Message From the Editor

A massive petrochemical expansion, fueled by the products of the oil industry, is underway in Texas and Louisiana. Reporter Julie Dermansky has captured powerful photos of the fire and fury accompanying that expansion north of Corpus Christi, Texas. There, a sprawling new plastics manufacturing complex run by ExxonMobil and SABIC is preparing to go online. But while a corporate video describes the complex’s flares that are burning off waste gases as a harmless “barbeque,” technical experts and nearby residents expressed alarm at the giant flare that lit up the sky for miles last month. See the photos and get the full story.

Meanwhile, if you’re still catching up after the holidays, take a look at Nick Cunningham’s roundup of the climate wins and losses from last year and what to look forward to in 2022.

And check out Sharon Kelly’s analysis of the 2021 trendsthat you might have missed which could further power the energy transition this year, from price volatility to financial regulation.

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

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle, Executive Director

DeSmog is dedicated to journalism in the public interest, and we couldn’t do it without the support of readers like you. Can you donate $20 right now to support DeSmog’s investigative journalism?

Ground Flare At Mammoth New Exxon SABIC Plastics Plant Likened to A Harmless ‘Barbecue’ In Corporate Video

— By Julie Dermansky (8 min. read) —

“The normal flare plus the BBQ is on,” Elida Castillo, the program director of Chispa Texas, an environmental advocacy group, wrote to me in a text on December 6. It was an update about a new, giant plastics plant built on the line between two small Texas cities just northeast of Corpus Christi: Portland and Gregory.

Castillo clarified that the “barbecue” was a ground flare at the $10 billion manufacturing complex — a joint venture between ExxonMobil and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) known as Gulf Coast Growth Ventures (GCGV). The site is home to the world’s largest ethane steam cracker plant, which will feed the production of nurdles – tiny pellets that form the building blocks for plastic products.

2021: Year in Review for Climate Change Wins and Losses

— By Nick Cunningham (9 min. read)—

As 2021 comes to a close, we look back on a year that was full of climate chaos, relentless oil industry propaganda, and frustrating progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But 2021 also saw a significant number of victories against the expansion of the fossil fuel industry in the U.S. and around the world, and some glimmers of hope for climate action.

The year started with a conspiracy-fueled coup plot on the U.S. government by President Trump and his supporters in what was ultimately a failed attempt to stay in power. Two weeks later, President Biden was sworn into office, and he quickly signed a flurry of executive orders that included the cancelation of the Keystone XL pipeline and a pause on new oil and gas leases on federal lands. Those moves signaled an intention to prioritize climate change during the Biden era after years of giveaways to the fossil fuel industry.

2021 Trends that Could Drive the Energy Transition Further Next Year

— By Sharon Kelly (9 min. read)—

As the impacts of fossil fuels and air pollution on the world’s climate became ever more apparent in 2021, it was easy to miss some of the slower-brewing stories of the past year.

That’s in part because it was a year marked by disruption by climate-related disasters, as many reading this likely experienced personally. We now live in a world that’s 1.1 degrees hotter, where one out of every three Americans lived in a federally-declared disaster area because of a flood, wildfire, or other weather-related catastrophe — over the past summer alone.

2021: A Year in Photos From the Front Lines of the Climate Crisis

— By Julie Dermansky (5 min. read)—

This was the year the United Nations Secretary-General declared human-driven global heating a “code red for humanity.” And this selection of photos I shot for DeSmog throughout 2021 offers visual proof that his warning is merited.

My work documents the ongoing trend of science denial becoming increasingly woven into right-wing rhetoric by steadfast Trump supporters, the impacts of extreme weather fueled by climate change, and the actions taken by climate advocates fighting for environmental justice and against pollution from the fossil fuel industry.

Major Corporations Have ‘Broken Promises and Funded Seditionists’ Since Jan. 6, Reports Reveal

— By Jessica Corbett (4 min. read)—

A pair of watchdog groups on Monday called out companies and trade groups that continued to financially support the 147 congressional Republicans who voted last year to overturn the 2020 presidential election results even after the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The government watchdog group Accountable.US released an interactive report entitled In Bad Company, which focuses on 20 Fortune 500 companies and 10 industry groups that have contributed over $3.3 million to the eight senators and 139 representatives collectively dubbed the “Sedition Caucus” since a right-wing mob stormed the Capitol last year.

DeSmog's Top 10 Investigations for 2021

— ByNick Cunningham (4 min. read)—

2021 saw a year of extreme weather, soaring temperatures, and concerns about the worsening climate crisis hitting a fever pitch. DeSmog published dozens of in-depth investigations looking at the money and power behind efforts to derail climate action, campaigns of misinformation, corporate-backed lobbying efforts to influence legislation and public discourse, the grassroots movements fighting for environmental justice, and more.

Here is a rundown of the top 10 investigations that DeSmog published in 2021.

2022: COP27, Climate Delay, and the Future of the North Sea

— By Michaela Herrmann (4 min. read)—

Another year has come and gone, and with it a crucial climate conference and the battle over a controversial new oilfield.

The year in British politics has ended in dramatic fashion, with a number of scandals coming hot on the heels of the UK-hosted COP26 summit, and another wave of Covid sweeping through the country.

Funding for ‘Sustainable Biomass’ a Drop in the Ocean Compared with Drax Subsidies, Campaigners Say

— ByPhoebe Cooke (4 min. read)—

New government funding for domestic biomass projects “pales in significance” to the subsidies received by the controversial biomass company Drax, whose North Yorkshire power plant is the UK’s single biggest source of emissions, campaigners have said.

Under the “biomass feedstocks innovation programme”, start-ups experimenting with algae, seaweed, hemp and whiskey by-products can now bid for a share of £26 million to create pilot projects, it was announced on Monday.

Steve Milloyruns the website JunkScience, where he proclaims himself a pioneer in fighting against “faulty scientific data used to advance special, and often hidden, agendas.” He joined the Heartland Institute’s board of directors in 2020, and previously worked as director of external policy and strategy at coal company Murray Energy. Milloy has been associated with the major American tobacco companies since at least 1997, when he took over running The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition (TASSC), a front group set up by Philip Morris and intended to question the science showing detrimental effects of cigarette smoke.

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