Nike Resigns From The U.S. Chamber Of Commerce Board Of Directors Over Global Warming Disagreements
Nike Resigns From The U.S. Chamber Of Commerce Board Of Directors Over Global Warming Disagreements
In the past couple weeks, three energy companies have ditched the reeling U.S. Chamber of Commerce over its opposition to global warming action. Although Nike has publicly expressed its frustrations with the Chamber’s anti-science positions, it hasn’t started to sever ties with the organization — until now.
Facing increasing pressure from activists, Nike today announced that is resigning from the Chamber’s board of directors:
It is important that US companies be represented by a strong and effective Chamber that reflects the interests of all its members on multiple issues. We believe that on the issue of climate change the Chamber has not represented the diversity of perspective held by the board of directors.
Therefore, we have decided to resign our board of directors position. We will continue our membership to advocate for climate change legislation inside the committee structure and believe that we can better influence policy by being part of the conversation. Moving forward we will continue to evaluate our membership.
The New York Times has an editorial today criticizing the Chamber for being “way behind the curve“:
The United States Chamber of Commerce’s Web site says the group supports “a comprehensive legislative solution” to global warming. Yet no organization in this country has done more to undermine such legislation. [...]
The chamber has now declared war on the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to use regulatory means to control emissions — beginning with one official’s ill-advised (and since apologized-for) demand for a “Scopes monkey trial” questioning the science behind the agency’s preliminary finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health.
As the Wonk Room’s Brad Johnson has noted, the Chamber is beginning to feel the heat and is trying to rewrite the history of its denialism. Enviroknow writes that two questions remain: 1) “When will Nike formally end its membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce?” and 2) “Which of the following 17 corporations — which are on the record in support of federal climate legislation yet sit on the Chamber’s Board of Directors — will be the next to part ways with the chamber?”
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Before long only inhofe will be left.
September 30th, 2009 at 10:18 amFred@1, LOL! He will be lonely. Although, GOD will be with him.
September 30th, 2009 at 10:22 amI’d be more impressed if they stopped using child labor and carcinogens in their products. It’s kind of easy putting your finger to the wind to find out which way it’s blowing – and it doesn’t cost them anything to leave the Chamber of Commerc.
September 30th, 2009 at 10:24 am***
just did it.
*
September 30th, 2009 at 10:25 amNike?
Not exactly a multi-national I’d go around singing the praises of.
September 30th, 2009 at 10:25 amwow, when a corporation as shady as Nike wants to disassociate with you because of your shadiness, you must be REALLY shady
September 30th, 2009 at 10:26 am“When will Nike formally end its membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce?”
– - AFTER they confiscated every video they could find of their meal-ticket Lebron James getting dunked over by a college player in a recent basketball game.
September 30th, 2009 at 10:27 amYou go, Nike! Now the poor Indonesian children slaving away in your factories at $1 a day will have a slightly greener deforested husk of a rainforest to go home to.
Still, their support means something in this case.
September 30th, 2009 at 10:29 amAAHHHH good on you NIKE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
that was a good start now while you are at it how about cleaning some of your other problems up as well.
but thanks for pulling out of the CoC
September 30th, 2009 at 10:30 amThink about it. Corporations are the ‘Good Guys’??? That tells how bad the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is. Should we just wait for the ‘Rapture’ or what.
September 30th, 2009 at 10:32 amIt took them long enough! One must suspect Nike’s motives for having waited until the heat went up and some utilities showed the way.
September 30th, 2009 at 10:33 amBut yesterday they said that they never denied global warming the day before yesterday!
September 30th, 2009 at 10:37 am<<<>>
September 30th, 2009 at 10:39 amDNFP,
I don’t buy Nike and I don’t shop at Walmart. I wonder where I could shop if I knew all of their (retail outlets) production details?
September 30th, 2009 at 10:40 am****
#5.
a step in the right direction
is a step in the right direction.
**
damn that html!
:)
September 30th, 2009 at 10:41 amThe denialists are on the fast track to irrelevancy, as they should.
September 30th, 2009 at 10:48 amNike is a sweat shop company brainwashing us through advertising into buying their wares, made by essentially slave labor. Workers are paid wages insufficient to meet their basic needs, are not allowed to organize independent unions, and often face health and safety hazards.
Most scientists are not climatologists. Most work in other fields and many maybe observing first-hand the effects of climate change. No doubt many have been convinced man is behind it by the hockey stick (though 17,200 of them signed petition urging US not to sign Kyoto).
Many climatologists that work closely with the data see the importance of local factors such as urbanization and see changes that are cyclical and natural.
