Activists Protest Google's Support Of Global Warming Skeptic
MOUNTAIN VIEW (KCBS) -- Google employees were greeted by dozens of environmental activists when they reported for work Wednesday at the company's headquarters in Mountain View.
Holding signs that said "Don't be evil, Google," the demonstrators had a gripe with what they called the company's surprising support for U.S. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), a lawmaker who disputes the effects of climate change.
"We love their 'don't be evil' policy and we think it's really unfortunate that they've chosen to affiliate themselves with somebody evil, somebody who's funding climate [change] denial," said Megan Fluke Medeiros with the Sierra Club.
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She said that Inhofe has dismissed climate change as a "hoax" on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
On July 11th, Google hosted a fundraiser for Inhofe at its Washington, D.C. offices.
Debbie Mitells from Palo Alto said it's a surprising move for a company which has been an environmental leader.
"They support creek-restoration projects and they've been doing a lot of work on supporting energy efficiency as well, so it really is shocking," Mitells said.
Google did not respond to KCBS' request for comment on Wednesday. But following the Inhofe fundraiser, a company spokesperson wrote in an email, "We regularly host fundraisers for candidates on both sides of the aisle, but that doesn't mean we endorse all of their positions."
Google has invested $700 million in two data centers in Inhofe's home state of Oklahoma.
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