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General Electric GE

capt 816

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https://thinkprogress.org/general-electric-multi-billion-dollar-mistake-natural-gas-renewables-262bda2c96f4/

General Electric’s multi-billion dollar mistake

A new report says the industrial giant misread the tea leaves on clean energy? — ?and should serve as a warning to businesses worldwide.

NEXUS MEDIA

JUN 27, 2019, 11:33 AM

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GE sold nbc, world's #1 polluter w/ 86 superfund sites (westinghouse cbs 39 biggest maker of nuke plants and 3rd in weapons 180 (rfk2)

#2 lobby behind CoC

since merger exxon spent most on direct lobbty after GE and PG&E 625 coll

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see immelt (outsrc) on obama bd, but endorsed romney

milloy claims to have rolled him on CSR

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http://ecowatch.com/2016/03/15/robert-kennedy-jr-monsanto-rider/

conspired with monsanto on PCB 1970? see rfk2 3/16

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GE Water & Process Technologies describes itself as "a leading global supplier of water treatment, wastewater treatment and process systems solutions." [1]

GE Water's clients come from a wide range of industries, including the chemical, food / beverage, hydrocarbon processing, mining, metals, paper / pulp, pharmaceutical, power and manufacturing industries, along with local municipalities and governmental agencies. [2] Several of GE Water's products were included in General Electric's Ecomagination Campaign, as announced during a General Electric event called "Green is Universal," held in Universal City, California in May 2007. [3]

Contents

  [hide] 

Water as big business

In June 2006, GE Water bought Zenon Environmental, a company that produced membranes for water purification. "General Electric, Dow Chemical Company, and other major businesses are citing a growing problem of water availability, both in the United States and internationally, as a trend that is creating an opportunity for businesses to provide products that address the problem," noted the trade press at the time. "Globally, the water market is $365 billion and offers a high growth potential for GE's water technology products." [4]

In 2009, GE Water had "an estimated $2.5 billion in revenue," just "a sliver of the $156 billion in sales the world's largest maker of jet engines and electricity-producing turbines is expected to generate this year," according to Reuters. " But executives with Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE said water has the potential to become a major profit contributor. 'What GE tries to do is to align the company with some of the mega-trends, the mega-challenges of the world. Energy is one, healthcare is the other, and the third one is water,' said Heiner Markhoff, president and chief executive of GE Water & Process Technologies." [5]

Tar sands involvement

In October 2008, GE Water signed an agreement with the Alberta Water Research Institute, launching "a $15-million effort focused on developing technologies to improve water usage in the oilsands, and an educational program intended to inform business executives on improved water management methods." Canada's tar sands are the dirtiest source of oil, emitting more greenhouse gases and contaminating large volumes of water. [6]

"The initial priority of the agreement is to reduce the amounts of fresh water and energy used in treatment processes in the oilsands, while also reducing operating costs and capital expenditures," according to the oil trade press. "The water project will employ many technologies already used by GE in the oilsands, such as thermal evaporation systems, mobile filtration units, and advanced membranes." [6]

GE has been increasing its tar sands investments for years. In 2007, GE Canada Oil & Gas manager Martin Campbell said, "It's not just [the oil and gas unit] that the light went on for the activity in the oilsands over the last three years, it's the overall GE -- the water, the financing and energy supply [units]. ... If you roll all those four into one, it has a big impact." At the time, GE Water had just won a tarsands-related contract from Suncor Energy. [7]

Clients

In 2008, GE Water won a contract from the Government of Pakistan, to provide "GE ultrafiltration systems at over a thousand distribution sites," as part of a government program to increase access to clean drinking water. [8]

Also in 2008, GE Water became "an equal coventurer in ConocoPhillips' Water Sustainability Center in Qatar, which will open later this year." [9]

In 2007, GE Water joined Poseidon Resources Corp., American Water and Acciona Agua in investing in California's Carlsbad Seawater Desalination Plant. IN 1998, Poseidon and the city of Carlsbad began working on a "50-Million-Gallon-Per-Day (MGD) desalination plant," to "draw water from the Pacific Ocean," and help reduce San Diego County's "dependence on imported water from the Sacramento San Joaquin Bay Delta and the Colorado River." GE Water CEO Jeff Garwood said, "By combining this viable business investment with the strength of our ecomagination portfolio, we will be able to make a real difference for many San Diego County residents facing unprecedented water demands." At the time, GE Water said its "installed desalination systems process more than 2 billion gallons of water a day." [10]

Public relations firms

GE Water has been represented by the international PR firm Edelman [11], including by Edelman Middle East affiliate ASDA'A Public Relations. [12]

Other PR firms listed on GE Water press releases include Masto Public Relations. [13]

Contact information

GE Water & Process Technologies Worldwide Headquarters

4636 Somerton Rd.

Trevose, PA 19053-6783

U.S.A.

