Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
Recently the head of Google, company chairman Eric Schmidt, admitted that it was a mistake to fund the controversial group, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
Many environmentalists have said that ALEC, a free-market lobbying group, has worked against efforts at renewable energy programs.
Silicon Valley firms, which are relatively new to politics, have supported both liberal and conservative candidates and groups, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. But public pressure on such issues as global warming is forcing tech companies to rethink their strategies.
ALEC’s executive director, Lisa B. Nelson, said in the Chronicle:
“it is unfortunate to learn Google has ended its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council as a result of public pressure from left-leaning individuals and organizations who intentionally confuse free market policy perspectives for climate change denial.”
Reporter Joe Garofoli of the San Francisco Chronicle shares more.