Clean and Safe Energy Coalition

From SourceWatch
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Front groups badge.png

This article is part of the Center for Media & Democracy's spotlight on front groups and corporate spin.

The Clean and Safe Energy Coaltion (CASEnergy) is a public relations campaign for new reactors launched in 2006, funded by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) industry group, and headed by former Bush Environmental Protection Agency administrator Christine Todd Whitman and former Greenpeace activist Patrick Moore (who left that group in 1986). [1] CASEnergy was launched on April 24, 2006.[1] On its website, the PR firm Hill & Knowlton boasted that the group is "a national grassroots organization that advocates the benefits of nuclear energy. The CASEnergy Coalition is a Hill & Knowlton campaign run out of the Washington, DC office."[2]

Mission statement

According to the group's website, "The Clean and Safe Energy Coalition (CASEnergy Coalition) supports the increased use of nuclear energy to ensure an environmentally clean, safe, affordable and reliable supply of electricity. Nuclear power enhances America's energy security and economic growth, helps attain cleaner air and improves the quality of life, health and economic well-being for all Americans." It also claims that nuclear energy good for US security.[2]

Front group

The Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) described CASEnergy as a front group for the nuclear power industry, created by the PR giant Hill & Knowlton. [3]

The CJR criticised the Washington Post for simply referring to Moore as an "environmentalist" and a co-founder of Greenpeace — without mentioning that he is funded by the nuclear industry. A string of other newspapers followed suit, failing to mention that Moore is also a paid spokesman for the nuclear industry. CJR said it is "maddening that Hill & Knowlton, which has an $8 million account with the nuclear industry, should have such an easy time working the press".

The words "clean" and "safe" were deliberately used as part of the nuclear industry's multi-million pound campaign to repackage itself. It is interesting that the industry carries on using these words even after similar campaigns were found to be misleading.

Personnel

  • Christine Todd Whitman - co-chair
  • Patrick Moore - co-chair
  • Nina Cann-Woode - field representative [4]
  • Deborah L. Nelson - media contact (listed on a June 2008 CASEnergy release [5]) and vice-president at Hill & Knowton [6]
  • Don Meyer - media contact (listed on May and Oct 2006 press releases) - "CASEnergy spokesman Don Meyer [is] a senior vice president with Washington public relations firm Hill & Knowlton," reported Nucleonics Week ("Two New Groups Formed to Press for Greater Use of Nuclear Power," by Daniel Horner and Tom Harrison, April 27, 2006)
  • Nathan Drevna - media contact (listed on Nov 2006 press release) - also a Hill & Knowlton employee, according to multiple press releases [3][4][5]

Members

Organizations

The Coalition boasts a long list of members and individual supporters – but the website also states that there is no fee or joining process for membership, so joining takes little more than the click of a mouse. [7]

As of November 2006, the website listed the following organizations as members[8]:

