Google's Eric Schmidt Said ALEC Lying about Climate Change

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said publicly on Monday that the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) was "literally lying" about climate change. In an interview on NPR, Mr. Schmidt said that his company's former association with ALEC was a "mistake," and that the lobbying group's stance on climate change was "making the world a much worse place."

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt

ALEC is known in the political world for advocating for free markets (i.e. deregulation), low taxes, the privatization of prisons and schools, stand your ground laws, and for generally resisting any and all efforts by local, state, and federal government to support, require, or encourage renewable energy or other climate-oriented legislation. The organization's focus in recent years has been drafting "model bills" for representatives of state and local government that advance the agenda above.

Google was a member company of ALEC, earning the ire of progressives, as has every corporate member of the group. As noted by liberal publication ThinkProgress, participation and funding of ALEC by Google seemed at odds with the company's heavy investments in renewable energy, and Mr. Schmidt apparently agrees.

In an interview on The Diane Rehm Show on NPR, Mr. Schmidt said, “Everyone understands climate change is occurring and the people who oppose it are really hurting our children and our grandchildren and making the world a much worse place. And so we should not be aligned with such people—they’re just, they’re just literally lying.”

Silicon Valley has a reputation for progressive idealogy on climate change, the environment, and equality. Mr. Schmidt's comments put Google more firmly in that camp.

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