Crony capitalism: Chesapeake Energy and the Sierra Club

Coal barge, Guttenberg, Iowa

The Sierra Club, whose far left political stance reaches beyond environmental issues--for instance, it's a backer of the Occupy Wall Street movement--has been at war with oil and coal for quite sometime. Natural gas is an exception. But if you follow the money, as the Daily Caller explains, it all makes sense.

A Time magazine blogger reported Thursday that the Sierra Club, America's oldest and most august environmental organization, accepted millions of dollars in donations from one of the nation's biggest natural gas-drilling companies for a program lambasting coal-fired power plants as environmental evildoers.

The total take for John Muir's conservation group? A whopping $26 million over four years from Chesapeake Energy and its subsidiaries, mostly through Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon.

The news rocked the environmental movement, sent the Sierra Club headlong into explanation mode, angered coal companies that the organization targeted with natural gas money, and had free-market advocates shaking their heads.

The episode "raises concerns about influence industry may have had on the Sierra Club's independence and its support of natural gas in the past," wrote Time's Bryan Walsh.

The Sierra Club, I'm certain stockholders of Chesapeake will be astounded to learn, is a supporter of union card check. What does that have to do with the environment? I have no idea.

PJ Tatler has more, as does NetRightDaily.

Technorati tags: labor politics unions news business card check efca organized labor sierra club economy government energy coal environment oil crony capitalism green