DeSmogCAST 13: Merchants of Doubt, the Race for the Arctic and Bomb Trains
In this episode of the DesmogCAST, host Farron Cousins speaks with me, Kyla Mandel and Justin Mikulka to talk about the breakout documentary Merchants of Doubt and how climate science deniers are still manufacturing a fake debate about the clear consensus among bonafide climate experts. And while the deniers wreak havoc, the climate is warming, opening […]
Calls For Immediate Shutdown Of Illegal California Injection Wells As Regulators Host 'Aquifer Exemption Workshop'
While California legislators are calling for immediate closure of the thousands of injection wells illegally dumping oil industry wastewater and enhanced oil recovery fluids into protected groundwater aquifers, regulators with the state’s Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) were holding an “Aquifer Exemption Workshop” in Long Beach on Tuesday. Just 23 out of the […]
Canada’s Charitable Law Urgently Needs Reforming: New UVic Report
A report released today by the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre calls for sweeping reform of Canadian charitable law in line with other jurisdictions such as the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and England. Current rules around “political activity” — defined by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) as any activity that seeks to change, oppose or […]
This Is The Man Exxon Chose To Lead Its Effort Against Climate Science
This DeSmog UK epic history post portrays Lee Raymond, the Texan captain who steered the Exxon ship against the rising tide of climate science. In 1997, BP’s British boss, John Brown, stunned the world by endorsing the science of climate change and calling for government regulation to reduce carbon emissions. Exxon’s Lee Raymond (pictured), however, was […]
Who Says a Better World is Impossible?
This is a guest post by David Suzuki. Cars, air travel, space exploration, television, nuclear power, high-speed computers, telephones, organ transplants, prosthetic body parts… At various times these were all deemed impossible. I’ve been around long enough to have witnessed many technological feats that were once unimaginable. Even 10 or 20 years ago, I would […]
Purposeful Distraction? Unpacking the Oil Refiners' "Bomb Trains" Lawsuit vs. Warren Buffett's BNSF
On March 13, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) — the oil refiners’ trade association — sued oil-by-rail carrying giant Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) for allegedly violating its common carrier obligation under federal law. A DeSmogBlog investigation has revealed there may be more to the lawsuit than initially meets the eye. Filed in the U.S. […]
“Pipeline Nation” Short Documentary Investigates Lack Of Oversight Of “America’s Broken Industry”
In a new short documentary called “Pipeline Nation: America’s Broken Industry,” Vice News travels to Glendive, Montana, where a pipeline ruptured on January 17 of this year, spilling 50,000 gallons of crude oil into the Yellowstone River and contaminating the town’s drinking supply. This was the second oil spill in the area in the past […]
Lawyer Suing Neighbor for Smoking Is Defender Of Corporations Accused Of Toxic Smoke
This is a guest post by David Halperin, originally published at Republic Report. There’s been recent media coverage of how two Washington DC lawyers named Brendan and Nessa Coppinger have sued and convinced a local judge to issue a temporary restraining order prohibiting their neighbor, Edwin Gray, from smoking in his Capitol Hill row house, […]
Coal Companies Talking Out Both Sides Of Their Mouths When It Comes To Climate Change
Peabody Energy, the largest coal company in the U.S., deployed one of the lawyers on its payroll to Congress last week to argue against the Environmental Protection Agency’s new carbon rule. This is so common that it normally wouldn’t rate a mention, but in this case it happened to be Obama’s former Harvard law professor […]
Leaving the EU Would be a 'Disaster' for UK Climate Change Policy Says Ed Davey
Prime Minister David Cameron’s promise to hold a referendum on Britain’s EU membership if re-elected would be a “disaster for environmental policy” Ed Davey, the secretary of state for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), said last night. Davey argued that pushing a new referendum bill through Parliament at the same time as the […]