Writer Karin Kirk and your editors discussed the contribution of oil and natural gas to the newly elected leader »Yale Climate contact

With the beginning of the Trump's second government, we are carefully studying how the oil and natural gas industries will shape the new federal administrative and legislative departments. Carin Kirk, a regular writer of Yale Climate Link, discussed the industry's election donation in her article “The fossil fuel industry has spent $ 219 million to elect” in her article. Karin (Karin) and us (editor -in -chief Sara Peach, special editor Pearl Marvell, and audience experience director Sam Harrington), talked about her about her The learned things and the next development direction.

This discussion has been edited and concentrated.

Sara: Karin, for those who have not yet read this article, can you briefly talk about the content of this article and what you found?

Carin: Yes, so it began to pay attention to the last election, as well as the simple dollar amount of the oil and natural gas industries, which flowed to almost every parliamentarian, every senator and presidential campaign. Through a non -profit organization called “Public Secret”, all this becomes easier.

I checked the funds of all the election government departments and the funds for a period of time. Since then, I have been so surprised that this situation has become so bad. In recent years, it is mainly since the joint decision of citizens' joint decision in 2010 has allowed unlimited corporate funds. So this article has numbers, links, and beautiful information charts, so you can quickly see some summary about the whereabouts and directions of this money.

Sam: The chart you talk about does show the decision of citizen union to soar after it is really crazy for me. I am from Wisconsin. My Senator Russ Feingold participated in this legislation [the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, also known as the McCain–Feingold Act] The decision was overturned. This is a really eye -opening story for me. I am very happy that you have studied these numbers in depth.

pearl: What prompts you to study these data?

Carin: The way I like is from the data collection -from an interesting question and a lot of numbers -and then find out how to help us better understand what is happening in the world. When you study it carefully, you know that this is not what most people see, even if it is public, so it feels like you are really like walking into the basement with a flashlight.

I think this is the responsibility of the reporter: obtaining this information and then translation. We can provide services that use these numbers and make them easier to access.

I also think it's time to say the name. This is public data. It affects everyone because everyone is affected by pollution, climate, local energy companies and energy bills. People really need to see this. This is definitely when all of us need to move closer and make bright light.

Sara: What impressed me to impress me is that you have carefully recorded the direction of the party's faction. Can you talk about this?

Carin: This is extremely one -sided. This is a big battle for the party. You know, as a reporter, be careful when we see this situation. You want to step on the brake a little, and then say, “Am I right? What did I miss?

So I dig, dig, dig. Thank you all, we did conduct a factual verification of this and ensure that we are right. This is what I mean, and we need to expose this because it tilts shocking to the Republican Party. The Republican Party will receive nine -tenth of the funds. This is not surprising, but it is bigger than I think. I think it is important to record as much as possible.

Sara: I think it is important for reporters to clarify reality. I think, as you said, when the situation looks like one, we will be a little nervous, because we are taught to consider many different stakeholders and look at different views. This is an extremely important value of the journalism. But another value of the news is to accurately describe reality and help our audience understand what happened in the real world.

Carin: Yes. There is a long picture, but it is actually a bunch of dollars of dollars. If you count these US dollar banknotes, their zoom ratio is exactly the same as the long figure.

Yes, Republicans can always get more money, but according to data, during the 1992 presidential election, the money received by Democrats has always been -and this is just a candidate, not a super political action committee – About 7 million US dollars and US $ 14 million. The Democratic Party still gets the same amount. It has not even changed.

But the Republican party's funding is as high as nearly $ 60 million. This illustrates everything. When you consider that air pollution is a bad thing for the common thing of the two parties, we have agreed to renewable energy in the past to help the United States' patriotism, and it is not a good thing to waste energy. These pasts are completely unnecessary to move their brains and two parties. So look at the amount of fossil fuel funds in the election today, you will think, “Yes, this is consistent with all current information.”

Sam: This may be what we don't know about the answer at all, but it really feels like “there is chickens or eggs first?” Will money affect the extremist party we see? Or is it a response to the deepening difference in cultural transformation and the deepening of political parties? I mean, both may have a little. But I really want to know, how do we expect this money to affect the policy?

