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Late on a Friday afternoon in early March, the State Department released a 2,000-page draft report downplaying the environmental risks of the northern portion of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which would ferry oil from Canada’s tar sands to refineries in Texas, passing through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. But when it released the report, the State Dept. hid an important fact from the public: Experts who helped draft the report had previously worked for TransCanada, the company looking to build the Keystone pipeline, and other energy companies poised to benefit from Keystone’s construction. State released documents in conjunction with the Keystone report in which these experts’ work histories were redacted so that anyone reading the documents wouldn’t know who’d previously hired them. Yet unredacted versions of these documents obtained by Mother Jones confirm that three experts working for an outside contractor had done consulting work for TransCanada and other oil companies with a stake in the Keystone’s approval.

When the Keystone report — officially known as a “draft supplemental environmental impact statement” – was released, environmental activists ripped it as shoddy and misleading. Russ Girling, TransCanada’s CEO, cheered the report as “an important step” toward receiving President Obama’s final stamp of approval for the pipeline.

Outside contractors (managed by the State Department) wrote the Keystone report, which neither endorsed nor rejected the Keystone pipeline. The contractor that produced the bulk of the report was Environmental Resources Management (ERM), an international consulting firm. On the day the State Department published the Keystone impact report, the agency also released a cache of documents that ERM submitted in 2012 to win the contract to produce the Keystone environmental report. That cache included a 55-page filing in which ERM stated it had no conflicts of interests writing the Keystone report.

But there was something strange about ERM’s conflict-of-interest filing: The bios for the ERM’s experts were redacted.

Here’s what those redactions kept secret: ERM’s second-in-command on the Keystone report, Andrew Bielakowski, had worked on three previous pipeline projects for TransCanada over seven years as an outside consultant. He also consulted on projects for ExxonMobil, BP, and ConocoPhillips, three of the Big Five oil companies that could benefit from the Keystone XL project and increased extraction of heavy crude oil taken from the Canadian tar sands.

Another ERM employee who contributed to State’s Keystone report — and whose prior work history was also redacted — previously worked for Shell Oil; a third worked as a consultant for Koch Gateway Pipeline Company, a subsidiary of Koch Industries. Shell and Koch* have a significant financial interest in the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. ERM itself has worked for Chevron, which has invested in Canadian tar-sands extraction, according to its website.

Here is ERM’s redacted filing as it appeared on the State Department’s website (begin reading on page 30):

Here is the unredacted version:

So who hid ERM’s connections to TransCanada?

ERM spokesman Simon Garcia directed all questions to the State Department. TransCanada spokesman Grady Semmens said that although the company paid for ERM’s analysis (as is common practice), TransCanada did not control what State and ERM released to the public. “The Department of State was responsible for posting the conflict of interest statements and has complete control over all activities of ERM,” Semmons wrote in an email. “TransCanada does not direct or control ERM’s actions in any way. TransCanada does not speak for the State Department with respect to the details of how it manages its review process.”

After a half-dozen inquiries, a State Department official emailed this statement: “Some information in the administrative documents that was required for State Department conflict of interest procedures has been redacted. This redaction protects the private information of ERM’s previous clients.” Asked who exactly made the redactions, the official said: “On background, I don’t know.”

The State Department appears to be responsible for the attempt to mask the ERM-TransCanada connection. When State first posted the redacted ERM filing, it was possible to digitally remove the redaction and read the ERM bios. But some days later, a new version of the filing was posted online in which the ERM bios had been scrubbed from beneath the redactions.

The State Department has faced heaps of criticism for potential conflicts of interests involving TransCanada and Keystone XL. In October 2011, Obama’s reelection campaign hired Broderick Johnson, who had previously lobbied in favor of Keystone, as a senior adviser. Emails obtained by Friends of the Earth, an environmental group that opposes the Keystone pipeline, revealed a cozy relationship between TransCanada lobbyist Paul Elliott and Marja Verloop, an official at the U.S. Embassy in Canada whose portfolio covers the Keystone project. Before he lobbied for TransCanada, Elliott worked as deputy campaign manager on Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential bid. Clinton served as secretary of state until recently.

The State Department’s inspector general disagreed with critics who cried foul over these apparent conflicts of interest. In February 2012, the IG found no evidence of bias in State’s handling of the application to build the pipeline.

