Sierra Club officials in Florida aren't talking, but the environmental group is taking heat over revelations that it took more than $25 million from a gas-drilling company.
The nation's oldest and largest "green" organization accepted the donations primarily from Aubrey McClendon, CEO of Chesapeake Energy, one of the biggest gas-drilling companies in the country, and a firm heavily involved in the controversial practice of fracking, Time magazine reported this week.
Sierra Club said the contributions -- received from 2007 to 2010 -- stopped with the installation of Michael Brune as executive director of the national organization in 2010.
The first rule of advocacyis that you shouldnt take money from industries and companies youre trying to change," Brune told Time.
Brune's predecessor, Carl Pope, remains on the club's board of directors. Pope was not available for comment.
Officials gave no indication they intend to return the $25 million, but said they're passing up an additional $30 million by turning off the Chesapeake money spigot.
Frank Jackalone, head of Sierra's Florida Regional Field Office in St. Petersburg, referred all questions to the club's headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Some environmentalists, including Pope, have viewed natural gas as a "bridge" to cleaner energy sources.
"Natural gas is the next-cleanest fuel [to renewables]. Then we have oil and then we have coal Were trying to make sure that we innovatively and creatively use whatever fuel we burn (and) that we rely primarily on the fuels that are the cleanest And, among the fossil fuels, natural gas is at the top," Pope told the industry publication Oil & Gas Investor in 2008.
With the help of a $50 million donation from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the Sierra Club set up boilerplate websites for its state chapters, including Florida's, to campaign against coal.
Jackalone said he was unaware of the site, "Beyond Coal: Florida," but noted that the state chapter has been active in fighting coal-fired power plants.
"We worked in 2007 to stop permitting for six coal plants in Florida," Jackalone said.
Crediting then-Gov. Charlie Crist with "exercising influence with the PSC," Jackalone said "utilities started voluntarily canceling plans. We went to court on one with EarthJustice to stop a plant in Glades County."
But the head of the Ecology Party of Florida said Sierra's financial ties to a drilling and fracking company undermine the environmental movement and repeat a troubling pattern of money-grubbing by the national organization.
"Unfortunately, the leaderships of the large environmental groups -- that we smaller, more grassroots organizations term 'Gang Green' -- have become more interested in the perpetuation of their organizations than in fighting tooth and nail for the environment," said Cara Campbell, chair of the Ecology Party.
"This isn't the first time Sierra Club has compromised their integrity for money. Several years ago Sierra and Clorox made a deal whereby the club's logo would be put on Clorox's green [wash] cleaner -- regardless of the environmental harm that other Clorox products wreak.
"When the noncompromising leadership of the Florida chapter wrote to register their objections to this sellout, the national Sierra Club leadership ended up replacing them with a more conciliatory group.
"This evolution of groups from fierce and independent fighters for the environment to more docile and compromising donation-seekers is the reason environmentalist David Brower founded so many groups. As one was corrupted, he simply founded another," Campbell related.
Campbell said she at least was encouraged that Brune stopped taking Chesapeake's gas money.
"Let's hope that the new leadership of the Sierra Club will be less willing to compromise than that of Carl Pope," she added.
Brune told Time he was concerned about the prominence President Obama's State of the Union address gave to increasing gas production.
In that speech, Obama declared that drilling would create jobs and power trucks and factories that are cleaner and cheaper, proving that we dont have to choose between our environment and our economy.
Brune responded: The club needs to come out strong and clear and advocate more fiercely to use as little gas as possible. Were not going to mute our voice on this.
Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
