Posted on 04/09/2007 12:58:19 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's team of senior environmental advisors ended a trip to Europe with executives from Chevron, PG&E and other corporations. The trip was designed to study Europe's efforts to curb global warming, but it also spotlighted how the Schwarzenegger administration sometimes deals with the companies it regulates.
It's called "constructive engagement" - treating corporations under regulatory control as partners rather than enemies to be beaten into submission. The agency that regulates California workplaces, Cal-OSHA, often relies on cooperative agreements with company owners rather than threats of huge fines to improve conditions. CalPERS also has attempted to use its tremendous wealth to coax rogue states into ending human rights abuses.
But now, there is more criticism over an agreement between the University of California and BP, the oil-producing giant. BP has committed to spending $500 million on alternative fuels research at UC Berkeley. Jennifer Washburn with the New America Foundation says it's a bad deal that "dispenses with numerous traditional safeguards designed to protect the university's independence. It grants BP unusual control over the institute's research agenda, ...
"As such, the alliance would undermine the university's academic freedom, its ability to perform independent research and broadly disseminate results. And, possibly, it might undermine the public's trust. ... In short, for $500 million, the plan would allow BP, a company valued at $250 billion, to turn an academic research institute into its own profit-making subsidiary."
Schwarzenegger ... has done several events that have burnished BP's image as environmentally conscious. The UC agreement, announced by Schwarzenegger on Feb. 1, could provide a cautionary note as regulators begin implementing global warming legislation under AB 32. California business has a huge stake in the regulations, and just how embedded they become with government will be closely watched.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com ...
Gubamint and business working hand in hand running things .. sounds kind of THird Way-sian
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s team of senior environmental advisors
...
lol
The same ones that helped him come up with Global Varming legislation.
Every counter to a GW story needs to begin with that sentence if it is accurate.
“Last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s team of senior environmental advisors ended a trip to Europe with executives from Chevron, PG&E and other corporations. The trip was designed to study Europe’s efforts to curb global warming, but it also spotlighted how the Schwarzenegger administration sometimes deals with the companies it regulates.”
Since “Europe” has done nothing but the $40 Billion+ Carbon Emissions Trading System...that’s what they’re going to “study.”
Oil companies can profit too if they “assure” with appropriate contribution generous carbon allotments.
If they re-made “The Graduate” today, al goore could star with schwarzenkennedy, instead of plastics being the future,, it would be ‘carbon credits’ ;-)
Since “Europe” has done nothing but the $40 Billion+ Carbon Emissions Trading System...that’s what they’re going to “study.”
In life, Enron gave you the California Electricity Gaming System.
In death, Enron gives you carbon emission trading systems.
Enron - The Gift That Keeps On Giving
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