President Obama has the final say on the fate of the Keystone XL. The president, who says he supports an “all of the above” energy policy, delayed a decision on the pipeline in November 2011 until after the 2012 elections, and has remained coy ever since. He has downplayed the idea that building the Keystone will create jobs, but has not ruled out building it.

The president is facing huge pressure from energy interests and environmental groups. TransCanada has spent millions of dollars lobbying for the pipeline. The environmental group 350.org and many other advocacy organizations have protested the Keystone in front of the White House and urged Obama to kill the project. A final decision on the Keystone XL remains months, if not a year or more, away.

***
Update: After the original story was posted on Mother Jones, a spokeswoman for Koch Industries, Melissa Cohlmia, wrote in an email that “Koch has no financial stake in the Keystone XL pipeline and that we are not party to its design or construction. We are not a proposed shipper or customer of oil delivered by this pipeline.” In 2009, Koch subsidiary Flint Hills Resources Canada told [PDF] Canadian regulators it had “a direct and substantial interest” in the application to build the Canadian portion of the Keystone pipeline. (Here’s Koch’s take on that.) A spokeswoman for Canada’s National Energy Board told InsideClimate News that Flint Hills got involved in the Keystone application process because it had a “business interest.” Steven Paget, vice president of energy infrastructure at FirstEnergy Capital in Calgary, told InsideClimate News that the Keystone pipeline would raise the price of Canadian crude oil, benefiting all companies in the oil-sands business. (Flint Hills describes itself as “among Canada’s largest crude oil purchasers, shippers, and exporters.”) A 2010 report by Accufacts Inc. noted that a Koch subsidiary’s refinery in Corpus Christi is one of 22 refineries equipped to handle the type of heavy crude oil that Keystone XL would carry from Canada to Texas. Asked to further discuss Koch and Keystone, Cohlmia declined.

This story was produced by Mother Jones as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

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Over time I’ve grown more and more suspicious of stories about breakthrough technologies. I always think back to those heady days of EEStor, the guys who were going to make a battery that would revolutionize grid storage and electric cars alike. “EEStor CEO says game-changing energy storage device coming by 2010”! As you may have noticed, 2010 came and went and the game remains unchanged.

All of which is to say, regarding the post to follow: caveat lector.

Still, this looks very, very cool.

CleanTechnica has an exclusive on a new solar technology that claims to be able to produce power with a levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of 8¢/kWh. That is mind-boggling, “two-thirds the price of retail electricity and over 3 times cheaper than current solar technology.” If the claim proves to be true (and a lot can happen between prototype and mass manufacturing), it could revolutionize the solar industry.

The company is called V3Solar (formerly Solarphasec) and its product, the Spin Cell, ingeniously solves two big problems facing solar PV.

First, most solar panels are flat, which means they miss most of the sunlight most of the time. They only briefly face direct sunlight, unless expensive tracking systems are added. The Spin Cell is a cone:

The conical shape catches the sun over the course of its entire arc through the sky, along every axis. It’s built-in tracking.

The second problem: Solar panels produce much more energy if sunlight is concentrated by a lens before it hits the solar cell; however, concentrating the light also creates immense amounts of heat, which means that concentrating solar panels (CPV) require expensive, specialized, heat-resistant solar cell materials.

The Spin Cell concentrates sunlight on plain old (cheap) silicon PV, but keeps it cool by spinning it.

It’s just so damn clever.

Here’s a video that explains:

The company’s technology claims have been confirmed by a technical review commissioned from independent consultant Bill Rever. As to the 8¢/kWh cost claim, the company told CleanTechnica, “We think we can go below that, but we want to stay conservative.” Hitting it, or close to it, could shake up the energy world. Here’s a chart comparing LCOE for various power sources:

That is a whole new ballgame right there.

The company’s aim is to capture 3 percent of the energy market. For context, CleanTechnica notes that “all solar power installed in the U.S. to date currently accounts for about 0.5-1% of the energy market.” More than tripling the size of the U.S. solar market is … well, not short on ambition.

Most impressively, to me, the company tells CleanTechnica that it already has over 4 GW of requests for orders. There is 7 GW of installed solar in the U.S., total.

There’s lots, lots more on the technology over on CleanTechnica, if you want to dig in.

