Message From the Editor

This week we published the results of a year-long investigation into the question of where exactly radioactive fracking waste ends up. This included digging into documents, talking with industry insiders, and even examining aerial photos of a desert waste disposal site. What we found was a major West Texas disposal site with a patchy record. Not only does a lot of the fracking waste produced in the U.S. go here, but the company is also importing radioactive oilfield waste from abroad. Justin Nobel has the scoop.

Meanwhile, House Republicans have introduced a new climate agenda that, it turns out, actually promotes fossil fuels and speculative technologies, while leaving out real emissions reduction targets. The new campaign comes at the same time as the Biden administration’s international climate summit. The Republican plan is aimed at positioning the party’s ideas as fresh alternatives to what they see as a Democrat platform that “kills jobs” and “makes American energy more expensive.” Read Nick Cunningham’s story here.

Finally, it appears that banks and investors have given up on the U.S. fracking industry, which is bad news for current investors who waited too long to get out. Not only did eight oil and gas companies announce they were filing for bankruptcy during the first quarter of 2021 but it’s reported that the majority of U.S. shale companies are losing money and are unlikely to ever pay back their large debts. This is all making it harder and harder for investors to get out. Read Justin Mikulka’s analysis.

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

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

P.S. Readers like you make it possible for DeSmog to hold accountable powerful people in industry and government. Even a $10 or $20 donation helps support DeSmog’s investigative journalism.

Where Does All The Radioactive Fracking Waste Go?

— By Justin Nobel (20 min. read) —

On May 8, 2017, a drum of radioactive oilfield waste from Australia arrived at a remote West Texas disposal site operated by local oil and gas environmental services company, Lotus LLC. This drum of waste entered the United States aboard a Singapore Airlines cargo jet, appropriately packaged in a steel drum. According to files from the Railroad Commission of Texas, the state’s main oil and gas regulator, it contained the radioactive element radium at concentrations of 2,095 picocuries per gram. Those levels are more than 400 times the protective health limits designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for toxic Superfund sites and uranium mills, where fuel for nuclear bombs was once assembled.

The oil and gas industry produces an extraordinary amount of waste. Much of it is toxic, and it can be highly radioactive too. And since 1997 about one million barrels worth of oilfield waste has been brought to Lotus’s disposal site, situated off a dusty desert road located 19 miles west of Andrews, Texas (and just several miles from a massive solar array financed by Facebook and which provides energy to Shell’s fracking operations).

The GOP Climate Push That Mostly Leaves Out Climate

— By Nick Cunningham (5 min. read) —

On April 19, Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced the beginning of a week-long campaign to promote the Republican “alternative” climate agenda. “Democrats often dismiss Republicans as being disinterested in addressing global climate change. This is just false,” he said in a video posted to Twitter.

In the video, he announced the roll-out of roughly three dozen bills that “focus on solutions that make American energy cleaner, more affordable, and also reduce emissions around the world.”

Struggling to Make a Profit, Fracking Investors are Searching for the Exit

— By Justin Mikulka (6 min. read) —

The outlook is increasingly bleak for oil and gas companies. The beginning of this year has seen the highest number of companies announce bankruptcy during the first quarter in five years. Eight oil and gas companies announced they were filing for bankruptcy during the first quarter of 2021.

Meanwhile, earlier this month The Financial Times noted that of 500 privately owned oil and gas companies in the U.S., 400 are losing money and unlikely to ever pay back their large debts. According to the Financial Times, the remaining companies are focused on a “last gasp” effort to look profitable to potential buyers in order to “secure a profitable exit.”

Oxford University Has Pledged to Divest from Fossil Fuels – Now it Needs to Sever All Ties to the Industry

— By Brigitte Wear (4 min. read) —

There are signs Oxford University is slowly “getting it” when it comes to climate change. Last year, it committed to selling its multimillion-pound investments in oil and gas companies, after years of student campaigning, and more recently it launched an ambitious Sustainability Strategy.

But a 12-month-long investigation we’ve just published shows how much deeper the ties between the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the industry run.

The Greenwashing Files: Fossil Fuel Giants Accused of ‘Deceptive’ Advertising

— By Rich Collett-White and Rachel Sherrington (7 min. read) —

Fossil fuel companies could face legal challenges over their misleading advertising, after a DeSmog investigation uncovered the extent of their “greenwashing”.

Environmental lawyers ClientEarth have put companies on notice with the publication of the Greenwashing Files. The analyses, which use DeSmog’s research, show how adverts of major fossil fuel companies and energy producers continue to over-emphasise their green credentials, giving the public a misleading impression of their businesses.

From the Climate Disinformation Database: American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)

ALEC is an organization designed to link state legislators with corporations and create templates for state legislation. Some corporations ALEC has worked with include ExxonMobil, Koch Industries, Peabody Energy, and Reynolds Tobacco. ALEC describes its mission as to “advance limited government, free markets, and federalism at the state level through a nonpartisan public-private partnership of America’s state legislators, members of the private sector and the general public.” This month it was reported that ALEC has convened a new working group to promote long-shot tactics aimed at delaying the Biden administration’s climate efforts.

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