$2.9 Billion spent lobbying

Since 2000, the oil and gas industry has spent $2.9 billion lobbying.

Large energy industries, led by oil and gas, have spent a combined $2.9 billion over the past decade on electing candidates, lobbying for industry-friendly policy, and swaying regulators in their favor, according to a report released Tuesday by Common Cause, a nonpartisan organization that monitors money in politics.

Since 1990, donations to lawmakers from employees of energy companies and their political action committees have increased more than 300 percent, according to the report, which is based on public data from the Center for Responsive Politics, a government watchdog group.

That would have bought lots of vapor recovery systems and a ton of those $300 valves that cut methane emissions by 90% but that Devon thinks shouldn’t be mandatory.

Last night I heard the Devon and EnCana representatives say over and over how unfair Denton’s proposed new drilling fees are. Ironic eh?