Oil-by-Rail Giant BNSF Threatens Shutdown Over Safety

In June of 2014, a representative of oil-by-rail giant Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) attended a meeting with regulators where the American Association of Railroads (AAR) lobbied against any speed limits for oil trains. One of the slides from that presentation – titled “Far Reaching Economic Impacts” (image below) — predicted dire consequences to the […]

Pre-emption: How and Why Rail Companies Are Above The Law

CSX is one of the major rail companies that is profiting from the oil-by-rail boom led by North Dakota’s Bakken crude oil. On September 28th, a day that is apparently national “good neighbor day,” CSX broadcast the following message on Twitter. Which is a nice message. But CSX and the rest of the rail industry can […]

Lisa Nandy’s Vision of Energy Democracy Isn’t Idealism – It’s Already Starting to Happen

This article by Sakina Sheikh has been cross-posted from Global Justice Now. A bold and refreshing vision for the UK’s energy future was spelled out this morning by Lisa Nandy, the Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary, at the Labour party conference. It wasn’t only about her commitment to clean energy – she spoke of […]

DeSmog UK’s Best September Stories and Those You May Have Missed

This autumn started off with a bang as September saw a flurry of energy and climate news. And, with just two months left before the Paris climate change conference in December our climate coverage has amped up. David Cameron’s appointment of Stephen Heidari-Robinson as Number 10’s new energy and environment advisor in the run-up to Paris – […]

A Flaring Shame: Obama Could Close Gas Flaring Loophole, But Will He?

This is a guest post by Lukas Ross from Friends of the Earth.  Big Oil has been subsidized to the hilt for over a hundred years. In the U.S. the spoils include everything from special interest tax breaks and accounting gimmicks to royalty-free leasing and government sponsored R&D. Add them all together and every year […]

North Carolina Settles With Duke Energy Over Coal Ash Groundwater Contamination, Ratepayers May Shoulder Costs

This is a guest post by Rhiannon Fionn, an independent investigative journalist and filmmaker in post-production on the documentary film “Coal Ash Chronicles.”  North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality today announced a settlement agreement with Duke Energy, ending a lawsuit over the department’s $25.1 million fine for groundwater contamination resulting from coal ash stored at the […]

Here’s How The US Can Rise To The Pope’s Call To Climate Action

Despite warnings by Congressional Republicans that he should stick to spiritual matters and leave politics to the politicians, Pope Francis immediately called for climate action upon arriving in the US last week. “Climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation,” the pope said in a speech at the […]

Climate Justice Movement Highlights Women as 'Key' to Climate Solutions

Women from around the world are mobilising today to call for action on climate change as international leaders meet in New York at the United Nations General Assembly. “There is no climate justice without gender justice,” the movement argues. Solutions and policy demands will be presented in New York City as part of the Global Women’s […]

Everyone Warned the Breakthrough Ecomodernists To Avoid Toxic Owen Paterson – But They Said ‘F@*%You'

A group calling themselves the ‘ecomodernists’ were warned not to make their British debut alongside prominent UK climate denier Owen Paterson. But the American-based Breakthrough Institute think tank behind the group dismissed this advice with a swift “f@*% you”. Breakthrough launched their Ecomodernism manifesto in London on the morning of September 24, arguing that through science, technology and development, […]

Politics and Religion Collided During Pope Francis’s United States Visit

Pope Francis’s resounding message that it is mankind’s moral obligation to address climate change made many politicians uneasy during his visit to the United States. The Pope issued a call to take action against climate change when he spoke at the White House and again, the next day, when he addressed Congress. His message that we must […]