To me, the most exciting implications of the technology (again, if it proves out) are for distributed energy. Spin Cells are only a meter across and quite aesthetically appealing. You could carpet a city in these. Like this:

Maybe this tech or this company will peter out before reaching mass-market scale. But advances in solar technology are coming faster and faster. (Small, distributed energy technologies are inherently more prone to innovation than large, capital-intensive energy technologies.) Sooner or later, solar will be woven seamlessly into the fabric of our lives. Our built environment will harvest energy as a matter of course (from the sun, from the wind, from waste), store it effectively, and use it wisely. Power harvesting and power management will be ubiquitous; power imported from large, distant, polluting power plants over long-distance transmission lines will come to be seen as back-up, a necessary evil. And perhaps, someday, an unnecessary one.

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S T Green Company/N Brunswick, NJ

We are a US based “Green & Sustainable†company located in New Jersey. We work with various non-profit groups and women’s co-operatives in Asia importing handmade products which are eco-friendly, organic, recycled and made from natural materials. We are proud to work & trade in ‘green’ products and work with "Fair Trade" principles. We are committed to socially and environmentally responsible business practices. While the work environment is informal, the opportunities to learn are numerous and appropriate training and mentoring is provided wherever needed.

Interested individuals who wish to gain knowledge and hands-on experience in a wholesale & distributing organization and wish to learn more about Fair Trade & Green Company in North America are encouraged to apply.

We are currently seeking energetic and creative individuals to work as interns (unpaid) to support our work in office. The internship work could involve data entry of client database, invoicing, inventory management, basic book keeping & accounting, product photo shoot of new items, customer support, e-mail marketing etc.

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S T Green Company/N Brunswick, NJ

We are a US based “Green & Sustainable†company located in North Brunswick, New Jersey. We work with various non-profit groups and women’s co-operatives in Asia importing handmade products which are eco-friendly, organic, recycled and made from natural materials

As the trend for American companies inclines towards ‘green’ policies, the future of our environment depends on current green practices of companies. We are proud to work & trade in ‘green’ products and work with Fair Trade principals. We are committed to socially and environmentally responsible business practices. While the work environment is informal, the opportunities to learn are numerous and appropriate training and mentoring is provided wherever needed.

Interested individuals who wish to gain knowledge and hands-on experience in a wholesale & distributing organization and wish to learn more about Fair Trade & Green Company in North America are encouraged to apply.

We are currently seeking energetic and creative individuals to work as interns (unpaid) to support our work in office. The internship work could involve data entry of client database, market research, business development, customer support, e-mail and web marketing etc.

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Texas Solar Power Company/Austin, TX

Contract to hire position.

Commercial Lead Installer Responsibilities:
Manage installers to ensure projects stay on schedule and within budget;
Accurately communicate system details/ changes/ issues to the foreman and project manager;
Complete and transmit daily reports in a timely matter;
BOS procurement;
Ability to communicate with customer in regards to day to day operations;
Assembling the racking and solar array;
Assembly of equipment along with properly sealing all roof penetrations;
Trenching, concrete work and equipment assembly.

Qualifications:
At least 1-2 years commercial solar experience;
Electrical apprentice license;
Professional appearance and client interaction;
Attention to detail;
A good driving record;
Documentation skills;

Other Requirements:
Have full range of mobility in upper and lower body;
Be able to work in various positions, including, but not limited to, stooping, standing, bending over, sitting, kneeling and squatting for extended periods of time;
Be able to lift, pull and push materials and equipment to complete assigned job tasks
Be able to lift 50 pounds of weight frequently throughout assigned workday;
Must not have a fear of heights or heat.

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Undaunted by their failure to catch so much as a single guppy, Republicans in Congress are paddling on with their fishing expedition through the Obama administration’s clean-energy initiatives. They are nothing if not dutiful.

The latest faux scandal (what are we up to now? a dozen?) has to do with the Ivanpah solar power plant, currently under construction in the Mojave Desert in southeastern California.

Here’s what we know about Ivanpah, a concentrated solar power (CSP) project being developed by BrightSource Energy. It started construction in October 2010, amid great fanfare from politicians like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. It is technically three separate, contiguous power plants, built in phases, with a total of 170,000 heliostat mirrors, spread across 3,600 acres, aiming sunlight at three solar power towers. It will have a gross capacity of around 392 megawatts and will be, when completed, the largest CSP installation in the world.

In April 2011, the project got a $1.6 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy (DOE), allowing it to scale up its already substantial private funding from, among others, NRG Solar and Google. A little over a year later, according to DOE, the project is about one-third completed and is employing over 1,700 people on site. When it’s finished it will “avoid 574,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to emissions of 110,000 vehicles” and “generate enough clean electricity to power approximately 87,000 homes annually.”

