Connaughton, James

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</div><div>leaned on CTW on 911 air quality 1st responders?!</div><div>
</div><div>=</div><div>pension</div><div>
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</div><div><a href="https://clearpath.org/about-us/">https://clearpath.org/about-us/</a></div><div>===</div><div>2015 e&e

George W. Bush's energy allies prepping for another Bush run<...Some familiar faces from the George W. Bush administration energy circles are eager to help their former boss's brother clinch the White House.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As Jeb Bush tests the waters for a 2016 presidential run, top energy officials from the last Bush administration are ready to pitch in if they can. Some have already offered to help, others say they'll be there if they're asked, and many others are expected to jump on board to offer their expertise during a possible campaign or administration.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"It'll be a unitary thing. Every former Bush energy environment person is going to wind up signing up for that campaign," said Mike McKenna, a GOP energy strategist. "They're just waiting to be asked."<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The former Florida governor -- who hasn't yet officially launched a campaign for the White House -- is also expected to draw upon some energy allies from his own political career. But when it comes to getting help on nitty-gritty energy policy issues, ranging from air pollution regulations to international energy policy, many of the best-known GOP experts are people who already worked for Bush's brother in the last Republican presidential administration, and Jeb Bush is widely expected to capitalize on those family ties.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bush has already reached out to C. Boyden Gray, an energy and environment expert who held top posts in both the George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush administrations.<div style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"I've talked to people in his campaign, and I've talked to him," said Gray. "I think he's made phone calls -- hundreds, probably -- to tell people that he is thinking seriously about running and would they be willing to help."<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bush asked Gray to advise him, but not on energy issues specifically, Gray said. "He hasn't announced, so there's really nothing on the screen yet."<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bud Albright, a top Energy Department official during the George W. Bush administration, said, "Jeb Bush would make an excellent president, and should he need my help, I'll be there." Albright, who is now a lobbyist at Ogilvy Government Relations, added that he hasn't "really engaged yet in the presidential race" and isn't sure where other former officials from the Bush 43 energy team might end up.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">When rounding up energy allies in Washington, D.C., it might be tough for Bush to avoid turning to experts who worked for his brother or his father, even if he wanted to. When Bush unveiled his list of 21 foreign policy advisers last month, 19 of them had worked in a previous Bush administration, <em style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Washington Post <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/02/18/jeb-bushs-foreign-policy-team-is-eerily-familiar-in-1-venn-diagram/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-weight: 700;">reported</a>.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But while there may be an early groundswell for Bush among former GOP administration officials, they're not necessarily ruling out supporting other candidates.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There's "a certain amount of loyalty to the Bush family," said a former George W. Bush administration senior energy official.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Ultimately, I think if you asked me now, would I be a Jeb Bush guy, I'd be a Jeb Bush guy," the former official said. But when it comes to the rest of the GOP field, "There are a lot of smart guys out there that I have a lot of respect for. ... You want all those guys to have good policy platforms.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"If someone picked up the phone and called, I would be happy to give policy advice to any of the reasonable candidates."<h3 style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">'He's basically conservative'</h3><p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Energy insiders say it's still early to gauge how the former Florida governor's environmental policies would shape up if he became a presidential candidate.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"His general philosophy is he's a conservative; he's basically conservative, and his message is basically conservative," said Gray. "And he hasn't been more specific really than that."<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">When it comes to being pragmatic on environmental issues, "I don't know that I would distinguish that much between the father, the brother and Jeb," said the former George W. Bush administration energy official. "I don't think that there would be enough distinction on those issues that would cause people not to be interested in Jeb."<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bush's views on climate change haven't been particularly clear in recent years. "I think global warming may be real," he told Fox News in a 2011 <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/24/jeb-bush-rick-perry-global-warming_n_935168.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-weight: 700;">interview</a>. "It is not unanimous among scientists that it is disproportionately man-made."<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Asked in 2009 whether he believes global warming is primarily man-made, Bush <a href="http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a6027/jeb-bush-interview-0809/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-weight: 700;">told</a> <span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Esquire, "I'm a skeptic. I'm not a scientist.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"I think the science has been politicized. I would be very wary of hollowing out our industrial base even further ... I think we need to be very cautious before we dramatically alter who we are as a nation because of it."<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Still, Bush built up fairly good rapport with at least some environmentalists during his time as Florida's governor, and some expect him to take a moderate stance on energy and environmental issues if he wins the presidency.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Said GOP energy strategist McKenna, "If there was ever a Republican president who would sign a climate bill, it would be Jeb."<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Some greens who were active in Florida during Bush's tenure lauded his efforts on Everglades restoration, habitat preservation and other priorities for environmentalists in the Sunshine State.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"I think you would say he had a pretty strong record," said Stuart Stahl, former president and CEO of the Audubon Society of Florida. "I think he is very upfront with the press and with people about what his values are. He believes that the environment is a conservative ideal."<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If elected, Bush "may help us to end this ridiculous conflict we have between the business community and environmental protection," said Eric Draper, the current executive director of Audubon Florida.