System Operator

Koch Industries receives uncoveted Snake Oil Award

Said Repower America Campaign Manager Dave Boundy, “Not only do they pollute our environment, they also pollute our democracy by funding climate denial groups that work to mislead and confuse Americans.” Repower America coupled the award with a new Web site devoted to the company.

Koch’s list of activities is long and impressive. The environmental group Greenpeace has documented the company’s funding, along with ExxonMobil, of a host of organizations working to slow or halt action on climate change. Koch was also the subject of a recent lengthy New Yorker investigative piece, as well as a YouTube video concerning the role of company co-owner and billionaire David Koch in organizing the Tea Party movement.

To date, the company has operated largely in the shadows—David Koch is fond of describing it as “the largest company you’ve never heard of”–but that seems to be changing. It will be interesting to see the effect of sunlight, supposedly the best disinfectant, on its massive, ambitious, and heretofore generally hidden effort to influence America’s energy policy.

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And the Winner Is…

By Dave Boundy, Campaign Manager, repoweramerica.org/blog/and-the-winner-is/

One thing is for certain: you’re angry. When I tallied the votes for the 2010 Snake Oil Awards, I found myself nodding my head as I read your comments. Massey Energy, API, Koch Industries and BP America spew lies so they can pollute the air and line their pockets with profits.

Each of the four nominees received a large number of votes, but now it’s time to announce the “winner.” It’s Koch Industries — the notorious pipeline and refinery company that pours money into groups that defend the interests of big oil.

Here are the final vote totals for our four nominees:

Koch Industries: 5,552 votes (42%)
BP: 5,119 votes (39%)
API: 1,347 votes (10%)
Massey Energy: 1,216 votes (9%)

We set out to determine the worst offender so we could spread the word about this dirty energy company’s history of pollution and lies.

That’s why we made this site: KochIndustriesFacts.com

KochIndustriesFacts.com is a catalog of lies and environmental offenses by Koch Industries and its owners, the brothers Charles and David Koch. What we’ve listed on the site is just the beginning. Click around for a bit, and if you see something that’s missing, make sure to let us know by submitting your own facts about Koch Industries.

Over the years, Koch Industries has spent nearly 50 million dollars funding climate change deniers, while running a very environmentally dangerous company at a high profit. So I’m sure there are new facts for you to add based on their long history of wrongdoing.

Can you help us spread the word about Koch Industries by sharing this website on Facebook and Twitter? Your help will go a long way in making sure Koch Industries is exposed to the American people.

www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer

By Tom Gray, www.aweablog.org/