Carin: Yes, this is a perfect question. We mentioned a paper in the article, indicating that it is mainly awarded the past behavior, not driven the future behavior. [Editor’s note: Several authors of the study are affiliated with the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, the publisher of this site.] But now, I think this is no longer important. This position is so consistent, so that the past behavior will be the same as the future behavior. It feels that the party's dispute has become very stubborn, and there are too few cross points, this is a pity, right? Because the best politics comes from those crosses. In fact, when politicians dare to cross the border, this itself will be regarded as a problem. Yes, this is part of a larger political ecosystem problem.

Sara: It is very important to narrow the scope and think about what is happening in a larger political system and who has this influence. Because people like you and me, we can donate $ 25 to candidates, but of course I have no resources to donate a lot of funds like some people in oil and natural gas industries. Stay away from the general public and turn to industrial interests. Because when you donate to the candidate, the purpose is to help them win. Some of the politicians vote for the interests of the industry, and then get additional campaign fund rewards, thus being elected again, and they may not be elected otherwise. Therefore, for various complicated reasons, our power of power, including this money, often vote for what the voters really want.

Carin: Yes, this is why I hate this article because it feels very tricky. What should you do? This is very frustrating.

In other words, this article does provide some operation steps you can perform, but we are not powerless. But I don't believe in the whole, such as “a positive attitude will make us overwhelming.” We need to take out everything we have, do our best to deal with this situation, and use all possible strategies. Therefore, some strategies have been proposed in the article, but at the same time, I think that “guy, this is a terrible situation” is also correct. Both are real.

pearl: I think that part of the problem is that I dare to say that a large part of the Americans (including me before writing this article) do not understand the differences between PAC, Super PAC and mixed PAC. It lacks transparency in itself. Therefore, education is the key to ensure where the public understands the funds and how the funds flow into these different candidates. Can you provide some opinions on how people get these knowledge and understand PAC? Because even when editing this story, I still don't know if I can really explain it to someone at the party.

Carin: This is a good problem. This reminds me of many explanations of climate science. In fact, we don't need to explain the details of the super fineness, because once people say, “Oh, this is greater than I can understand”, then the message has lost its influence.

Therefore, for those who want to go further than reading this article, I suggest you go to the “public secret” to see the candidates or officials you are most interested in. Look at your senators, see who you like, and see who you don't like. This will ask more questions, and then you can continue to ask.

But I think it is not important to understand the differences between super PAC and hybrid PAC. I think that the main gain is that most people need to start connecting these points to understand why their senators say something. This is what you take to the dinner. I won't say, “Do you know what mixed PAC is? But I will definitely say” Hey, do you know what Tim Hisie did? “This is what people want to know.

Tim Hiy is the latest senator of Montana, and I am shocked. Usually, the longer their careers, the more money they get due to rewarding past behaviors. This guy has just taken office, but he is already the second highest from the senators who have obtained oil and natural gas funds. He just arrived there. so That is Dinner team.

Sam: I want to know if we see the same investment at the local level. This always feels that individuals can have the greatest political impact.

Carin: This is definitely a place where I will guide a person. There are still financial links, but much less, because the Super Political Action Commission usually does not give local candidates a lot of money. Therefore, you can only consider things within the scope of normal candidates, but it is still worth looking for. Even if it is $ 150, and your city councilor gets money from the public institutional company they just approved, the $ 150 is very important, and it is true.

This is something that can really get good public comments. Attend the local government meeting, or give a letter to the editor, and show written records and contacts. Because people are tired of the excessive influence of the enterprise. We can feel the change of society. So, yes, dig it. For local content, you can use FollowtheMoney.org database.

Sam: I think your views on public utility funds are things that people do not often think, but it may make people feel nauseous or corrupt.

Carin: Public institutional companies are at the forefront that slows down our transformation into an energy form with less pollution.

pearl: I really appreciate your work, Kalin.

Carin: Similarly, this is also the team's efforts, we all learned a lot. So I really appreciate this amazing team.

Sara: Thanks. I can't wait to see your next report.