Back in February, The Philadelphia Inquirer published an op-ed by former Mayor Michael Nutter that left me feeling confused. The piece argues for the role of fossil gas in the home energy mix for Philadelphians, because, Nutter claims, renewables are simply too expensive for low-income households. Yes, this is the same Michael Nutter who, in 2009, created the City’s Office of Sustainability and set aggressive energy savings and greenhouse gas reduction targets. Nutter was so impressively green that Grid put him on the cover in 2012, posing on a green roof.
This green credibility is, of course, why the fossil fuel industry pays Nutter and other retired Democrats to sell their message to the public.
Nutter is a member of Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future, a group funded by gas companies and unions to convince the public that, although methane produces carbon dioxide when burned and is a powerful greenhouse gas when it leaks from transmission systems, fossil gas is environmentally friendly. This affiliation was omitted from the original op-ed.
It turns out that Nutter had told The Inquirer that he had no conflicts of interest, which is, of course, not true.
Nutter selling out is sad, though not surprising. When he was leaving office, he told The Inquirer: “I want to do something really radical in my life … making money for the first time ever.” (The same article points out that, as mayor, he earned $177,679.) Plenty of politicians leave office and then cash in, leveraging the strength of their government connections to lobby for the powerful. If you want to get a meeting with an elected official, who better than one of their former colleagues to open the door?
But Nutter’s op-ed goes a step further. He isn’t meeting behind closed doors with old colleagues; he is addressing his former constituents, leveraging our trust to sell the fossil fuel industry’s message, all while hiding his role as a shill.
It’s cliché to say that we shouldn’t trust politicians, but the broader point is that we should trust policy recommendations based on the facts, not the messengers. Those facts remain the same as they were in 2009: even the residents of a poor city like Philadelphia can play a part in fighting climate change, particularly with the leadership of sincere public officials. We can provide financial support for swapping in electric versions of stoves, water heaters and furnaces. Our City-owned gas utility can explore geothermal network heating, a truly low-carbon and ultimately affordable method of heating a dense city like Philadelphia (though, as we reported in January, Philadelphia Gas Works has no progress to show on that front).
I can’t say what Nutter actually thinks. Maybe he would be writing op-eds about the importance of fossil gas even if he weren’t a member of an industry-backed lobbying group. Maybe the money has nothing to do with it. Maybe, but the journalist in me tends not to believe in such coincidences, and the Philly environmentalist in me can’t help but feel betrayed.
