At this point, it shouldn’t be shocking to hear that Boulder outsourced some of its public relations functions to a radical environmental group out of Washington, D.C., but it’s still kind of disappointing.
According to a new Western Wire article, the City of Boulder is kicking all media requests from a climate related lawsuit to EarthRights International. According to emails between Kirk Herbertson, Advocacy Strategist for ERI, and Barb Halpin, Public Information Officer of Boulder County, ERI has been leading the strategy on a lawsuit against ExxonMobil and Suncor for months.
BTW, this lawsuit against Exxon and Suncor is utter bull$h!t. Basically, Boulder is suing the two organizations for exacerbating global climate change. To which we say, #metoo. We drive. We eat beef.
While we are told that this lawsuit is being conducted at no cost to taxpayers, it is clear from Western Wire‘s reporting that taxpayer resources, such as staff, are being used in this lawsuit.
And, how did this lawsuit come about? An article from Energy in Depth offers some insight:
“Recent reporting shows that ERI had an existing relationship with the Boulder plaintiffs and helped connect government officials to the Niskanen Center. But why did a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit approach Boulder officials and convince them to sue energy companies for climate change in the first place?”
A question we’d think the People’s Republic would like answered.