{"id":534510,"date":"2010-04-19T15:51:14","date_gmt":"2010-04-19T19:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/climateprogress.org\/?p=23216"},"modified":"2010-04-19T15:51:14","modified_gmt":"2010-04-19T19:51:14","slug":"duke%e2%80%99s-jim-rogers-leaves-chamber-of-commerce-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/534510","title":{"rendered":"Duke\u2019s Jim Rogers leaves Chamber of Commerce Board"},"content":{"rendered":"

Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers<\/a>, a critic of the US Chamber of Commerce\u2019s reactionary stance on climate policy<\/a>, has left the lobbying giant\u2019s board. Brad Johnson<\/a> has the story in this repost<\/a>. <\/span>A Wonk Room review of the Chamber\u2019s website found that six companies have left the board and thirteen joined since last year. Siemens USA\u2019s George Nolen, another critic of the Chamber\u2019s climate opposition, has also left the board. Duke and Siemens are members of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership<\/a>, which helped develop the Waxman-Markey climate legislation that the Chamber opposed. In October 2009, Rogers had indicated he still believed his board membership was worthwhile<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI feel like the chamber is open to evolving their thinking,\u201d Duke CEO Rogers said in an interview. He said he thought he could push the chamber<\/strong> \u201cto the center\u201d on the issue by staying on the board.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He has evidently decided otherwise.<\/p>\n

Although both Duke and Siemens publicly criticized<\/a> the Chamber\u2019s stance on climate policy, neither publicly announced they were leaving the board. Last year the utilities PG&E, Exelon, PNM Resources, and PSEG ended their membership<\/a> with the Chamber, unable to reconcile their support for climate action with the Chamber\u2019s denial of the science<\/a> and hard-line opposition to President Obama\u2019s clean energy policies. The Wonk Room has not ascertained whether Duke and Siemens have left the Chamber entirely, although it appears Siemens is still an active member<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last year, USCAP had eight members on the U.S. Chamber board. This number is down to four (Alcoa, Dow, Deere, and IBM), with Siemens and Duke Energy leaving the U.S. Chamber of Commerce board and ConocoPhillips and Caterpillar leaving USCAP<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Purported climate action advocates Pepsi and IBM, who were on the board in the beginning of 2009, have returned to the board in 2010. With the enactment of health care reform, the health care industry has stepped up its involvement with the nation\u2019s largest lobbying group, as health insurance giant WellPoint, pharmaceutical maker Sanofi-aventis, and private hospital group Clarian Health have joined the board.<\/p>\n

The US Chamber of Commerce has also become more sinful, with the addition of US Smokeless Tobacco\u2019s CEO Peter Paoli and Michael Leven, the president of Las Vegas Sands, the casino owned by right-wing billionaire Shel Adelson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here are the changes from last year to now:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Off the board<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Name<\/th>\nCompany<\/th>\nSector<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Orrin Ingram<\/td>\nIngram Industries<\/td>\nbooks, barges, IT<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
George Nolen<\/td>\nSiemens<\/td>\nelectronics and engineering<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mark French<\/td>\nLeading Authorities<\/td>\npublic speaking, former Chamber exec<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
David Moxam<\/td>\nAuthentix<\/td>\nbrand protection and authentication<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jim Rogers<\/td>\nDuke Energy<\/td>\nelectric utility<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
David Steinberg<\/td>\nCAIVIS<\/td>\ninternet marketing investment<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
On the board<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Name<\/th>\nCompany<\/th>\nSector<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
David Adkisson<\/td>\nKY Chamber of Commerce<\/td>\nbusiness association<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Daniel Bryant<\/td>\nPepsi<\/td>\nbeverages<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
John Cannon<\/td>\nWellPoint<\/td>\nhealth insurance<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Daniel F Evans Jr<\/td>\nClarian Health<\/td>\nprivate hospitals<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gregory Irace<\/td>\nSanofi-aventis<\/td>\npharmaceuticals<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
James B Lee Jr<\/td>\nJPMorgan Chase<\/td>\nfinance<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Michael A Leven<\/td>\nLas Vegas Sands<\/td>\ngambling<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wes W Lucas<\/td>\nSIRVA<\/td>\nmoving<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tamara L Lundgren<\/td>\nSchnitzer Steel<\/td>\nrecycling<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Peter Paoli<\/td>\nUS Smokeless Tobacco<\/td>\ntobacco<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Thomas Joseph Tauke<\/td>\nVerizon<\/td>\ncommunication<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mark E Watson III<\/td>\nArgo Group<\/td>\ninsurance<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Robert C Weber<\/td>\nIBM<\/td>\ncomputers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

This analysis was assisted by the Public Accountability Initiative<\/a>\u2019s LittleSis.org<\/a> project.<\/p>\n

Related Posts:<\/p>\n