>'s movement to divest from fossil fuels. The Center for Media and Democracy's PRWatch noted, "Although it is not known who specifically bankrolled the video, it was being promoted online by Independent Petroleum Association of America, the Institute for Energy Research, the American Energy Alliance, and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, ad groups and trade associations representing fossil fuel interests.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_note-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a><h2 style="background: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;">EPA Facts Attacks New Obama Administration Regulations</h2>On June 2 and 3, 2014, EPA Facts, a project of Berman & Co's Environmental Policy Alliance, ran full page ads in both <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Politico" title="Politico" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Politico</a> and USA Today in reaction to the Obama administration's announcement of new federal rules limiting carbon emissions from the nation's existing power plants. The ad insinuates the regulations threaten to shut down 25 percent of the United States' electric grid and compares the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/U.S.Environmental_Protection_Agency" title="U.S. Environmental Protection Agency" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">U.S. Environmental Protection Agency</a> to terrorists, saying:<dl style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><dd style="margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;">"What would you call a radical organization that threatens to shut down 25 percent of our electric grid?"</dd></dl>It lists "anarchist," "militia," and "terrorist" -- all struck out -- and leaves "Obama’s EPA."<dl style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><dd style="margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;">"Obama's Environmental Protection Agency has issued regulations that threaten to shut down about 25 percent of the energy that powers America's electric grid. With radicals like this in power, who needs enemies?"<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a></dd></dl><h2 style="background: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;">Big Green Radicals Attacks Colorado Anti-Fracking Groups</h2>In May 2014, Big Green Radicals launched a PR campaign against various Colorado groups seeking to block fracking in the state, calling it "ground zero" in the fracking debate. BGR sought to define the groups -- including the Colorado branches of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Food%26_Water_Watch" title="Food & Water Watch" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Food & Water Watch</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Water_Defense&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Water Defense (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Water Defense</a>, and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Sierra_Club" title="Sierra Club" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Sierra Club</a>, as well as <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_Against_Fracking&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Americans Against Fracking (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans Against Fracking</a> and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Artists_Against_Fracking&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Artists Against Fracking (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Artists Against Fracking</a> -- as <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Astroturf" title="Astroturf" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">astroturf</a> organizations, groups that claim to be grassroots but are really primarily created by special interests.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_note-Colorado-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[7]</a>Big Green Radicals further asserted that these "extreme groups, mostly based far from Colorado in San Francisco, New York, or Washington D.C., are spending millions and spreading their anti-science message to scare voters into approving ballot measures in November to send the oil and gas industry (and the jobs and affordable energy it provides) packing from the Centennial State."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_note-Colorado-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[7]</a>In addition to its attack on these anti-fracking groups, BGR rebuked Colorado Congressman <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jared_Polis&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Jared Polis (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Jared Polis</a> as the "poster boy" for the anti-fracking movement.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_note-Colorado-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[7]</a>At a June 2014 Western Energy Alliance event including representatives from <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Anadarko_Petroleum" title="Anadarko Petroleum" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Anadarko Petroleum</a>,<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_note-NYT-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[8]</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Halliburton_Company" title="Halliburton Company" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Halliburton Company</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/ExxonMobil" title="ExxonMobil" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">ExxonMobil</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Devon_Energy" title="Devon Energy" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Devon Energy</a>, and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Noble_Energy&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Noble Energy (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Noble Energy</a>,<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_note-Bloomberg-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a> Berman himself told the gathered fracking executives they "must be willing to exploit emotions like fear, greed and anger and turn them against the environmental groups" opposed to fracking, according to the New York Times, which obtained leaked audio of the speech. "And major corporations secretly financing such a campaign should not worry about offending the general public because 'you can either win ugly or lose pretty,' he said."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_note-NYT-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[8]</a>"Think of this as an endless war," Berman told the group. "And you have to budget for it."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_note-NYT-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[8]</a>Berman "offered companies a way to anonymously target their environmental foes -- at a cost of as much as $3 million" just to fight Colorado's proposed fracking bans according to Bloomberg, which also obtained the audio. And that $2 to $3 million "would be spent in addition to the 'positive campaign' companies were running," he said.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_note-Bloomberg-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a>According to Bloomberg, Berman "played an advertisement that showed one activist blaming fracking for his overeating and another for the fact that his sock-puppet, Mr. Snuggles, was ignoring him. The ad was posted online and ran on television a few weeks later, according to a Denver Post article."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_note-Bloomberg-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a>"What people always want to do is they want to know who funds me so they can attack the funder," Berman told the Western Energy Alliance. "We run all of this stuff through nonprofit organizations that are insulated from having to disclose donors."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_note-Bloomberg-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a><h2 style="background: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;">Attack on Food & Water Watch, Sierra Club, and NRDC</h2>On March 6, 2014, the Environmental Policy Alliance ran a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal attacking <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Food%26_Water_Watch" title="Food & Water Watch" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Food & Water Watch</a>, the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Sierra_Club" title="Sierra Club" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Sierra Club</a>, and the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Natural_Resources_Defense_Council" title="Natural Resources Defense Council" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Natural Resources Defense Council</a> (NRDC) as "big green radicals" and announced its new website, BigGreenRadicals.com<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_note-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[10]</a> Food & Water Watch responded with a blog post saying:<dl style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><dd style="margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;">"He's been called an 'arch-enemy of do-gooders' by 60 Minutes. Thanks to his orchestration of massive corporate PR campaigns using 'deceptive corporate front groups' to discredit public interest efforts, he’s earned the nickname 'Dr. Evil.'</dd></dl><dl style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><dd style="margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;">"And now, thanks to our outsized effectiveness in relation to our relatively small budget, he's targeting us.</dd></dl><dl style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><dd style="margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;">"We're honored to be called one of the 'Big Green Radicals' by notorious corporate lobbyist Rick Berman through his apparent latest astroturf operation, the Environmental Policy Alliance, a 'project of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Center_for_Organizational_Research_Education" title="Center for Organizational Research Education" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Center for Organizational Research Education</a>.' Ever heard of it? We hadn't either. After doing a bit of digging, we found out that the Center for Organizational Research Education was recently known as the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Center_for_Consumer_Freedom" title="Center for Consumer Freedom" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Center for Consumer Freedom</a> led by the head of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Berman%26_Co." title="Berman & Co." style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Berman & Co.</a> -- <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Rick_Berman" title="Rick Berman" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Rick Berman</a>."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_note-11" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[11]</a></dd></dl><h2 style="background: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;">Contact</h2>The Environmental Policy Alliance
1090 Vermont Ave., NW Suite 800
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 420-7875
Website: <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.biggreenradicals.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url("data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%20standalone%3D%22no%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2212%22%20height%3D%2212%22%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%20d%3D%22M1.5%204.518h5.982V10.5H1.5z%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M5.765%201H11v5.39L9.427%207.937l-1.31-1.31L5.393%209.35l-2.69-2.688%202.81-2.808L4.2%202.544z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M9.995%202.004l.022%204.885L8.2%205.07%205.32%207.95%204.09%206.723l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E"); padding-right: 13px; word-wrap: break-word;">http://www.BigGreenRadicals.com</a><h2 style="background: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;">Resources and Articles</h2><h3 style="background: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: none; line-height: 1.6;">Related SourceWatch Articles</h3><ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%0A%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20version%3D%221.1%22%20width%3D%225%22%20height%3D%2213%22%3E%0A%3Ccircle%20cx%3D%222.5%22%20cy%3D%229.5%22%20r%3D%222.5%22%20fill%3D%22%2300528c%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A");"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Berman%26_Co." title="Berman & Co." style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Berman & Co.