Message From the Editor

In a case that originated nearly a decade ago, a British Columbia appeals court recently found that climate science denier and former Trump climate advisor Dr. Tim Ball should be held responsible for libel for his 2011 article that attacked prominent Canadian climate scientist Dr. Andrew Weaver.

Meanwhile, down on a slip of land disappearing into the Gulf of Mexico, leaders and members of the Isle de Jean Charles Tribe are starting to change their minds, despite reservations, about taking up a state of Louisiana offer for housing off the island. Julie Dermansky reports that the state broke ground on this controversial resettlement project earlier this month.

And Steve Horn reports that a new labor-climate partnership backed by former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz lays out a “net zero” fossil fuel agenda that stands to line the pockets of this Obama-era official.
Have a story tip or feedback? Get in touch: [email protected].

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

P.S. Have you subscribed to DeSmog on YouTube yet?

Canadian Court Slams Trump Climate Advisor in Successful Libel Case

— By Richard Littlemore (6 min. read) —

Climate science denier and Trump transition team advisor Dr. Tim Ball, who a Canadian court earlier derided as incompetent, ill-intended, and apparently indifferent to the truth, has been further rebuffed in the British Columbia Court of Appeal and must now stand libel for a nearly 9-year-old attack against prominent Canadian climate scientist (and outgoing BC Green Party leader) Dr. Andrew Weaver.

Ball, a retired geography professor who for almost two decades has been giving lectures and media interviews in Canada and around the world denying the science of climate change, actually “won” this case when it was decided in the British Columbia Supreme Court in 2018.

Louisiana Breaks Ground on Isle de Jean Charles Resettlement Project Amid Pandemic

— By Julie Dermansky (8 min. read) —

The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t changed life much for Chris Burnet, a lifelong resident of Isle de Jean Charles, a quickly eroding strip of land among south Louisiana’s wetlands. Though the island, about 80 miles southwest of New Orleans, can’t be saved from the sea-level rise and coastal erosion that’s been intensified by climate change, Burnet is happy he still lives there, even though his days there are numbered. Besides loving life on the island, he believes its remoteness has kept him and the remaining island residents safe from the coronavirus.

The Isle de Jean Charles received worldwide attention in 2016, when the Isle de Jean Charles Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw (IDJC) Tribe helped the State of Louisiana secure a $48 million federal grant to resettle the island’s residents, who face increasing danger with each hurricane season.

Labor Helps Obama Energy Secretary Push and Profit from 'Net Zero' Fossil Fuels

— By Steve Horn (16 min. read) —

Progressive activists have called for a Green New Deal, a linking of the U.S. climate and labor movements to create an equitable and decarbonized economy and move away from fossil fuels to address the climate crisis. But major labor unions and President Barack Obama’s Energy Secretary have far different plans.

On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the AFL-CIO and the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) — a nonprofit founded and run by former Obama Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz — launched the Labor Energy Partnership. Unlike those calling for a Green New Deal, though, this alliance supports increased fracking for oil and gas, as well as other controversial technologies that critics say prop up fossil fuels. It's also an agenda matching a number of the former Energy Secretary's personal financial investments.

Congress Investigates How Marathon Petroleum and Koch Network Influenced Clean Cars Rollbacks

— By Dana Drugmand (4 min. read) —

On Thursday, May 28, several Democratic members of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, along with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), sent a letter to Marathon Petroleum seeking information on the oil company’s involvement in the Trump administration’s rollback of clean car standards. The Congressmembers are also investigating Marathon’s coordination with, and financial ties to, various free-market groups and whether those relationships are compatible with the groups’ tax-exempt status.

The letter follows an October 29, 2019 House Oversight Environment Subcommittee hearing on oil industry influence in the vehicle fuel economy rollback, and comes one day after 23 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit challenging the rollback.

Captured Courts: Senate Dems Call Out GOP For Assault On Judiciary

— By Dana Drugmand (3 min. read) —

Under the cover of dark money from big donors and special interest influence, Republicans have stealthily extended their ideological agenda into what is supposed to be an independent federal judiciary, according to a new report released today from Senate Democrats.

