Neutralizing Big Oil's Climate Bill Attack, With Investment in Manufacturing

By Bill Scher

Created 08/21/2009 - 1:29pm

The oil lobby's latest Astroturf concoction is "Energy Citizens." [1] Its website practically looks like it's a group pushing clean green jobs [1], with it's green-tinted USA map and call to "support American jobs and affordable energy." Its attempt as a grassroots rally was rightly deemed nothing more than a "company picnic," [2] just another ruse to kill the clean energy and climate protection bill which passed the House and should be taken up by the Senate later in the year.

As we've seen in the health care debate, the conservative movement and their corporate backers still have the ability to spread lies and warp debate. If the climate bill is tagged as a job-killer, that will be a bill-killer.

While the entire enterprise of averting a climate crisis by capping carbon emissions is sure to launch a vibrant green jobs industry, we must take extra steps to ensure that the America component of any global warming strategy creates good-paying American green jobs, not sends even more jobs away to other countries. This is our best chance to revitalize America's manufacturing base, and we'll likely lose political support to address the climate crisis if we don't also seize this economic opportunity.