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"It could be that to deal with a complicated issue like climate change, we need a pro-growth, business-oriented tough guy," Draper added. "No one's going to think that if Jeb Bush is solving our energy and climate problems, he was doing it just because it felt good."<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But not all Florida greens have a positive impression of Bush's legacy leading the state.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Like many Republicans, he had kind of an anti-tax, anti-regulatory view of the world and certainly was a pro-growth booster," Draper said.<h3 style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Names in the mix</h3><p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Here are some of the former Bush administration energy insiders seen as likely candidates to be tapped for campaign advice or even as contenders for posts in a possible Jeb Bush administration:<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">C. Boyden Gray: Under the George W. Bush administration, Gray held top international posts; he was the U.S. representative to the European Union and special envoy for Eurasian energy. He was also counsel to George H.W. Bush during both his presidency and vice presidency. He's now a founding partner at D.C.-based Boyden Gray & Associates, a law and regulatory strategy firm.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"I suppose you could say I'm a Bush supporter," Gray said, noting that it's still very early in the campaign cycle. "A lot of people have very open minds, and I hope and think that those who haven't made up their minds will gravitate toward Bush."<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Jim Connaughton: George W. Bush's longtime top environmental adviser is widely cited as a possible key energy ally for Jeb Bush. Connaughton from 2001 to 2009 was chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, where he had a big influence over the administration's energy and environmental policies. He has since worked as an executive at Baltimore-based Constellation Energy, at Exelon and at C3 Energy in Redwood City, Calif. Connaughton advised Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign and was thought to have had the inside track for a top administration position if Romney had won.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Jeff Holmstead: [WROTE MURKOWSKI AMEND W/ MARTELLA] The former Bush-era EPA air official could be another important confidant to a 2016 Bush campaign. Holmstead headed U.S. EPA's Office of Air and Radiation from 2001 until 2005 and served as associate counsel to the president during the George H.W. Bush administration. Holmstead now leads Bracewell & Giuliani's environmental strategies group, where he lobbies on behalf of heavyweight energy firms. Holmstead was also rumored to be in the running for a top environmental post under Romney (<a href="http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1059971433/" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: 700;"><span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Greenwire</a>, Oct. 18, 2012).<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Roger Martella: Former EPA top attorney Martella could also be called upon for his expertise. He was EPA's general counsel from 2006 until 2008, after almost seven years in the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. He now helps lead Sidley Austin's environmental practice, where he counsels a range of companies on energy and environmental issues.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Marcus Peacock: Peacock held top posts at EPA and the White House budget office during the George W. Bush administration. He was EPA's deputy administrator from 2005 until 2009, and was previously associate director of natural resource programs at the Office of Management and Budget from 2001 until 2005. He stepped back from government work in 2013 after working as GOP staff director for the Senate Budget Committee, but energy insiders say he's someone who could return to federal service to advise or work for another Bush administration.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bud Albright: Albright was a George W. Bush administration undersecretary at the Energy Department from 2007 until 2009, after working for several years as staff director to the House Energy and Commerce Committee under then-Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas). After the Bush administration, Albright was senior vice president for policy and government relations at CenterPoint Energy; he signed on last year with D.C. lobbying firm Ogilvy Government Relations.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Kevin O'Donovan: The former domestic policy adviser to then-Vice President Dick Cheney worked on climate change and energy policy issues during the Bush administration. He went on to work as a lobbyist for Shell Oil Co. and now runs his own firm, O'Donovan Strategies LLC, where he has lobbied on energy and conservation issues.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">F. Chase Hutto: Hutto got his start in the Bush administration as a senior policy adviser to then-Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. He later worked as director for international and energy security on the White House National Security Council and went on to become a senior aide to then-Vice President Cheney. He has been managing director at ClearView Energy Partners LLC since 2009.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Marty Hall: The former CEQ chief of staff worked under Connaughton in the White House environmental shop. He had previously been a top staffer on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee under then-Chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.). Hall joined FirstEnergy Corp. in 2009 as vice president of federal affairs and energy policy.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Karen Knutson: Another former energy policy aide to then-Vice President Cheney, Knutson was deputy director of Cheney's energy task force. She was chief of staff to Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) from 2007 until 2011, and was a lobbyist at the William Koch-owned company Oxbow Corp. until earlier this year. She's now government affairs and policy leader at GE Oil & Gas, according to her LinkedIn profile.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Karen Harbert: The former Bush-era Energy Department aide is now heading up the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's energy policy shop, the Institute for 21st Century Energy. Harbert was assistant secretary for policy and international affairs at DOE from 2004 until 2008 before moving to the chamber.<p style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mike Catanzaro: Catanzaro was deputy policy director for the 2004 Bush-Cheney re-election campaign before working at CEQ as associate director for policy and as EPA associate deputy administrator during the Bush administration. He was later the deputy GOP staff director on the Environment and Public Works Committee under Inhofe, a policy adviser to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and a managing director at FTI Consulting. He's now an energy lobbyist at Clark, Geduldig, Cranford & Nielsen.<section class="promotion" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border-width: 2px 0px 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-color: rgb(152, 177, 203); border-image: initial; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/rbravender" target="_blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 700;">@rbravender</a> | Email: <a href="mailto:rbravender@eenews.net" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 700;">rbravender@eenews.net</a></section>===

