The Center for American Progress affiliated attack group “Forecast the Facts” is turning on the CBS News magazine “60 Minutes” for reporting truthfully on the issues surrounding green technology last Sunday.
See the press release below and the full video from CBS News follows.
For Immediate Release January 9, 2013
Contact: Anna Zuccaro, anna@fitzgibbonmedia.com, (914) 523-9145
Benghazi Redux? 60 Minutes “Cleantech Crash” Segment Severely Misleads Viewers
Climate Group Forms Online Petition in Demand of Public Editor
Washington, DC — On January 5th, 60 Minutes aired a segment entitled “Cleantech Crash” and made false accusations regarding the nation’s clean energy economy. The broadcast failed to mention that the clean energy industry has actually been booming, and that the increasing and severe threats of climate change makes the transition from fossil fuel pollution an economic necessity.
Not only did the “Cleantech Crash” segment mislead viewers, it threatened our ability to confront the global warming crisis.
Fortunately, 60 Minutes can still set the record straight: by appointing a Public Editor, the program can see to it that this particular broadcast is investigated, ensure that all future reporting serves the public interest and deliver more accurate information about climate change to their audience.
“Those who watched 60 Minutes this past Sunday might be under the impression that cleantech is dead, our hope for a much-needed green energy economy down the tubes,” said Forecast the Facts campaign director Brant Olson. “Fortunately for the world and unfortunately for good investigative journalism, 60 Minutes got the future of clean energy technology wrong—very wrong. 60 Minutes should appoint a Public Editor to restore its damaged reputation.”
Take a stand with us and sign the petition to demand the appointment of a 60 Minutes Public Editor, which will be delivered to Jeff Fager, Chairman of CBS News and Executive Producer of 60 Minutes: http://act.forecastthefacts.org/sign/sixty_minutes_public_editor.
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THE VIDEO:
From the YouTube video description:
Published on Jan 5, 2014
Despite billions invested by the U.S. government in so-called “Cleantech” energy, Washington and Silicon Valley have little to show for it. Lesley Stahl reports.
Just followed the link on their website to this site.. http://engagementlab.org/
Make sure you look at who they work with here: http://engagementlab.org/who-we-work-with/
Also their board of directors: http://engagementlab.org/who-we-are/board/
Chinese taxpayers already funded the GM bailout by financing our debt.
That said:
GM got bailout, now ships jobs to China
And despite the propaganda, the new plants aren’t just for selling cars in China but globally. My company has built more machines for GM China this past year than all previous years combined.
This is why the government should get out of the climate cleantech businesses.
Crony Crapitalism doesn’t work long term. When the government gets involved in picking winners and losers, everyone loses, eventually. Free-market economies are by far the best mechanism to allocate limited land, labor and capital to obtain the best products and technologies at the lowest cost possible.
Most of these failed cleantech startups had to rely on taxpayer money to open their doors because the market already crunched the numbers and decided their business models were crap.
Politicians’ calculus is simply: how many votes, how much campaign money, how many new bureaucrats can be created and how bigger can my budget grow on this project. Profit, loss and future return are irrelevant. Regardless of losses or how bad the business model is, politicians can simply tax or print more money to keep the charade going until the optics become so bad, they risk losing votes or risk a taxpayer revolt.
That’s why the CAGW/cleantech scam is so politically elegant. The more catastrophic the politicians can make CAGW out to be, the more money they can bilk from taxpayers on CO2 taxes, regulations and cleantech projects/subsidies, while creating the illusion politicians are saving the planet from imminent disaster….
The complete collapse of the solar/wind/biofuel sector proves the market has already written off CAGW as a lost cause, while the 17+ years of no global warming trend, combined with the huge discrepancies between CAGW model projections and empirical evidence, indicate the Scientific Method has written off CAGW, too.
One can only hope the blowback from all this foolishness will be so spectacular, it will lead to some fundamental changes being made to the size and scope of governments around the world….or not…
And so it goes….until freedom and reason are restored.
NOTE: To anyone outside the US that wishes to view this video, just Google “Youtube + The Cleantech Crash” and you can watch it on Youtube.
Col Mosby says:
“For example,Leslie
claimed that Tesla Motors,which received I believe around $400 million in govt loans,
was a success story. But Tesla Motors did not need, and did not use that money – they
paid the money back before they made one cent of profit”
————————————
Tesla makes money off govt coerced Z EV credits paid by real auto mfr’s to Tesla.
I think CBS and 60 minutes started reporting again instead of being an administration mouthpiece when they gave the go ahead on the Bengazi story. Someone at CBS saw through the administrations stories and cover ups and 60 minutes went with the story. When the FBI (with pressure from the administration) discredited the 60 minutes piece and basically forced them to repremand those involved with the story I think CBS woke up and started smelling the coffee…just my 2 cents worth.
For those who want to watch the 60 Minutes segment ‘Cleantech Crash’ but don’t live in the USA, it can be seen at http://grist.org/climate-energy/60-minutes-cleantech-crash-segment-misses-the-point-critics-charge/. Canadians can see it, can’t say about the rest of the world.
…and they said Communism was dead…
About Tesla: http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.com/2013/05/how-taxpayers-subsidized-tesla-to-make.html#
And the fake battery swap: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3099710/posts#
Already reported and discussed at WUWT: http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/12/21/the-tesla-battery-swap-is-the-hoax-of-the-year/
I almost signed this petition! (Gulp!) Well carbon credit trading has crashed, and Australia is waiting for the new senate to be appointed in July so they can repeal the carbon tax. I’d like to see that program too in Australia.
I love it! Has anything survived a scathing report by 60 Minutes? If clean tech wasn’t dead already, people are reaching over to pull the plug on life support now.
