Upton Watch

Upton Watch

Upton Watch

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Rolling back crucial environmental protections…

Meet Representative Fred Upton (R-MI), the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Since being elected to his thirteenth term in Congress, Chairman Upton has gone through a climate turnaround so extreme that he was questioned by Fox News. He has claimed to be unconvinced by science about carbon dioxide pollution, declared war on life-saving Clean Air Act standards, promised to nullify a Supreme Court decision that would enable the EPA to crack down on big polluters, and staffed his committee with lobbyists. With Upton’s hand on the gavel, polluters will continue to prioritize profits over public health.

Now, despite an 800,000 gallon spill from a tar sands pipeline in his district just last year, Upton is leading the charge to force the State Department to approve the Keystone XL pipeline without taking necessary environmental precautions.

…And taking lobbyist money to do it.

Dirty energy industry lobbyists have been courting to Rep. Upton since he became a contender for the chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee. According to OpenSecrets.org, Upton’s top donor in 2010, giving $43,800, was Utah-based nuclear waste company EnergySolutions. Additionally, DTE Energy donated $26,400, Koch Industries gave $20,000, and Entergy Corp and Edison Electric Institute each gave $13,500. Considering his cozy relationship with oil industry lobbyists, it is no wonder that he has had so much support from polluters.

The Washington Post quoted one oil lobbyist saying, “I think our interests and his and the Republican conference’s align, especially on EPA stuff.”

Take action:

Tell your representative and senators to reject any rollbacks to the Clean Air Act

Share the action with your friends on Facebook

Tweet it: Tell your reps to defend the #CAA from @RepFredUpton and @jiminhofe http://bit.ly/fUaSKu (via @foe_us) Pls RT

Further Reading:

Michigan Messenger: Keystone pipeline fight moves to Congress

Solve Climate: Michigan’s Rep. Upton Emerges as a Champion of Oil Sands Pipeline

RAN Youth: Congress set to muzzle EPA and defund clean energy, while protecting oil subsidies

MLive.com: Voting records of 4 Republicans from Michigan earn lowest score from League of Conservation Voters

GOOD: Fred Upton’s Own People Want Him to Leave the EPA Alone

NRDC’s Switchboard Blog: Napoleon Dynamited? Why Fred Upton’s March on the Clean Air Act Might Not Work Out So Well For Him

CBS News: New House Energy Chair: Global Warming Not Man-Made

Huffington Post:  Six Months Past the Kalamazoo River Spill: Failing Pipelines and the Great Lakes

Huffington Post: Energy Chairman Upton Turns His Back on Health Protections Americans Value

NRDC’s Switchboard Blog: Down on Upton: Michigan Energy News Undercuts Rep’s Rap

New York Times: Newly Empowered Republicans Float Bills to Block EPA’s Air Regs

New York Times Green Blog: EPA Faces First Volley from the House

Upton’s WSJ Op-Ed: How Congress Can Stop EPA’s Power Grab

Grist: GOP climate deniers vie to run House Energy Committee

Mother Jones: An Inconvenient Truth for the GOP

The Hill: Poll: Upton’s war against EPA climate rules unpopular at home

MLive: Viewpoint: Upton appears to have taken hard turn right

MLive: Sierra Club launches TV ad attacking Congressman Fred Upton on environmental issues (with video)

The Hill: Keeping the Clean Air Act strong good for U.S. jobs

MLive: Viewpoint: Rep. Upton needs to work for the welfare of his district, not his party’s leaders

Salon: A Republican Parade of Kooks and Schills

DeSmogBlog: The Koch-Exxon-Skeptic Argument Went Up In Smoke On Eve of Upton’s Show Trial

The New Republic: Fred Upton, Linguist

Post-Bulletin: Koch Brothers Now at Heart of GOP Power

Huffington Post: Republican Leaders to Energy Lobbyists: ‘Help Us Screw Everyone Else’

Huffington Post: Fred Upton: Big Oil Brown-Noser?

Salon: As GOP Takes Power, Lobbyists Come Home to Roost

Washington Post: For Upton, it’s game on

NRDC Switchboard Blog: Why is Fred Upton Lending His Name to the Koch Brothers’ War on EPA and Americans’ Health?

State of Energy 2011: API CEO Gerard Calls for Future Awash in Oil

Mother Jones: Fred Upton’s Climate Changeup

Thinkprogress: Supported by Tea Party Polluters, Upton Flips on Threat of Global Warming

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