</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Richard_Berman" title="Richard Berman" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration-line: none; 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background: none;">Physician Scam</a></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Protecting_Bad_Teachers" title="Protecting Bad Teachers" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Protecting Bad Teachers</a></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Responsible_Limits" title="Responsible Limits" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Responsible Limits</a></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Rethink_Reform" title="Rethink Reform" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Rethink Reform</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Rotten_ACORN" title="Rotten ACORN" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Rotten ACORN</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SEIU_Exposed&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="SEIU Exposed (page does not exist)" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">SEIU Exposed</a></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Step_Up_Wyoming&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Step Up Wyoming (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Step Up Wyoming</a></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Sweet_Scam" title="Sweet Scam" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Sweet Scam</a></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Teachers_Union_Exposed" title="Teachers Union Exposed" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Teachers Union Exposed</a></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/The_New_Prohibition" title="The New Prohibition" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The New Prohibition</a></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Tipped_Wage" title="Tipped Wage" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Tipped Wage</a></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Unite_Here_Exposed" title="Unite Here Exposed" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Unite Here Exposed</a></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Vote_Our_Future" title="Vote Our Future" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Vote Our Future</a></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/WorkerCenters" title="WorkerCenters" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">WorkerCenters</a></li></ul><h3 style="background: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: none; line-height: 1.6;">References</h3><ol class="references" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li id="cite_note-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_ref-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up↑</a> Environmental Policy Alliance, "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://environmentalpolicyalliance.org/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url("data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%20standalone%3D%22no%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2212%22%20height%3D%2212%22%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%20d%3D%22M1.5%204.518h5.982V10.5H1.5z%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M5.765%201H11v5.39L9.427%207.937l-1.31-1.31L5.393%209.35l-2.69-2.688%202.81-2.808L4.2%202.544z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M9.995%202.004l.022%204.885L8.2%205.07%205.32%207.95%204.09%206.723l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E"); padding-right: 13px;">Home Page</a>," group website, accessed February 20, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_ref-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up↑</a> Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://bermanexposed.org/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url("data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%20standalone%3D%22no%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2212%22%20height%3D%2212%22%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%20d%3D%22M1.5%204.518h5.982V10.5H1.5z%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M5.765%201H11v5.39L9.427%207.937l-1.31-1.31L5.393%209.35l-2.69-2.688%202.81-2.808L4.2%202.544z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M9.995%202.004l.022%204.885L8.2%205.07%205.32%207.95%204.09%206.723l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E"); padding-right: 13px;">Berman Exposed.org</a>, organizational project website, accessed June 12, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_ref-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up↑</a> Anastasia Swearingen, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/03/09/environment-carbon-climate-change-pollution-column/6027923/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url("data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%20standalone%3D%22no%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2212%22%20height%3D%2212%22%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%20d%3D%22M1.5%204.518h5.982V10.5H1.5z%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M5.765%201H11v5.39L9.427%207.937l-1.31-1.31L5.393%209.35l-2.69-2.688%202.81-2.808L4.2%202.544z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M9.995%202.004l.022%204.885L8.2%205.07%205.32%207.95%204.09%206.723l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E"); padding-right: 13px;">Mis-LEED-ing green buildings</a>, USA Today, March 12, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_ref-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up↑</a> Big Green Radicals, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.biggreenradicals.com/divest-in-fossil-fuels-not-if-you-like-your-life/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url("data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%20standalone%3D%22no%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2212%22%20height%3D%2212%22%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%20d%3D%22M1.5%204.518h5.982V10.5H1.5z%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M5.765%201H11v5.39L9.427%207.937l-1.31-1.31L5.393%209.35l-2.69-2.688%202.81-2.808L4.2%202.544z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M9.995%202.004l.022%204.885L8.2%205.07%205.32%207.95%204.09%206.723l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E"); padding-right: 13px;">Divest From Fossil Fuels? Not if You Like Your Life</a>, group website, February 10, 2015.</li><li id="cite_note-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_ref-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up↑</a> Mary Bottari, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://prwatch.org/news/2015/02/12732/richard-berman-goes-after-350org-and-global-divestment-day" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url("data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%20standalone%3D%22no%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2212%22%20height%3D%2212%22%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%20d%3D%22M1.5%204.518h5.982V10.5H1.5z%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M5.765%201H11v5.39L9.427%207.937l-1.31-1.31L5.393%209.35l-2.69-2.688%202.81-2.808L4.2%202.544z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M9.995%202.004l.022%204.885L8.2%205.07%205.32%207.95%204.09%206.723l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E"); padding-right: 13px;">Richard Berman Goes after Bill McKibben and Global Divestment Day</a>, PRWatch, February 12, 2015.</li><li id="cite_note-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_ref-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up↑</a> Environmental Policy Alliance, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://epafacts.com/full-page-ad-highlights-epa-threat/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url("data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%20standalone%3D%22no%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2212%22%20height%3D%2212%22%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%20d%3D%22M1.5%204.518h5.982V10.5H1.5z%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M5.765%201H11v5.39L9.427%207.937l-1.31-1.31L5.393%209.35l-2.69-2.688%202.81-2.808L4.2%202.544z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M9.995%202.004l.022%204.885L8.2%205.07%205.32%207.95%204.09%206.723l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E"); padding-right: 13px;">Full-page Ad Highlights EPA Threat</a>, EPA Facts website, June 2, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-Colorado-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">↑ <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_ref-Colorado_7-0" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up to:7.0</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_ref-Colorado_7-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">7.1</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_ref-Colorado_7-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">7.2</a> Environmental Policy Alliance, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.biggreenradicals.com/colorado/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url("data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%20standalone%3D%22no%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2212%22%20height%3D%2212%22%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%20d%3D%22M1.5%204.518h5.982V10.5H1.5z%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M5.765%201H11v5.39L9.427%207.937l-1.31-1.31L5.393%209.35l-2.69-2.688%202.81-2.808L4.2%202.544z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M9.995%202.004l.022%204.885L8.2%205.07%205.32%207.95%204.09%206.723l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E"); padding-right: 13px;">Big Green Radicals Colorado page</a>, BigGreenRadicals.com, accessed June 12, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-NYT-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">↑ <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_ref-NYT_8-0" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up to:8.0</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_ref-NYT_8-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">8.1</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_ref-NYT_8-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">8.2</a> Eric Lipton, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/31/us/politics/pr-executives-western-energy-alliance-speech-taped.html?r=0" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url("data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%20standalone%3D%22no%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2212%22%20height%3D%2212%22%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%20d%3D%22M1.5%204.518h5.982V10.5H1.5z%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M5.765%201H11v5.39L9.427%207.937l-1.31-1.31L5.393%209.35l-2.69-2.688%202.81-2.808L4.2%202.544z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M9.995%202.004l.022%204.885L8.2%205.07%205.32%207.95%204.09%206.723l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E"); padding-right: 13px;">Hard-Nosed Advice From Veteran Lobbyist: ‘Win Ugly or Lose Pretty’</a>, New York Times, October 30, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-Bloomberg-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">↑ <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_ref-Bloomberg_9-0" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up to:9.0</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_ref-Bloomberg_9-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">9.1</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_ref-Bloomberg_9-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">9.2</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_ref-Bloomberg_9-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">9.3</a> Mark Drajem, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-30/fracking-advocates-urged-to-win-ugly-by-discrediting-foes.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url("data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%20standalone%3D%22no%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2212%22%20height%3D%2212%22%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%20d%3D%22M1.5%204.518h5.982V10.5H1.5z%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M5.765%201H11v5.39L9.427%207.937l-1.31-1.31L5.393%209.35l-2.69-2.688%202.81-2.808L4.2%202.544z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M9.995%202.004l.022%204.885L8.2%205.07%205.32%207.95%204.09%206.723l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E"); padding-right: 13px;">Fracking Advocates Urged to Win Ugly by Discrediting Foes</a>, Bloomberg, October 30, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_ref-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up↑</a> Big Green Radicals, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.biggreenradicals.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/WSJ_BGR_Prius_Ad_OL1.jpg" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url("data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%20standalone%3D%22no%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2212%22%20height%3D%2212%22%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%20d%3D%22M1.5%204.518h5.982V10.5H1.5z%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M5.765%201H11v5.39L9.427%207.937l-1.31-1.31L5.393%209.35l-2.69-2.688%202.81-2.808L4.2%202.544z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M9.995%202.004l.022%204.885L8.2%205.07%205.32%207.95%204.09%206.723l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E"); padding-right: 13px;">Big Green Radicals ad</a>, Wall Street Journal, March 6, 2014.</li><li id="cite_note-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance#cite_ref-11" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up↑</a> Darcey Rakestraw, Food & Water Watch, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/blogs/rick-berman-strikes-again-with-environmental-policy-alliance/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url("data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%20standalone%3D%22no%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2212%22%20height%3D%2212%22%3E%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%20d%3D%22M1.5%204.518h5.982V10.5H1.5z%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M5.765%201H11v5.39L9.427%207.937l-1.31-1.31L5.393%209.35l-2.69-2.688%202.81-2.808L4.2%202.544z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M9.995%202.004l.022%204.885L8.2%205.07%205.32%207.95%204.09%206.723l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E"); padding-right: 13px;">Rick Berman Strikes Again With Environmental Policy Alliance</a>, organizational blog, March 6, 2014.</li></ol></div><div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface" style="background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249); border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 5px; margin-top: 1em; clear: both;"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Categories</a>: <ul style="list-style: none none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: none; padding: 0px 0.5em 0px 0.25em; zoom: 1;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Category:Front_groups_portal" title="Category:Front groups portal" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Front groups portal</a></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; 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<div>see ~ LEED swearingen</div><div>
