Message From the Editor

Do you have $280 billion to spare for the oil and gas industry? That’s the expected price tag of cleaning up 2.6 million unplugged oil and gas wells across the U.S., but the struggling industry hasn’t set aside the money to cover these costs. As more oil and gas companies go bankrupt, they risk shedding this responsibility, and price tag, onto the American taxpayer, according to a new report. Justin Mikulka explains.

Palo Alto, California, has ambitious climate goals but every year is sending more than $20,000 to a natural gas industry group that is lobbying against some of the same initiatives this city is pursuing. What’s going on? Dana Drugmand reports.

In case you missed it: Just as President Trump tested positive for the coronavirus last week, Sharon Kelly has the story on the connections between opponents of climate action and the so-called Reopen Movement that’s emerged during the pandemic. We have published archives of comments by individuals and groups that historically have circulated messages that denied or downplayed climate change and who also pushed for inaction on COVID-19 or circulated misinformation about the virus. Read the story and then check out the archives.

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

P.S. We couldn’t do our public interest journalism and research on climate deniers and the fossil fuel industry without the support of readers like you. Can you donate $10 or $20 right now?

U.S. Public Facing Huge Bill to Clean Up After Oil and Gas Industry

— By Justin Mikulka (7 min. read) —

The American public is facing a potential bill of $280 billion for the cleanup of 2.6 million unplugged oil and gas wells, according to Billion Dollar Orphans, a new report from London-based think tank Carbon Tracker.

While this number is alarming, it does not even include an estimated 1.2 million undocumented orphan oil and gas wells.

Palo Alto Paying Over $20,000 Annually to Natural Gas Trade Group Fighting Climate Action

— By Dana Drugmand (9 min. read) —

Nearly a year ago, the city of Palo Alto — home to Stanford University and the unofficial capital of Silicon Valley — joined a handful of other California cities in enacting an all-electric building mandate. City leaders touted the new law, which is intended to tightly restrict future use of natural gas-powered heating and cooling in new construction, as an important part of the city’s plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2030.

At a time when California is facing climate change–driven extremes like sweltering temperatures and unprecedented wildfires, the urgency of achieving this emissions reduction target seems clear.

As Trump Scorned Covid-19 Precautions, Climate Deniers Echoed and Expanded that Message

— By Sharon Kelly (7 min. read) —

Late Thursday night, October 1, President Trump said on Twitter that he and first lady Melania Trump had both been diagnosed with Covid-19. The news came on the heels of reports that senior aide Hope Hicks had been symptomatic and tested positive for the virus that causes Covid-19.

Just two days earlier, on Tuesday night, Trump had mocked mask wearing during a debate with Democratic candidate Joe Biden, saying “I don’t wear masks like him.” Members of Trump’s delegation at that debate, including his family members, reportedly removed their masks on arrival and were photographed without masks at the debate.

Rush to Build LNG Export Terminals Falters as Uncertainty Grows Over Financials

— By Sharon Kelly (8 min. read) —

On Monday, October 5, a ship left Cameron LNG, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal shut down by Hurricane Laura, the powerful storm that made landfall on August 27 near Cameron, Louisiana, about 15 miles south of the plant. That tanker ship carried the first load of cargo shipped by Cameron LNG since Hurricane Laura struck more than five weeks earlier.

On Friday, Hurricane Delta is currently expected to make landfall in Louisiana, with forecasters predicting that it may strike in the same region as Laura. Authorities in nearby Cameron told the Weather Channel their community hadn’t issued a new mandatory evacuation order and didn’t plan to — because the town still remains under the mandatory evacuation order from Hurricane Laura.

Fossil Fuel Companies Keep Getting Sued Over Climate Impacts. Here’s Where the Cases Stand

— By Dana Drugmand (9 min. read) —

September saw a flurry of new lawsuits filed by cities and states against major fossil fuel companies over the climate crisis and the resulting impacts that are already being felt. After Hoboken, New Jersey sued Big Oil and its largest trade association, the American Petroleum Institute, on September 2, back-to-back lawsuits came the following week from Charleston, South Carolina and the state of Delaware. Connecticut then followed with a lawsuit singularly targeting ExxonMobil, which remains one of the largest oil companies in the world and appears determined to double down on its core fossil fuel business despite knowing decades ago about the climate consequences of using its products.

From the Climate Disinformation Database: FreedomWorks

FreedomWorks was founded in 2004 as a merger between two conservative and pro-corporate think tanks, Empower America and Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE), with the latter founded by the Kochs in 1984. FreedomWorks has portrayed itself as a “grassroots” organization that fights for small government and lower taxes and played a key role in promoting the Tea Party in 2009 and 2010. The 501(c)(4) organization regularly publishes articles on its website questioning the existence of man-made climate change. In 2020, FreedomWorks has advocated to quickly reopen American states and businesses and rallied against efforts to require face coverings, in contrast with public health recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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