Norfolk Southern CEO Makes Obligatory Congressional Appearance But Doesnโt Commit to Rail Safety Changes
On March 9, the Senate held the first congressional hearing on rail safety following the February 3 Norfolk Southern rail disaster in which a nearly two-mile-long train carrying hazardous materials derailed and caught fire in East Palestine, Ohio. If the people of East Palestine were hoping to see the wheels of justice start to turn […]
Top U.S. Law Schools Accused of Creating a Student ‘Pipeline’ into Firms Serving Fossil Fuel Industry
Elite law schools in the United States are disproportionately funneling their students into jobs serving fossil fuel clients, according to a new report published Thursday. The Law Students for Climate Accountability (LSCA) report finds that the top 20 schools have produced fossil fuel lawyers at more than three times the rate of the average law school, […]
The Railroad Industry Loved Modern Brakes and Safety, Until They Didnโt
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chair Jennifer Homendy concluded that the East Palestine, Ohio, rail disaster was โ100% preventable.โ The certainty of this statement raises the obvious question: Why did this happen? The answer was actually provided by one of Homendyโs predecessors at the NTSB. In 2014, speaking about the spate of oil train disasters […]
Major Gas Utility Is Pouring Money Into Reversing an Oregon Cityโs Electric-only Mandate
NW Natural has contributed nearly $950,000 to a campaign to overturn Eugene, Oregon’s new limit on natural gas use in new construction.
Following Ohio Derailment, Concerns Arise Over Expansion of Rail and Pipeline Transport of Hazardous Material
In the aftermath of last monthโs toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, questions and concerns about the adequacy of rail safety regulations have resurfaced. The train, owned by Norfolk Southern, was transporting chemicals and other hazardous materials when an overheated wheel bearing led to a catastrophic derailment on February 3. The subsequent disaster response […]
Liquid Gas Industry Fights to Weaken EU Climate Plans Ahead of Key Vote
This story is part of a DeSmog series on the influence wielded by the gas lobby in Europe and was developed with the support of Journalismfund.eu Liquid gas companies are casting themselves as champions of rural communities in a bid to weaken proposals to slash the carbon emissions produced by heating Europeโs buildings, according to […]
Going โNet-Zeroโ Will Boost Oil Sands Production, Industry Tells Canadian Government
Oil sands producers plan to spend billions of dollars on emissions-reducing technologies so that they can boost production and sell more of their climate-warming products overseas, an industry lobby group explained to Canadaโs federal government on multiple occasions. โAs our sector decarbonizes, we believe that the oil sands can play an even bigger role in […]
Industry Knew About Gas Stovesโ Air Pollution Problems in Early 1970s
At the end of December 2022, when Americans were getting ready to spend hours indoors with family and friends โ often in their kitchens, preparing holiday meals on the stovetop โ a new study reignited a decades-old debate. The peer-reviewed research by the environmental think tank RMI (formerly Rocky Mountain Institute), the University of Sydney, […]
Fossil Fuel Linked Donors Gift Half a Million to Conservative Party
The Conservative Party has received more than ยฃ632,000 in new donations from individuals and firms tied to polluting industries, DeSmog can reveal. New Electoral Commission records released today show that the bulk of the fossil-fuel linked funds came from Christopher Harborne, who donated ยฃ500,000 in the final quarter of 2022 โ the joint-largest donation registered […]
French NGOs Sue BNP Paribas, Europeโs Largest Financier of Fossil Fuel Expansion
French environmental organizations Notre Affaire ร Tous, Friends of the Earth France, and Oxfam France last week filed what they say is the worldโs first climate lawsuit against a commercial bank, suing BNP Paribas over its continued funding of fossil fuels. The lawsuit is part of a burgeoning movement to pressure financial institutions to end […]