Message From the Editor

This week, the second installment of the new Gaslit column from Stella Levantesi dropped. In it, Stella explored how the oil and gas industry is using the war in Ukraine to profit and push its interests. She digs into the messaging and strategies the industry uses to call for more oil and gas exploration and drilling, which Ukrainian environmental lawyer and climate change strategist Svitlana Romanko calls “peace washing.” Many fossil fuel companies are doing it today, Romanko explained, and “the profits that they are making are really huge.” Dive in.

Tornadoes hit fast and hard, as those in the path of the one that tore through Arabi in the New Orleans metro area experienced firsthand. The tornado — which spun up at speeds up to 165 miles per hour, hitting EF3, the third strongest on the tornado rating scale — badly damaged 150 homes and killed a young man and his dog. In a powerful photo essay, Julie Dermansky sheds light on the devastation and explores whether tornadoes are linked to climate change. Take a look.

A new report by Reality Team, a nonprofit digital marketing group, suggests that social media ads can help reach people who are often targeted by disinformation campaigns. The group ran Instagram ads aiming to put easy-to-digest information about climate change and vaccines in front of those viewers as they scrolled through social media feeds and ads. The new report’s early findings seem promising, experts said, with a few caveats. Sharon Kelly reports.

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

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle

Executive Director

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The Oil and Gas Industry is Using the War in Ukraine to Profit and Push Its Interests

— By Stella Levantesi (9 min. read)—

When Russia invaded Crimea, the EU and United States issued a joint statement stressing the importance of promoting U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports for Europe. It was 2014 and “American gas” would save Europe from being dependent on Russian gas imports.

Eight years later, Russia again invaded Ukraine on February 24. Europe still imports more than 40 percent of its gas from Russia, and the American fossil fuel industry is still pushing the U.S. government to implement policies that “ensure long-term American energy leadership and security,” as the American Petroleum Institute wrote in a February 28 letter to the U.S. Department of Energy.

A Catastrophic Tornado in the New Orleans Metro Area Raises Questions About Connections to Climate Change

— By Julie Dermansky (5 min. read) —

Tornadoes hit fast and hard, as those in the path of the tornado that hit Arabi in the New Orleans metro area experienced firsthand. The tornado — which spun up at speeds up to 165 miles per hour, hitting EF3, the third strongest on the tornado rating scale — badly damaged 150 homes and killed a young man and his dog.

A few minutes after images of the tornado began spreading on social media, I got my gear together to go to Arabi to document the damage. But first I had to calm my nerves and take stock of how lucky I was to be safe and unharmed. My past experiences with extreme weather — including living through Hurricane Ida, which damaged my home last year, and a likely EF1 tornado in 2014 that spun my house at the time in Deposit, NY — seem to raise my blood pressure when new extreme weather threatens to head my way.

Instagram Ads Can Help Climate Facts Reach the ‘Super Online,’ Report Suggests

— By Sharon Kelly (5 min. read)—

When it comes to online disinformation, does it make sense to fight fire with fire using paid social media ads?

A new report by Reality Team, a nonprofit digital marketing group, suggests that social media ads can help reach people who aren’t closely watching topics like climate change or vaccine science and are often targeted by disinformation campaigns.

Surrounded by an endless array of questionable information online, lots of people aren’t quite sure what to think or how to sort truth from falsehoods. “They feel like there’s a lifetime of this stream of information that they haven’t caught up with,” Reality Team’s Debra Lavoy told DeSmog. “I can’t cope with the news, I know people are out there lying to me, so — I’m out.”

Media Repeats Kremlin Anti-Fracking Claims – While Ignoring Russia’s Promotion of Climate Denial

— By Adam Barnett (4 min. read) —

In their latest attempt to use the Russian invasion of Ukraine to argue for more fossil fuel extraction, climate skeptics have revived an old claim that anti-fracking campaigns around the world have been bankrolled by the Kremlin.

This claim is being amplified by mainstream conservative newspapers. “Did Putin plot with eco-warriors to halt Britain’s fracking and keep us all hooked on his gas?” asked Guy Walters in the Daily Mail. Days later, coal baron and climate sceptic Matt Ridley wrote in The Sun: “FRACK NEWS: How lying Putin spent millions spreading fake news about fracking.” Similar allegations have appeared in both The Telegraph and the Daily Express.

Coverage of Tory MP’s Fuel Duty Letter Ignores Ties to Climate Denier Motoring Lobbyist

— By Adam Barnett (3 min. read)—

Media coverage of a letter from MPs calling for fuel duty to be cut in the Spring budget has failed to mention its author is closely allied to a climate science denier and haulage industry lobbyist with an undeclared interest in fossil fuel-powered cars.

Robert Halfon MP wrote a letter to the prime minister and Treasury today urging them to cut fuel duty and VAT on fuel. The letter, signed by 53 MPs, was covered in The Sun and the Daily Mail newspapers, the former with the headline: “Over 50 Tory MPs break cover and demand Rishi Sunak slashes fuel duty to help struggling Brits.”

The Steamboat Institute is a conservative 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded “out of genuine concern for the future of our country. We take seriously the concept that freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” The Institute lists its principles as “limited taxation and fiscal responsibility,” “limited government,” “free market capitalism,” “individual rights and responsibilities,” and “strong national defense.” The Steamboat Institute’s key events include an annual “Freedom Conference,” as well as a “Campus Liberty Tour” throughout the year which features speakers like Alex Epstein of the Center for Industrial Progress. The Steamboat Institute has regularly provided a platform for climate change deniers and fossil fuel proponents to spread their messages.

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