Environmental Policy Alliance
{{#badges: Front groups}} The Environmental Policy Alliance describes itself as "devoted to uncovering the funding and hidden agendas behind environmental activist groups and exploring the intersection between activists and government agencies."[1] Its current projects include Green Decoys, LEED Exposed, and EPA Facts. The EPA is a project of the Center for Organizational Research and Education.
The EPA shares a mailing address with notorious lobbyist and front-group operator Richard Berman. Research analyst Anastasia Swearingen has previously worked for other Berman-associated organizations Center for Consumer Freedom and the American Beverage Institute.
Attack on Food & Water Watch, Sierra Club, and NRDC
On March 6, 2014, the Environmental Policy Alliance ran a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal attacking Food & Water Watch, the Sierra Club, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) as "big green radicals" and announced its new website, BigGreenRadicals.com[2] Food & Water Watch responded with a blog post saying:
- "He’s been called an 'arch-enemy of do-gooders' by 60 Minutes. Thanks to his orchestration of massive corporate PR campaigns using 'deceptive corporate front groups' to discredit public interest efforts, he’s earned the nickname 'Dr. Evil.'
- "And now, thanks to our outsized effectiveness in relation to our relatively small budget, he’s targeting us.
- "We’re honored to be called one of the 'Big Green Radicals' by notorious corporate lobbyist Rick Berman through his apparent latest astroturf operation, the Environmental Policy Alliance, a 'project of the Center for Organizational Research Education.' Ever heard of it? We hadn’t either. After doing a bit of digging, we found out that the Center for Organizational Research Education was recently known as the Center for Consumer Freedom led by the head of Berman & Co. -- Rick Berman."[3]
Resources and Articles
References
- ↑ Environmental Policy Alliance, "Home Page", corporate website, accessed February 20, 2014.
- ↑ Big Green Radicals ad, Wall Street Journal, March 6, 2014.
- ↑ Darcey Rakestraw, Food & Water Watch, Rick Berman Strikes Again With Environmental Policy Alliance, organizational blog, March 6, 2014.