<div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">NEW YORK — A front group for Washington, D.C.-based public relations firm Berman & Company is back with new targets: green buildings, green groups and the Environmental Protection Agency.</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">Berman & Co., helmed by Rick Berman (<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/meet-rick-berman-aka-dr-evil/" target="hplink" data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" style="box-sizing: inherit;">who was once called “Dr. Evil”</a> by CBS’ “60 Minutes”), has a long history of running campaigns on behalf of the food and beverage industry under the banner of the <a href="http://www.consumerfreedom.com/" target="hplink" data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Center for Consumer Freedom</a>. Earlier this year, CCF changed its name to the Center for Organizational Research & Education, according to <a href="http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/BermanCORECCF.pdf" target="hplink" data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" style="box-sizing: inherit;">documents</a> filed with the Government of the District of Columbia and the North Carolina Secretary of State’s Office, which were obtained by The Huffington Post. The group also recently launched the cleverly named <a href="http://environmentalpolicyalliance.org/" target="hplink" data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Environmental Policy Alliance</a>, or EPA for short, a group “devoted to uncovering the funding and hidden agendas behind environmental activist groups.”</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">An Environmental Policy Alliance spokesperson told HuffPost that the name change is part of a “restructuring” to “broaden the work that we’re doing.” The CCF will continue to exist, but alongside the “EPA” under the umbrella of the Center for Organizational Research & Education.</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">The new Environmental Policy Alliance appears to be one of Berman’s first major forays into energy and environmental policy. The new “EPA” <a href="http://epafacts.com/" target="hplink" data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" style="box-sizing: inherit;">targets the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency</a>, which it deems “America’s most powerful environmental activist.”</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">Berman’s <a href="http://epafacts.com/high-cost-of-red-tape/coal/" target="hplink" data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" style="box-sizing: inherit;">“EPA Facts” site</a> suggests that the connection between rising greenhouse gas emissions and warming temperatures is “still unclear,” despite the fact that scientists have a solid understanding of the correlation. The group also argues that there are flaws in the work of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, citing reports from two well-known climate change-denying groups, the <a href="http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/2013/09/09/heartland-institute-nipcc-fail-the-credibility-test/" target="hplink" data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Heartland Institute</a> and the <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/george-c-marshall-institute" target="hplink" data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" style="box-sizing: inherit;">George C. Marshall Institute</a>.</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">CCF’s Environmental Policy Alliance also launched a campaign called <a href="http://www.leedexposed.com/" target="hplink" data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" style="box-sizing: inherit;">“LEED Exposed”</a> last week, which critiques the usefulness of the U.S. Green Building Council’s rating system for sustainability and efficiency of buildings. The group’s “research” purports to show that “LEED-certified buildings use more energy and are more expensive” than uncertified buildings.</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">“This latest data release only confirms what we already knew: LEED certification is little more than a fancy plaque displayed by these ‘green’ buildings,” Berman staffer Anastasia Swearingen said in a <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/leed-certification-fails-to-increase-energy-efficiency-says-environmental-policy-alliance-247899251.html" target="hplink" data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" style="box-sizing: inherit;">press release</a> announcing the launch of the campaign on Feb. 28.</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">Swearingen <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2013/12/13/those-green-schools-you-hear-about-arent-so-green-after-all/" target="hplink" data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" style="box-sizing: inherit;">also wrote an anti-LEED op-ed</a> for Forbes in December 2013, arguing, “we’re clearly not spending that money wisely.”</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">A closer look at LEED Exposed’s methodology reveals a significant omission. The report concludes that, as a whole, LEED-certified buildings in Washington, D.C., use more energy than buildings without the certification. But the analysis only looks at the energy use of buildings relative to size, or what is known as <a href="http://www.energystar.gov/buildings/facility-owners-and-managers/existing-buildings/use-portfolio-manager/understand-metrics/what-energy" target="hplink" data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" style="box-sizing: inherit;">energy use intensity</a>.</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">EUI is only one of several recognized benchmarks used by building professionals to assess a building’s efficiency, and looking at it in isolation ignores the importance of building density. Thus a large, abandoned building would score well for EUI, because its energy use is quite low relative to size.</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">“Their goal is just to confuse you,” Scot Horst, the senior vice president of LEED at the U.S. Green Building Council, told HuffPost. Most Americans are unfamiliar with terms like energy use intensity, he explained, and may not fully grasp the complexities of assessing efficiency. EUI is “only a very partial snapshot of what’s happening,” according to Horst, and ignoring other measurements “leads to very unfair comparisons.”</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">Groups like the American Chemistry Council and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represent the wood, plastics and vinyl industries, have <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/leed-bashing-plastic-people-join-lumber-industry-trying-get-feds-drop-leed.html" target="hplink" data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" style="box-sizing: inherit;">bashed LEED in the past</a>.</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">Swearingen told HuffPost that the alliance doesn’t solely represent business interests, arguing that all Americans have a vested interest in affordable energy.</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">“Berman makes his money as a corporate hired gun, setting up front groups to denigrate public interest organizations that threaten his clients’ bottom lines,” Melanie Sloan, executive director for the nonprofit watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington told HuffPost. “I’m not surprised he’s attacking groups and agencies focused on the environment, given the deep pockets of those interested in paying to stop climate change legislation and regulation.”</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">“These methods of attack rely on the way people read media,” Horst added. “They rely on creating confusion.”</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;"><a href="http://pus.sagepub.com/content/18/1/23.abstract" target="hplink" data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Manufacturing doubt</a> around scientific issues and sowing confusion <a href="http://archive.pressthink.org/2009/04/12/hesaid_shesaid.html" target="hplink" data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" style="box-sizing: inherit;">through the media</a> is a well-documented industry strategy — one that <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/09/hidden-interests-dr-evils-payday" target="hplink" data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Berman has often employed</a>.</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">Berman & Co. has previously attacked organizations like the <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/02/rick-berman-funded-oscar-night-slam-humane-society" target="hplink" data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Humane Society of the United States</a> and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/18/us/politics/18berman.html?r=0" target="hplink" data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Mothers Against Drunk Driving</a>, and campaigned against minimum-wage increases and unionization.</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">The Environmental Policy Alliance also ran a <a href="http://www.biggreenradicals.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/BGR-WSJ-Ad.jpg" target="hplink" data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" style="box-sizing: inherit;">full-page ad in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal</a>, claiming that the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Food & Water Watch “are using scare tactics and junk science to push policies that increase the cost of energy.”</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">“This feeble attempt at a smear campaign is a good reminder to always consider the source,” an NRDC spokesperson told HuffPost. “As opposed to this newly re-named front group, we’ve been around for decades. We cite our research. We sign our names on our materials. And we don’t lurk in the shadows because there’s no reason to hide our good work to protect our air, our water and our communities.”</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">UPDATE: March 12 — On March 9, Swearingen, writing as a “senior research analyst” for the Environmental Policy Alliance, published <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/03/09/environment-carbon-climate-change-pollution-column/6027923/" target="hplink" data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" style="box-sizing: inherit;">an online op-ed on USA Today’s website</a>. In the essay she argues “LEED certification is more or less useless as a metric for determining how ‘green’ a building is,” and goes on to describe the LEED standard as “greenwashing.”</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">When asked by HuffPost about the column (which did not run in USA Today’s print edition), a member of USA Today’s editorial board said he wasn’t aware at the time it was published that it had originated with Berman’s group.</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">“I thought I was up to date on their various incarnations,” he said, adding that USA Today intends to add an editor’s note to Swearingen’s piece to clarify its origin.</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">Berman’s Environmental Policy Alliance also ran a full-page advertisement for its “EPA Facts” website in Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal. The ad charges that energy prices may “skyrocket,” and lambastes “oppressive energy regulations” from the Obama administration’s Environmental Protection Agency.</div><div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; max-width: 730px; min-width: initial; width: 630px; line-height: 1.5em;">A 2013 <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/inforeg/2013_cb/draft_2013_cost_benefit_report.pdf" target="hplink" data-beacon="{" p="p" mnid="mnid" entry_text="entry_text" lnid="lnid" citation="citation" mpid="mpid" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Office of Management and Budget report estimated that the benefits of 32 EPA rules</a>, including reduced exposure to particulate matter and other air pollution, greatly exceeded the aggregate costs of their implementation over the preceding decade.</div></div><div>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/07/environmental-policy-alliance-berman_n_4913303.html</div><div> <a href="http://ecowatch.com/2014/09/17/big-green-radicals-fracking-billboards/">http://ecowatch.com/2014/09/17/big-green-radicals-fracking-billboards/</a><a href="http://www.biggreenradicals.com/colorado/">http://www.biggreenradicals.com/colorado/</a>  frack--BERMANBig Green Radicals is a project of the Environmental Policy Alliance (EPA), which exists to educate the public about the real agenda of well-funded environmental activist groups. The EPA receives support from individuals, businesses, and foundations.<h4 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 30px; margin-bottom: 30px; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 1px; background-color: rgb(241, 241, 241);">CONTACT INFORMATION</h4>The Environmental Policy Alliance 1090 Vermont Ave., NW Suite 800 Washington, DC 20005 (202) 420-7875 Email: <a href="mailto:info@environmentalpolicyalliance.org" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; background: transparent;">info@environmentalpolicyalliance.org</a>cloudflare sf?