  • ABB [6]
  • AFL-CIO, Building & Construction Trades Department
  • Alliance for Sound Nuclear Policy
  • AmerenUE
  • American Boiler Manufacturers Association
  • American Council on Science and Health
  • American Energy Independence
  • American Homeowners Grassroots Alliance
  • American Iron and Steel Institute
  • American Nuclear Insurers
  • American Nuclear Society, Columbia, SC Chapter
  • American Public Power Association
  • Analytical Nuclear Services Company
  • Applied Research Center
  • AREVA, Inc.
  • Arizona Public Service
  • Arkansas Environmental Federation
  • Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce
  • Asbestos Workers Union Local 67- Florida
  • Associated Equipment Distributors
  • Associated Industries of Arkansas
  • Associated Industries of Florida
  • Baton Rouge Area Chamber of Commerce
  • Baton Rouge Workforce Investment Board
  • B&D Consulting
  • Bechtel Power Corporation
  • Blackledge Furniture
  • Boilermakers Local 433
  • Bricklayers Local Union 1 - Florida
  • Brookhaven-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce
  • Brown McMahon & Weinraub, LLC
  • Capital Area Agency on Aging Louisiana
  • Cedar Rapids City Building Trades Council, IA
  • Center for Advanced Power Systems - Florida State University
  • ChemCorr, LLC
  • Chicago and Cook County Building and Construction Trades Council
  • Chicago Federation of Labor
  • Chicago Plumbers Local Union 130
  • Chicago Urban League
  • City of St. Francisville, Louisiana
  • Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness
  • CMS Energy
  • Conference of Minority Transportation Officials
  • Constellation Energy
  • Consumers First, Inc.
  • ConverDyn
  • Copeland & Johns, Inc.
  • Copiah-Lincon Community College
  • Cornell University
  • Creative Video
  • Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce
  • Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S.
  • Dominion
  • DTE Energy
  • Duke Power Company
  • Edison Electric Institute
  • Edlow International Company
  • E-J Electric Installation Company
  • Electric Consumers' Alliance
  • Electricians Local Union 108 - Florida
  • Elevator Construction Local Union 74 - Florida
  • The Energy Association of New York State
  • Energy Northwest
  • Entergy Corporation
  • Exelon Corporation
  • Florida Carpenters Regional Council
  • Florida Petroleum Council
  • FirstEnergy Corp.
  • Florida Power & Light
  • Florida State University Center for Advanced Power Systems
  • GE Energy
  • General Atomics
  • The Gladlands
  • Greenspirit Strategies Ltd.
  • Hawkeye Labor Council, AFL-CIO
  • Highlines Construction Company Louisiana
  • H.O.P.I. Consulting
  • HTS Consulting
  • Idaho National Laboratory
  • Illinois Chamber of Commerce
  • Illinois Energy Association
  • Illinois Manufacturers Association
  • International Access Corporation
  • International Brotherhood of Boilermakers
  • International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
  • International Brotherhood of Teamsters
  • International Paper
  • iNuclear
  • Iron Workers Local Union 397 - Florida
  • Iron Workers Local Union 474- New Hampshire
  • Jackson Economic Development Alliance
  • Johnson, Baily, Henderson, McNeel Architects
  • Kirk Consulting Group, Inc.
  • L-3 Communications MAPPS
  • Laborers Locals 43, IA
  • Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce
  • Lawrence County Community Development Association
  • Louisiana Association of Building and Industry
  • Louisiana Chemical Association
  • Louisiana Municipal Association
  • Manchester Latino Caucus
  • Maracor Software & Engineering, Inc.
  • Marked Tree Economic Development, AK
  • MEAG Power
  • Michigan Chamber of Commerce
  • Michigan Electric Cooperative Association
  • Michigan Grocers Association
  • Michigan Institute of Laundering and Drycleaning
  • Michigan Movers Association
  • Michigan Retailers Association
  • Midwest Carwash Association
  • Mississippi Development Corporation
  • Mississippi Manufacturers Association
  • Mississippi Municipal League
  • Mississippi State Board for Community and Jr. Colleges
  • Mississippi Technology Alliance
  • Mitsubishi Power Systems, Inc.
  • Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP
  • Morris, Demag, McCarty, Inc.
  • MPR Associates, Inc.
  • NAACP, Tampa Branch
  • NAC International
  • National Association of Manufacturers
  • National Electrical Contractors Association
  • National Enrichment Facility
  • National Ready Mixed Concrete Association
  • National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
  • Nazchez-Adams County Development Authority
  • Nebraska Public Power District
  • New England Energy Alliance
  • North American Young Generation in Nuclear
  • North Carolina State University, Department of Nuclear Engineering
  • Nuclear Energy Institute
  • Nuclear is Our Future
  • NuStart Energy Development, LLC
  • Oglethorpe Power Corporation
  • Omaha Public Power District
  • 100 Black Men Baton Rouge
  • Operating Engineers Local 925 - Florida
  • The Outlaw Group
  • Painters Local Union 88 - Florida
  • PDF Conference
  • Pebble Bed Modular Reactor Limited
  • PG&E Corporation
  • Pinnacle West
  • Pioneer Service And Engineering Co., Inc
  • Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 123
  • Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 597 - Illinois
  • PNM Resources
  • Port of Greater Baton Rouge
  • Power Resources, Inc
  • PPL Susquehanna
  • Prince Igor Productions
  • Professional Radiation Consulting, Inc.
  • Progress Energy
  • Promet Energy Partners, LLC
  • PVS Chemicals, Inc.
  • Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG)
  • Quad City Federation of Labor
  • R. Brooks Associates, Inc.
  • The Riverside Advocacy Center
  • Rock-Tenn Company
  • RWE Nukem, Inc.
  • Sandia National Laboratories
  • Santee Cooper
  • SCANA Corporation
  • Scientech, LLC
  • 60 Plus Association
  • Sheet Metal Workers' International Association
  • SMWIA Local Union 105 - California
  • Southeast Iowa Building and Construction Trades
  • Southern Company
  • Southwest Mississippi Partnership
  • SPX Building Corporation
  • Sterling Heights Area Chamber of Commerce
  • STP Nuclear Operating Company
  • Sunbelt Energy Resources, Inc.
  • Talisman International, LLC
  • Tampa Bay Partnership
  • Teamsters Local 299, MI
  • Texas Independence Energy, LP
  • Thorenco, LLC
  • TXU Power
  • University of Cincinnati
  • University of Massachusetts, Lowell - Nuclear Engineering Department
  • University of Florida, Department of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering
  • University of Missouri-Columbia, Nuclear Science and Engineering Institute
  • University of South Carolina - Nuclear Engineering Department
  • University of Tennessee, Nuclear Engineering Department
  • University of Wisconsin - Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics Program
  • U.S. Chamber of Commerce
  • Urban League of Greater Jackson
  • USEC, Inc.
  • Vermont Chamber of Commerce
  • Vicksburn and Warren County Economic Development Foundation
  • The Vidal Group
  • Voyager Alernative Energy Solutions
  • Walthall County Economic Development Authority
  • Washington Group International
  • West Feliciana Parish Police Jury
  • Westinghouse Electric Company
  • WOLFCO, Inc.

