Message From the Editor

As the coronavirus pandemic races across the U.S., Julie Dermansky details what it’s like for a vulnerable Cancer Alley community with a history of respiratory problems to live in the shadow of both Louisiana’s polluting industry and of a virus that hits populations like theirs hard.

Another group that may be particularly affected is coal miners with black lung. And the National Mining Association is calling on the U.S. government to respond to the pandemic ... by cutting a tax used to support coal miners affected by black lung disease. No, this isn’t a joke.

Meanwhile, citing the oil price war and dropping demand due to the pandemic, a Texas oil regulator is calling for the U.S. to allow the oil industry to act like the OPEC cartel but calling it “protecting free markets.” A former U.S. oil industry regulator takes him to task.

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

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

P.S. Help us fight the spread of misinformation and continue independent accountability journalism by supporting DeSmog with a donation — even $5 or $10 helps.

Louisiana’s Cancer Alley Community At Increased Risk of COVID-19

— By Julie Dermansky (6 min. read) —

“Our people aren’t prepared for a pandemic,” Robert Taylor, executive director of the Concerned Citizens of St. John The Baptist Parish, told me a couple of days before the governor of Louisiana issued a stay-at-home order due to the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the state.

“Many of us have cancer and weakened immune systems from the chemical onslaught we endure everyday. This could be a death sentence for many of us,” Taylor said.

Coal Industry Group Asks Federal Lawmakers to Cut Funding for Black Lung Program, Citing COVID-19

— By Sharon Kelly (5 min. read) —

The National Mining Association (NMA) on Wednesday called on President Donald Trump and federal lawmakers to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by cutting a tax used to support coal miners affected by black lung disease, to cut funding to clean up high-priority abandoned coal mine sites, and taking other steps that would financially benefit the coal mining industry.

“To minimize the impact of this crisis on the coal industry, Congress should ensure all businesses have the financial resources necessary to ride out the pandemic,” the March 18 letter says.

Op-Ed: The US Must Protect Communities and Workers But We Need Our Leaders to Stop Bending to the Oil and Gas Industry

— By Megan Milliken Biven (6 min. read) —

Imagine a sovereign nation with nearly 29 million citizens and the eleventh largest economy in the world. Now imagine that this nation’s legislature only met to represent its citizens and their interests once every two years. The work of governance, regulation, and oversight are instead shifted to a relatively unknown cadre of boards. Boards whose leadership is a revolving door of the industries the government is supposed to regulate. If this were Venezuela, we Americans would deem it a corrupt Banana Republic and demand international intervention.

Yet Another Study Confirms: Electric Cars Reduce Climate Pollution

— By Dana Drugmand (5 min. read) —

Electric cars are better for the climate than gas-powered vehicles in nearly every part of the world. That's the clear, unequivocal finding of the first study that conducted a global examination of the current and future greenhouse gas emissions of electric vehicles (EVs) and gas-powered cars. This study directly refutes myths perpetuated by climate science deniers and EV antagonists, who claim that EVs are really not all that green.

The team of European researchers behind the new study build on recent similar findings by the research group Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) and the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Federal Judge Tosses Dakota Access Pipeline Permits, Orders Full Environmental Review

— By Sharon Kelly (6 min. read) —

Today, a federal judge tossed out federal permits for the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL), built to carry over half a million barrels of Bakken crude oil a day from North Dakota, and ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a full environmental review of the pipeline project.

U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg indicated that he would next consider whether to shut down the current flows of oil through DAPL while the environmental review is in process, ordering both sides to submit briefs on the question.

Representatives of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, plaintiffs in the lawsuit, welcomed today’s ruling.

Why Public Health Experts Support These Youth Suing the US Government Over Climate Change

— By Dana Drugmand (5 min. read) —

Leading experts in the medical community, including two former U.S. Surgeons General, recently filed supporting briefs backing a youth climate lawsuit against the federal government because, like the current coronavirus pandemic, the climate crisis poses “unprecedented threats to public health and safety.”

From increased risk of asthma and respiratory illnesses to the spread of vector-borne disease, the unfolding climate crisis comes with significant health hazards, and children are particularly vulnerable, according to these medical experts.

As Coronavirus Worsened, Trump Admin Pushed Offshore Drilling and Gas Exports

— By Steve Horn (5 min. read) —

With major cities and states issuing stay-at-home orders as coronavirus cases have swept throughout the United States, the Trump Administration opened the floodgates for more offshore drilling and issued a permit for a long contested gas export project.

On March 18, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) held a lease sale for 397,285 acres of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico that attracted bids by companies such as BP, Chevron, Shell, Total, BHP Billiton and a slew of smaller independent drillers. A day later, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) handed a permit to the long-embattled Jordan Cove LNG export facility, located in Coos Bay, Oregon.

North Dakota’s Carbon Capture Project Tundra Another “Expensive Greenwashing” Attempt to Bail Out Coal Power

— By Laura Peterson (4 min. read) —

Carbon capture technology has generated a lot of controversy–but little private investment–due to its lack of profitability and efficiency. So why is a proposal to retrofit an aging coal-powered plant in North Dakota with smokestack scrubbers receiving millions of federal taxpayer dollars? 

Ask Senator John Hoeven (R-ND), who has directed more than $30 million in Department of Energy funding to Project Tundra.

From the Climate Disinformation Database: Frank Lasée

Frank Lasée is a former Wisconsin state legislator. In July 2019, he was elected president of the Heartland Institute, one of the most notorious groups promoting climate science denial. Lasée was ousted from his position at Heartland in March 2020, following budget troubles. He has promoted the myth that environmentalists contributed to Australian wildfires by opposing controlled burns and described the 97 percent consensus among climate scientists on man-made climate change as “MADE UP PROPAGANDA.”

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