<table class="table" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; max-width: 100%; width: 847px; margin-bottom: 20px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><tbody style="box-sizing: border-box;"><tr style="box-sizing: border-box;"><td style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 8px; line-height: 1.428571429; vertical-align: top; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221);">108.162.198.50  108.162.199.50</td></tr></tbody></table>enemies:GROUPS and COALITIONS:
AMERICANS AGAINST FRACKING
Americans Against Fracking is national coalition of radical activists that wants to ban hydraulic fracturing in Colorado and nationwide.ARTISTS AGAINST FRACKING
Artists Against Fracking is a New York-based coalition of celebrities including Yoko Ono that is working to ban fracking in New York and supporting anti-fracking activists in Colorado.COLORADO LOCAL CONTROL COALITIONS
These “local control” groups are advocating for ballot measures that would limit or ban energy development in Colorado.FOOD & WATER WATCH COLORADO
Food & Water Watch Colorado is an affiliate of the Washington, D.C.-based environmental activist group dedicated to banning hydraulic fracturing across the country.FRACK FREE COLORADO
Frack Free Colorado is an anti-fracking coalition backed by radical out-of-state activists pushing to end energy development in Colorado.SIERRA CLUB COLORADO
Sierra Club Rocky Mountain Chapter is a Colorado affiliate of the San Francisco-based environmental activist group that advocates eliminating traditional energy sourcesWATER DEFENSE
Water Defense is a Brooklyn-based activist group founded by actor Mark Ruffalo that has worked to ban hydraulic fracturing in New York as well as Colorado.LEADERS and ACTIVISTS
UntitledCLIFF WILLMENG
An activist whose penchant for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest is matched only by his rage against hydraulic fracturing.Untitled-1GARY WOCKNER
An anti-science radical who has almost never met a scare campaign he didn't like.LauraLAURA FRONCKIEWICZ
Left-wing Move-on.org-backed anti-fracking crusader.markruffalo291010-large_newMARK RUFFALO
A New York-based actor whose carpetbagging activist group is trying to ban fracking in Colorado.jared polisREP. JARED POLIS
A politician tapping his massive personal fortune to destroy jobs and raise energy bills for Colorado families.Photo Credit: Erie RisingRUSSELL MENDELL
A former Occupy Wall Street protester who bounces between progressive causes like an angry, radical pinball.Photo credit: Steve HarbulaSHANE DAVIS
A "fracking-obsessed one-man army" who peddles false claims about oil and gas development.shutterstock_159259928YOKO ONO
A washed up singer-songwriter whose latest cry for attention involves making ludicrous claims about hydraulic fracturing.
---A head-scratching set of billboards has popped up along major highways in <a href="http://ecowatch.com/search/?q=fracking+pennsylvania" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background: transparent;">Pennsylvania</a>. There’s a photo of Lady Gaga sporting a jeweled choker and a slab of meat on her head. “Would you take <a href="http://ecowatch.com/news/energy-news/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background: transparent;">energy</a> advice from a woman wearing a meat dress?” it says. Another features <a href="http://ecowatch.com/author/rredford/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background: transparent;">Robert Redford</a> with the caption: “Demands green living. Flies on private jets.”<figure id="attachment_346018" aria-labelledby="figcaption_attachment_346018" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 3px; line-height: 25.2px; max-width: 610px; background-color: rgb(238, 238, 238);"><img class="wp-image-346018 size-full" src="http://ecowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/BigBillboard.jpg" alt="BigBillboard" width="600" height="399" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; max-width: 100%; height: auto; display: inline-block; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" /><figcaption id="figcaption_attachment_346018" class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.1875rem 0.4375rem; line-height: 18.2px;">Big Green Radicals apparently finds a connection between Lady Gaga’s meat dress and her stance on fracking. Photo credit: Anastasia Pantsios</figcaption></figure>The billboards are signed BigGreenRadicals.com, and at first glance, you might suspect they were sponsored by a hardcore environmental group, calling out the hypocrisy of stars who advocate for the environment but don’t walk the walk. Another, featuring Yoko Ono, that says “Would you take energy advice from the woman who broke up the Beatles?,” is just baffling. While it made millions sad, the Beatles breakup did not have a noticeable effect on energy consumption.But go to their <a href="http://www.biggreenradicals.com/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background: transparent;">website</a> and you quickly learn who they are really fighting. They claim that sinister cabal of environmental groups is trying to destroy all we hold dear as fossil fuel-loving Americans by pushing (gasp) “the green agenda.”“Environmental activist groups have lobbied for stronger laws to protect the environment and public health since the 19th century,” says the group.Well, yes, that’s true.But then it goes on to say, “While these organizations started out curbing real threats to our safety and the future of our planet, they have morphed into multi-million dollar lobbying machines that use questionable tactics to scare the American public and policymakers into supporting unnecessary and unreasonable policies. A web of wealthy foundations and individuals bankroll these radical activists, making the <a href="http://www.sierraclub.org/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background: transparent;">Sierra Club</a>, the <a href="http://www.nrdc.org/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background: transparent;">Natural Resources Defense Council</a> and <a href="http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background: transparent;">Food & Water Watch</a> among the most powerful (and radical) voices pushing the green agenda.”But go to their <a href="http://www.biggreenradicals.com/" target="blank" style="word-wrap: break-word; text-decoration: none;">website</a> and you quickly learn who they are really fighting. They claim that sinister cabal of environmental groups is trying to destroy all we hold dear as fossil fuel-loving Americans by pushing (gasp) “the green agenda.”“Environmental activist groups have lobbied for stronger laws to protect the environment and public health since the 19th century,” says the group.Well, yes, that’s true.But then it goes on to say, “While these organizations started out curbing real threats to our safety and the future of our planet, they have morphed into multi-million dollar lobbying machines that use questionable tactics to scare the American public and policymakers into supporting unnecessary and unreasonable policies. A web of wealthy foundations and individuals bankroll these radical activists, making the <a href="http://www.sierraclub.org/" target="blank" style="word-wrap: break-word; text-decoration: none;">Sierra Club</a>, the <a href="http://www.nrdc.org/" target="blank" style="word-wrap: break-word; text-decoration: none;">Natural Resources Defense Council</a> and <a href="http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/" target="blank" style="word-wrap: break-word; text-decoration: none;">Food & Water Watch</a> among the most powerful (and radical) voices pushing the green agenda.” <a href="http://ecowatch.com/2014/09/17/big-green-radicals-fracking-billboards/" style="line-height: 25.2px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Read page 1</a>It warns that these groups want to eliminate dirty energy and focus on <a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background: transparent;">renewable energy</a>—also undeniably true—which they say “will eliminate the energy sources that provide 95 percent of our current electricity needs, raising prices dramatically and reducing reliability.”Big Green Radicals also has <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background: transparent;">Greenpeace</a> in its sights, saying it has evolved from “a loose group of anti-nuclear peaceniks into a big-moneyed organization has centered on using junk science to try to fundamentally change our way of life.” And it’s singled out the <a href="http://ecowatch.com/search/?q=fracking+colorado" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background: transparent;">anti-fracking movement in Colorado</a> as a target. It called the citizen-driven groups there “astroturf” groups—fronts for monied interests. You’ll see how ironic that is in a few paragraphs.The group produces articles like “New Poll Shows Majority of Americans Prefer Coal and Natural Gas Development.” The poll, commissioned by the Environmental Policy Alliance, the group that created Big Green Radicals, prompts its respondents by asking if they think developing these resources is important for national security and telling them that limiting carbon emissions from coal could increase the cost of electricity per family by $1,000 a year.Big Green Radicals also takes on the GMO labeling movement, claiming that if these groups succeed in their agenda of “trying to convince consumers to ignore the scientific consensus regarding the safety of genetically modified foods and scare the public and companies into reliance only on organic foods … domestic food prices will rise, and we’ll lose the ability to develop new foods to feed vitamin-deficient citizens of developing countries.”Given our First Amendment rights, it’s unclear why Big Green Radicals thinks a campaign of “trying  to convince” people of anything is out of bounds, since that’s exactly what they’re doing. And speaking of astroturf  groups, Big Green Radicals is a creation of the notorious right-wing public relations firm Berman & Co, which has created and operated dozens of front groups attacking minimum wage laws, paid sick leave, food safety regulations, labor, public schools and attempts to regulate smoking and drunk driving.<a href="http://ecowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Yoko-Ono-Billboard.jpg" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background: transparent;"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-346014" src="http://ecowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Yoko-Ono-Billboard.jpg" alt="Yoko-Ono-Billboard" width="600" height="179" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; max-width: 100%; height: auto; display: inline-block; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" /></a>So why did Big Green Radicals chose this odd grouping of celebrities to attack? (Are people REALLY still mad at Yoko for breaking up the Beatles?) Gaga and Ono are part of a high-profile<a href="http://ecowatch.com/news/energy-news/fracking-2/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background: transparent;">anti-fracking</a> group in New York state called Artists Against Fracking which includes numerous celebrities in show business and the arts. Redford founded the Redford Center to create films to inspire action on issues like clean energy and made a series of anti-fracking ads for New York-based <a href="http://catskillcitizens.org/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background: transparent;">Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy</a>. And promoting fracking in this shale-rich state where its health and safety impacts are starting to emerge seems to lurk behind these highway messages.<div id="mw-content-text" lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr" style="direction: ltr; line-height: 19.1875px;"><div>=
