The enviro lobby does hold considerable control over the country. They dont do it so much through the lobby of politicians(they do this too though) but they use the courts to file lawsuits, block this or that and hold up anything they dont like. All they have to do is file in San Fran and it will be in the system for years before people loose interest and give up.
Stever,
factcheck.org is a relatively good org but if you think that Kathleen Jamieson and Brooks Jackson dont have political leanings you are drinking far more "kool-aid" than you accuse others of. They tell the facts as best as they can find them but if you read there book you will see where their pollitics lie. They take on more conservatives and lean their reporting. As do most of these groups. It is all about what they decide to pay attention to and what they "dont have time to check out".