Phone: +1-215-355-3300

Website: http://www.gewater.com

Articles and resources

Related SourceWatch articles

References

  1. :{Jump up:(style="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;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:↑ "About us," GE Water & Process Technologies website, accessed February 2009.
  2. :{Jump up:(style="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;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:↑ "Industries," GE Water & Process Technologies website, accessed February 2009.
  3. :{Jump up:(style="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;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:↑ "4 GE Water Treatment Technologies Receive 'ecomagination' Certification," Wireless News, May 25, 2007.
  4. :{Jump up:(style="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;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:↑ "Companies See Water as Top Concern, Major Business Opportunity," Inside Green Business, August 16, 2006.
  5. :{Jump up:(style="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;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:↑ Scott Malone, "GE sees tide coming in for water business," Reuters, August 11, 2009.
  6. ↑ ^Jump ^up to:6.0 6.1 Joseph Caouette, "Research Agreement With GE Aims To Improve Industry Water Management," Daily Oil Bulletin, October 10, 2008.
  7. :{Jump up:(style="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;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:↑ Paul Wells, "GE Looks To Increase Presence In - And Revenues From - Alberta's Oilsands," Daily Oil Bulletin, November 8, 2007.
  8. :{Jump up:(style="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;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:↑ Press release, "GE Water Solutions Selected for Pakistan's National Clean Water Initiative," GE Water via Healthcare Finance, Tax & Law Weekly, July 16, 2008.
  9. :{Jump up:(style="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;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:↑ "GE Water & Process Technologies will become an equal coventurer in ConocoPhillips Water Sustainability Center in Qatar," Instrument Business Outlook, June 30, 2008.
  10. :{Jump up:(style="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;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:↑ "GE Invests in Southern California Seawater Desalination Project," Wireless News, May 25, 2007.
  11. :{Jump up:(style="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;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:↑ Press release, "Racepoint Group Appoints Tod Donhauser as Senior Vice President of Its Corporate Practice: New appointment deepens agency's expertise in corporate affairs," Business Wire, October 20, 2008.
  12. :{Jump up:(style="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;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:↑ Press release, "GE launches 2008 World Water Tour in Bahrain," Middle East Company News Wire, March 8, 2008.
  13. :{Jump up:(style="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;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:↑ Press release, "GE highlights commitment to Middle East at Saudi Water and Power Forum," Middle East Company News Wire, November 1, 2008.

External resources

External articles

see Robb

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CSR:  http://www.socialfunds.com/csr/profile.cgi/753.html**

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General Electric Succumbs to Climate-Deniers

02/26/2014

SustainableBusiness.com News

We received an email titled, Leading Free-Market

Activists Score Major Concession on Global Warming.The email comes from the National Center for Public Policy Research, which is congratulating itself for convincing General Electric (GE) to never again initiate projects for the purpose of controlling carbon emissions.

Why? Because they might spend money that takes away from maximum corporate profits.

Touting themselves as "free market" defenders, they have spent years going to shareholder meetings, conducting media campaigns and protests to get GE to stop "green energy cheerleading." 

"For years, GE has been the poster boy for crony capitalism and corporate America's green energy cheerleader. Now, GE

shareholders have confirmation that the company's strategies will henceforth be led by true market forces and not by blind adherence to global warming zealotry," says Justin Danhof, director of the National Center for Public Policy Research's Free Enterprise Project.

What's the crony capitalism? The fact that GE, along with 6000 corporations, have pushed President Obama (and Bush before him) to address climate change by emphasizing renewable energy and passing national climate change legislation. 

That, by the way, benefits GE as it vies for the position of the world's leading wind turbine manufacturer.

[Last year, the group managed to get GE's Board of Directors to revise its Corporate Social Responsibility policy so that the company can't "undertake any energy savings or sustainability project for the sole goal of seeking carbon dioxide emissions reductions due to climate change concerns, except as required by law." At GE's 2011 shareholder meeting, the group tried to oust CEO Jeff Immelt because he supported national cap-and-trade legislation, President Obama's stimulus bill (Recovery Act) and national health care legislation. They also gave GE a lashing because it supported phasing outinefficient light bulbs, "which was pushed on the public as an anti-global warming measure." 

Since GE makes light bulbs, it materially benefits from the move to more efficient lighting.](http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/24705)

"For the past quarter-century, government and corporate efforts have plowed billions into the promotion and exploitation of the human-caused catastrophic global warming theory," says Amy Ridenour, Chair of the National Center for Public Policy Research. "The result has been higher taxes, greater deficits, higher prices, job loss and greater government control over our daily lives -

all in service of a theory based on computer models that are not coming true.

Yes, they blame all of that on the so-far feeble attempts to address climate change.

"More and more people around the world are waking up to the fact that the global warming theory is about hot air, all right, but that a startlingly high percentage of that hot air is coming from people pushing the theory, not hardworking people going about their daily business. Slowly but surely, the expensive, job-killing and liberty-encroaching global warming leviathan is being defeated. We commend General Electric for taking this step and encourage

other corporations to follow its lead," Ridenour says. 

Last year, the National Center's Free Enterprise Project attended 33 shareholder meetings to advance their free-market ideals in 

health care, energy, taxes, subsidies, regulations, religious freedom, media bias, gun rights and many more important public policy issues, they say.

Because of "free-market, independent conservative think-tanks" like this, even conglomerates like GE feel hamstrung on taking positions and strong action on climate change. 

GE is among a slew of major companies that already include a carbon tax in their financial projections. How will that be affected by this change of policy?

Will they go after the 33 corporations that sent a "Climate Declaration" to Congress, urging them to take action on climate change? They want a "bold response" and see it as one of the greatest American economic opportunities of the 21st century.

Meanwhile, GE announced it will invest another $10 million in its Ecomagination initiative, bringing the total to $25 million over the next seven years. So far, the initiative has cut GE's greenhouse gas emissions 34% since 2004 and fresh water use 47% since 2006, the company says, while bringing in $160 billion in revenue.

"Ecomagination is one of our most successful cross-company business initiatives. Bold investments in ecomagination research and development have resulted in strong returns for shareholders and improved cost and emissions savings for our customers," says CEO Jeff Immelt. 

GE says its new goals are to develop technologies that replace water in fracking (potentially using captured CO2 instead); capture flared gas from fracking; produce less expensive wind turbines; and develop ways to increase power plant efficiency.

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/25546

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motley hmn

Corporate Responsibility Spotlight: General Electric

By :{Charlie Kannel:(style="border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit"):}: | More Articles 

November 30, 2012 | Comments (0)

General Electric (NYSE: GE ) is one of the world's largest and most respected companies. From appliances to energy, aviation to finance, this appropriately named conglomerate is one whose reach you might have trouble escaping. The deep-rooted company is the only member of the Dow Jones Industrial Averageindex that remains from the original 12 in 1896, and it's practically become a symbol for American ingenuity. While many think of it as a diverse manufacturer of all sorts of products, it has constantly adapted to an evolving marketplace, and it now derives more than half of its revenue from its financial services arm.