<div><a href="http://www.prwatch.org/node/12543">http://www.prwatch.org/node/12543</a></div><div>...</div><h2 style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.25; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Berman's Anti-Environment Front Group Compares Obama to a Terrorist</h2>Another of Berman's most recent PR campaigns involves the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Policy_Alliance" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Environmental Policy Alliance</a>(EPA), a front group created in the spring of 2014. "EPA" sounds like a ringing endorsement for all things green, and it uses a symbol that looks a heck of a lot like the symbol used by the actual EPA, but a closer look reveals an agenda that only the fossil fuel industry would love.In June 2014, as a response to the Obama administration's announcement of new federal rules that will dramatically slash emissions from existing power plants, Berman's EPA Facts unleashed a <a href="https://epafacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Politico_EPA_Facts_Ad_Final.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">full-page ad</a> in both Politico and USA Today condemning the move as a radical threat to the country's energy resources. The ad compared the administration to a terrorist organization and trumpeted unsubstantiated claims that the rules threatened "to shut down about 25 percent of the energy that powers America's electric grid."Berman's "EPA" frontgroup operates a number of websites, including <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Big_Green_Radicals" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Big Green Radicals</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/EPA_Facts" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">EPA Facts</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Green_Decoys" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Green Decoys</a>, and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/LEED_Exposed" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">LEED Exposed</a>, each taking on a different issue within the environmental movement. Big Green Radicals spends a lot of time attempting to tear down groups like the Sierra Club and Food and Water Watch, an effective DC-based consumer group that fights to protect water and campaigns against fracking. FWW views the Berman attacks as a badge of honor and uses them to raise funds for their campaigns, not the result Berman would hope for.<h2 style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.25; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Berman Group Alleges Animal Rights Group Abuses Animals</h2>Berman is also fond of attacking people seeking to protect animals; he does this via his <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Center_for_Consumer_Freedom" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Center for Consumer Freedom</a> (CCF) front group.In July 2014, CCF relaunched the attack site <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/PETA_Kills_Animals" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">PETA Kills Animals</a>. The site berates PETA for "dirty tactics," features graphic images of dead dogs, and calls for PETA to be "put down." Berman clients may be upset about PETA's effective campaigns against abusive factory farming practices that underpin cheap eats and the fast food industry. It should come as no surprise that sick and abused animals that are brought to PETA shelters often have to be euthanized. PETA discloses its data on these cases, and then Berman exploits those records to tarnish the organization.In May 2014, another CCF website, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Humane_Watch" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Humane Watch</a>, launched new ads, including one in <a href="http://www.humanewatch.org/ad/usa-today-ad-15-million-reaon/" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">USA Today </a>charging the Humane Society of the United States with being corrupt and mismanaged. HSUS spokesperson Alan Heymann speculated that industry interests, like factory farms and puppy mills, are fearful of HSUS's work and were fueling the attacks to discredit the organization. He added that if Berman and his front groups really cared about animal welfare, they would choose to invest directly in other animal rights groups rather than slandering a reputable charity.According to a report in LA Weekly, the use of Cyrus' image could land the Berman team in hot water: "Most celebrities are very litigious, and if [Cyrus] doesn't stand behind it they could end up being in a legal mess," said Steven M. Weinberg, an intellectual property and branding attorney. "It's okay to use something in an informational, First Amendment way, but if you look like she's endorsing it you could run into problems. If, in fact, this is not her position, then it may transcend First Amendment protection."If Cyrus doesn't take action, next we will hear that she was spotted with President Obama shooting cats and dogs at an HSUS fundraiser. Nothing seems beneath the Berman spin machine.<div>
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<div>“Many celebrities have been called out in the past for their hypocritical positions on ‘saving the environment,’ but for Sierra Club’s own board of directors to open themselves to such criticism is truly remarkable,” Anastasia Swearingen, senior research analyst at the Environmental Policy Alliance, told The Daily Caller News Foundation.

Read more: <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2014/04/22/sierra-club-top-officials-drive-gas-guzzling-jaguars/#ixzz307TRKOQ4" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; outline: 0px;">http://dailycaller.com/2014/04/22/sierra-club-top-officials-drive-gas-guzzling-jaguars/#ixzz307TRKOQ4</a></div><div>
</div><div>=</div><div>As Stop HumaneWatchers, we have long followed the anti-animal attacks of Rick Berman and the Center for Consumer Freedom.  But we are also aware of his <a href="http://bermanexposed.org/" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">many other front groups</a> campaigning on issues such as teachers unions, the minimum wage, drunk driving, high-fructose corn syrup, and tanning beds.  That’s why we figured it was only a matter of time before Berman moved into the anti-environment arena.  With large corporations and foundations plowing<a href="http://ecowatch.com/2013/12/23/dark-money-feeding-climate-change-denial/" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">over $1 billion in untraceable dark money</a> each year into front groups that deny climate change, we knew Berman would want a piece of that pie.  Last week our <a href="http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/jmogerman/dr_evil_says_we_are_big_green.html" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">suspicions were confirmed</a> with the appearance of a <a href="http://www.biggreenradicals.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/BGR-WSJ-Ad.jpg" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">full-page ad</a> in The Wall Street Journal targeting three environmental nonprofits: Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, and Food and Water Watch.  Just who was behind the ad?  The ad itself pointed readers to a new website: <a href="http://www.biggreenradicals.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/BGR-WSJ-Ad.jpg" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">BigGreenRadicals.com</a>, a project of the “Environmental Policy Alliance” – not to be confused with the Environmental Protection Agency even though it had a similar name with the same initials, a classic Berman ploy.  The website of <a href="http://environmentalpolicyalliance.org/" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Environmental Policy Alliance</a> held another clue: its address of 1090 Vermont Ave., NW Suite 800, Washington, DC 20005.  If that address sounds familiar, it’s likely you have seen the <a href="http://stophumanewatch.org/Documents/IRS/CCF/CCF-2011.pdf" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">tax returns for Center for Consumer Freedom</a>, which list the exact same address.  <h2 style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Berman’s fingerprints</h2>So what exactly is the Environmental Policy Alliance?  This new Berman front group has four campaigns:<ul style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li>Big Green Radicals, which bashes the three environmental organizations listed above;</li><li><a href="http://www.greendecoys.com/" target="blank">Green Decoys</a>, which targets hunting and fishing groups that certain powers think are too environmentalist;</li><li><a href="http://www.leedexposed.com/" target="blank">LEED Exposed</a>, which goes after sustainable certification in buildings;</li><li><a href="http://epafacts.com/" target="blank">EPA Facts</a>, which targets the actual Environmental Protection Agency.</li></ul>All of these sites have Berman’s fingerprints all over them.  Never one for self-reflection, Berman takes the criticisms that opponents have made of his clients and tries to turn them around on his targets.  For example, where environmentalists have charged that the oil-friendly Bush White House muzzled science to fit its politics, Berman’s EPA Facts claims the EPA uses “agenda-driven science.”  Where critics have pointed to right-wing foundation funding for climate-denial front groups like the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Heartland_Institute#Foundation_funders" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Heartland Institute</a>, Berman’s Green Decoys claims conservation groups like Trout Unlimited receive funding from what it calls “environmentalist foundations.”  And just as HumaneWatch paints the Humane Society of the United States as having a gigantic budget – never mind that the HSUS’s net worth is 4.6 percent that of Cargill – so Big Green Radicals paints Food and Water Watch as “among the most powerful … voices pushing the green agenda” – despite the fact its budget is 0.0026 percent of Exxon’s. <h2 style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Who’s footing the bill?</h2>Obviously someone has hired Berman to go after these environmental organizations.  The question is, who?  Berman does not list who funds his smear campaigns on any of his websites, but it’s not hard to figure out which industries are footing the bill, even if we don’t know specifically which corporations.  Green Decoys, for example, seems particularly offended that Trout Unlimited has come out in favor of <a href="http://www.tu.org/node/362" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">regulations on hydraulic fracturing</a>, or fracking.  TU isn’t against fracking altogether, just against unregulated fracking – but that’s enough to merit a smear campaign from Berman.  Big Green Radicals attacks not just Food and Water Watch’s opposition to fracking, but its campaign to <a href="https://secure3.convio.net/fww/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=225" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">label genetically modified food</a>.  The Sierra Club is also attacked for its campaigns against fossil fuels and GMO foods, as well as its <a href="http://www.sierraclub.org/habitat/esa/" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">defense of the Endangered Species Act</a>.  And LEED Exposed turns what ought to be a no-brainer – energy efficient construction of new buildings – <a href="http://www.architectmagazine.com/architecture/astroturf-organization-turns-to-green-building-leed-exposed_o.aspx" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">into a political issue</a>.  Who could possibly be against energy efficient buildings?  As it turns out, plastics, vinyl, and chemical companies that supply inefficient and sometimes toxic building materials don’t like LEED very much — they are behind a push for <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/leed-bashing-plastic-people-join-lumber-industry-trying-get-feds-drop-leed.html" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">federal agencies</a> and <a href="http://ohiogreenbuildinglaw.com/2014/02/05/angry-rich-and-wrong-the-fight-to-ban-leed-in-ohio/" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">state governments</a> to ban use of LEED certification.  