EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and a deep-pocketed donor to Democratic candidates convened with climate activists behind closed doors Wednesday at Washington's Mayflower Hotel -- keeping uninvited press at bay.
McCarthy delivered a keynote address to the Center for American Progress (CAP), one of the countrys largest and most liberal activist organizations.
Tom Steyer the billionaire The New York Times dubs the most influential environmentalist in American politics participated in a panel discussion on climate resilience.
The panel also featured Rockefeller Foundation President Judith Rodin and CAP Distinguished Senior Fellow Carol Browner. Browner headed the EPA under Bill Clinton and formerly served as director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy for President Obama.
CAP spokeswoman Katie Murphy told Watchdog last Tuesday that the D.C. event was at capacity and that no more reporters could be accommodated. She suggested that interested parties view the proceedings at americanprogress.org.
Steyer, whom CAP describes as an investor, philanthropist and advanced energy advocate, spent more than $70 million trying to help Democrats survive the midterm elections, with little success.
In Florida alone, he shelled out $15 million to spread a climate-change message on behalf of Democrats.
The Washington meeting came on the heels of Obamas visit to China, where the president touted a coal-reduction agreement with Beijings communist government.
The deal restricts U.S. coal consumption, enforced by the EPA, but does not bind China to reduce its use.
Though billed by the administration as a historic agreement, the Institute for Energy Research called it a swindle that will kill American jobs and raise electric rates in this country.
Steyer, in a fit of contradiction, is helping to bankroll a massive coal mine in Australia.
Kenric Ward, formerly a senior political writer at Sunshine State News, is a national correspondent for Watchdog.org and chief of its Virginia Bureau. Contact him at 571-319-9824. @Kenricward