why better on oceans? In 2006, Bush declared the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwestern_Hawaiian_Islands" title="Northwestern Hawaiian Islands">Northwestern Hawaiian Islands</a> a national monument, creating the largest <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_reserve" title="Marine reserve">marine reserve</a> to date. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papah%C4%81naumoku%C4%81kea_Marine_National_Monument" title="Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument">Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument</a> comprises 84 million acres (340,000 km²) and is home to 7,000 species of fish, birds, and other marine animals, many of which are specific to only those islands.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W.Bush#cite_note-145">[146]</a> The move was hailed by conservationists for "its foresight and leadership in protecting this incredible area".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W.Bush#cite_note-146">[147]</a>

BUT
It has also now endorsed commercial whaling, reversing a US ban in place since 1986 <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20040722_378.html" class="external autonumber" title="http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20040722_378.html" rel="nofollow">[8]</a>.

==

Grist

Tim Dickinson's Rolling Stone piece on the Bush administration's coordinated attempts to stifle action on global warming[2007?]  is <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/15148655/the_secret_campaign_of_president_bushs_administration_to_deny_global_warming/print">now online</a>, and it's worth a read. (Also worth checking out: the accompanying <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/nationalaffairs/index.php/2007/06/21/slide-show-inside-the-bush-administrations-denial-campaign-against-climate-change/">multimedia slideshow</a>.) Lots of it will be familiar to long-time readers, but it's nice to see it pulled together into a single (extraordinarily damning) narrative.

One guy who plays a big role in the story is James Connaughton, the ex-dirty-energy lobbyist Bush brought in to head up the Council on Environmental Quality.

Side note: speaking of the CEQ, savor this:

<blockquote>Prior to joining the Cabinet, [ex-EPA administrator Christie Todd Whitman] sought personal assurance from Bush that the EPA would be able to call its own shots without deferring to the CEQ - the Council on Environmental Quality, a policy arm of the White House. As Whitman recalls it, Bush made no effort to mask his bureaucratic ignorance. "What's CEQ?" he asked blankly.</blockquote>

Oy.

Bush was clueless, but Cheney -- to whom virtually all Bush era malevolence ultimately traces -- was not. He took the CEQ under his wing and made it his personal policy/propaganda shop, much like he did with the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Office_of_Special_Plans">Office of Special Plans</a> in the run up to the Iraq War. He used it to funnel favorable intelligence (read: bogus skeptic studies) up to the highest levels of gov't and out to the media, to interfere with scientific gov't reports, and to stymie executive rule-making. And of course Connaughton played along willingly.

As it happens, Connaughton's in the news again. On Wed., the Senate EPW Committee [INHOFE?] held a hearing on the abysmal EPA reaction to 9/11 air quality dangers. The EPA Inspector General <a href="http://www.epa.gov/oig/reports/2003/WTC_report_20030821.pdf">issued a report</a> (PDF) in 2003 revealing that the CEQ forced the EPA to tone down warnings about the air and reassure everyone it was safe. Connaughton testified at the hearing. Josh Marshall -- who has <a href="http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/014738.php">some video highlights from the testimony</a> -- says that ...

... the result was such a tour de force of testimonial BS that we wanted to show you some of it. We see a lot of congressional testimony and thus a lot of non-denial-denying, obfuscation and generally bamboozling crap. But this performance stood out.

</blockquote>

This guy really personifies the Bush era, with its fetid mix of mendacity, ideology, and incompetence. No doubt he'll be back in a cushy lobbying job before Bush's boxes are even cleared out of the White House.

<a href="http://www.grist.org/article/james-connaughton-the-bush-era-personified/">http://www.grist.org/article/james-connaughton-the-bush-era-personified/</a>

===

President Bush's CEQ chairman <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_L._Connaughton">James L. Connaughton</a> was formerly a partner at law firm <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidley_Austin_LLP" class="mw-redirect" title="Sidley Austin LLP">Sidley Austin LLP</a>,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_on_Environmental_Quality#cite_note-5">[6]</a> where he lobbied to reduce government regulation on behalf of clients including the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminum_Company_of_America" class="mw-redirect" title="Aluminum Company of America">Aluminum Company of America</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Chemistry_Council" title="American Chemistry Council">Chemical Manufacturers Association of America</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_on_Environmental_Quality#cite_note-6">[7]</a>

==

James Connaughton, Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality

Bush’s top environmental advisor is not only a former lobbyist for ARCO (Atlantic Richfield Company), Alcoa and General Electric, he also worked for the powerful Chemical Manufacturers Association, the powerful trade association representing some of America’s top polluters. With Connaughton in the administration, the chemical industry has pulled off one of the most remarkable feats of corporate influence in recent history: despite an EPA warning that a terrorist strike on any of 123 of the nation’s most dangerous chemical plants could kill or injure more than a million people, a bill tightening security among the plants has never even come to a vote on the Senate floor.