Just this month, LEED Exposed released a new report claiming that LEED-certified buildings are not as energy efficient as traditional buildings.  That report was covered by <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/03/david-martosko-daily-caller-humane-society-animal-rights-facebook" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Berman’s old friend</a> the <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/02/report-dcs-green-approved-buildings-using-more-energy/" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Daily Caller</a> in a story made available for free to other outlets, and by the<a href="http://m.nationalreview.com/article/372410/green-building-certification-program-leeds-behind-jillian-kay-melchior" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">National Review</a>, which is currently being <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/30/climate-scientists-lawsuit-could-wipe-out-conservative-national-review-magazine/" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">sued for defamation</a> after comparing climate scientist Michael Mann to child molester Jerry Sandusky.  While both outlets happily quoted Berman employee Anastasia Swearingen, neither bothered to mention who her boss is, nor that the Environmental Policy Alliance occupies the same Washington, D.C., offices as the Center for Consumer Freedom.  Fortunately these facts did not escape the U.S. Green Building Council, which <a href="http://2bgreener.com/?p=134" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">refuted the report</a> and linked it back to Berman.  <h2 style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Rebranding</h2>Amidst all of our questions about the new territory Berman is venturing into, one thing caught our eye.  While Big Green Radicals, LEED Exposed and the other new smear campaigns are all projects of the Environmental Policy Alliance, which lists the same address as Center for Consumer Freedom, the Environmental Policy Alliance is itself a project of something we had never heard of called the Center for Organizational Research and Education.  The Center for Organizational Research and Education has no web footprint whatsoever.  Google it, and you will not find a website, or even a mention of it on a parent company site.  That’s because, as noted by <a href="http://www.architectmagazine.com/architecture/astroturf-organization-turns-to-green-building-leed-exposed_o.aspx" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Architect Magazine</a>, Center for Organizational Research and Education is the new name of Center for Consumer Freedom.  CCF formally changed its name in a <a href="http://apps.sos.wv.gov/business/charities/ReadPDF.aspx?DocID=177285" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">filing with the West Virginia secretary of state</a> on January 30.  Why has Rick Berman taken the extreme step of changing the name of Center for Consumer Freedom?  A couple of possibilities come to mind.  First, Center for Consumer Freedom has been thoroughly exposed as a front group for Big Food and Big Ag by <a href="http://stophumanewatch.org/blog/web-of-lies" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Stop HumaneWatch</a>and others, including pretty much <a href="http://stophumanewatch.org/in-the-media" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">every major media outlet</a> in the country.  When companies’ reputations are damaged beyond repair, they often respond by simply changing their name, such as when tobacco company Philip Morris <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/16/business/philip-morris-to-change-name-to-altria.html" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">changed its name to Altria</a> shortly after settling the landmark case over health care costs related to smoking with a group of state attorneys general.  <h2 style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">A new direction?</h2>Perhaps Berman plans to take his Center for Organizational Research and Education in a new direction, making the attacks on environmental organizations front and center while pushing the attacks on animal welfare groups to one side.  After all, most major food producers including Smithfield and McDonald’s have <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HSUSFarmAnimals/photos/pb.199101346801473.-2207520000.1394345930./526327410745530/" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">already agreed to adopt more humane practices</a> such as phasing out gestation crates.  The National Pork Producers Council <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HSUSFarmAnimals/photos/pb.199101346801473.-2207520000.1394346092./707757162602553" target="blank" style="line-height: 22.75px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">may still hate HSUS</a>, but let’s face it: Their budget pales in comparison to Big Oil, Big Coal, and Big Gas, who have a lot of money and a lot of reason to spend it with all the climate change regulations likely to start coming down the pike.  Still, we don’t think HumaneWatch is going anywhere.  As long as someone is paying Berman, he will keep running it, even as he creates new campaigns and hires more Washington operatives willing to sell their souls for profit.  And some players in the Big Ag community seem happy to keep throwing their money at Berman, even though not a single one of his campaigns against the HSUS has had an effect.  Despite all of Berman’s efforts, HSUS donations continue to grow and its programs continue to expand.  The fact is, most people support policies to treat animals with kindness, and the HSUS is the most effective organization in the country at getting these policies put into place.  People also generally like clean air and clean water.  So if Berman truly is changing his emphasis from anti-animal campaigns to anti-environment, we don’t expect him to be any more successful there either. <div>=</div></div><div>huffpo </div><div>james gerken 3/14</div><div><h1 class="title" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; line-height: 36px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">'Environmental Policy Alliance,' PR Firm Front Group, Targets LEED, Green Groups And EPA</h1></div><div>
</div><div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">W YORK -- A front group for Washington, D.C.-based public relations firm Berman & Company is back with new targets: green buildings, green groups and the Environmental Protection Agency.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Berman & Co., helmed by Rick Berman (<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/meet-rick-berman-aka-dr-evil/" target="hplink" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">who was once called "Dr. Evil"</a> by CBS' "60 Minutes"), has a long history of running campaigns on behalf of the food and beverage industry under the banner of the <a href="http://www.consumerfreedom.com/" target="hplink" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Center for Consumer Freedom</a>. Earlier this year, CCF changed its name to the Center for Organizational Research & Education, according to <a href="http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/BermanCORECCF.pdf" target="hplink" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">documents</a> filed with the Government of the District of Columbia and the North Carolina Secretary of State's Office, which were obtained by The Huffington Post. The group also recently launched the cleverly named <a href="http://environmentalpolicyalliance.org/" target="hplink" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Environmental Policy Alliance</a>, or EPA for short, a group "devoted to uncovering the funding and hidden agendas behind environmental activist groups."<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">An Environmental Policy Alliance spokesperson told HuffPost that the name change is part of a "restructuring" to "broaden the work that we're doing." The CCF will continue to exist, but alongside the "EPA" under the umbrella of the Center for Organizational Research & Education.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The new Environmental Policy Alliance appears to be one of Berman's first major forays into energy and environmental policy. The new "EPA" <a href="http://epafacts.com/" target="hplink" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">targets the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency</a>, which it deems "America's most powerful environmental activist."<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Berman's <a href="http://epafacts.com/high-cost-of-red-tape/coal/" target="hplink" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"EPA Facts" site</a> suggests that the connection between rising greenhouse gas emissions and warming temperatures is "still unclear," despite the fact that scientists have a solid understanding of the correlation. The group also argues that there are flaws in the work of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, citing reports from two well-known climate change-denying groups, the <a href="http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/2013/09/09/heartland-institute-nipcc-fail-the-credibility-test/" target="hplink" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Heartland Institute</a> and the <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/george-c-marshall-institute" target="hplink" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">George C. Marshall Institute</a>.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">CCF's Environmental Policy Alliance also launched a campaign called <a href="http://www.leedexposed.com/" target="hplink" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"LEED Exposed"</a> last week, which critiques the usefulness of the U.S. Green Building Council's rating system for sustainability and efficiency of buildings. The group's "research" purports to show that "LEED-certified buildings use more energy and are more expensive" than uncertified buildings.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"This latest data release only confirms what we already knew: LEED certification is little more than a fancy plaque displayed by these 'green' buildings," Berman staffer Anastasia Swearingen said in a <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/leed-certification-fails-to-increase-energy-efficiency-says-environmental-policy-alliance-247899251.html" target="hplink" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">press release</a> announcing the launch of the campaign on Feb. 28.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Swearingen <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2013/12/13/those-green-schools-you-hear-about-arent-so-green-after-all/" target="hplink" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">also wrote an anti-LEED op-ed</a> for Forbes in December 2013, arguing, "we're clearly not spending that money wisely."<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">A closer look at LEED Exposed's methodology reveals a significant omission. The report concludes that, as a whole, LEED-certified buildings in Washington, D.C., use more energy than buildings without the certification. But the analysis only looks at the energy use of buildings relative to size, or what is known as <a href="http://www.energystar.gov/buildings/facility-owners-and-managers/existing-buildings/use-portfolio-manager/understand-metrics/what-energy" target="hplink" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">energy use intensity</a>.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">EUI is only one of several recognized benchmarks used by building professionals to assess a building's efficiency, and looking at it in isolation ignores the importance of building density. Thus a large, abandoned building would score well for EUI, because its energy use is quite low relative to size.