So, what can you do about it?



  • Check out the "coalition" from your state.

    • Are they a legally registered corporation in your state? If they're not using the name, go ahead and register it and create your own coalition!

    • Do they have an actual physical address or telephone number? If so, check to see if they are also home to a PR/marketing firm.

    • Is their spokesperson from a PR/marketing firm?

    • Who owns their web domain name?

    • Who hosts their website?

    • Are they hosting expensive PR/media events?

    • Are their "facts" impossible to verify?

    • Are the majority of their members companies/organizations that stand to make a buck off a certain project?

    • Has the company behind your particular project failed miserably at PR/marketing under their own name?

    • Do they have officers, regular meetings, dues or any requirements to join?

    • Publish the information you have gathered on the web and in the media.


  • Use your local contacts to find out where and when a "forum" will be held. Check your local Chamber of Commerce -- chances are PATH is a member and will be trying to leverage that into the chamber hosting a "forum".

    • Check out their "expert" speakers in advance. Chances are they don't know squat about electric transmission, but are a big name or have some connection to "authority". These guys are being paid handily to appear and present propaganda prepared by the power company or "coalition". If you're involved in opposition to a project in your area, you probably know much more about the subject than the expert does.

    • Once you know when and where, show up! Ask questions, lots of questions!

    • Bring a local reporter along with you. Talk to the reporter in advance about your suspicions about the "coalition".

    • Be sure to spend a few minutes with each member of the press in attendance to avoid "puff piece" stories. Compare the puff piece to actual accounts of journalists who were there. Doesn't sound like the puff piece reporter was at the same place at the same time as the other two reporters, does it? See the difference between ethical journalism and lazy re-printing of a press release as "news"?


  • Check out their member list. You will find several different classes of members.

    • Those who stand to profit financially from the project (power companies, construction companies, equipment rental companies, coal companies, etc.)

    • Labor unions who have been made wild promises of jobs that will never materialize. I do respect their right to work, but I'm sorry guys, your right to a few temporary jobs does not trump my right to continue living safely in my home. I suspect there are quite a few union members who will also have their property seized by eminent domain and everyone will pay increased electric rates for years to cover the cost of these completely unnecessary projects. Union members and their families will also be breathing the same increasingly polluted air as the rest of us. Do a little research -- how many truly local temporary jobs did the TrAIL project create? 100? Is that really worth it?

    • Companies and organizations that drank the poison koolaid. These people believed the hype. Contact them and let them know how they have been scammed.

  • Check out scam-busting sites like Source Watch or PR Watch and post information about your "coalition" and help them put an end to this unethical practice.

  • Complain to regulatory agencies about being forced to pay a corporation's lobbying and front organization expenses in your electric bill.

  • If your "coalition" is claiming to be a tax exempt organization, check with the IRS to see if they're registered. If not, follow the advice of the IRS agent. I think you'll find the advice very enlightening!