==

ctw hubby interests in Citigp, which owns Traveler's  (also Port Authority) so incentive to downgrade risk of air 79  moved robt martin omsbudsman (dep of

labor rules no cause), cancelled the position, on weekend sent agents to grab files and padlock office. Kaufman Resigned. air said ok before all test results

in. IG said risk downplayed, raw data blocked 80-1  3x safe level asbestos  Connaughton leaned on Thernstrom (commun dir, now works for Norton) CEQ screamed

at epa's Kreisher, T 81  ground zero levels were record 81.  admin gagged epa on perc, mercury toxicologist quits 83

GW reports altered, dismissed or hid 12 in 10 yrs 84: N Ac Sci, noaa, nasa and 2002 rept by combined agencies 84.

9/2002 epa air report left out usual section on gw; same with june 2003; july 2003 epa sci leaked report  that gw could be dealt w/ at small cost. b2 in

response spent $100m for 10 yr study to prove gw is natural 84

===

RS:

Cheney took full advantage of the president's cluelessness, bringing

the CEQ into his own portfolio. "The environment and energy issues

were really turned over to him from the beginning," Whitman says. The

CEQ became Cheney's shadow EPA, with industry calling the shots. To

head up the council, Cheney installed James Connaughton, a former

lobbyist for industrial polluters, who once worked to help General

Electric and ARCO skirt responsibility for their Superfund waste

sites.

Industry swiftly took advantage of its new friend in the White House.

In a fax sent to the CEQ on February 6th, 2001 - two weeks after Bush

took office - ExxonMobil's top lobbyist, Randy Randol, demanded a

housecleaning of the scientists in charge of studying global warming.

Exxon urged CEQ to dump Robert Watson, who chaired the IPCC, along

with Rosina Bierbaum and Mike MacCracken, who had coordinated the

National Assessment.

Page 3

Exxon's wish was the CEQ's command. According to an internal e-mail

obtained by Rolling Stone, Connaughton' s first order of business -

even before his nomination was made public - was to write his White

House colleagues-to- be from his law firm of Sidley & Austin. He

echoed Exxon's call that Bierbaum, the acting director of the Office

of Science and Technology Policy, be "dealt." In the end, each of the

scientists on Exxon's hit list was replaced. "It was clear there was

a strong lobby and activity against me by some in the energy

industry - especially ExxonMobil," says Watson.

<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L.Connaughton">http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L.Connaughton</a>

see RS 2007/06/21/slide-show-inside-the-bush-administrations-denial-campaign-against-climate-change/ actually 28 june issue (not online?

durable RS link uc mch

<a href="http://gateway.proquest.com.oca.ucsc.edu/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:iimp:&rft_dat=xri:iimp:journal:JID0035791X">http://gateway.proquest.com.oca.ucsc.edu/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:iimp:&rft_dat=xri:iimp:journal:JID0035791X</a>

<ul>

<li>

</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L._Connaughton" title="James L. Connaughton">James L. Connaughton</a>

<ul>

<li>Government: Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (Senior environmental advisor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Environmental Policy)</li>

<li>Industry: Previously a lobbyist for power industry and large electricity users. "A former lobbyist for utilities, mining, chemical, and other industrial polluters, Connaughton, represented the likes of General Electric and ARCO in their effort to escape responsibility for cleaning up toxic Superfund sites. Now he heads up pollution-policy development for the administration and coordinates its implementation. He has led the charge to weaken the standards of getting arsenic out of our drinking water, and he has steadily advised Bush to ignore, divert, stall, dismiss, and otherwise block out all calls for action against the industrial causes of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Global_warming" title="Global warming">global warming</a>."<a href="http://www.utne.com/web_special/web_specials_2004-06/articles/11232-1.html" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.utne.com/web_special/web_specials_2004-06/articles/11232-1.html" rel="nofollow">[5]</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

</ul>

<a href="http://gateway.proquest.com.oca.ucsc.edu/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:iimp:&rft_dat=xri:iimp:journal:JID0035791X"> see RS below:   On February 14th, 2002, Bush gave a speech at the National</a> Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that laid out his policy on global warming for the first time. The speech was a Valentine's Day gift to polluters, officially enshrining the GCC's agenda, almost point for point, as the White House's climate policy. " goes on to applaud connaughton specifically for policy