GE has acquired its fair share of corporate accolades recently, ranking sixth on Interbrand's list of Best Global Brands and 24th on the list of Best Global Green Brands, as well as makingEthisphere's2011 list of the world's most ethical companies. But does the company's storied history qualify it to be a socially responsible company? And how does a socially responsible investor reconcile the company's extensive history of pollution, weapons manufacture, and controversial nuclear power with a growing commitment to alternative energy?

Let's break GE down.

Environmental

From an environmental perspective, evaluating GE is a complicated task. GE's Citizenshippage asserts that as a 130-year-old company, sustainability is a key principle entrenched in the business' past and future, although GE's commitment to sustainability has expanded considerably in recent years. Notably, the company touts its Ecomagination program, a broad commitment to environmental sustainability through improved product efficiency, investment in technology of the future including alternative energy, and more rigorous internal environmental standards.

As a part of this rebranding effort in 2005, CEO Jeff Immelt publicly asserted that GE will press forward on many alternative energy and other "green" technologies, not as a public relations stint, but as a business opportunity. Joel Makower, a consultant for GreenOrder who worked with GE to develop the Ecomagination campaign, believes that GE's transformation accurately represents the company's pioneering commitment to a more sustainable future for a number of reasons, including the significant level of funds pledged, commitment of corporate leadership, and treatment of environmental products as a profitable business opportunity. Specifically, the company has been developing many products, from turbines and solar panels to light bulbs and plane engines that run on biogas, that meet its Ecomagination standards developed with GreenOrder. The primary focus is on meeting the growing demand for renewable energy, and GE now employs nearly 5,000 people globally in its renewable energy businesses.

GE has grown to be a dominant player in the alternative energy industry. The company projected it will install about 40% of the wind turbines in the U.S. in 2012. The company considers the transformation a success after realizing $53 billion in revenue from Ecomagination-certified products and services in the campaign's first three years, with annual revenue hovering around $150 billion in that same time. Similarly, the company's renewable energy revenue, $21 billion in 2011, grew twice as fast as the company average, as stated in the 2011 annual report.

However, not everybody believes in GE's sudden swing toward sustainability. As stated in aNew York Times editorial, many see GE's Ecomagination campaign as a rebranding attempt to cover up a history of environmental disasters and lingering liabilities. Specifically, the authors discuss the company's responsibility for PCB contamination in the Hudson River, a potential $500 million responsibility on top of the company's recent $250 million settlement for PCB contamination in New England's Housatonic River. While publicizing its "ecoimaginative" future and assuring shareholders that neither will affect its financial condition, GE has finally begun overdue cleanup efforts in both rivers. To be sure, no company as large or old as GE has a spotless record, and several other smaller incidents mar the company's green image.

So, is Ecomagination legitimate? Some critics contend that Ecomagination is a textbook example of greenwashing, but mostly because the company hasn't resolved its lingering environmental liabilities. Ecomagination has grown to be a significant portion of GE's revenue and often takes center stage in GE's advertising. Still, fully concluding its past disputes would make Ecomagination more genuine and protect shareholders of further liabilities. Looking forward, GE's new direction does represent a real commitment to an environmental future, even if it has chosen to ignore its past environmental crimes.

:{Social

As a conglomerate involved in many industries, GE hardly has a clean record, but the company has also given back to the communities it operates in. Historically, GE's nuclear weapons production provoked considerable protest from the public. At its height, }:GE produced more components for more nuclear bombs than any other American company and operated the heavily contaminated Hanford nuclear reservation in central Washington (a liability estimated by the government to be in the tens of billions), making it an easy target for anti-nuclear war protestors. Consequently, an NGO-organized boycott of GE consumer products began in 1986 to protest nuclear weapons involvement and unresolved nuclear liabilities, successfully pushing GE out of the industry in 1993. Overall, the boycott cost the business more than $100 million in sales.

Unfortunately for the company, GE's nuclear woes don't end there. In the Fukushima Daiichi disaster of 2011, GE designed the nuclear reactors, and the insufficient containment vessels, that didn't withstand the tsunami. While the earthquake and resulting tsunami were obviously unforeseen events, experts had previously criticized GE's Mark 1 design for unacceptable safety risks. While it may be argued that no design could have prevailed through such a catastrophe, GE's theoretical responsibility could still emerge as a future burden for investors. Many critics condemn GE's involvement in nuclear energy, even filing a shareholder resolution this year calling for a withdrawal from the industry, but the company stands by its nuclear energy activity, saying the technology represents a profitable path away from carbon energy and citing the company's strong safety record.

GE's fiscal and political activity may also raise red flags for the socially responsible investor. The company is one of the largest in the world and spends more on lobbying than any other company, averaging $20 million a year from 2000 to 2011. All multinational corporations lobby the government, and this level of spending should even be expected for a company of GE's heft. Even so, for those who believe that corporations should play less of a role in politics, this could be reason enough to avoid investing in GE.

The lobbying situation may seem worse when you examine GE's recent tax payments. As exposed by a New York Timespiece, GE managed to pay no corporate tax rates in 2010 in addition to surprisingly low rates in other years, all through a (completely legal) mix of aggressive lobbying for tax breaks and clever international accounting. Such strategies have significantly contributed to GE's massive profits and solid returns for investors. Still, paying minimal taxes and even claiming tax breaks while raking in billions in profit and aggressively spending on lobbying makes me question the company's corporate responsibility.

Financially, the sustainability of GE's tax advantage looks uncertain, especially if President Obama backs up his campaign promise to eliminate many corporate tax breaks and tax international companies on foreign income when it is made, rather than when it is brought back into the United States. In addition, the company has reduced its American workforce by one-fifth since 2002, so it may miss future tax credits designed to give companies incentive to retain domestic manufacturing jobs. The GE tax department isn't shy about its goals of complying with the law while also "looking to exploit opportunities to reduce tax," a goal the company backs up with its tremendous lobbying expenses. However, such actions may shine more negatively on what may be considered an inherently corporate-favored political and tax system than any specific problem with GE.

