Message From the Editor

In New Mexico — the fastest-warming and most water-stressed state in the continental United States, where wildfires have recently devoured over 120,000 acres and remain uncontained — the oil and gas industry is coming out in force to deepen the region’s dependence on fossil fuels. Their latest tactic: to position oil and gas as a patron saint of education. Powerful interest groups have deployed a months-long campaign to depict schools and children’s wellbeing as under threat if government officials infringe upon fossil fuel production. Read on.

Around the world, many countries are becoming less democratic. This backsliding on democracy and “creeping authoritarianism,” as the U.S. State Department puts it, is often supported by the same industries that are escalating climate change. A new book lays out connections between these industries and the politicians who are both stalling action on climate change and diminishing democracy. Its author, Eve Darian-Smith, gives us the highlights on this dangerous shift. Dive in.

And in case you missed it last week, we published a powerful investigation into alarming levels of radioactivity found outside an oilfield waste processing facility with a history of sloppy practices in eastern Ohio. One of the activists who collected the samples outside the facility painted a picture: “A sour scent clung to everything and dust buffeted our goggles and protective masks whenever a waste truck blew by.” He added that their radiation detector’s activity was especially notable in this location, emitting “near constant rapid beeping.” Justin Nobel reports.

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

Executive Director

P.S. Readers like you power our news and investigations holding corporations and governments accountable on climate change. Can you donate $10 or $20 right now to help keep this kind of journalism going?

‘This Needs to Be Fixed’: Nuclear Expert Calls Radioactivity Levels Found Outside Ohio Oilfield Waste Facility ‘Excessive’​​​​​​​

— By Justin Nobel (16 min. read) —

Activists and scientists have found alarming levels of radioactivity in samples collected along the road and soils outside Austin Master Services, an oilfield waste processing facility with a history of sloppy practices in eastern Ohio. The facility is located just down the street from a high school football stadium and less than 1,000 feet from a set of city drinking water wells, raising public health concerns from a nuclear forensics scientist about the extent of possible radioactive contamination.

How the Oil and Gas Industry Is Trying to Hold US Public Schools Hostage

— By Leanna First-Arai, The Guardian (6 min. read)—

The oil and gas industry wants to play a word-and-picture association game with you. Think of four images: a brightly colored backpack stuffed with pencils, a smiling teacher with a tablet tucked under her arm, a pair of glasses resting on a stack of pastel notebooks, and a gleaming school bus welcoming a young student onboard.

“What do all of these have in common?” a 6 April Facebook post by the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association (NMOGA), asked. “They are powered by oil and natural gas!”

Rising Authoritarianism and Worsening Climate Change Share a Fossil-fueled Secret

— By Eve Darian-Smith, University of California, Irvine (5 min. read)—

Around the world, many countries are becoming less democratic. This backsliding on democracy and “creeping authoritarianism,” as the U.S. State Department puts it, is often supported by the same industries that are escalating climate change.

In my new book, “Global Burning: Rising Antidemocracy and the Climate Crisis,” I lay out connections between these industries and the politicians who are both stalling action on climate change and diminishing democracy.

It’s a dangerous shift, both for representative government and for the future climate.

California Oil and Gas Industry Leans on Political Heavyweights to Drill Wells

— By Aaron Cantu, Capital & Main (5 min. read)—

Amid the industry’s calls for more oil and gas production due to the Ukraine war and the federal government opening public land to drilling, California approved more new wells in March and April than in any two-month period since last October.

The California Geologic Energy Management Division so far has approved 89 in March and April, compared to 67 the first two months of the year and 35 the last three months of 2021 (most in October). Excluding new wells approved for water disposal — a form of underground injection that oil companies use to dispose of wastewater produced during oil and gas drilling — the rate of new well approvals rose 500 percent from January and February to March and April.

‘Existential Threat’: Indigenous Leaders Urge Citigroup to Stop Backing Amazon Oil​​​​​​​

— By Rachel Sherrington (5 min. read) —

Indigenous leaders have called on Citigroup to stop financing oil and gas projects in the Amazon, saying the bank’s activities contradict its climate pledges by putting the threatened ecosystem at greater risk.

Citigroup, a leading financier of the fossil fuel industry, has sought to position itself as a climate leader in the past year, pledging to slash emissions from its portfolio to net zero by 2050, and announcing a coal phase-out.

From the Climate Disinformation Database: Fuelling Canada

Fuelling Canada is a campaign launched by the Canadian Gas Association (CGA) that describes itself as a “resource hub for Canadians to learn more about natural gas and its essential role in the Canadian economy.” Members of the CGA, which describes itself as “the voice of Canada’s natural gas delivery industry,” include “distribution companies, transmission companies, equipment manufacturers and other service providers.” Board members of the CGA include representatives from Enbridge Gas, ATCO Gas, Fortis BC, and TC Energy Corporation, among others.
Read its full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database and Koch Network Database.