SW

James Laurence Connaughton (born May, 1961) is the former chair of the <a title="White House Council on Environmental Quality" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=White_House_Council_on_Environmental_Quality" class="mw-redirect">White House Council on Environmental Quality</a>, serving as a senior environmental advisor to the <a title="George W. Bush" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=George_W.Bush" class="mw-redirect">George W. Bush</a>. He previously worked as a lobbyist for power industry and large electricity users, including the asbestos industry. His office pressured the <a title="Environmental Protection Agency" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Environmental_Protection_Agency" class="mw-redirect">Environmental Protection Agency</a> to dramatically weaken the wording of its public statements about the air quality in New York City in the days after the <a title="September 11, 2001" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=September_11,2001">September 11, 2001</a> attacks on the World Trade Center. <a title="" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L._Connaughton#cite_note-0">[1]</a>

In February 2009, Connaughton joined <a title="Constellation Energy" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Constellation_Energy">Constellation Energy</a> as its "executive vice president, corporate affairs, public and environmental policy." Connaughton will "direct the company's environmental and energy policy matters, as well as public and government affairs," or lobbying. According to a Constellation press release, Connaughton will help the company highlight its "low-emitting merchant fleet, expanding renewable portfolio and energy efficiency services, and its position as a leader in advancing the critical renaissance of emission-free nuclear energy." <a title="" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L._Connaughton#cite_note-1">[2]</a>

"A former lobbyist for utilities, mining, chemical, and other industrial polluters, Connaughton, represented the likes of <a title="General Electric" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=General_Electric">General Electric</a> and <a title="ARCO" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=ARCO">ARCO</a> in their effort to escape responsibility for cleaning up toxic Superfund sites. Now he heads up pollution-policy development for the administration and coordinates its implementation. He has led the charge to weaken the standards of getting arsenic out of our drinking water, and he has steadily advised Bush to ignore, divert, stall, dismiss, and otherwise block out all calls for action against the industrial causes of global warming," Jim Hightower wrote in a 2004 article for Utne.com. <a title="" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L._Connaughton#cite_note-2">[3]</a>

<h2>Contents</h2>

[<a id="togglelink" href="javascript:toggleToc()" class="internal">hide</a>]</div>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L._Connaughton#Bush_Administration">1 Bush Administration</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L._Connaughton#Energy_Security_and_Climate_Change">1.1 Energy Security and Climate Change</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L._Connaughton#Ocean_Policy_and_Marine_Resource_Conservation">1.2 Ocean Policy and Marine Resource Conservation</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L._Connaughton#Environmental_Protection_and_Natural_Resource_Conservation">1.3 Environmental Protection and Natural Resource Conservation</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L._Connaughton#Federal_Government_Environmental_Stewardship">1.4 Federal Government Environmental Stewardship</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L._Connaughton#Early_career">2 Early career</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L._Connaughton#Education">3 Education</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L._Connaughton#Articles_and_resources">4 Articles and resources</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L._Connaughton#Related_SourceWatch_articles">4.1 Related SourceWatch articles</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L._Connaughton#References">4.2 References</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L._Connaughton#External_resources">4.3 External resources</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L._Connaughton#External_articles">4.4 External articles</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

</ul>

</td></tr></tbody></table>

<h2>Bush Administration</h2>

Connaughton was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on June 14, and appointed by President Bush on June 18, 2001 to serve as the Chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). In this capacity, he served on President Bush's Senior Staff as senior environment, energy and natural resources advisor, and as Director of the <a title="White House Office (page does not exist)" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=White_House_Office&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new">White House Office</a> of Environmental Policy. Mr. Connaughton helped develop and carry out major energy and environmental policy initiatives, coordinated interagency implementation of environment and natural resource programs, and mediated key policy disagreements among Federal agencies, state, tribal and local governments and private citizens.[<a title="SourceWatch:Citation needed" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SourceWatch:Citation_needed">citation needed</a>]

<h3>Energy Security and Climate Change</h3>

A major component of Mr. Connaughtonâs policy and management portfolio involved coordination of the Cabinet-level committee addressing climate change and energy security policy. Mr. Connaughton was responsible for the development and implementation of the Administration's 2002 comprehensive climate change strategy in concert with the Administration's work on energy policy, which led to a series of new mandatory programs, incentive programs, technology initiatives and public private partnerships unprecedented in scope. These programs included:[<a title="SourceWatch:Citation needed" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SourceWatch:Citation_needed">citation needed</a>]

<ul>

<li>Major, bi-partisan legislation in 2005 to advance energy technology research and development</li>

<li>Major, bi-partisan legislation in 2007 to establish five new federal mandates on vehicle fuel efficiency, alternative fuels, and efficiency standards for appliances, lighting systems and federal operations;</li>

<li>Tens of billions of dollars in incentives for carbon sequestration on agricultural lands; new public forest management programs to prevent catastrophic wildfire and foster sequestration;</li>

<li>Technology research and development programs cumulatively exceeding $20 billion dollars; and</li>

