Shale gas play and the NRDC
The above link gives more information about the NRDC’s role in a few major betrayals of the environment. One of those included the permitting of 8 coal fired power plants in Texas which the NRDC helped take place. NRDC played a role in the TXU buyout, which betrayed a local environmental coalition seeking a more comprehensive result, instead providing cover for a massive new coal power producer to complete three new plants. N.R.D.C.’s Board Member, Ruben Kraiem, a partner at Covington and Burling (2007), profited from this outcome.
See http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/03/28/txu-investors-round-up-lobbying-team/.
The major beneficiary then was Kohlberg Kravis and Roberts (see www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/feb/26/privateequity) which has been recently investing in shale gas as per this story: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/14/BUEC1DTESV.DTL
Shale gas is perhaps more polluting than coal when life-cycle analysis are considered (see Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Natural Gas from Marcellus Shale) here: http://www.eeb.cornell.edu/howarth/Howarth_Energy%20and%20Environment.html