On the other hand, GE has done its part to give back through many social programs. Through the Healthymaginationprogram, GE has committed $6 billion toward innovations that help people around the world access better health care at a lower cost. One part of this program is a five-year, $1 billion commitment to improve screening and diagnosis measures to help fight cancer, as well as helping patients access screenings in underserved areas worldwide. The company website flaunts its investment in training and education programs, having donated $1 billion annually around the world, as well as having founded the John F. Welch Leadership School in Crotonville, N.Y. Many other programs run through the GE Foundation, including $100 million plus programs Developing Health Globally and Developing Futures, which seek to improve communities in areas where employees work and live. Clearly, GE has many generous philanthropic initiatives in addition to its more questionable social aspects.

:{Governance

Immelt has served has GE's CEO and chairman since 2001, expanding the company's global reach and leading its transformation into an environmental leader through the Ecomagination program, }:although GE's stock has dropped 60% since he took over. Even so, President Obama recognizes Immelt's expertise, having appointed him to lead Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness in 2011. This appointment does seem to create a conflict of interest for Immelt, as his company stands to gain from continued lenient tax treatment.

While the company's governance page publicizes its "independent and fully informed board," socially responsible investors prefer a separation of the roles of chairman of the board and CEO to ensure that the board can objectively evaluate the management team. Instead, the company has an "Independent Presiding Director" to monitor the CEO. Defending its corporate structure from a shareholder resolution calling for a separation of CEO and chairman, GE stated in this year's proxy statement that separating the roles would be likely to result in "an undesirable duplication of work and, in the worst case, lead to a blurring of the clear lines of accountability and responsibility." If GE truly wanted to have an independent director oversee the CEO, separating the roles would be a more logical choice. Having an unchecked CEO mismanage the business, however unlikely, also seems like a much worse "worst case" than confusion regarding accountability and responsibility.

In terms of CEO pay, Immelt's base salary of $7.6 million hasn't grown since 2005. Over time, more of his salary has been tied to performance-based measures such as industrial cash from operating activities, aligning his interests with those of the company. As fellow Fool Alyce Lomax discusses in a recent article on CEO pay, GE has notably helped clarify the often-confused distinction between realized pay and take-home pay, as Immelt's salary often gets reported as $21.6 million while his actual pay was $7.6 million.

A labor economist could write a few books on GE's history of employee relations. GE has struggled with workers' attempts to consolidate into unions throughout the 20th century. While 15,000 workers are covered under a new contract extending until 2015, union membership is far less than it used to be (there were 150,000 union workers in 1969), in part because so many jobs have been moved overseas. Under Immelt's predecessor, former CEO Jack Welch, the company strove to make floor-level employees feel like an integral part of the business and had managers interview employees for their input on the production process, making employees more committed to their productivity.

The company has a few other missteps worth noting. In 2009, the SEC fined GE $200 million for some creative accounting -- including misreporting the number of locomotives sold -- that led investors to believe that GE would beat earnings estimates in 2002. In another scandal, the company admitted it had defrauded the U.S. government of $26.5 million intended to purchase fighter jet engines for the Israeli military in 1992, although GE did voluntarily come forward after uncovering evidence of an executive's wrongdoing. Such incidents seem more like isolated controversies than a trend of dishonesty.

Overall

It would be hard to argue that GE has a spotless record, but in many ways, GE promises a sustainable future. On one hand, it's almost impossible to find a completely responsible multinational, so perhaps it would be better for socially responsible investors to avoid megacaps like GE altogether. On the other hand, GE offers socially responsible investors a chance to invest in a company committed to alternative energy, but with more stability than smaller companies in the industry.

Besides a questionable past marred by pollution incidents and nuclear weapons production, one enduring negative is the company's extensive -- one might even say exploitative -- involvement in politics. However, a business is free to maneuver as it can within the law to maximize its profit, so many investors will see GE's far-reaching political ties as a positive. This issue is certainly one where every socially responsible investor will have his own opinion. As for me, I wouldn't invest in GE because of how much it spends on lobbying for tax advantages, rather than investing in products that help the business profit by their own virtue, in addition to its dirty past.

In times of economic uncertainty, investors often look to larger, dividend-bearing companies such as GE for stability. However, industrials depend heavily on the overall health of the economy, so further stagnation leading up to the fiscal cliff could hurt companies such as GE or fellow Dow conglomerates United Technologies (NYSE: UTX ) and 3M (NYSE: MMM ) . Legendary investor Warren Buffet seems wary of GE's future, given his recent move to sell of almost all Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRK-B ) stake in the company. However, if you're looking for a solid, blue chip sure to weather any economic storm, GE could be a good choice, although perhaps not for the socially responsible investor.

For GE, the recent financial crisis struck a blow, but management took advantage of the market's dip to make strategic bets in energy. If you're a GE investor, you need to understand how these bets could drive this company to become the world's infrastructure leader. At the same time, you need to be aware of the threats to GE's portfolio. To help, we're offering comprehensive coverage for investors in a premium report on GE, in which our industrials analyst breaks down GE's multiple businesses. You'll find reasons to buy or sell GE, and you'll receive continuing updates as major events unfold during the year. To get started, click here now.

Charlie Kannel has shares of Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool owns shares of General Electric. Motley Fool newsletter services recommend 3M. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.

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A story that spans a decade has come to an unfortunate, but not surprising, end. Three former General Electric bankers, Dominick Carollo, Steven Goldberg and Peter Grimm, had been convicted in 2012 for rigging auctions of municipal bonds, thus stealing from projects to build schools, hospitals, libraries and nursing homes in virtually every U.S. state.

However, in November 2013, those convictions were reversed on a technicality: basically, that federal prosecutors took so long to build the massive case that the statute of limitations ran out. The three men were released from prison the next day—just in time, as a defense attorney sanctimoniously noted, to be home for Thanksgiving dinner.