In other words, DOE’s investment has not failed. On the contrary, it’s kind of awesome! Everything’s going according to schedule. Jobs are being created. Barriers are being broken. If it proceeds according to plan, taxpayers won’t shell out anything, California will get tons of clean energy and jobs, and the U.S. solar industry will have a domestic success story. Plus the thing is just gorgeous to look at.

Who could possibly object to American jobs and energy? Serial car thief Darrell Issa and his merry band of fisherman (aka the House Oversight Committee), of course.

Why the concern? This Wall Street Journal piece contains the damning details. At least it contains the damning tone. The details turn out to be pretty unimpressive.

Here’s what happened: BrightSource had been scrambling for this Ivanpah loan for more than two years, since before Obama took office. All signs were positive. Problem was, a couple of deadlines were approaching. On March 31, 2011, the conditional agreement with DOE would lapse, and on April 1, “tortoise moving season” would start and delay the project for six more months, which may well have killed it. So BrightSource started sweating, hiring lobbyists, and pestering the DOE to finalize the damn thing. In early March it even proposed having its then-chairman John Bryson write his old friend, then-White House Chief of Staff William Daley, to plead with him to “quarterback loan closure.”

Is there any evidence that this last-minute volley of lobbying had anything to do with the loan guarantee being approved? No. The letter was never sent to Daley. Buried down in paragraph 20, WSJ reveals that when loan-program director Jonathan Silver caught wind of Bryson’s proposed letter, he responded within hours, telling him to tone it down, cut the “quarterback” crap, and chill out — the loan was “on track” to close before the deadline. (Like many DOE loans, it was held up by a plodding review from a passive-aggressive OMB.)

That’s it. As usual with these faux scandals, the media conspicuously fails to note that the last-minute lobbying and emails to the White House were all about hurrying up the review process, i.e., they came after the guarantees had been approved by DOE. There’s not a shred of evidence that political connections or lobbying affected any of the loan decisions made by DOE staff. Here, as with the other faux scandals, there is only dark insinuation.

Insinuation has no legal power, of course. These shows trials of individual DOE loans haven’t uncovered any wrongdoing, much less anything worthy of official censure or criminal charges. And House Republicans have been fishing for over a year now. But this is post-truth politics — they don’t need the reality of a scandal. That would be an unexpected bonus at this point. All they need is the atmospherics of scandal; they just need to keep floating broad charges and having the media cover them. The purpose is to keep DOE and Obama on the defensive, to hound them, to waste their energy, and to discredit clean energy.

If a thriving American business has to be sacrificed on that political altar, so be it.

——

For kicks, here’s a slideshow from DOE on their clean energy programs:

And here are links to three independent assessments of DOE’s loan program:

• Herb Allison, former national finance chairman for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), led an independent review of the program.
• The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service did its own analysis [PDF].
• The research service Bloomberg Government did an analysis as well.

All these assessments found roughly the same thing: The program is making smart, low-risk investments and has cost over $2 billion less than expected. Unsurprisingly, the media has largely ignored them.

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By Ted Alvarez

Oh, Heartland Institute. We thought you were climate-sanity adversaries on par with Sauron, but your latest PR move reminds us more of Wile E. Coyote: desperate overreach followed by spectacular flameout.

Let’s get up to speed. Ahead of their 7th International Conference on Climate Change (which is basically like Burning Man for deniers, but with more peyote and charts), the Chicago-based climate denial think tank launched a billboard campaign on the Eisenhower Expressway that equates belief in climate change to mass murder. They did this by featuring the looming mugs of Ted “The Unabomber” Kaczynski, Fidel Castro, and Charles Manson next to the phrase, “I believe in global warming. Do you?”

Their reasons were plain: “Still believing in man-made global warming … is more than a little nutty. In fact, some really crazy people use it to justify immoral and frightening behavior.” But before the Heartland Institute folks could realize their dream of launching future  billboards connecting Osama Bin Laden with wind power or John Wayne Gacy with backyard chickens, massive public outcry led them to cancel the campaign. LOLsob:

“We know that our billboard angered and disappointed many of Heartland’s friends and supporters, but we hope they understand what we were trying to do with this experiment. We do not apologize for running the ad, and we will continue to experiment with ways to communicate the ‘realist’ message on the climate.”