Survey of American Association of State Climatologists in 1997 showed 73% felt natural cycles were largely behind climate changes, especially the old-timers who have seen this frenzied overreaction to change before.
September 30th, 2009 at 10:52 amThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
I will NEVER forgive Nike for putting up that billboard during the Atlanta Olympics stating that “nobody wins silver, they lose gold”.
September 30th, 2009 at 11:00 amIs this story about Nike, or about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce losing it’s base because of their ridiculous stance on what to do to mitigate global warming?
September 30th, 2009 at 11:31 am***
maybe we should have a
military take over of nike?
:)
September 30th, 2009 at 11:34 amIf the “free market” says there’s global climate change then it must be true, eh trolls?
What’s that? You never questioned the validity of climate change science?
Too funny.
September 30th, 2009 at 11:37 amsure, TORM,
by your reasoning, KFC wouldn’t be serving chicken any more.
you watch that Hannity dude on the teevee, dontcha?
who ya votin’ for in 2012, tough guy??????????????????
September 30th, 2009 at 11:42 am***
#23,
tom,
my $’s on “huck” huckabbee!
:)
September 30th, 2009 at 11:46 amnone of them will say.
they all know their chances are nil.
you’re probably right. they do love’em some huck.
which makes a neat and tidy symbiosis – they capture squirrels, huck eats squirrels.
September 30th, 2009 at 11:58 amThe Chamber just announced next year’s inspirational speakers at Chamber events!
Spring featured speaker: The Honorable James Inhofe!
At the summer conference: Senator James Inofe!
Speaking at their Fall symposium: Jumpin’ Jimmy Inofe!
And at their annual Xmas event: The Honorable James Inofe back for an encore performance!
September 30th, 2009 at 11:58 amjoe,
By the time 2012 comes around, Huck will be large enough to be his own VP candidate. :D
September 30th, 2009 at 11:59 amIn other words, “facing increased pressure from a bunch o’ loon toon, Gaia worshiping, tree frog lickers…”
What a joke! The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a pro-capitalist organization designed to promote BUSINESS.
Who gives a flying pile of tree frog squeeze what their position is on glow bull warming??
NIKE. Just knee-jerk.
.
September 30th, 2009 at 12:42 pmMikeua26 says:
Survey of American Association of State Climatologists in 1997 showed 73% felt natural cycles were largely behind climate changes, especially the old-timers who have seen this frenzied overreaction to change before.
September 30th, 2009 at 10:52 am
_________
Wow – a survey from 12 years and three IPCC assessment reports ago? Go figure!
And what kind of changes were they talking about? Regional? Local? Over months? Years? Decades? And “largely” is a funny choice of word – it doesn’t mean “more than anthropoegenic factors,” it could just mean “a large contributing factor.”
Today, 97% of climatologists actively working and publishing in the field believe that human activity is a significant contributing factor. Compared to 58% of the general public, thanks in no small part to the science-denial work of people like yourself.
September 30th, 2009 at 12:57 pmYES!
and BRAVO!
September 30th, 2009 at 12:59 pmmr. choo choo train,
you are deranged,
and ignorant.
September 30th, 2009 at 1:11 pmloco-man: “The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a pro-capitalist organization designed to promote BUSINESS.”
No, that’s not exactly correct. They promote large corporate interests. Almost any rational member of a given Chamber of Commerce will agree that the Chamber is not really there nationally as an advocate for small business or even business in general – just large corporations. And, these days the Chamber DOES advocate for political positions. You, like so many conservatives these days, whine and cry about having to be accountable for your positions and actions.
September 30th, 2009 at 1:37 pmMikeua26 says:
Most scientists are not climatologists.
That’s true. Yet when conservatives whine about climate change not being real they always cite “scientists” and not climate experts.
Mikeua26 says:
Most work in other fields and many maybe observing first-hand the effects of climate change.
Yep. Or they’re local weathermen who don’t even have college degrees and call themselves “scientists”.
Mikeua26 says:
No doubt many have been convinced man is behind it by the hockey stick (though 17,200 of them signed petition urging US not to sign Kyoto).
Project much? Those 17,200 include people like “Chris Allen”. This is a man without a college degree that is a local weatherman that claims Climate Change can’t be real because “God” wouldn’t let that happen.
Meanwhile there is a worldwide consensus of “science” and “scientists” who are “climate experts” that say climate change is real… ;)
September 30th, 2009 at 3:23 pmCan’t the government just enforce the RICO statutes against the US Chamber of Commerce? It’s little more than a legalized organized crime syndicate.
September 30th, 2009 at 8:26 pm