The report, titled Captured Courts: The GOP's Big-Money Assault on the Constitution, Our Independent Judiciary, and the Rule of Law, examines a decades-long effort by conservative interests to “fix” the federal court system to serve their political agenda. This effort has accelerated under the Trump administration and Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

California Leads Multi-State Lawsuit Against Trump Admins' Clean Car Rollback

— By Dana Drugmand (6 min. read) —

A coalition of 23 states plus the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, challenging the Trump Administration’s rollback of the Obama-era clean car standards. Those standards mandated stronger reductions of greenhouse gas emissions from new light-duty cars and trucks — reductions equivalent to corporate average fuel economy improvements of 5 percent annually.

But on March 31 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a final rule requiring only minimal fuel economy increases of 1.5% annually, which the agencies’ own analyses showed would result in more pollution and premature deaths.

EPA Clean Air Panel Chair Dismisses His Oil Industry Ties, Slams Harvard Study on Air Pollution and COVID Risks

— By Dana Drugmand (11 min. read) —

The head of a federal committee tasked with advising the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on air quality science recently disparaged a new Harvard study examining the link between air pollution and coronavirus fatalities across the country. The EPA adviser’s critical remarks appear consistent with his track record of disregarding robust science on air pollution and health risks in his consulting work for industry clients such as tobacco and fossil fuel interests.

Dr. Louis Anthony (Tony) Cox Jr., who is chair of EPA’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, criticized a preliminary study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in comments made to the Washington Examiner. Cox — who previously produced his own study on air pollution and health risks that was funded and edited by the American Petroleum Institute — questioned the validity of the Harvard study, which was released publicly in early April but has yet to undergo formal peer review.

Exxon Sued Again for 'Misleading' Advertising

— By Dana Drugmand (5 min. read) —

ExxonMobil is facing yet another lawsuit challenging the corporation’s allegedly deceptive behavior related to climate change. The latest suit, filed May 15 in the D.C. Superior Court, claims the oil major is misleading consumers with “false and deceptive” advertising about its investments in “clean” fuels and technology.

The Washington, D.C.-based environmental nonprofit Beyond Pesticides alleges that Exxon’s deceptive marketing and advertising violates the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act. According to the organization, Exxon portrays itself as an environmentally friendly company in ads without revealing the true extent of its business that remains overwhelmingly invested in exploiting fossil fuels to the detriment of the environment and the climate.

Safety Can't Be a 'Pretext' for Regulating Unsafe Oil Trains, Says Trump Admin

— By Justin Mikulka (11 min. read) —

The federal agency overseeing the safe transport of hazardous materials released a stunning explanation of its May 11 decision striking down a Washington state effort to regulate trains carrying volatile oil within its borders. A state cannot use “safety as a pretext for inhibiting market growth,” wrote Paul J. Roberti, the chief counsel for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

The statement appeared in the Trump administration's justification for overruling Washington’s oil train regulation, which was challenged by crude-producing North Dakota and oil industry lobbying groups. The Washington rule seeks to limit oil vapor pressure unloaded from trains to less than 9 pounds per square inch (psi) in an attempt to reduce the likelihood that train derailments lead to the now-familiar fireballs and explosions accompanying trains transporting volatile oil.

From the Climate Disinformation Database: Todd Myers

Todd Myers is a public relations professional and director of the Center for the Environment at a small free-market think tank located in Seattle, Washington, called the Washington Policy Center (WPC). The WPC was reportedly a “key voice” in shutting down a 2018 state carbon tax initiative, and a former Republican politician referred to the center as “The Heritage Foundation of the Northwest.” Myers has said of climate change, “[A]ccording to the climate models, we are at levels in which it is hard to distinguish the CO2 impacts from natural forces.” He also has ties to the Heartland Institute and serves on the Natural Resources Task Force for the “corporate bill mill” American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

Read the full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database or our new Koch Network Database.