I won’t get into quaint optimism of launching a modern PR “experiment” by billboard (what internet?). I can’t even take umbrage at the fact that the Heartland Institute hopes to paint us kindly climate advocates as bunker-dwelling psychos with stockpiles of C4.  Mostly, I’m just sad that I won’t ever get to have a highway commute filled with an unending parade of psychotic killers and genocidal madmen serenading me with universal truths and acknowledged facts.

But you know what? Someone famous (and probably from Hollywood) once said you must be the change you want see in the world. Since one should never ignore the advice of famous people, we at Grist have taken the liberty of continuing Heartland’s noble mission.

Behold: A rogue’s gallery of some of the world’s greatest killers, sociopaths, despots, and evildoers — all sharing incontrovertible truths and proven science fact.

P.S.: We’re just getting started.

Filed under: Climate Skeptics

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Confidential/Peachtree City, GA (USA)

Position Overview

Are you seeking for a respectable green environmentally sound business to partner with? We are a marketing team who works together who are concerned about the environment and desire to help others go green to better their health. We are looking for bright upbeat professionals who are ready to make a difference or simply need a Plan B.

The optimal candidates are dependable and efficient and looking to either supplement or replace their income by joining us. You may-be a business owner caught in the economy, participate in real estate and need an extra income stream, a stay-at-home-mom wanting to help with the family finances or you do not want to work for someone else on their schedules. We would love to help you!

We represent an international 500 Health & Wellness company who have been in business for 26 years. We activate wholesale accounts for new customers. We offer the opportunity for customers and business partners to join a solid, environmental organization.

Qualifications

 A Positive Outlook
 A strong desire to help others
 Computer with high speed internet
 Phone with long distance
 Basic Computer Skills

We Offer

 Flexible Schedules
 Part-time or Full-time
 Weekly Trainings
 Attractive Income Opportunity
 Commissions plus bonuses and incentives
 Telecommute for the right person

Our Mission

 To help our world be a better place by offering safer & healthier alternatives for the environment
 To support one another
 To work hard and to be consistent in reaching our dreams and ultimate goals
 To provide you peace of mind knowing that you have found the right business

To Apply

Please respond with your resume and you will be contacted to schedule an online informational webcast appointment!

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Pacific Gas and Electric Company/San Francisco, CA

Sustainable Community Energy Manager, Senior- Energy Solutions and Service- San Francisco, CA

Department Overview

Sustainable Communities, within Energy Solutions and Service (ES&S) Operations, delivers a holistic offering to local governments focused on sustainable energy management and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction. The Sustainable Community Energy Manager (CEM) will serve as the lead PG&E representative on community-wide climate action planning, working with local government leadership and relevant community partners. This approach will include the assessment of emissions and energy usage across all major sectors within the City of San Francisco. The Sustainable Community Energy Manager (CEM) also provides sustainability-related support and expertise to internal customer-facing teams at PG&E, in particular with local presence strategies and energy management within the Small/Medium Business sector.

Position Summary

PG&E is seeking a highly motivated, self-driven individual, passionate about sustainability, with clear vision and a knack for blazing their own trail. The ability to blend and reconcile the goals and desires of multiple stakeholders, while being sensitive to internal and external political environments will be critical. CEMs will support and partner closely with multiple groups within PG&E including Energy Solutions & Service (ES&S) Account Executives, Government Relations/ Partnership Teams and Green Communities.

The work will include a mix of office time, community field meetings and some travel. Occasional weekends and evening work may be required for community/ regional community events.

Responsibilities

Relationship Management: Maintains collaborative relationships with local government sustainability leaders, business and community leaders, and internal PG&E teams. Speaks at/ attends local community events in support of the overall energy/ sustainability plan.

Data Analysis and Strategic Planning: Analyzes community-wide energy and carbon emission data in an effort to identify cost-effective reduction strategies. Collaborates with Local Government, community leaders and stakeholders to develop energy vision.

Project Management and Performance Tracking: Partners with community leaders to implement agreed upon carbon reduction strategies/ campaigns, monitoring performance and providing status reports. Leads and monitors internal cross-functional collaborations and services supporting community climate goals. Provides feedback to the community, collaborative marketing and recognition.

Subject Matter Expertise: Provides centralized technical support to customer-facing teams with advanced knowledge of sustainability matters important to PG&E customers and pertinent to achieving PG&E's corporate goals. Supports Account Executive's work with assigned customers, to encourage participation in energy efficiency programs as part of a community scale sustainability effort.

