Message From the Editor

An investigation surrounding sulfur dioxide pollution from a Port Arthur, Texas, plant owned by the “other” Koch brother will be a test of the Biden administration’s environmental justice commitments. Last week the EPA said it would launch an investigation into whether the Texas environmental authority in charge of overseeing fossil fuel plants “discriminated on the basis of race” when it came to overlooking Oxbow’s pollution. Read Sharon Kelly’s story here.

And in case you missed it, new research reveals that French oil giant Total knew that its fossil fuel extraction could contribute to global warming as early as 1971 but stayed silent about it until 1988. As the study found, Total – which this year rebranded as TotalEnergies – “became more fully informed” about climate change in the 1980s and “began promoting doubt regarding the scientific basis for global warming by the late 1980s” before publicly accepting climate science in the 1990s. Read all about it here.

Finally, DeSmog’s coverage of the five-day “People vs. Fossil Fuels” Indigenous-led protests in Washington D.C. culminated in a story about how more than 650 were arrested throughout the week while calling for the Biden administration to lead on climate change. On the final day of protest, dozens of climate youth activists were arrested as they blocked an intersection near the U.S. Capitol, stressing the need for immediate climate action. Julie Dermansky reports.     

Have a story tip or feedback? Get in touch: editor@desmogblog.com. 

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

P.S. Readers like you make it possible for DeSmog to pursue ambitious investigations and insightful research and analysis. Can you spare $10 or $20 to support DeSmog’s investigative journalism right now?

Fossil Fuel Plant Run by William Koch at Heart of EPA Investigation into Racism in Texas’s Environmental Oversight

— By Sharon Kelly (6 min. read) —

There are over 2,600 people living within three miles of Oxbow Corporation’s industrial plant in Port Arthur, Texas, a community that’s almost entirely people of color. And for 85 years, the Oxbow Calcining’s 112-acre plant has been processing oil and gas products into “petroleum coke,” which is commonly used to make steel and aluminum — all the while releasing sulfur dioxide into the air of Port Arthur. From 2016 to 2019, the plant pumped an average of over 22 million pounds of sulfur dioxide, which can cause lung disease, coughing, and eye irritation, into the air each year.

Oxbow’s founder and CEO is billionaire William “Bill” Koch, a member of the Koch family who has historically maintained a lower profile than his politically active brothers Charles and David, who passed away in 2019. Charles and David notoriously poured fortunes into funding organizations and projects designed to prevent fossil fuel regulation, often by obscuring the role that fossil fuels play in causing climate change. The Koch Family Foundations, which are linked primarily to Charles and David, have spent more than ExxonMobil in that effort, DeSmog’s database shows. 

French Oil Company Total ‘Knew About Global Warming Impact in 1971’, Study Finds

— By Adam Barnett and Phoebe Cooke (3 min. read) —

French oil giant Total knew that its fossil fuel extraction could contribute to global warming as early as 1971 but stayed silent about it until 1988, according to a new study. 

Research published today in the journal Global Environmental Change, based on internal company documents and interviews with former staff, found that personnel “received warnings of the potential for catastrophic global warming from its products by 1971”. 

Over 650 People Arrested in D.C. During Week of Indigenous-led Climate Action Calling on Biden to be the Climate Leader he Promised to be

— By Julie Dermansky (5 min. read) —

As environmental advocates from across the United States converged in Washington, D.C. last week to take part in the five day “People vs. Fossil Fuels” action, President Biden’s infrastructure package remained stalled, in part, by West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin’s push to cut its largest climate measure.

The series of fossil fuel protests were organized by a coalition of over 25 environmental groups known as Build Back Fossil Free, a poke at Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda. Indigenous leadership in the fight against fossil fuels was forefront at the rallies.

Corporate Giants Promote Climate Action, But Work With Oil Lobbyists in State Capitols

— By Nick Cunningham (6 min. read) —

Many of the largest U.S. companies, including Walmart, Amazon, and Microsoft, employ lobbyists that also do work for the oil and gas industry, according to new research into state lobbying data. The connections with oil and gas lobbyists, the researchers say, undercut the highly public positions the companies have taken on addressing climate change.

The research, conducted by the non-profit Global Energy Monitor and shared with DeSmog, found thousands of cases in which high-profile corporations engage in lobbying in state capitols, hiring the same lobbyists that do work for powerful fossil fuel companies.

Human Rights and Environmental Organisations Demand The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation Reconsider Supporting ‘Risky’ Major East Africa Oil Project

— By Maina Waruru (3 min. read) —

International and local human rights and environmental organisations speaking for thousands of people in East Africa have submitted a complaint to the World Bank criticising it and its subsidiary, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), of supporting major fossil fuel projects without properly considering the environmental and human impacts: the controversial East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) and related infrastructure under development in Uganda and Tanzania.

Led by human rights group Inclusive Development International, the organisations in a letter dated October 13 addressed to Janine Ferretti, vice president compliance advisor ombudsman at the World Bank, accuse the bank of indirectly investing in EACOP, which they describe as “one of the world’s largest and riskiest oil developments”.

Belarus Chastised for Persecuting Environmental Defenders

— By Isabella Kaminski (3 min. read) —

Belarus is to have its rights and privileges under a major international treaty suspended for persecuting environmental defenders and shutting down green NGOs.

A high-level summit of parties to Aarhus Convention on environmental rights on October 21, chastised the state for liquidating one of its oldest green NGOs and suppressing many other domestic environmental organisations.

Coal Mining Giant to Sponsor ‘Green Energy’ Gallery at UK Science Museum

— By Adam Barnett and Phoebe Cooke (3 min. read) —

A coal mining conglomerate is to fund a new Science Museum gallery on the “energy revolution” in the latest sponsorship controversy to hit the institution.

The new gallery at the 164-year-old central London museum will be sponsored by the wind and solar arm of the Adani Group, a controversial coal giant led by Indian billionaire Gautum Adani, it was announced today.

From the Climate Disinformation Database: Koch Industries

Koch Industries, Inc. is the largest privately owned company in the United States. The company began in the 1920s when, according to company lore, recent MIT graduate Fred C. Koch developed a better way to convert or “crack” heavy oil into gasoline. Since then, Koch Industries has diversified its business holdings to include more than oil and gas. Koch currently owns companies in fertilizers, forest and consumer products, fibers and polymers, among other things. It is primarily a family owned business. Until 1983, the shareholders included Charles, David, William, and Frederick Koch. In 1983, Koch Industries purchased the shares of William and Frederick Koch. William used his settlement money to found Oxbow, focusing it on coal and petroleum coke.

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