These men were part of a decade-long scheme that bilked cities and towns of funds for public-works projects by paying kickbacks to brokers and manipulating bids. Between August 1999 and November 2006, Carollo, Goldberg and Grimm participated in countless rigged bids via telephone. Like Mafiosi, they used a secret language and code words to keep their underground business low-key. Prosecutors accumulated over 570,000 recorded phone conversations that directly linked the men to fraudulent activity. Evidence at trial established that they cost municipalities around the country millions of dollars.

This type of white-collar immorality is a major issue because the money stolen could have been used by cash-strapped towns to provide essential services. Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone called this fraud the equivalent of robbing a church fund to pay for lap dances. Taibbi, however, is one of the few reporters to consistently inform the public on these crimes and to point out the perhaps-insurmountable obstacles faced by even an activist U.S. Justice Department in getting convictions. “It really is hard to put these guys away,” Taibbi writes. “It’s even harder to keep them there.”

Sources:

Max Stendahl, “Former GE Execs Freed From Prison After Convictions Nixed,” Law360, November 27, 2013, http://www.law360.com/articles/492222/former-ge-execs-freed-from-prison-after-convictions-nixed.

Matt Taibbi, “Another Batch of Wall Street Villains Freed on Technicality,” Rolling Stone, December 4, 2013, http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/another-batch-of-wall-street-villains-freed-on-technicality-20131204.

Additional Sources:

Matt Taibbi, “The Scam Wall Street Learned From the Mafia,” Rolling Stone, June 21, 2012, http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-scam-wall-street-learned-from-the-mafia-20120620.

Chad Bray, “Three Sentenced in Bid-Rigging Case,” The Wall Street Journal, October 18, 2012,http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10000872396390444734804578064903311016908.

“Three Former Financial Services Executives Convicted for Roles in Conspiracies Involving Investment Contracts for the Proceeds of Municipal Bonds,” United States Department of Justice, May 11, 2012, http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2012/May/12-at-620.html.

Bob Van Voris, “Ex-GE Bankers Win Reversal of Convictions for Bid-Rigging,” December 2, 2012, Bloomberg, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-02/ex-ge-bankers-win-reversal-of-convictions-for-bid-rigging.html.

Student Researcher: Markisha Barber (Frostburg State University)

Faculty Evaluator: Andy Duncan (Frostburg State University)/pjct cens

===

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/General_Electric

General Electric (GE) is one of the world's largest corporations and is a major manufacturer of products from "jet engines to power generation, financial services to plastics, and medical imaging to news and information." [2] The company has more than 95 subsidiaries including GE Healthcare, GE Plastics, GE Security, General Electric Capital Corporation, NBC, MSNBC, Bravo, SCI FI Channel, USA Network, and Universal Studios.

[1]GE sold its shares of NBCUniversal and other television assets to Comcast for $18.1 billion in February 2013.[2]

In 2011, GE reported $147,300,000,000

Ties to Pete Peterson's "Fix the Debt"

Board of Directors

As of January 2013[17]

ecoterror law artl:

One illustration of the role advertising plays in dictating news coverage is the case of a public television station which lost its funding from Gulf and Western in 1987 because it showed a documentary which was critical of corporate development activities.[[223]](http://www.elawreview.org/elaw/382/ecoterrorism_a_critical_analys.html#_edn223)The chief executive of Gulf and Western complained that the documentary was "virulently anti-business if not anti-American."[[224]](http://www.elawreview.org/elaw/382/ecoterrorism_a_critical_analys.html#_edn224)For further illustration of the role of advertising on media coverage, the manager of corporate communications forGeneral Electric (which now owns NBC) has stated: "We insist on a program environment that reinforces our corporate messages."[[225]](http://www.elawreview.org/elaw/382/ecoterrorism_a_critical_analys.html#_edn225)Moreover, Proctor & Gambleinstructs its advertising agency that "[t]here will be no material on any of our programs which could in any way further the concept of business as cold, ruthless, and lacking in all sentiment or spiritual motivation."[[226]](http://www.elawreview.org/elaw/382/ecoterrorism_a_critical_analys.html#_edn226)

http://www.elawreview.org/elaw/382/ecoterrorism_a_critical_analys.html

Another company has joined the procession of firms distancing themselves from the US Chamber of Commerce's position on climate change, making it clear that the Chamber does not represent its views. General Electric told Politico that:

"We're a member of the Chamber because a lot of our customers are there, a lot of our competitors, so we get a good perspective on issues of national import," says GE spokesman Peter O'Toole. "The Chamber does not speak for us on climate legislation, but we are still a member."

Also, Bloomberg News reported that GE said "neither [the chamber nor National Association of Manufacturers] represent GE's view that advanced energy and climate legislation is needed." 2009

==

fix the debt: LISA GRAVES: Oh, sure. So we have documented how General Electric is one of those firms that has had a negative—a negative tax rate. A number of the firms that are part of the Fix the Debt operation have negative tax rates. We’ve got about a dozen of them that we document on the site, including, you know, major defense contractor General Electric. We have other firms that, we have documented, are underfunding their pension programs. And we also show how much they’re—how well they’re funding their CEO pensions, while underfunding their worker pensions, and pushing this operation of Fix the Debt, which is trying to underfund every other Americans retirement, basically, pension programs through Social Security.

...

Now, Ms. White maintains she can run the S.E.C., without fear or favor. But the focus shouldn't be limited to whether she can be effective. For lobbyists, the real targets are regulators and staff members for lawmakers.

Ms. White, at least, will have to sit for congressional testimony, answer occasional questions from the media and fill out disclosure forms. Staff members, however, work in untroubled anonymity for the most part. So, while everyone knows there's a revolving door — so naïve to even bring it up! — few realize just how fluidly it spins.

Take what happened late last month as Washington geared up for more fights about the taxing, spending and the deficit. The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, decided to bolster his staff's expertise on taxes.

So on Jan. 25, Mr. Reid's office announced that he had appointed Cathy Koch as chief adviser to the majority leader for tax and economic policy. The news release lists Ms. Koch's admirable and formidable experience in the public sector. "Prior to joining Senator Reid's office," the release says, "Koch served as tax chief at the Senate Finance Committee."