<li>Dramatic increase in federal tax credits, loans and guarantees from less than $2 billion in 2001 to more than $70 billion in 2008 to accelerate commercial deployment of major low-carbon technologies including alternative fuels, high-efficiency vehicles, nuclear, solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, and carbon capture and storage. HMMM

</li>

</ul>

Mr. Connaughton also oversaw the Administration's Task Force on Energy Project Streamlining to help bring new energy projects on line faster while assuring environmental compliance and stewardship. With respect to international climate and energy policy, Mr. Connaughton helped establish a series of bi-lateral and multi-lateral technology initiatives in every major technology category (from fusion to efficiency), the highly successful Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate Change (with Australia, Canada, China, Japan, India and South Korea) and the Major Economies Leaders Meetings on Energy and Climate. In 2007, President Bush designated Mr. Connaughton to serve as his personal representative in the Major Economies process, culminating in the historic first Meeting of Major Economies Leaders in Japan in the summer of 2008 to help advance a new international agreement and cooperative action on energy security and climate change.[<a title="SourceWatch:Citation needed" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SourceWatch:Citation_needed">citation needed</a>]

<h3>Ocean Policy and Marine Resource Conservation</h3>

Another major component of Mr. Connaughtonâs policy and management portfolio involved the development and implementation of a comprehensive national ocean policy. Mr. Connaughton worked closely with the Presidentially-appointed U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. Following the publication of the Commissionâs recommendations in the fall of 2004, President Bush designated Mr. Connaughton chairman of a new Cabinet Committee on Ocean Policy tasked with ensuring prompt and effective action on the Commissionâs recommendations. In this role, Mr. Connaughton oversaw the development of the U.S. Ocean Action Plan, which contained more than 80 high-level actions that the Executive Branch would undertake over a three-year period. These included successfully securing comprehensive, bi-partisan legislation to end overfishing in America; obtaining UN resolution to prohibit destructive fishing practices on the high seas; providing significant new protections for highly endangered right whales; developing the first ten year ocean research priorities plan and increasing funding for ocean research; enhancing ocean education and awareness; improving the planning and management of maritime transportation; helping to establish regional governance in the Gulf, West Coast, Great Lakes, and Southeast; protecting coral reefs and other important marine habitat; and establishing policies for the Arctic. Mr. Connaughton played an instrumental role in President Bushâs historic decisions to establish four new Marine National Monuments in the Pacific, protecting 330,000 square miles of coral and marine habitatâthe largest area of ocean conservation in the world. These include: the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands; the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument in the area of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands; the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument in the area of American Samoa; and the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.[<a title="SourceWatch:Citation needed" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SourceWatch:Citation_needed">citation needed</a>]

<h3>Environmental Protection and Natural Resource Conservation</h3>

Mr. Connaughton also coordinated and assured effective implementation of major Administration initiatives that included: the national clean air strategy; Healthy Forests Restoration Act; multi-billion dollar expansion of agricultural land conservation programs; multi-billion dollar funding to address the National Parks maintenance backlog; three billion dollar National Parks Centennial Initiative; the Wetlands Restoration Initiative to increase overall wetlands acres and quality by more than 7 million acres; legislative expansion and acceleration of the program to clean-up and redevelop more than ten thousand abandoned industrial sites known as âbrownfields,â while providing small business liability relief; environmental cooperation agreements with our free trade partners; and G-8 and international partnerships for sustainable development hmmm.[<a title="SourceWatch:Citation needed" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SourceWatch:Citation_needed">citation needed</a>]

<h3>Federal Government Environmental Stewardship</h3>

Mr. Connaughton was instrumental in developing performance-based Executive Orders on Federal Government environmental stewardship, including: adoption of modernized environmental management systems and performance assessments at more than 2000 federal government operations to carry out aggressive new goals on energy efficiency, use of renewable fuel and power, vehicle efficiency, alternative vehicles, and water use.

<h2>Early career</h2>

Prior to joining the Bush Administration, Mr. Connaughton was a partner in the law firm <a title="Sidley Austin" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sidley_Austin">Sidley Austin</a>, in its Environmental Practice Group, covering a wide range of environmental policy issues, such as environmental management and compliance assurance systems, legislation, regulation, international trade and standards, and ecological risk and natural resource damages assessment.[<a title="SourceWatch:Citation needed" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SourceWatch:Citation_needed">citation needed</a>]

Of particular note, from 1993 until 2001, Mr. Connaughton served as one of the lead U.S. negotiators of the ISO 14000 series of international environmental management and performance consensus standards, including standards on environmental labeling. Mr. Connaughton also worked with officials from U.S. EPA, California EPA, and the Environmental Law Institute to help form the Multi-State Work Group on Environmental Management Systems ("MSWG"). Mr. Connaughton has extensive experience helping organizations large and small become responsible environmental stewards through effective environmental/energy management and compliance assurance systems. This work covered the electronics, transportation, consumer products, IT, home improvement, energy, and mining sectors in North America and Asia, from corporate headquarters to the factory floor.[<a title="SourceWatch:Citation needed" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SourceWatch:Citation_needed">citation needed</a>]

