Green TNR, brought to you by BP

The New Republic has a new blog devoted to environment and energy issues.

On the bright side, it includes the work of Brad Plumer, one of the most honest, thoughtful, and insightful writers in D.C. For that alone it’s worth bookmarking.

On the not so bright side, it’s … "powered by BP."

Really.

Here’s a bit from Brad’s post on that subject:

Personally, I have a lot of qualms about being "powered" by BP, even though none of the bloggers on this site have anything to do with TNR’s business side, and we were hoping to keep this blog running after the sponsorship ends.

…

Now, does BP dictate our content? No. Would we shy away from criticizing them? No. To take a few examples, I’m in favor of a cap-and-trade regime or carbon tax to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, and BP has been working behind the scenes in Congress to oppose strong climate legislation. I’m in favor of funding for renewable energy, whereas BP has slashed its investments in renewables while pouring money into dirty energy sources like the tar sands of Canada. Technically, there’s nothing to stop those disagreements from being aired on the blog or on our site. But that doesn’t mean everything’s fine and dandy here, so, by all means, sound off in comments.

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