Should BIG ENERGY be allowed to influence how NC handles the climate change debate?

In what I would call a stunning amount of audacity the NC Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change has two voting members from big energy:

Dr. George T. Everett
Director of Environmental and Legislative Affairs
Duke Power
225 Hillsborough Place, Suite 160
Raleigh, NC 27603
(919) 235-0955
E-mail: gteverett@duke-energy.com

and

Ms. Caroline Choi
Director – Energy Policy & Strategy Progress Energy
410 South Wilmington Street
Suite 1505
Raleigh, NC 27601
(919)-546-3775
E-mail: caroline.choi@pgnmail.com

Now call me paranoid, but isn't that equivalent to letting The Cookie Monster guard the cookie jar?

I have had no correspondence with Mr Everett.

When I point blank asked Ms. Choi if her having a vote on the LCGCC would represent a clear conflict of interest, while working for an up-and-coming "green energy" utility company which has everything to gain should c02 become a government mandated pollutant,she did not respond. Shocking isn't it.

The following is taken directly from Progress Energy's website:

Progress Energy, headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., is a Fortune 250 energy company with more than 21,000 megawatts of generation capacity and $9 billion in annual revenues. The company will observe its 100th anniversary in 2008. Progress Energy includes two major utilities that serve 3.1 million customers in the Carolinas and Florida. The company is the 2006 recipient of the Edison Electric Institute's Edison Award, the industry's highest honor, in recognition of its operational excellence. The company also is the first utility to receive the prestigious J.D. Power and Associates Founder's Award for customer service. Progress Energy serves two fast-growing areas of the country, and the company is pursuing a balanced strategy for a secure energy future. That balance includes aggressive energy efficiency programs, investments in renewable energy technologies and a state-of-the-art electricity system. For more information about Progress Energy, visit the company's Web site at www.progress-energy.com.

A little old Nine Billion Dollar, Fourtune 250 company, poised to "help" NC get out of Duke Energy's frying pan, and right into a Progress Energy fire! Write to your NC elected representatives today and tell them you want to see this issue debated before it is too late!