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"Their goal is just to confuse you," Scot Horst, the senior vice president of LEED at the U.S. Green Building Council, told HuffPost. Most Americans are unfamiliar with terms like energy use intensity, he explained, and may not fully grasp the complexities of assessing efficiency. EUI is "only a very partial snapshot of what's happening," according to Horst, and ignoring other measurements "leads to very unfair comparisons."<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Groups like the American Chemistry Council and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represent the wood, plastics and vinyl industries, have <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/leed-bashing-plastic-people-join-lumber-industry-trying-get-feds-drop-leed.html" target="hplink" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">bashed LEED in the past</a>.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Swearingen told HuffPost that the alliance doesn't solely represent business interests, arguing that all Americans have a vested interest in affordable energy.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"Berman makes his money as a corporate hired gun, setting up front groups to denigrate public interest organizations that threaten his clients' bottom lines," Melanie Sloan, executive director for the nonprofit watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington told HuffPost. "I'm not surprised he's attacking groups and agencies focused on the environment, given the deep pockets of those interested in paying to stop climate change legislation and regulation."<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"These methods of attack rely on the way people read media," Horst added. "They rely on creating confusion."<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://pus.sagepub.com/content/18/1/23.abstract" target="hplink" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Manufacturing doubt</a> around scientific issues and sowing confusion <a href="http://archive.pressthink.org/2009/04/12/hesaid_shesaid.html" target="hplink" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">through the media</a> is a well-documented industry strategy -- one that <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/09/hidden-interests-dr-evils-payday" target="hplink" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Berman has often employed</a>.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Berman & Co. has previously attacked organizations like the <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/02/rick-berman-funded-oscar-night-slam-humane-society" target="hplink" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Humane Society of the United States</a> and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/18/us/politics/18berman.html?r=0" target="hplink" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mothers Against Drunk Driving</a>, and campaigned against minimum-wage increases and unionization.The Environmental Policy Alliance also ran a <a href="http://www.biggreenradicals.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/BGR-WSJ-Ad.jpg" target="hplink" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">full-page ad in Thursday's Wall Street Journal</a>, claiming that the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Food & Water Watch "are using scare tactics and junk science to push policies that increase the cost of energy."<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"This feeble attempt at a smear campaign is a good reminder to always consider the source," an NRDC spokesperson told HuffPost. "As opposed to this newly re-named front group, we've been around for decades. We cite our research. We sign our names on our materials. And we don't lurk in the shadows because there's no reason to hide our good work to protect our air, our water and our communities."<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">UPDATE: March 12 -- On March 9, Swearingen, writing as a "senior research analyst" for the Environmental Policy Alliance, published <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/03/09/environment-carbon-climate-change-pollution-column/6027923/" target="hplink" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">an online op-ed on USA Today's website</a>. In the essay she argues "LEED certification is more or less useless as a metric for determining how 'green' a building is," and goes on to describe the LEED standard as "greenwashing."<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">When asked by HuffPost about the column (which did not run in USA Today's print edition), a member of USA Today's editorial board said he wasn't aware at the time it was published that it had originated with Berman's group.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"I thought I was up to date on their various incarnations," he said, adding that USA Today intends to add an editor's note to Swearingen's piece to clarify its origin.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Berman's Environmental Policy Alliance also ran a full-page advertisement for its "EPA Facts" website in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal. The ad charges that energy prices may "skyrocket," and lambastes "oppressive energy regulations" from the Obama administration's Environmental Protection Agency.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; direction: ltr; line-height: 21px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">A 2013 <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/inforeg/2013_cb/draft_2013_cost_benefit_report.pdf" target="hplink" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Office of Management and Budget report estimated that the benefits of 32 EPA rules</a>, including reduced exposure to particulate matter and other air pollution, greatly exceeded the aggregate costs of their implementation over the preceding decade.</div><div></div><div>
</div><div><li class="g" style="margin: 0px 0px 23px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="rc" data-hveid="53" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2013/12/13/those-green-schools-you-hear-about-arent-so-green-after-all/" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Those 'Green' Schools You Hear About Aren't So ... - Forbes</a></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 42em; line-height: 18px;"><div class="f kv _dw" style="height: 17px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><cite class="nd" style="font-style: normal;">www.forbes.com/.../those-green-schools-you-hear-about-arent-so-...</cite>‎<div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 0px 3px; vertical-align: middle; -webkit-user-select: none;"><a class="clickable-dropdown-arrow ab_button" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Anastasia+Swearingen&oq=Anastasia+Swearingen&aqs=chrome..69i57j0.1079j0j4&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8#" id="am-b5" aria-label="Result details" jsaction="ab.tdd;keydown:ab.hbke;keypress:ab.mskpe" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" role="button" data-ved="0CDcQ7B0wBQ" style="border-radius: 0px; cursor: default; font-weight: bold; height: 12px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; transition: none; -webkit-user-select: none; border: 0px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px 0px; filter: none; width: 13px; text-decoration: none; display: inline-block; background-image: none;"><span class="mn-dwn-arw" style="border-color: rgb(0, 102, 33) transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 4px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; margin-left: 3px; top: 8.5px; margin-top: -4px; position: absolute; left: 0px;" /></a><div class="action-menu-panel ab_dropdown" jsaction="keydown:ab.hdke;mouseover:ab.hdhne;mouseout:ab.hdhue" role="menu" tabindex="-1" data-ved="0CDgQqR8wBQ" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto; top: 12px; z-index: 3; transition: opacity 0.218s; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px; left: 0px; visibility: hidden;"><ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;"><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; -webkit-user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><a class="fl" href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:mkXNDx9gtawJ:www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2013/12/13/those-green-schools-you-hear-about-arent-so-green-after-all/+&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" style="text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></li><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; -webkit-user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><a class="fl" href="https://www.google.com/search?es_sm=122&q=related:www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2013/12/13/those-green-schools-you-hear-about-arent-so-green-after-all/+Anastasia+Swearingen&tbo=1&sa=X&ei=CWVdU6OWAaXz2QW7oYAw&ved=0CDoQHzAF" style="text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></li></ul></div></div><div class="crc" style="display: inline-block; position: relative; margin-left: 4px;"><div class="crl" data-async-econtext="ri:;site:forbes.com" data-async-context="ri:;site:forbes.com" data-async-trigger="cra-5" jsaction="crd.tglpop" data-ved="0CDsQ5CswBQ" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline-block;"><a class="fl" href="https://www.google.com/search?es_sm=122&q=related:www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2013/12/13/those-green-schools-you-hear-about-arent-so-green-after-all/+Anastasia+Swearingen&tbo=1&sa=X&ei=CWVdU6OWAaXz2QW7oYAw&ved=0CDoQHzAF" style="text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;">Forbes<span class="cr-dwn-arw" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 4px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; top: 8.5px; position: absolute; margin-left: 6px; margin-top: -3px; border-color: rgb(170, 170, 170) transparent !important;" /></a></div></div></div><div class="f slp"><a class="fl" href="https://www.google.com/search?es_sm=122&q=related:www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2013/12/13/those-green-schools-you-hear-about-arent-so-green-after-all/+Anastasia+Swearingen&tbo=1&sa=X&ei=CWVdU6OWAaXz2QW7oYAw&ved=0CDoQHzAF" style="text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;">Dec 13, 2013 - By Anastasia Swearingen. Once again, results from the Programme for International Student Assessment show that American students are ...</a></div></div></div></li><li class="g" style="margin: 0px 0px 23px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="rc" data-hveid="61" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/who-behind-leed-exposed-and-why-should-we-care.html" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">"LEED Exposed" Exposed: A look at who's behind the new ...</a></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 42em; line-height: 18px;"><div class="f kv dw" style="height: 17px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><cite class="nd" style="font-style: normal;">www.treehugger.com/.../who-behind-leed-exposed-and-why...</cite>‎<div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; 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cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;">TreeHugger<span class="cr-dwn-arw" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 4px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; top: 8.5px; position: absolute; margin-left: 6px; margin-top: -3px; border-color: rgb(170, 170, 170) transparent !important;" /></a></div></div></div><div class="f slp"><a class="fl" href="https://www.google.com/search?es_sm=122&q=related:www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/who-behind-leed-exposed-and-why-should-we-care.html+Anastasia+Swearingen&tbo=1&sa=X&ei=CWVdU6OWAaXz2QW7oYAw&ved=0CEIQHzAG" style="text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;">Mar 7, 2014 - Researcher Anastasia Swearingen claims that "LEED certification is little more than a fancy plaque displayed by these 'green' buildings", and ...