Bush Administration's Appointment of ExxonMobil's Lee Raymond Draws Public Protest

Bush Administration's Appointment Of ExxonMobil's Lee Raymond Draws Public Protest
Exxpose Exxon Activists Call for Fair Play

For Immediate Release: October 25, 2006
CONTACT: Shawnee Hoover (202)674-0922

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October 25, 2006 — Over 60,000 letters poured into the Energy Department last week in protest of the Bush administration's appointment of former ExxonMobil CEO Lee Raymond and the National Petroleum Council to chart America's energy future. On the eve of Exxon's third quarter profits report, Exxpose Exxon calls on the company to cast off the legacy of Lee Raymond and invest profits in America's future.

Lee Raymond, chair of the National Petroleum Council, is to provide the administration with policy recommendations for the long-term direction of the nation's energy policy. As chair, Mr. Raymond was granted the power to handpick the study's leadership.

"ExxonMobil is currently the worst of the oil giants fueling America's oil addiction," said Shawnee Hoover, campaign director of Exxpose Exxon. "Putting Exxon's Lee Raymond in charge of solving America's energy crisis is like putting Jack Abramoff in charge of solving political corruption."

The Exxpose Exxon coalition, consisting of many the nation's largest environmental and consumer organizations, delivered a letter to Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman last week calling on the Secretary to remove Lee Raymond and the National Petroleum Council from leading the influential study to tackle America's energy crisis.

"This issue is too vital to be handed over to a company and an industry that have demonstrated again and again that they will maximize profits at the expense of our national security, the environment, and U.S. consumers," wrote the coalition.

Mr. Raymond was CEO of ExxonMobil when it first began funding front groups accused of undermining the science of global warming and deceiving the public. His repeated criticism of renewable energy, concerns over global oil supply, and policies to combat global warming continue to pit the company against its peers and the public.

"This could be devastating for the progress of alternative energy," said Terry Tamminen, special advisor to Gov. Schwarzenegger and author of the new book Lives Per Gallon: The true cost of our oil addiction. "Industry studies like these generally carry a lot of weight despite their obvious conflicts of interest."

The study is to provide the administration with policy options that assess, "the potential contribution of conservation, efficiency, alternative energy sources, and technology advances." ExxonMobil currently does not invest in renewable energy.

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October 17, 2006

The Honorable Samuel Bodman
Secretary of Energy
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave, SW, Forrestal Bldg
Washington, DC 20585

RE: Appointment of Lee Raymond and the National Petroleum Council to advise the agency on America’s energy future

Dear Secretary Bodman,

The Exxpose Exxon coalition is a collaborative effort of many of the nation’s largest environmental, consumer and public advocacy organizations representing millions of Americans. We write to urge you to remove the Global Oil and Gas Study from the purview of former ExxonMobil CEO Lee Raymond and the National Petroleum Council (NPC). This issue is too vital to be handed over to a company and an industry that have demonstrated again and again that they will maximize profits at the expense of our national security, the environment, and U.S. consumers. A study of this magnitude should be given to a body capable of producing a fair and balanced set of policy recommendations, preferably the National Academy of Sciences.

The U.S. oil addiction has potential ramifications for every American. Its price and supply volatility skim the cream off of the economy while its contribution to global warming has caused scientists to paint a bleak picture of the quality of life for our children. The American public is demanding that our nation chart a new course toward a cleaner, healthier energy future. That future must be based on policies that reduce oil demand and harness the American people’s ingenuity to build a viable renewable energy sector.

Though President Bush has alerted Americans to our oil addiction, he is now putting the most successful pusher of that product in charge of determining our energy future. When many of our future solutions hinge on buying and burning less oil, it seems obvious that the last people who should be charting that course are the ones in oil industry itself. Mr. Raymond’s repeated criticism of U.S. energy independence, investments in renewable energy, peak oil, and policies to help combat global warming have made it clear exactly where he stands.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has achieved positive results toward the growth of renewable energy and the adoption of cost-effective efficiency technologies. We urge you to seek balanced answers to our energy questions rather than turn to the petroleum industry to advise the government on solutions. The NPC led by Lee Raymond is simply the wrong body to produce this report. We request that you remove this study from the NPC, and find a truly independent body to conduct this major work.

Sincerely,

Shawnee Hoover, campaign director
The Exxpose Exxon Coalition

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