US Court: Transcanada's Keystone XL Profits More Important than Environment

In a major ruling that’s flown under the radar, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit – based in Denver, Colorado – decided not to grant the Sierra Club and Clean Energy Future Oklahoma a temporary injunction on the construction of the southern half of Transcanada’s Keystone XL tar sands export pipeline.  The Court’s decision […]

BLM's Coal Leasing Woes Continue: New GAO Report Coming This Month

More bad news is coming for the Interior Department’s coal leasing program. This month (or later, if the federal shutdown persists), the U.S. Government Accountability Office is expected to release findings from a year-long investigation into the Bureau of Land Management’s federal coal leasing program, which oversees the auction of coal tracts on publicly owned lands. You’re […]

Union of Concerned Scientists Cites DeSmog's "Frackademia" Work in Major Report

The Union of Concerned Scientists‘ Center for Science and Democracy has released a new report titled “Toward an Evidence-Based Fracking Debate” and DeSmogBlog‘s “frackademia” work takes the center stage in the 53-page heavily cited document. With chapters on the science of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), fracking’s regulatory landscape (and lack thereof), industry transparency (and again, lack thereof) and many […]

Over 865,200 Gallons of Fracked Oil Spill in ND, Public In Dark For Days Due to Government Shutdown

Over 20,600 barrels of oil fracked from the Bakken Shale has spilled from a Tesoro Logistics pipeline in Tioga, North Dakota in one of the biggest onshore oil spills in recent U.S. history. Though the spill occurred on September 29, the U.S. National Response Center – tasked with responding to chemical and oil spills – did not make the […]

Crossett: Why the Government Shutdown Is A Matter of Life and Death for Polluted Communities

With no end in sight to the GOP war on democracy, shutdown edition, all “nonessential workers” are off the job of protecting the American public. This includes ninety-four percent of the Environmental Protection Agency staff, who are on the couch watching football instead of watching the polluters who threaten public health and safety.  For the residents […]

Selective Shutdown: Congressman Raul Grijalva's Petition to Ban Drilling on Public Lands While Public is Locked Out

As the government shutdown drags well into its second week, the gates to America’s national parks, wildlife refuges, and national forests remain closed and the taxpaying public is denied access. Not everyone will be turned away at the gates, however: oil, gas, and coal companies that are already drilling and mining on our public lands […]

Australia's New Prime Minister Surrounded By Climate Science Denying Voices and Advisors

WHEN speaking to script, Australia’s new conservative Prime Minister Tony Abbott will say that he accepts that human emissions of greenhouse gases are having an impact on the world’s climate. Yet the Liberal Party leader appears to be surrounding himself with ministers and advisers who reject the science of human-caused climate change, with the most outspoken […]

Obama's Former Communications Director Anita Dunn Pitches "Ethical Oil" Keystone XL Ad

Ezra Levant is the man behind an attempt to re-frame the Alberta tar sands as “ethical oil.” “Ethical” – Levant’s deceptive public relations campaign argues of the tar sands “carbon bomb” – because it doesn’t come from the war-ridden and human rights-abusing Middle East.  Now, the “ethical oil” campaign has a new backer: Anita Dunn, former White […]

Influence in America: A Report on TransCanada Corporation's Keystone XL Lobbying Activities

According to a new white paper by DeSmog Canada, TransCanada Corporation, the company behind the Keystone XL pipeline proposal, has spent more than $4 million lobbying U.S. federal lawmakers and government department staff since 2010.   The results can be found in a new white paper released today by DeSmog Canada that you can view here: […]

Why Are Coal Industry PR Pros Laughing About Climate Change in Private Talks on Export Terminals?

Ed. Note October 17: In response to misleading allegations from Edelman and the Alliance for Northwest Jobs & Exports, DeSmog has posted a follow-up demonstrating clearly that Mr. Stark’s presence was known and that he had introduced himself to both Ms. Hennessey and Mr. Ferguson prior to the conversation. This is a guest post by Mike […]