</a></div></div></div></li><li class="g" style="margin: 0px 0px 23px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="rc" data-hveid="69" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="font-weight: normal; 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cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;">Mar 2, 2014 - “LEED certification is little more than a fancy plaque displayed by these 'green' buildings,” charged Anastasia Swearingen, LEED Exposed's ...</a></div></div></div></li><li class="g" style="margin: 0px 0px 23px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="rc" data-hveid="77" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/tag/anastasia-swearingen" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Anastasia Swearingen | Coyote Blog</a></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 42em; line-height: 18px;"><div class="f kv dw" style="height: 17px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><cite class="nd" style="font-style: normal;">www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/tag/anastasia-swearingen</cite>‎<div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; 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Mar 11 2014 · Front Groups, Nonprofit News ...</a></div></div></div></li><li class="g" style="margin: 0px 0px 23px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="rc" data-hveid="88" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://www.realclearenergy.org/authors/anastasia_swearingen/" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Anastasia Swearingen | Authors | RealClearEnergy</a></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 42em; line-height: 18px;"><div class="f kv dw" style="height: 17px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><cite class="nd" style="font-style: normal;">www.realclearenergy.org/authors/anastasiaswearingen/</cite>‎<div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 0px 3px; vertical-align: middle; -webkit-user-select: none;"><a class="clickable-dropdown-arrow ab_button" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Anastasia+Swearingen&oq=Anastasia+Swearingen&aqs=chrome..69i57j0.1079j0j4&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8#" id="am-b10" aria-label="Result details" jsaction="ab.tdd;keydown:ab.hbke;keypress:ab.mskpe" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" role="button" data-ved="0CFoQ7B0wCg" style="border-radius: 0px; cursor: default; font-weight: bold; height: 12px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; transition: none; -webkit-user-select: none; border: 0px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px 0px; filter: none; width: 13px; text-decoration: none; display: inline-block; background-image: none;"><span class="mn-dwn-arw" style="border-color: rgb(0, 102, 33) transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 4px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; margin-left: 3px; top: 8.5px; margin-top: -4px; position: absolute; left: 0px;" /></a><div class="action-menu-panel ab_dropdown" jsaction="keydown:ab.hdke;mouseover:ab.hdhne;mouseout:ab.hdhue" role="menu" tabindex="-1" data-ved="0CFsQqR8wCg" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto; top: 12px; z-index: 3; transition: opacity 0.218s; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px; left: 0px; visibility: hidden;"><ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;"><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; -webkit-user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><a class="fl" href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:aK2TDsksK9kJ:www.realclearenergy.org/authors/anastasia_swearingen/+&cd=11&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" style="text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></li></ul></div></div></div><div class="f slp"><a class="fl" href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:aK2TDsksK9kJ:www.realclearenergy.org/authors/anastasia_swearingen/+&cd=11&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" style="text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;">Anastasia Swearingen. 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Archives: 2014 |.</a></div></div></div></li><li class="g" style="margin: 0px 0px 23px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="rc" data-hveid="93" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/195419-epas-transparency-problem" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">EPA's transparency problem | TheHill</a></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 42em; line-height: 18px;"><div class="f kv _dw" style="height: 17px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><cite class="nd" style="font-style: normal;">thehill.com/blogs/congress.../195419-epas-transparency-problem</cite>‎<div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 0px 3px; vertical-align: middle; -webkit-user-select: none;"><a class="clickable-dropdown-arrow ab_button" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Anastasia+Swearingen&oq=Anastasia+Swearingen&aqs=chrome..69i57j0.1079j0j4&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8#" id="am-b11" aria-label="Result details" jsaction="ab.tdd;keydown:ab.hbke;keypress:ab.mskpe" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" role="button" data-ved="0CF8Q7B0wCw" style="border-radius: 0px; cursor: default; font-weight: bold; height: 12px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; transition: none; -webkit-user-select: none; border: 0px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px 0px; filter: none; width: 13px; text-decoration: none; display: inline-block; background-image: none;"><span class="mn-dwn-arw" style="border-color: rgb(0, 102, 33) transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 4px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; margin-left: 3px; top: 8.5px; margin-top: -4px; position: absolute; left: 0px;" /></a><div class="action-menu-panel ab_dropdown" jsaction="keydown:ab.hdke;mouseover:ab.hdhne;mouseout:ab.hdhue" role="menu" tabindex="-1" data-ved="0CGAQqR8wCw" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto; top: 12px; z-index: 3; transition: opacity 0.218s; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px; left: 0px; visibility: hidden;"><ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;"><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; -webkit-user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><a class="fl" href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:AF1Jn5CP5AAJ:thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/195419-epas-transparency-problem+&cd=12&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" style="text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></li><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; -webkit-user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><a class="fl" href="https://www.google.com/search?es_sm=122&q=related:thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/195419-epas-transparency-problem+Anastasia+Swearingen&tbo=1&sa=X&ei=CWVdU6OWAaXz2QW7oYAw&ved=0CGIQHzAL" style="text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></li></ul></div></div><div class="crc" style="display: inline-block; position: relative; margin-left: 4px;"><div class="crl" data-async-econtext="ri:;site:thehill.com" data-async-context="ri:;site:thehill.com" data-async-trigger="cra-11" jsaction="crd.tglpop" data-ved="0CGMQ5CswCw" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline-block;"><a class="fl" href="https://www.google.com/search?es_sm=122&q=related:thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/195419-epas-transparency-problem+Anastasia+Swearingen&tbo=1&sa=X&ei=CWVdU6OWAaXz2QW7oYAw&ved=0CGIQHzAL" style="text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;">The Hill<span class="cr-dwn-arw" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 4px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; top: 8.5px; position: absolute; margin-left: 6px; margin-top: -3px; border-color: rgb(170, 170, 170) transparent !important;" /></a></div></div></div><div class="f slp"><a class="fl" href="https://www.google.com/search?es_sm=122&q=related:thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/195419-epas-transparency-problem+Anastasia+Swearingen&tbo=1&sa=X&ei=CWVdU6OWAaXz2QW7oYAw&ved=0CGIQHzAL" style="text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;">Jan 15, 2014 - EPA's transparency problem. By Anastasia Swearingen. The Environmental Protection Agency is filled with highly educated scientists who are ...</a></div></div></div></li><li class="g" style="margin: 0px 0px 23px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="rc" data-hveid="101" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/107458266843675657536" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Anastasia Swearingen - Google+</a></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 42em; line-height: 18px;"><div class="f kv dw" style="height: 17px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><cite class="nd" style="font-style: normal;">https://plus.google.com/107458266843675657536</cite>‎<div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 0px 3px; vertical-align: middle; -webkit-user-select: none;"><a class="clickable-dropdown-arrow ab_button" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Anastasia+Swearingen&oq=Anastasia+Swearingen&aqs=chrome..69i57j0.1079j0j4&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8#" id="am-b12" aria-label="Result details" jsaction="ab.tdd;keydown:ab.hbke;keypress:ab.mskpe" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" role="button" data-ved="0CGcQ7B0wDA" style="border-radius: 0px; 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white-space: nowrap; cursor: pointer;">in 27 Google+ circles</a></div>Anastasia Swearingen - Government Affairs and Communications - Anonymous - Arlington, VA.</div></div></div></li><li class="g" style="margin: 0px 0px 23px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="rc" data-hveid="111" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/03/09/environment-carbon-climate-change-pollution-column/6027923/" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Mis-LEED-ing green buildings: Column - USA Today</a></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 42em; line-height: 18px;"><div class="f kv dw" style="height: 17px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><cite class="nd" style="font-style: normal;">www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/03/.../6027923/</cite>‎<div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; 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cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;">USA Today<span class="cr-dwn-arw" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 4px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; top: 8.5px; position: absolute; margin-left: 6px; margin-top: -3px; border-color: rgb(170, 170, 170) transparent !important;" /></a></div></div></div><div class="f slp"><a class="fl" href="https://www.google.com/search?es_sm=122&q=related:www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/03/09/environment-carbon-climate-change-pollution-column/6027923/+Anastasia+Swearingen&tbo=1&sa=X&ei=CWVdU6OWAaXz2QW7oYAw&ved=0CHQQHzAN" style="text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;">Mar 12, 2014 - Editor's note: After this column was originally published online on March 7, USA TODAY learned that the author, Anastasia Swearingen, ...</a></div></div></div></li><li class="g" style="margin: 0px 0px 23px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="rc" data-hveid="119" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="font-weight: normal; 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It was so crowded at the finish that I couldn't even make it to food because of the...</a></div></div></div></li></div><div><a class="fl" href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:kqygjgufguIJ:https://www.facebook.com/CreditUnionCherryBlossom/posts/563230027042985+&cd=15&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" style="text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;">
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