Broadwater's Chief Shill Talks About Why We Don't Like Big Energy Companies

John D. Hofmeister, the president of Shell who has added corporate shill to his list of duties, is still trying to convince us that we need his company’s liquefied natural gas platform – that is, Broadwater – in the middle of Long Island Sound. He acknowledges that the pubic does not like Big Energy, and the New Haven Register today somehow lets him explain away the public’s feelings by blaming them on Enron.

I think it has much more to do with dubious claims about saving consumers money; an insistence that they, the benevolent corporations, know what’s best for us and our region; and the fact that while Shell (and TransCanada) is trying to shove Broadwater down our throats, they’re making record profits. The Register didn’t mention that latter fact in today’s story, but here it is: in 2006 Shell’s profits were $25.36 billion.