Exposed: "FrackNation" Deploys Tobacco Playbook in Response to "Gasland 2"

Big Oil has deployed the “Tobacco Playbook” once again, this time in response to the release of “Gasland 2.” It comes in the form of a documentary film titled, “FrackNation,” whose co-directors’ funding in the past came from Donors Capital and Donors Trust, referred to by Mothers Jones‘ Andy Kroll as “the dark-money ATM of the right” and a major […]

Legal Headaches Begin For Exxon Over Pegasus Pipeline Rupture

Residents in Mayflower, Arkansas, the site of the recent Pegasus tar sands pipeline rupture, have filed suit against pipeline operator Exxon for health issues and property damage that have arisen since the spill. Those affected by the pipeline’s spill have complained of numerous, though mild, health problems including headaches, nausea, and breathing difficulties.  While these symptoms […]

Fracking "Shock Doctrine" Unveiled as 2013 Illinois Legislative Session Nears End

The shale gas industry has performed the “shock doctrine” at the 11th hour of the 2013 Illinois State Legislature’s debate over hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), the toxic horizontal drllling process through which oil and gas is obtained from shale rock basins nationwide.  This year, both the Illinois House and Senate are set to adjourn for the year […]

State Department Inspector General Investigating Keystone XL Contractor ERM's Conflicts of Interest

The Checks and Balances Project has announced that the U.S. State Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) has launched a conflicts-of-interest investigation into dirty dealings pertaining to the contractor tasked to perform the environmental review for the northern half of TransCanada’s Keystone XL tar sands pipeline on behalf of State.  Environmental Resources Management, Inc. (ERM Group) declared the northern portion of Keystone […]

Rallies in 12 U.S. Cities Protest Koch Brothers' Tribune Takeover Bid

Today, 12 groups sent a strong message to the Koch Brothers consisting of over 500,000 signatures delivered to Tribune Company Newspapers protesting the prospective “Kochtopus” buyout of the news outlets, which are up for sale by CEO Peter Liguori. Major funders of right wing causes and politicians, David and Charles Koch are also notorious climate change deniers and funders of […]

Enemies of Science Want to Confuse You About The 97-Percent Consensus Study

Earlier this month, John Cook of Skeptical Science and his team of volunteers at the Consensus Project released the latest definitive study of global warming scientific consensus, revealing that 97 percent of peer-reviewed papers with a clear view on the subject agree that global warming is occurring and that humans are the primary cause. Ever since, […]

"FrackNation" Part Two: The Koch Industries Ties That Bind

Part one of the DeSmogBlog investigation of “FrackNation” – a film made in response to “Gasland 2” – honed in on the past track records and funding streams of co-directors Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney. We revealed that Donors Trust/Donors Capital – the “dark money ATM of the right” – partially funded their first two films, “Mine Your Own […]

Gas Industry Successfully Overturns Colorado Fracking Ban

The townspeople in Fort Collins were greeted with some unfortunate news earlier this week, as their city council decided to overturn a ban on hydraulic fracturing that had been in place for only a few short months. The decision to overturn the ban was based solely on the threat of a lawsuit from the oil […]

The Beaver Lake Cree Judgment: The Most Important Tar Sands Case You’ve Never Heard Of

Sure they’re bad for the environment, for human health, and for wildlife, but we rarely stop to wonder if the Alberta tar sands are in fact unconstitutional. But the constitutional standing of the tar sands — one of the world’s largest and most carbon-intensive energy projects — is just what’s at stake in a treaty rights claim the Beaver Lake Cree Nation […]

FOIA Facts 4 – George Mason Takes The Money And Breaks The Rules

New Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) replies (1, 2, and 3) expose worse misbehavior at George Mason University. GMU badly mishandled simple plagiarism complaints, including one on a Federally-funded paper, retracted in May 2011, finally ruled as misconduct in 2012. Federal rules required notifications to several agencies earlier, but FOIA requests found no trace of any: […]