Internal Coordination: Leads and coordinates innovative service solutions for local governments and their communities using network of internal PG&E and external resources. Partners with multiple PG&E departments to provide integrated services.
Compliance and Safety: Work safely and in compliance at all times with legal, regulatory and ethical standards. Fully utilize PG&E's Customer Management Tool (CMT) and other systems to document and report all work activities and expenses. Provide weekly reports/updates to supervisor.

Qualifications

Minimum:

- Bachelor's degree in business, environmental, technical or related field
- 6 years of relevant work experience (sustainability work, energy/ government-related work)
- Valid driver's license and willingness to use personal vehicle for reimbursed company mileage

Desired:

- Specialized knowledge of and experience in sustainability strategy, communications and customer motivations
- LEED AP and knowledge/ experience with green building, reach codes and related regulation
- MA in engineering, environmental management, sustainable business management or similar
- Ability to apply portfolio-based consultative sales skills and technical skills to understand, explain and recognize opportunities to work with energy end use systems and efficiency measures/techniques
- Excels in a team environment and models a collaborative spirit
- Strong interpersonal, communication and presentation skills
- Strong sense of awareness and savvy in political situations
- Coachable and committed to continuous learning
- Maintains professionalism and humility in dealing with team members and clients
- Strong critical thinking and problem-solving orientation (out-of-the box solutions)

If interested, please visit pge.com/careers and reference job number #12000991 Sustainable Community Energy Manager, Senior. To be considered you must apply directly to this posting via our careers page. All other inquires will not be accepted.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company is an AA/EEO employer that actively pursues and hires a diverse workforce.

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by Tom Laskawy.

Is the company making genetically modified salmon about to become the next Solyndra? According to the U.K.’s Guardian, it’s very possible. In the wake of the USDA’s announcement of a $500,000 grant to AquaBounty, the developer of Atlantic salmon that have been modified to grow faster on less feed, advocates at the Center for Food Safety, a consumer group opposed to FDA approval, dug deeper into the company’s latest financial statement.

Grist noted late last month that the company had a net loss of $2.8 million. Now it’s also clear that the company faces a fairly serious cash crunch. After spending 16 years and $67 million developing the fish, AquaBounty may run out of money by the middle of next year.

It’s true that the FDA may be only weeks away from announcing its approval, but the salmon (which has been branded with the name AquAdvantage) has a long way to go until it gets out of the lab. After all, the system for growing the fish is complex, land-based, and intentionally avoids U.S. sites for operations (the fish eggs will supposedly be grown in Canada and the fish themselves in Panama — but the Guardian reports neither country has given approval).

As The Center for Food Safety’s Colin O’Neill told the Guardian, “They are still not in the home stretch even if there is FDA approval.”

The Guardian’s coverage also focused on government shenanigans, and asks: Did the USDA follow proper procedures in approving the loan? (The agency claims it did.) Still, there’s no question that the USDA is trying to throw AquAdvantage a lifeline — and it’s unlikely to have done so without a fairly strong belief that FDA approval isn’t far off. And of course, one could argue that AquaBounty has shown a repeated ability to raise money and now, so close to its goal, it’s likely to find investors willing to help them out.

Solyndra had to face down the issue of competing solar technology leap-frogging the product the company had put time and money into developing (as Grist has explained). AquBounty (thankfully) has no real competition, so it should surprise no one that the biotech-friendly USDA is going all in.

Another difference from the Solyndra fracas: I seriously doubt that Republicans will leap up and begin a loud and sustained media campaign to end government subsidies for the biotech industry as they did for solar. Indeed, the real issue seems to be that AquaBounty has raised its pant leg to display an Achilles Heel: the company’s dwindling bank account. On top of all this, GMO food labeling is becoming a household issue. More than one dedicated advocacy group has recently arisen to fight back, and general concern about GMO food hasn’t been so present in the mainstream media since the Great Genetically Modified French Fry Debacle of 2000. All this might give pause to new investors in such technology.

AquaBounty’s balance sheet is a tempting target for advocates looking to aim their rhetorical arrows. The more delays and roadblocks that get thrown up against government approvals — whether here, in Canada, or in Panama — the less likely it becomes that GMO salmon will ever see the light of day. And while that would be a shame for the workers at AquaBounty, the rest of us (not to mention the remaining stocks of wild salmon) would be far better off without it.

Related Links:

Fumigation nation: Battling pesticide use in California

MSM on Solyndra: It’s not a scandal

Is this the most anti-environment House of Representatives ever?

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