Follow the (Dirty Energy) Money

[Donnachaidh]

http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/08/follow-dirty-money?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+motherjones%2FTheBlueMarble+%28Mother+Jones+|+The+Blue+Marble%29&utm_content=Twitter

How much influence is dirty energy wielding in Congress? There's now a convenient one-stop shop for finding that information. Oil Change International, along with a long list of partners, launched DirtyEnergyMoney.org on Tuesday, a new hub that allows users to follow the fossil fuel money.

On the site, we learn that 110th Congress (2007-2008) was the "dirtiest," with fossil fuel interests spending a record $22,713,081 to influence policy. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) takes the award for "Dirtiest Politician," accepting more than $1.8 million from fossil fuel interests since 1999. Oil giant Koch Industries, which Blue Marble readers will recognize as a major funder of climate change denial work, is the has spent the most of any individual company on buying Congress since 1999, at $4,382,491. The site also uses graphics to illustrate the ties between the energy industry and our representatives.

Some other interesting findings that they've compiled from the statistics:

Overall, the coal industry has been friendlier to the Democrats than Republicans thus far in the 111th Congress, with over $3.7 million going to Democratic members of the House and Senate, compared with about $2.8 million to Republicans.

Republicans continue to take more oil and gas money, with the oil and gas industry contributing over $5.1 million to Republicans and $3.1 million to Democrats.


More at the link --