Mr. Connaughton began his career working on behalf of <a title="Asbestos" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Asbestos">asbestos</a> victims who worked in the major construction trades.[<a title="SourceWatch:Citation needed" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SourceWatch:Citation_needed">citation needed</a>]

<h2>Education</h2>

Connaughton earned his Bachelor's degree from <a title="Yale University" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Yale_University">Yale University</a>, where he was a member of <a title="The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus (page does not exist)" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=The_Society_of_Orpheus_and_Bacchus&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new">The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus</a>, one of Yale's undergraduate a cappella groups, and a regular performer and producer in musical theater. In his senior year, Connaughton was selected for the senior society <a title="Scroll and Key (page does not exist)" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Scroll_and_Key&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new">Scroll and Key</a> and became a member of the Yale Whiffenpoofs, the world renowned, senior men's singing group. In 1989, he graduated second in his class, magna cum laude, <a title="Order of the Coif" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Order_of_the_Coif">Order of the Coif</a>, from the <a title="Northwestern University School of Law (page does not exist)" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Northwestern_University_School_of_Law&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new">Northwestern University School of Law</a>. At <a title="Northwestern University (page does not exist)" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Northwestern_University&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new">Northwestern</a>, he was an Austin Scholar and served as Coordinating Articles Editor of the <a title="Northwestern University Law Review (page does not exist)" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Northwestern_University_Law_Review&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new">Northwestern University Law Review</a>. Following Law School, he clerked for <a title="U.S. District Judge Marvin Aspen (page does not exist)" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=U.S.District_Judge_Marvin_Aspen&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new">U.S. District Judge Marvin Aspen</a> in the <a title="Northern District of Illinois (page does not exist)" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Northern_District_of_Illinois&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new">Northern District of Illinois</a>. <a title="" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L.Connaughton#cite_note-4">[5]</a>

<h2>Articles and resources</h2>

<h3>Related SourceWatch articles</h3>

<ul>

<li><a title="Bush administration" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Bush_administration">Bush administration</a></li>

<li><a title="White House Council on Environmental Quality" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=White_House_Council_on_Environmental_Quality" class="mw-redirect">White House Council on Environmental Quality</a></li>

</ul>

<h3>References</h3>

<li id="cite_note-0"><a title="" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L._Connaughton#cite_ref-0">â</a> "<a title="http://www.epa.gov/oig/reports/2003/WTC_report_20030821.pdf" href="http://www.epa.gov/oig/reports/2003/WTC_report_20030821.pdf" rel="nofollow" class="external text">EPA's Response to the World Trade Center Collapse: Challenges, Successes, and Areas for Improvement (pdf)</a>," U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Inspector General, August 21, 2003.</li>

<li id="cite_note-1"><a title="" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L._Connaughton#cite_ref-1">â</a> Press release, "<a title="http://ir.constellation.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=367086" href="http://ir.constellation.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=367086" rel="nofollow" class="external text">Constellation Energy Names James L. Connaughton Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Public and Environmental Policy</a>," Constellation Energy, February 23, 2009.</li>

<li id="cite_note-2"><a title="" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L._Connaughton#cite_ref-2">â</a> Jim Hightower, "<a title="http://www.utne.com/web_special/web_specials_2004-06/articles/11232-1.html" href="http://www.utne.com/web_special/web_specials_2004-06/articles/11232-1.html" rel="nofollow" class="external text">A Dirty Dozen: Sub-cabinet policy operatives actually run government</a>", Utne.com, June 2004.</li>

<li id="cite_note-3"><a title="" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L._Connaughton#cite_ref-3">â</a> [<a title="http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/connaugton-bio.html" href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/connaugton-bio.html" rel="nofollow" class="external free">http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/connaugton-bio.html</a> James L. Connaughton Chairman, Council on Environmental Quality]. Whitehouse.gov. Retrieved on 2007-06-06.</li>

<li id="cite_note-4"><a title="" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L._Connaughton#cite_ref-4">â</a> [<a title="http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/connaugton-bio.html" href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/connaugton-bio.html" rel="nofollow" class="external free">http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/connaugton-bio.html</a> James L. Connaughton Chairman, Council on Environmental Quality]. Whitehouse.gov. Retrieved on 2007-06-06.</li>

<li id="cite_note-5"><a title="" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_L._Connaughton#cite_ref-5">â</a> [<a title="http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/connaugton-bio.html" href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/connaugton-bio.html" rel="nofollow" class="external free">http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/connaugton-bio.html</a> James L. Connaughton Chairman, Council on Environmental Quality]. Whitehouse.gov. Retrieved on 2007-06-06.</li>