It's funny, though. The notice left something out. Because immediately before joining Mr. Reid's office, Ms. Koch wasn't in government. She was working for a large corporation.

Not just any corporation, but quite possibly the most influential company in America, and one that arguably stands to lose the most if there were any serious tax reform that closed corporate loopholes. Ms. Koch arrives at the senator's office by way of General Electric.

Yes, General Electric, the company that paid almost no taxes in 2010. Just as the tax reform debate is heating up, Mr. Reid has put in place a person who is extraordinarily positioned to torpedo any tax reform that might draw a dollar out of G.E. — and, by extension, any big corporation.

Omitting her last job from the announcement must have merely been an oversight. By the way, no rules prevent Ms. Koch from meeting with G.E. or working on issues that would affect the company.

The senator's office, which declined to make Ms. Koch available for an interview, says that she will support the majority leader in his efforts to close corporate tax loopholes. His office said in a statement that the senator considers her knowledge of the private sector to be an asset and that she complies with "all relevant Senate ethics rules and disclosures.".. the trade

Lobbying spending

The Chamber ranks first in lobbying spending in the past decade, with **:{General Electric:(style="background-color:#ed1c24"):}:** ranking second at $161 million, according to the **:{Center for Responsive Politics:(style="background-color:#fff200"):}:**.[49]

Political Money Line[50] highlighted in February 2005 that the Chamber and its Institute for Legal Reform reported combined spending of $53.38 million for lobbying the Executive and Legislative branches during 2004. According to the watchdog website, "This is the largest twelve-month amount reported spent by any group."

In June 2010, concerned citizens rallied in downtown Lexington Kentucky to express their anger at PNC Bank for financing mountaintop removal coal mining. Local activists were joined by members of the group Mountain Justice and residents from mountaintop communities, who spoke out about the direct impacts on their community, health and environment.Since January 2008, PNC has become the number one U.S. financier of mountaintop removal coal mining, providing more than $500 million in loans and bonds to six companies practicing mountaintop removal: Massey Energy, Patriot Coal, Alpha Natural Resources, International Coal Group, Arch Coal and Consol Energy. The six companies are collectively responsible for almost half of all mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia.[30] in November 2010 PNC announced that it would no longer fund projects associated with mountaintop removal coal mining. PNC’s decision left UBS and **:{GE Capital:(style="background-color:#fff200"):}:** as the only major banks that support mountaintop removal.[31]

GE Capital is the financial services unit of General Electric, one of five major units.[1]

Its various divisions include GE Capital Aviation Services, GE Capital Real Estate, GE Energy Financial Services and GE Money.

GE Capital provides commercial lending and leasing, as well as a range of financial services for health care, media, communications, entertainment, consumers, real estate, and aviation. GE Capital focuses primarily on loans and leases that it underwrites to hold on its own balance sheet rather than on generating fees by originating loans and leases, then selling them to third parties. Most of GE Capital's commercial loans are to small and mid-sized companies, spread across multiple industries and geographies and secured by tangible assets. More than 70% of GE Capital’s loans are under $100 million. GE Capital's consumer lending activities are also diversified by product and geography, and include operations in 55 countries.[2]

As of Q3 2009, GE Capital had 60,000+ employees worldwide, operating in more than 55 countries, with total assets of $551B. It was rated AA+ with stable outlook by S&P.[citation needed]

==

Members on the board of General Electric (which owns NBC) also sit on the boards of Bechtel Group, Inc., Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., ChevronTexaco Corporation, Proctor & Gamble, General Motors Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Home Depot, Inc., and others.:{[:(style="background-color:#ffff66;"):}:238

==

ucs

straddles: Heartland Institute, George C. Marshall Institute,

and Competitive Enterprise Institute [Oreskes

and Conway 2010; Hoggan and Littlemore

2009; Begley et al. 2007]).

For example, :{General Electric Company has funded

climate-science-supporting groups, such as

Brookings Institution and Worldwatch Institute}:

(Antholis and Talbott 2010; McKeown and Gardner

2009), while also donating to groups, such as the Heritage Foundation and the Competitive Enterprise

Institute(Hoggan and Littlemore 2009), known

to misrepresent established climate science.

GENERAL ELECTRIC - NBC (In  they 2000 donated 1.1 million to George W Bush for his election campaign)

TV Holdings:

* NBC: Owns outright 13 stations and many affiliates, Market penetration: 28% of US households.

* NBC Network News: Owns The Today Show, Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, Meet the Press, Dateline.

* CNBC business network, MSNBC 24-hour cable and Internet news service (co-owned by  both NBC and Microsoft); Court TV (co-owned with Time Warner), Bravo (50%), A&E (25%), History Channel (25%).

The MS  in MSNBC  stands for Microsoft, Bill Gate's Microsoft donated 2.4 million in 2000 to get George W Bush elected.

Other Holdings:

* GE Consumer Electronics and Household Products and components used in military electronics..

* GE Power Systems, which makes turbines for nuclear reactors, wind turbines,  "clean" coal technology.

* GE Plastics: produces military hardware for fighter jets, ships and nuclear power equipment.

* GE Transportation Systems: manufactures engines and diesel and electric locomotives.

