| "We applaud those members of the California delegation who fought in 2009 to bring clean energy jobs to the state and reduce our national dependence on foreign oil, particularly Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein and the 23 members of the House of Representatives who received a perfect score for their environmental votes," said Warner Chabot, CEO of the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV).
League of Conservation Voters Greenwashes Feinstein's Environmental Record
by Dan Bacher
The California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV) on Monday greenwashed the environmental record of Dianne Feinstein by praising her for earning a 100 percent score in the national League of Conservation Voters' 2009 National Environmental Scorecard, even though Feinstein has collaborated with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in campaigning for the construction of a peripheral canal and new dams that would seal the doom of California's imperiled Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations.
Feinstein is now sponsoring an amendment in the Senate, at the behest of Westlands Water District, to strip protections under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for Sacramento River Chinook salmon, Delta smelt, Central Valley steelhead and the southern resident population of killer whales. She has persistently lobbied to increase water exports to subsidized agribusiness interests that irrigate toxic soil on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley.
After receiving a letter from agribusiness giant Stewart Resnick of Paramount Farms, Feinstein also pressured the Obama administration to convene an "independent" panel of the National Academy of Sciences to review the biological opinions for Delta smelt and Central Valley salmon in January.
Yet CLCV CEO Warner Chabot gushes over what a great "environmental leader" that Feinstein is. "We applaud those members of the California delegation who fought in 2009 to bring clean energy jobs to the state and reduce our national dependence on foreign oil, particularly Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein and the 23 members of the House of Representatives who received a perfect score for their environmental votes," said Chabot. "The 2009 Scorecard clearly exposes numerous other legislators for their terrible voting record and willingness to put corporate polluters and other special interests ahead of a cleaner, more secure energy future for California."
The salmon collapse, spurred by increased water exports to Feinstein's corporate agribusiness buddies, has resulted in the loss of 23,000 jobs to coastal and inland communities in California and Oregon. The Sacramento River fall Chinook salmon run reached a new record low of 39,530 fish in 2009.
Rather than praising her, the CLCV could have used the release of this so-called "scorecard" as a chance to ask Feinstein to do the right thing and abandon her campaign to destroy the California Delta and West Coast salmon fisheries. But instead, they portray Feinstein and Boxer as "environmental heroes." If the CLCV and the LCV are so wrong on Feinstein's environmental record, doesn't that cast into doubt their ratings of other Senators and Representatives?
Even Steve Maviglio, the principal of Forza Communications, a Sacramento-based public affairs/campaign firm, admitted in his blog on the California Majority Report, "Despite her anti-solar and anti-water quality efforts, Sen. Dianne Feinstein scored 100 percent, along with long-time economic champion Sen. Barbara Boxer."
If Feinstein is so "anti-solar" and "anti-water quality," could there be an inherent flaw in the way that the scorecard is compiled? How can she possibly receive a 100 percent rating if she is so consistently against solar energy and clean water?
Greenwashing bad environmental policy is nothing new to the California League of Conservation Voters, an organization that styles itself as "the non-partisan political arm of the environmental movement in California." In November, CLCV joined the Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense Fund, Audubon, The Nature Conservancy and Defenders of Wildlife in support of the water policy package that creates a clear path to the construction of a peripheral canal and new dams. The majority of the state's environmental groups opposed both the water policy and water bond bills because they feared their passage will lead to the extinction of Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations.
"This historic package includes strong protections for the Delta as well as landmark Delta ecosystem protections, conservation and groundwater monitoring measures," claimed Warner Chabot. "While not perfect, this package provides a strong basis for critical reforms to California's complex water issues."
The CLCV "leadership" also adamantly supports Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's fast-track Marine Life Protection (MLPA) Initiative, a cynical attempt by Schwarzenegger to greenwash his deplorable environmental record. A coalition of North Coast environmentalists, fishermen, Indian tribal members, seaweed harvesters, cities and counties has strongly criticized the privately-funded process for conflicts of interest, mission creep, the corruption of the democratic process and wholesale violation of traditional tribal seaweed harvesting and fishing rights.
If you are appalled as I am by CLCV and LCV praising Feinstein's environmental record at a time when a broad coalition of fishermen, environmentalists and Indian Tribes is protesting her war against salmon and salmon fishermen, I urge that you contact them now. Even more importantly, call Feinstein's office and demand that she withdraw her salmon killer amendment to the jobs bill.
To contact the national LCV, go to: http://lcv.org/
Call Senator Feinstein's DC office before 2 pm Pacific time at (202) 224-3841! If you get a busy signal or would prefer to call one of her California offices you can reach her in San Francisco at (415) 393-0707 or Los Angeles at (310) 914-7300.
Below is the press release from CLCV and LCV:
CLCV and LCV Release Scores of Calif. Senators, Members of House
Today, the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV) joined the national League of Conservation Voters (LCV) in releasing the 2009 National Environmental Scorecard, revealing scores for the California delegation in the first session of the 111th Congress.
"We applaud those members of the California delegation who fought in 2009 to bring clean energy jobs to the state and reduce our national dependence on foreign oil, particularly Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein and the 23 members of the House of Representatives who received a perfect score for their environmental votes," said CLCV CEO Warner Chabot. "The 2009 Scorecard clearly exposes numerous other legislators for their terrible voting record and willingness to put corporate polluters and other special interests ahead of a cleaner, more secure energy future for California."
In order to find out how your member of Congress performed on the environment, visit the League of Conservation Voters' Scorecard online.
The 2009 Scorecard includes 11 Senate and 13 House votes dominated by clean energy and climate change but also encompassing other environmental issues such as public lands, water and wildlife conservation. In California, 23 House members and both Senators earned a perfect 100 percent score in 2009, while nine House members received an abysmal 0 percent. The average score in 2009 for California members of the House was 63 percent.
"The 2009 National Environmental Scorecard illustrates the extent to which the Obama administration and the 111th Congress began to move our nation towards a clean energy future that will create new jobs, make America more energy independent and curb global warming pollution," said LCV President Gene Karpinski. "However, it also makes clear that there is still much work to be done, first and foremost to finish the work started in the House by swiftly passing a comprehensive clean energy and climate bill in the Senate."
For the California delegation's scores, read the CLCV press release.
The full 2009 National Environmental Scorecard can be found at http://www.lcv.org/scorecard
For 30 years, the National Environmental Scorecard issued by LCV has been the nationally accepted yardstick used to rate members of Congress on environmental, public health and energy issues. CLCV releases an annual California Environmental Scorecard tallying the votes of the governor and the members of the California Senate and Assembly on priority environmental legislation. |
