Message From the Editor

Silicon Valley likes to talk up its efforts to crack down on the misinformation being spread across its platforms, but as DeSmog’s Dana Drugmand reported this week, global activist NGO Avaaz has found Google-owned YouTube selling ads from major brands like Samsung and environmental groups like Greenpeace on videos promoting climate science denialism.

You might have heard that the Trump administration recently targeted the U.S.’s landmark environmental law, the National Environmental Policy Act, and proposed new rules to weaken its protections. Guess who’s applauding the move? Supporters of the fossil fuel industry.

In case you missed it, actors Joaquin Phoenix and Martin Sheen were arrested last week at Jane Fonda’s last Fire Drill Friday protest for climate action on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Check out Zach Roberts’ photos of the rally and arrests.

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

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

P.S. Here’s where you can pitch in $20, or whatever you can, to power our research and investigations into 2020. Thanks to all our supporters!

YouTube Still Monetizing, Promoting Climate Science Denial, Report Finds

— By Dana Drugmand (8 min. read) —

You don’t have to look far to find misinformation about climate science continuing to spread online through prominent social media channels like YouTube. That’s despite the overwhelming scientific consensus that humans are driving the climate crisis.

A new report by the global activist NGO Avaaz reveals that, despite YouTube’s pledge to combat misinformation, the popular video site owned by Google has failed to crack down on this problem when it comes to climate change. Videos containing false or misleading information on climate change continue to reach millions of users through YouTube’s recommendation algorithm.

Fossil Fuel Interests Applaud Trump Admin's Weakening of Major Environmental Law

— By Dana Drugmand (7 min. read) —

Industry groups including oil and gas trade associations were quick to pile on the praise following President Trump’s announcement Thursday, January 9 of major overhauls to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The 50-year-old bedrock environmental statute requires federal agencies to review the environmental impacts of major actions or projects, and has been a key tool for advocacy groups to challenge harmful infrastructure, from fossil fuel pipelines to chemical plants.

And in the Trump administration’s hasty efforts to assert “energy dominance,” judges have halted fossil fuel projects on grounds that the government did not adequately consider how those projects contribute to climate change.

Joaquin Phoenix, Martin Sheen Arrested at Jane Fonda's Final Weekly Climate Protest in DC

— By Zach Roberts (3 min. read) —

Every Friday for the last seven weeks, actress and activist Jane Fonda has held a rally and act of civil disobedience in front of the U.S. Capitol, calling for action on climate change. Each week she's been joined by different celebrities, journalists, and activists. Previous weeks have seen actors such as Law & Order's Sam Waterston, Fonda's co-star in Grace and Frankie, Lily Tomin, and Lincoln's Sally Field, to name a few.

This final week in Washington, D.C. did not see Fonda get arrested like five of the previous weeks. In her stead, West Wing's Martin Sheen and Joker's Joaquin Phoenix were arrested and ticketed in an act of civil disobedience alongside hundreds of other activists.

Replacing Coal with Renewables Could Save Energy Customers $8 Billion a Year, Financial Analysts Find

— By Joe Smyth, Energy and Policy Institute (6 min. read) —

Analysts at Morgan Stanley and Moody’s Investors Service expect that more electric utilities will accelerate their transition away from coal, with major financial benefits for both ratepayers and shareholders.

In a research report last month titled “The Second Wave of Clean Energy,” analysts at Morgan Stanley explained how “the surprisingly low cost of renewables” will drive utilities to close most of the remaining U.S. coal plants over the next decade. Replacing coal with cheaper renewable energy could save electricity customers as much as $8 billion each year, according to Morgan Stanley.

New Research Points to Effective Ways to Talk to Skeptical Conservatives about Climate Change

— By ClimateDenierRoundup (4 min. read) —

Two new studies on denial came out last week. While they’re not exactly breaking new ground, confirmation is always nice.

The first is a literature review led by Stanford’s Gabrielle Wong-Parodi that examines psychological studies on climate denial in the U.S. and found four big lessons for appealing to conservatives. Although the press release is promisingly headlined as “pathways to changing the minds of climate deniers,” we remain skeptical that there’s any real way to change a denier’s mind. After all, if they were open to change, they wouldn’t be deniers!

How One Utah Community Fought the Fracking Industry — and Won

— By Tara Lohan, The Revelator (14 min. read) —

Kanab, a small Utah town that’s home to the famous Best Friends Animal Society, took an unconventional path to face down a frac sand mine that threatened the region’s aquifer.

A sign at the north end of Kanab, Utah, proclaims the town of 4,300 to be “The Greatest Earth on Show.”

It’s a rare case of truth in advertising.

From the Climate Disinformation Database: Jennifer Marohasy

Jennifer Marohasy is a senior fellow at the Melbourne-based Institute of Public Affairs, a public policy think tank with major funding from the mining industry and one of the largest promoters of climate science denial in Australia. Marohasy has training as a biologist and worked for the sugarcane industry. She has repeated commonly debunked climate science denial talk points and has questioned the methodology of scientific connections between climate change and the recent Australian bushfires.
Read the full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database or our new Koch Network Database.