General Electric is one of the world's largest corporations and is a major manufacturer and service provider spanning products from "jet engines to power generation, financial services to plastics, and medical imaging to news and information." [1] The company has over 95 subsidiaries including GE Healthcare, GE Plastics, GE Security, General Electric Capital Corporation, NBC, MSNBC, Bravo, SCI FI Channel, USA Network, and Universal Studios. [1]

Contents[hide]

Paying More for Lobbying than in Taxes

In December 2011, the organization Public Campaign published a report called "For Hire: Lobbyists or the 99%?" on corporations that have paid more on lobbying than on federal taxes. General Electric topped the list, with $10,460 million in profits from 2008-2010, a net gain of $4,737 million in taxes (after receiving tax rebates) and a total expenditure of $84.35 million on lobbying.[2]

PR and lobbying industry cleans up, Hudson River loses out

From 1990 to 2005, General Electric spent more than $122 million on public relations, lobbying and legal efforts "to fight demands that it clean up three contaminated polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) sites," reports O'Dwyer's. The three sites are "a 200-mile stretch of the Hudson River (the nation's biggest Superfund site), Housatonic River (Pittsfield, MA) and a transformer facility (Rome, GA)." [2]

GE's disclosure comes after a decade of pressure from the Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment, a coalition of Roman Catholic groups that filed shareholder resolutions requesting the information. Coalition director Patricia Daly said the money could "have gone a long, long way in cleaning up the problem," had it not been "wasted on PR, lobbying and courtroom delaying tactics." The Environmental Protection Agency ordered GE to clean up the Hudson in 2002.

"In October 2005, more than 20 years after the EPA designated the Hudson River among the worst Superfund sites, GE agreed in a settlement to begin dredging the river. The EPA estimated that dredging the toxic sediment would cost $700 million by the time the project was complete. But the agreement obligates GE for costs only in the first year, which could allow the company to avoid $600 million in cleanup costs, according to Leo Rosales, who was an EPA spokesman at the time" [3].

Tobacco industry involvement

General Electric worked with Philip Morris circa 1984-1985 to provide a power source for a confidential non-combusting smoking article "that can satisfy smokers without the properties of conventional cigarettes such as sidestream smoke. Philip Morris was interested in using "photoflash bulbs" as heat or power sources for these experimental smoking articles, and obtained these from GE.[3]The project was known internally at Philip Morris as Project Advance.[4]

Labor Issues

The nonprofit economic research organization, Policy Matters Ohio, interviewed workers in 2007 in one of GE's Chinese suppliers and published a report of their findings in 2008. Xiamen Topstar Lighting Co., a joint venture of GE and China's Topstar, employs 6,000 people in Fujian Province making compact (and energy efficient) florescent lightbulbs for GE. GE's own audit of the factory in late 2007, Policy Matters Ohio investigators found a range of unfair and unsafe labor practices, including 64-hour workweeks without overtime pay or worker access to their own paystubs. Most seriously, workers were being exposed to mercury without their knowledge.[5]

Coal

GE Energy Financial Services, GE's energy investing arm, owns 51.5% of the coal-fired Birchwood Power Facility near King George, Virginia. J-POWER acquired a 49.5% stake in the 242-megawatt power plant in May 2008.[6]

GE invests in China IGCC project

On January 18, 2011, GE announced that it would be forming a "clean coal" technology joint venture in China with the Shenhua Group, a state-owned coal mining and energy company. The joint venture company will sell industrial coal gasification technology licenses, conduct research and development and develop facilities around integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC). GE plans to announce over $2 billion in locomotives and other deals in China, as GE’s sales to China are growing at 20 percent a year. Khosla Ventures recently invested in clean coal startup Ciris Energy — which GE also backs.[7]

GE Energy pushes coal gasification and exports to China

In September 2011 Keith White, director of GE Energy’s coal gasification business stated, "We make a majority of our money in China today. They use their coal for quality high-end products." White said that leaders in Wyoming should continue their support of coal-gasification and keep in mind the need to expand to additional markets like plastics and other refined products. He noted that a high volume of coal in China is refined into liquid byproducts "such as naphtha, and other products that are the feedstock of plastics and the Chinese garment industry."[8]

Ecomagination

See the related article, General Electric's Ecomagination Campaign.

Ad boycott against Air America Radio

General Electric refused to advertise on the progressive Air America Radio. In October 2006, around 90 companies, including General Electric, told ABC Radio Networks that they did not want their ads to play on any radio station that carried Air America Radio. [9] [10] [11]

Political contributions and Lobbying

General Electric's political action committee (PAC) gave $1,281,400 to federal candidates in the 05/06 election cycle - 37% to Democrats and 63% to Republicans. [12]

GE spent $19,420,000 for lobbying in 2006. $4,050,000 of this total went to 39 outside lobbying firms including Ernst & Young, BKSH & Associates, Quinn Gillespie & Associates, and Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld. [13]

A report by Public Campaign revealed that between 2008 and 2010, General electric spent $84.35 million on lobbying. During the same time period, it received $4.373 billion in tax rebates, and made $10.46 billion in US profits, meaning that GE's tax rate was -45%. Executive compensation also jumped 27%, from $59,768,565 in 2008 to $75,958,80 in 2010. In addition, between 2009 and 2011, GE spent $3,640,588 on federal campaign contributions. [2]

Tax Breaks

A 2011 analysis by Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Corporate Taxpayers & Corporate Tax Dodgers: 2008-10 found dozens of companies used tax breaks and various tax dodging methods to have a negative tax balance between 2008 and 2010, while making billions in profits. In 2008-10 General Electric paid less than no income tax with a rate of –45.3% and a tax subsidy of $8,398. [14]

Personnel

Key executives and 2006 pay: [15]

Options

exercised
Jeffrey R. Immelt, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer$8,300,000$3,100,000
Keith S. Sherin, Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer$3,780,000$1,490,000
Robert C. Wright, Vice Chairman and Executive Officer$9,400,000$9,860,000
Michael A. Neal, Vice Chairman, Vice Chairman of Commercial Financial Services$4,700,000$2,940,000
John G. Rice, Vice Chairman, Chief Executive Officer of GE Infrastructure$3,950,000$1,660,000

Directors (2008)

Accessed November 2008: [16]

Directors (2006)

