I forgot to link to this last week, but the Center for Public Integrity just put out a terrific analysis of the lobbying free-for-fall that's emerged on Capitol Hill in response to looming climate legislation. About 770 companies and interest groups have hired an estimated 2,340 lobbyists to work their magic on all thing climate-related—that's four for every member of Congress. Big names are hopping into the fray, from Dick Gephardt (last seen lobbying for Peabody Coal) to former top aides to Tom DeLay and John Dingell. Here's the breakdown by sector:
Any carbon tax or cap-and-trade regime on greenhouse gases that Congress takes up is going to get picked over (some might say "mangled") by these folks. In all, about 15 percent of the lobbyists working in D.C. spent at least some of their time working on global warming in 2008—and that was before there was even a chance a climate bill would actually pass.
--Bradford Plumer