Former members

Individuals

The group listed the following "sampling of individuals" as of May 5, 2006[7]:

  • Iowa State Representative Philip Wise
  • New Hampshire State Representatives Caitlin A. Daniuk and Michael Rollo
  • Michigan State Senator Buzz Thomas
  • Reverend Willie Toone - North End Church of God and Christ, Michigan
  • Reverend Charles Williams - Michigan
  • Greg Fedon - Warren Jaycees - Michigan
  • Barney Bishop, President, Associated Industries of Florida
  • Brownstone, Michigan Town Supervisor Arthur Wright
  • Denis Beller, Professor, University of Las Vegas
  • Mike Hamby - Former Executive Director of the Florida Democratic Party
  • Keith Bullen - Volt Technical Services
  • Jim Scaratino - Coalition for New Mexico Wilderness
  • Berol Robinson - Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy
  • Christopher Yeaw - United States Naval War College

Funding

In April 2006 a spokesman for the NEI told New York Times reporter, Matthew L. Ward, that it was providing all the funding for the group but refused to state what the budget was. [8]

Contact information

CASEnergy Coalition
607 Fourteenth Street, NW
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20005

Phone: 202-338-CASE (2273)
Fax: 202-337-4230
Website: http://cleansafeenergy.org/

Articles and resources

Related SourceWatch articles

References

  1. ↑ ‘Former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman and Greenpeace Co-Founder Dr. Patrick Moore to Chair CASEnergy Coalition’, CASEnergy press release, dated April 24, 2006, accessed November 2006.
  2. ↑ Hill & Knowlton, "USA: The Hypothesis: Nuclear Power Offers Clean Energy, Clean Air", Hill & Knowlton website, accessed October 2008.
  3. ↑ "False Fronts: Why to Look Behind the Label", Editorial, Columbia Journalism Review July-August 2006.
  4. ↑ John Murawski, "Progress' nuclear plans attract friends, foes," The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), June 11, 2008.
  5. ↑ Press release, "Nuclear Energy's Resurgence Promises to Spur Job Growth," CASEnergy via PR Newswire, June 17, 2008.
  6. ↑ "2007 ABR: Hill & Knowlton," PR Week, April 23, 2007.
  7. ↑ Clean and Safe Energy Coalition website – FAQs, undated, accessed November 2006.
  8. ↑ - Clean and Safe Energy Coalition website – Members, undated, accessed November 2006.

External resources

External articles

Retrieved from "https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Clean_and_Safe_Energy_Coalition&oldid=774461"