American Youth Sue Politicians To Force Action On Climate Change
Meaningful action to mitigate the impacts of climate change have been slow to materialize in the United States, and that lag in leadership is allowing the threat to grow much worse for future generations of Americans. But political inaction has led to citizen action, particularly among the generations that will face the consequences of inaction. And […]
This Is The Exact Moment An Oil and Tobacco Funded Think Tank Imported Climate Denial To Britain…
The DeSmog UK epic history series investigates how Thatcherite John Blundell challenged the young Roger Bate to set up an Environment Unit within free-market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs. Future historians interested in establishing how Britain became a chief cheerleader of scepticism only 30 years after Thatcher led the world on climate change science […]
Federal Court Order: Explosive DOT-111 "Bomb Train" Oil Tank Cars Can Continue to Roll
A U.S. federal court has ordered a halt in proceedings until May in a case centering around oil-by-rail tankers pitting the Sierra Club and ForestEthics against the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). As a result, potentially explosive DOT-111 oil tank cars, dubbed “bomb trains” by activists, can continue to roll through towns and cities across the U.S. indefinitely. “The briefing […]
New Report Spotlights Toxic Air Pollution from Oil and Gas Sites in California
A new report from Earthworks shines a light on air pollution, including methane leaks, from oil and gas wells in California, the nation’s third largest oil producing state in 2013 – highlighting the ways that potentially toxic gases from the sites raise red flags for the health of those living nearby. Published Thursday, the report is […]
David Cameron's constituency safe from fracking as election looms – 200 MPs are not so lucky
Half of prime minister David Cameron’s cabinet face having their water reserves fracked under the controversial Infrastructure Bill but it remains unclear if Cameron’s own Oxfordshire constituency would also be subject to fracking. More than 220 Tory and Lib Dem MPs and their constituents risk fracking firms drilling through sensitive water reserves in their respective areas, […]
How Obama’s Campaign For Fast Track Authority On The Trans Pacific Partnership Is At Odds With Efforts To Combat Climate Change
In his State of the Union address earlier this week, President Obama made the case for Congress granting him fast track authority to negotiate free trade deals. “I’m asking both parties to give me trade promotion authority to protect American workers, with strong new trade deals from Asia to Europe that aren’t just free, but […]
EPA Offers New Standards For Oil Spill Dispersant Use; Still Won’t Ban Toxic Agents
After years of ignoring the dangers of the oil dispersant Corexit, the Environmental Protection Agency has finally decided to enact stricter standards for how dispersants are used during offshore oil spills… Sort of. According to Truth-Out reporter Dahr Jamail, the EPA has proposed a slew of new standards that would better govern the use of dispersants […]
Fracking Boom Expands Near Chaco Canyon, Threatens Navajo Ancestral Lands and People
Beneath a giant methane gas cloud recently identified by NASA, the oil and gas fracking industry is rapidly expanding in northwestern New Mexico. Flares that light up the night sky at drilling sites along the stretch of Route 550 that passes through the San Juan Basin, which sits on top of the oil rich Mancos Shale, are […]
Heather Zichal, Former Top Obama Energy Aide, Named Fellow at Industry-Funded Atlantic Council
Heather Zichal, former top climate and energy aide to President Barack Obama his top aide in crafting his 2008 presidential campaign energy platform, has joined the industry-funded Atlantic Council as a fellow at its Global Energy Center. As revealed in multiple articles by DeSmogBlog, Zichal also sits on the Board of Directors of Cheniere, the first company […]
Oil Prices Drop As Global Warming Rises
This is a guest post by David Suzuki. With oil prices plunging from more than $100 a barrel last summer to below $50 now, the consequences of a petro-fuelled economy are hitting home — especially in Alberta, where experts forecast a recession. The province’s projected budget surplus has turned into a $500-million deficit on top of a […]