The balloon-suspended banner exposed Senator Murkowski’s close relationship with polluter lobbyists and promoted PolluterHarmony (http://www.PolluterHarmony.com), a spoof online dating service launched last month just before Valentine’s Day to help connect polluters, industry lobbyists, and politicians. The three activists arrested are Rachel Humphreys, Alec Rothman, and Samantha Corbin.
“Senator Murkowski’s recent outrageous demand that her vote for global warming legislation can be bought by permitting oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is just the latest example of her dedication to polluter lobbyists’ interests over the public interest or the environment,” said Kert Davies, Greenpeace Research Director, “Ideas like promoting reckless oil drilling and trashing the Clean Air Act might entice dirty energy interests to write campaign checks but they have no place in sane national energy policy.”
Last week, Senator Murkowski suggested that she would only vote for a climate and energy bill if it included opening the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. While Alaska’s arctic environment is especially vulnerable to the impacts of global warming, drilling in ANWR would further threaten Arctic wildlife with new roads, pipelines, and the risk of oil spills.
In January, news reports revealed that dirty industry lobbyists helped Senator Lisa Murkwoski write legislation aimed at blocking the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gasses. The lobbyists, former Bush officials Jeffrey Holmstead and Roger Martella, helped Murkowski craft the bill shortly after several of their clients made sizable donations to her campaign account. Senator Murkowski was also recently the featured speaker on a Chamber of Commerce national conference call to whip corporate support for the campaign to block the EPA from using the Clean Air Act to address greenhouse gasses.
Other contacts: Joe Smyth, Greenpeace media officer, 831-566-5647, [email protected] For high-res photo, [email protected]
Notes: Photos available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenpeaceusa09/sets/72157623580357404/