Source 2006

Contact details

3135 Easton Turnpike

Fairfield, CT 06828-0001

Phone: 203-373-2211

Fax: 203-373-313

Web: http://www.ge.com

Articles and resources

Related SourceWatch articles

References

  1. ↑ GE Subsidiaries/Affiliates Covered By Hoover's, Hoovers, accessed June 2007
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Public Campaign, For Hire: Lobbyists or the 99%? How Corporations Pay More for Lobbyists Than in Taxes, organizational report, December 2011
  3. ↑ Murphy Sprinkel, Philip Morris Untitled letter 3 pp. April 30, 1985. Bates No. 2022210503/0505
  4. ↑ P.N. Gauvin, Philip Morris Monthly Development Summary - May, 1984 Memorandum. 2 pp. June 1, 1984. Bates No.2022217613/7614
  5. ↑ "GE supplier abuses workers, group says" March 28, 2008.
  6. ↑ "J-POWER Acquires 49.5 Percent of 242-Megawatt Birchwood Power Plant in King George" Reuters, May 8, 2008.
  7. ↑ Iris Kuo, "Two cleantech behemoths team up to tackle clean coal: GE and China" Green Beat, Jan. 18, 2011.
  8. ↑ [http://wyofile.com/2011/09/ge-wyoming-coal-could-be-converted-to-shirts/ "GE: Wyoming coal could be converted to shirts" Dustin Bleizeffer, WyoFile, September 16, 2011.
  9. ↑ Marc Fisher, "Air America, in the Throes of Victory?", The Washington Post, December 10, 2006.
  10. ↑ "Air America on Ad Blacklist?", FAIR, October 31, 2006.
  11. ↑ "Air America Blackout", FAIR.org/ABC memo, October 25, 2006.
  12. ↑ 2006 PAC Summary Data, Open Secrets.
  13. ↑ General Electric lobbying expenses, Open Secrets, accessed October 2007.
  14. ↑ Robert S. McIntyre, Matthew Gardner, Rebecca J. Wilkins, Richard Phillips Corporate Taxpayers & Corporate Tax Dodgers: 2008-10, ctj.org, November 2011
  15. ↑ General Electric Key Executives, Yahoo Finance, accessed October 2007.
  16. ↑ Directors, General Electric, accessed November 25, 2008.

External resources

External articles

This article may include information from Tobacco Documents Online.

The Consequences

The success of the Powell–Chamber of Commerce plan transformed American law, government, and society, with two devastating consequences for the country. First, corporations gained new political power at the expense of average citizens and voters. Corporations poured out money to lobbying and election campaigns and to help friendly politicians and hurt unfriendly politicians. With even modest reform crushed by corporate rights decisions such as Bellotti v. First National Bank of Boston — and now much more so, Citizens United — corporations could threaten “independent expenditure” campaigns against politicians who did not bend their way. Corporate money to influence legislative votes and politician behavior lost its scandalous, shameful nature. Bags of corporate cash were no longer bags of cash; they were “speech.” How could “speech” be corrupt or scandalous?

Washington and many state capitals became playgrounds for corporate lobbyists, and our elected representatives became increasingly disconnected from the will of the people. With the new, organized corporate radicalism, staggering amounts of corporate money flooded Washington and our political system. Between 1998 and 2010, for example, the Chamber of Commerce spent $739 million on lobbying. Pharmaceutical and health care corporations spent more than $2 billion on lobbying in the past twelve years. Three corporations seeking military contracts, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Lockheed, and Boeing, spent more than $400 million on lobbying. GE Corporation ($237 million), AT&T ($162 million), the pharmaceutical corporate lobby PHRMA ($195 million), ExxonMobil ($151 million), Verizon ($149 million), and many more corporations all joined the lobby- fest.25 Financial, labor, energy, environmental, health, trade, and other legislation and policy tilted in favor of corporate interests; the hurdles for advancing the public interest became much higher.

clements

GE rejects Republicans’ climate change doubts

By Pilita Clark, Environment Correspondent

General Electric has brushed aside the doubts leading Republican presidential contenders have raised about climate science.

The US industrial and financial conglomerate said it had long seen climate changeas a valid concern after an internal evaluation of the scientific case in 2005.

“We found enough data there to have a company like GE respond and we have responded,” said Mark Vachon, head of the “ecomagination” sustainable business initiative GE launched in that year. He said revenues generated by operations in his portfolio now totalled $100bn and were growing at more than twice the rate of those in the rest of the company.

GE’s environmental strategy had also helped it shave $140m from its own energy bill and meant “we’re viewed as relevant in the world”, he said.

Mr Vachon was responding to questions about how GE, a company that has positioned itself as a champion of climate-friendly technologies, views the prospect of voters electing a president reluctant to accept the scientific consensus that carbon emissions from fossil fuels such as coal and oil are warming the earth’s climate.

Separately, Christiana Figueres, the official who heads the Bonn-based UN secretariat that runs global climate negotiations, said the Republicans’ views posed a choice for US voters about whether they wanted to benefit from the global push towards new clean energy technologies some of their rivals had already embraced.

“Is the US electorate willing to allow the competitive edge on technology to go to China or to Europe, or would they prefer to be the leaders of technology? That is a question that they need to answer,” she said at a news conference in London on Friday.

Mitt Romney, the Republican party’s presidential frontrunner, has said “we don’t know what’s causing climate change on this planet”, and Rick Santorum, his closest rival, has described climate science as “political science”. Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, has said “global warming is not proven”.

Mr Romney and Mr Gingrich, along with many other Republicans, had previously supported both the scientific case for climate change and the need to address it, as did the party’s 2008 presidential candidate, John McCain.

Observers have attributed the party’s shift since the last election to a range of factors, including the rise of the anti-regulatory Tea Party and fears about unemployment. Others suggest the change is due to fossil fuel interests using so-called super PACs – the new generation of political action committees empowered by a 2010 Supreme Court ruling allowing businesses and unions to spend much more on political campaigns than previously permitted.

The Republicans’ stance puts them at odds with politicians from many other countries, especially in Europe, home of some of the world’s most ambitious climate legislation.

RS

biggest offshore hide

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-the-gop-became-the-party-of-the-rich-20111109?print=true

pooley:

welch GE , ecomagination departure as co had fought decades 122m$ law and PR battle to clean pcb's out of Hudson 138. new guy immelt say GE could profit from green transition. krupp thot to get biz on right side could be gamechanger 139