</ol>

<h3>External resources</h3>

<h3>External articles</h3>

<ul>

<li>"<a title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42741-2004Oct18.html" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42741-2004Oct18.html" rel="nofollow" class="external text">Bush & The Environment: Live discussion with James L. Connaughton, White House Council on Environmental Quality Chairman</a>," Washington Post, October 19, 2004.</li>

</ul>

More from RS

As he shaped climate policy, Cheney took his cues from the Global

Climate Coalition, an alliance of anti-Kyoto polluters that included

the top lobbying arms of the oil and coal industries. In June 2001,

the administration dispatched Paula Dobriansky, the undersecretary of

state for global affairs, to address the GCC at the headquarters of

the American Petroleum Institute. In her speech, Dobriansky was glad

to give the industry crowd credit for the president's decision to

withdraw from the international treaty designed to slow climate

change. Her talking points from that day read, "POTUS rejected Kyoto,

in part, based on input from you."

Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act also reveal

that Dobriansky had received a copy of the GCC's "21st Century

Climate Action Agenda," a game plan crafted by polluting industries

that calls for "a new approach to climate policy" focusing

on "voluntary actions" rather than mandatory limits on greenhouse

gases. On February 14th, 2002, Bush gave a speech at the National

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that laid out his policy on

global warming for the first time. The speech was a Valentine's Day

gift to polluters, officially enshrining the GCC's agenda, almost

point for point, as the White House's climate policy. Under the plan,

planet-warming pollution would actually increase by thirty-four

percent by 2030. Bush vaguely promised to cut the "intensity" of

carbon emissions by eighteen percent over the next ten years -

neglecting to mention that the nation was already on track for a

fourteen percent reduction. He touted $700 million in new funding for

technologies that might someday reduce emissions - money that

government auditors were later unable to find any trace of. And he

promised that the entire plan would be thoroughly reviewed and re-

evaluated - in 2012, four years after he left office.

The National Academy of Sciences blasted the policy, saying it lacked

a "guiding vision, executable goals, clear timetables and criteria

for measuring progress." Even the technology promoted in the

president's plan was bogus. "It's as if these people were not

cognizant of the existing science," one member of the academy

remarked. "Stuff that would have been cutting-edge in 1980 is listed

as a priority for the future."

In his Valentine's Day speech, Bush gave credit to the man who Cheney

had placed in charge of crafting the nation's climate policy to suit

the needs of big polluters. "I want to thank Jim Connaughton, who is

the chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality," Bush

declared. "He's done a fabulous [read heckuva] job of putting this policy together."

Connaughton's mission at the CEQ was to make sure climate

regulations never got in the way of energy development. A Yale-educated lawyer,

Connaughton comes across like a slightly caffeinated Ron Howard, with

a manic energy and a balding pate of wispy red hair. As head of the

CEQ, he put a green spin on polluter-friendly measures: Lowering air

quality became the "Clear Skies Initiative," while allowing timber

companies to step up their clear-cutting was dubbed the "Healthy

Forests Initiative."

To direct the White House's spin on global warming, Connaughton

appointed Philip Cooney as his top deputy. Cooney had the right

experience for the job: He worked as "climate team leader" for the

American Petroleum Institute. In 1998, the API took part in an

industry coalition that created the "Global Climate Science

Communications Action Plan." The plan, recently entered into evidence

by the House Oversight Committee, maps out an elaborate

disinformation campaign to prevent "precipitous action on climate

change." The strategy was to sow doubt about global warming,

disseminating industry-funded research to challenge "the science

underpinning the global climate change theory."

Now, with Cooney in the White House, the industry had its own anti-

climate man running the disinformation campaign. As the "action plan"

directed, Cooney set out to censor the EPA's science on global

warming and inject the industry's denialist positions into government

documents. "They decided they didn't need to win the debate on

climate," says Piltz, the former official who exposed Cooney's

tactics. "They just had to leave an atmosphere of uncertainty about

it and dissipate the will for political action."

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co-prez bk

conn coined Healthy Forest Init

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omb watch

James Connaughton has been confirmed as Chair of the White House's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The CEQ Chair is responsible for developing broad policies to bring together the nation's environmental, social, and economic priorities. The CEQ Chair also advises and assists the president on national and international environmental policy matters and prepares the president's annual environmental quality report to Congress.

<a href="http://www.earthjustice.org/policy/profiles/display.html?Department=Council%20On%20Environmental%20Quality">As Earthjustice's research points out (provided by the Clearinghouse for Environmental Advoacy Research and White House Watch)</a> Connaughton, as a partner at Sidley Austin Brown & Wood law firm's Environmental Practice Group, has represented and counseled corporate and trade association clients on environmental management systems, legislation, regulation, treaty and trade law, international standards and complex natural resource litigation at the state, federal, and international levels. He represented General Electric and ASARCO in their superfund fights with EPA, and also lobbied on environmental issues on behalf of major corporate interests such as Aluminum Company of America, ASARCO, Atlantic Richfield, the Chemical Manufactures Association, and General Electric.

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Connaughton, James

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