General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsEnergy Companies Are Spending Million$ to Fight Local Fracking Bans Because They're Terrified
..."City and county-level ballot initiatives may seem like small beans, but the energy industry's response suggests otherwise. In each race, it's ludicrously outspending its opponentsfearful, perhaps, if these voters can beat the fracking industry at the ballot box, it would signal to other threatened communities that these sorts of fights are worth picking.
Fossil fuel giants Chevron, Aera Energy, ExxonMobil, and Occidental, among others, have poured more than $7 million into a coalitionCalifornians for Energy Independencefighting the proposed measures in California. In Santa Barbara County (pop. 90,400), opponents have raised over $5.7 million to fight the proposed ban, beating supporters by a roughly 19-1 margin.
That's a staggering amount of moneyeven in the prohibitively expensive American political climate. As supporters have pointed out, the amount raised in Santa Barbara is more than three times as much as it took on average to win a seat in the House last election cycle, according to Open Secrets. Indeed, industry spending on the ballot question far exceeds the amount raised in each of the state's 53 congressional races this fall."
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120007/fracking-bans-ballot-california-texas-test-energy-industry
bemildred
(90,061 posts)RiverLover
(7,830 posts)In Ohio, the state govt has been bought by Koch, Halliburton, Greenhunter, et al and state govt is trumping local govt at every turn.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)I live in California, this used to be a Republican state, not that long ago either.