How about starting a petition in favor of 60 Minutes’ piece? It’s about time that show did something besides sing the Obamessiah’s praises!
“””””…..Col Mosby says:
January 9, 2014 at 7:00 pm
Forecast the facts is one meaningless , dopey name……””””””
They ain’t “facts” until they have happened; ergo, they can’t be forecast !!
This represents part of the Obama Administration’s push on Climate Change. John Podesta is the founder of the Center for American Progress and has recently been brought in to White House as counselor to Obama. The Obama Administration clearly feels entitled to tell the media how to report things; a grave the media helped dig for its own self. You see, it’s insufficient that the Obama Administration has presided over five years of the most moribund economic recovery in three quarters of a century following a severe – but routine – recession. It’s also insufficient that the Obama Administration has presided over the first downgrade in US bond ratings in history; will end up damaging, if not destroying the healthcare industry; the banking industry; and real estate through foreclosures and EPA and HUD diktats. No, the job must be completed and they will not stand for whatever sniffling resistance may occasionally sprout from a former fawning media.
I’m sorry folks, but I have to agree with FTF here. I mean, it’s never [snuff] been a better time [grunt] to be in the
clean energyclimate industry! You know, there’s tons of Climate Ca$h [squeallll] from so MANY sources:government/academiataxpayers, private industry [oinkkkk], international agencies [oink, oink!]. And we want MORE! [squeal, squeal!!] Carbon taxes! Wealth taxes! Environmental lawsuits! Public fundraising for The Cause ™!WE WANT TO FEED AT THE CLIMATE CA$H TROUGH!!! [oink,oink,oink,oink!!!!!!!]
/sarc
William Astley says:
January 9, 2014 at 6:10 pm
” … The United States — formerly the largest supplier of rare earths — ceased mining them in 2002. Now China produces 97 percent of the world’s supply.”
—-l
For historical reasons, when using the 97% statement about anything, it is best to have accurate and trustworthy citations to back it up 🙂
Joe Romm is only one person away from Maurice Strong in his business associations. His business connections can be followed through Business Week records.
The RENIXX (stock composite of the world’s top 30 wind/solar/biofuel companies) has fallen from 1,200 in 2007 to around 150 in 2012…. 90%… poof…gone…
I think that constitutes a “cleantech crash”, does it not? And these are the “best” of the lot….
There has been a dead-cat bounce of the RENIXX, but once governments end all the stupid alt-en subsidies, loans, grants and tax breaks, so will almost all of these alt-en companies.
Yes, some of the government funded alt-en companies may survive, but almost all them could have been financed by the private sector without the need to waste $100’s of billions of taxpayer money.
Fact is, there is no global warming and climate change is made up by liberal idiots. Smoke another bowl until your next imagined issue .
The ironic thing about taxpayer subsidies of any kind is that overall they decrease employment not create it!
Hasn’t anyone in the US read Milton Friedman lately?
Cheers
Roger
http://www.thedemiseofchristchurch.com
Ah yes, the want a propaganda minister. Goebbels would be proud, probably Stalin too.
What most people don’t even recognize is that we are in the mist of another civil war for the heart and soul of the country. On the left you have the progressive socialist and on the right you have the defenders of the Constitution, the Tea Party, et al. While there has yet to be bullets flying, people have died. Currently, this is being fought in the halls of Congress, the pages of the media, and our educational system. That doesn’t meant that all out bloodshed won’t occur. We hope that it does not.
As posted before, “The truth is that there is no compromise possible between Liberty and Tyranny. We have irreconcilable differences with the Progressives, and every attempt to compromise with them, always results in an incremental loss of our Liberty, not to mention our income. Perhaps it is time for a divorce.” – Dave Hunter –
The progressives only need time. Every compromise inches the philosophy of running the country in their direction. Would they like to have it happen instantaneously, of course they would, but they are willing to take as long as it takes, as long as it is always moving in the direction they want it too.
It is going to take some drastic actions to right this country. There is now talk of a Article V Convention of the States. It is very possible that would help a lot. We have lost our way in how the country is supposed to be governed. BHO was right, we need fundamental change. Just not the change he was referring to. We need the government to return to being a responsible shepherd of the country and it treasury. We need to return a balance of power to between the three sections of government. We need the members of Congress to remember they work for us and that being a member of Congress is not a career.
rogerthesurf says:
January 9, 2014 at 9:38 pm
The ironic thing about taxpayer subsidies of any kind is that overall they decrease employment not create it! Hasn’t anyone in the US read Milton Friedman lately?
Cheers
Roger
http://www.thedemiseofchristchurch.com
Roger,
Followed your link and read the Agenda 21 based exam paper ireproduced there. A chilling example of effective propaganda regurgitated by the hapless student! They unabashedly used a quote from Paul and Anne Ehrlich within the exam, as the core of an essay question!
Very disturbing…
MtK
They can’t do science, they can’t do business, the only thing they are good at is media. This hits them where it hurts.
SAMURAI says:
January 9, 2014 at 7:30 pm
This is why the government should get out of the climate cleantech businesses.
Crony Crapitalism doesn’t work long term. When the government gets involved in picking winners and losers, everyone loses, eventually. Free-market economies are by far the best mechanism to allocate limited land, labor and capital to obtain the best products and technologies at the lowest cost possible.
SAMURAI,
I agree with your assertions… but take exception to the term “Crony Capitalism”. The government subsidies, loans, grants, etc. stolen from the citizens and directed to pie-in-the-sky ‘green’ technology companies selected by socialist bureaucrats based on how much money the tech startup can funnel back into the socialist campaign funds and NGOs has nothing to do with capitalism. This crap is Crony Socialism, plain and simple.
MtK