Joe Knollenberg, an environmentalist?

I just found this video that tells the truth about Joe Knollenberg and his environmental record. Joe Knollenberg is no environmentalist.

Joe, Gary Peters is and environmentalist and you're no Gary Peters

So, let's take a look at Joe's environmental record

Dirty Dozen Member # 2: Representative Joe Knollenberg

The second person added to the Dirty Dozen today is Representative Joe Knollenberg (R-MI). While Rep. Knollenberg calls himself an environmentalist saying that “protecting, preserving, and providing for the health of our environment is one of his top priorities,” his record paints a much different picture. Rep. Knollenberg has repeatedly voted for corporate polluters and against environmental protections, earning him a lifetime LCV score of only 7 percent. Rep. Knollenberg has strongly opposed all attempts to raise fuel economy standards for cars and trucks. In 1998 and 1999, Knollenberg attached a rider known as 'the Knollenberg amendment' to congressional budget appropriation bills to prevent government agencies from doing anything that would regulate global warming pollution, including forbidding the EPA from holding educational seminars about global warming. In August 2007, he voted against a provision that would increase the amount of renewable energy produced in the United States.

“Michigan families need to ask, ‘whose side is Representative Joe Knollenberg really on?’” LCV President Gene Karpinski said. “Rep. Knollenberg’s record clearly shows that he votes for policies that reward his corporate contributors rather than supporting clean energy solutions to our energy challenges that would help fight global warming. We want to help inform Rep. Knollenberg’s constituents about his terrible environmental voting record – he can’t hide from it any longer.”

Representative Joseph Knollenberg (R-MI 9th) 8th-term Republican from Michigan.
		Vote Ratings 110th, 1st Session (2007) 20% 109th Congress (2005-2006) 3% 108th Congress (2003-2004) 6% 107th Congress (2001-2002) 0% 106th Congress (1999-2000) 0% Scorecard Votes Name of Legislation Voted Score Passed CAFE & Clean Energy 12/06/2007 N Passed Hard Rock Mining Reform 11/01/2007 N Failed Weakening Hard Rock Mining Reform 11/01/2007 Y Passed Clean Energy 08/04/2007 Y Agreed To Renewable Electricity Standard 08/04/2007 N Failed Grasslands Protection 07/27/2007 Y Failed Farm Bill - Subsidy Reform 07/26/2007 Y Passed Environmental Funding 06/27/2007 N Agreed To Oil Shale 06/27/2007 N Agreed To Tongass Logging Roads 06/27/2007 N Failed Mexican Wolf Recovery 06/27/2007 Y Agreed To Clean Air 06/27/2007 N Failed Reducing Global Warming 06/27/2007 Y Failed Offshore Drilling 06/27/2007 Y Failed Population 06/21/2007 Y Failed Electric Transmission Corridors 06/20/2007 N Failed Global Warming and National Security 05/11/2007 Y Passed Clean Water 03/09/2007 N Failed Liquid Coal 02/08/2007 Y Passed Oil Subsides Repeal 01/18/2007 Y

Joe earned a score of 20 from the League of Conservation Voters. If you look at his web site, you'd think he was the best thing to happen to the environment ever. There's even pictures of Joe picking up leave at a park in Royal. So, you'd have to conclude that Joe give a rip about the environment if he and his staff were at a park picking up leaves, right? Nothing could be further from the truth. If it comes down to business or the environment, business wins every time. God forbid the auto companies should be required to build cars that get higher mileage when gas is pushing $4.00 per gallon.

Joe Knollenberg is no environmentalist, no matter what his taxpayer paid for mailers or his web site say.

Oakland Press - Knollenberg named to Dirty Dozen List

I guess I even scooped the Oakland Press on this one.

Joe Knollenberg an enviornmentalist? Please.

Knollenberg's Anti-Environmental Record: Part 2

Joe Knollenberg must think the voters of the 9th District are stupid -- otherwise why would he tell us that he is an "environmentalist", when it is so clear from his voting record that he is really one of the most anti-environmental Congressman in history.

In a previous post we pointed out some of Knollenberg's anti-environmental votes and noted that we were unable to find even a single pro-environmental vote by Knollenberg.

Here is some more evidence of just how strongly anti-environmental Joe Knollenberg really is:

* Knollenberg added a rider to an appropriations bill prohibiting EPA from funding efforts to reduce greenhouse gases under programs like the Kyoto Protocol
* Knollenberg's biggest priority for years was to make certain that toilets could WASTE MORE WATER - rather than conserve water like a true environmentalist would propose
* Knollenberg supported a measure that prohibited EPA from tightening air pollution laws -- and even prohibited them from using their monitoring data to determine which areas of the country were meeting health based air pollution standards
* Knollenberg opposed EPA's efforts to use equal protection guarantees to assure that all Americans have clean air and clean water

In fact, Knollenberg is so anti-environmental, the Lana Pollack from the Michigan Environmental Council once gave Knollenberg an "award" consisting of a Ken doll with his head buried in a bucket of sand. It was a great metaphor for how Knollenberg treats most issues -- he hides from them -- but it is particularly appropriate for environmental issues because Knollenberg votes on them like a dummy with his head in a pile of sand.

It is easy to do a search online and find hundreds of articles about how anti-environmental Joe Knollenberg is -- but can anyone find an article about Joe doing ANYTHING positive and proactive for the environment?