ARI BERMAN | VIDEO BY SAM VAN PYKEREN, - Mother Jones
Stephan: The Republican Party funded by oligarchs is very deliberately trying to destroy the substance of American democracy while maintaining the illusion of its form. If you value the America you grew up in, you better become an activist and start doing everything you can to destroy this movement by voting and getting every single person you know and all the people they know to vote Democratic in 2022 and 2024. If the Republican Party captures the House and Senate in 2022 America as you know it will not survive.
Last week, Mother Jones and the watchdog group Documented broke the story of a top conservative dark money group boasting to donors about writing laws restricting access to the ballot in key battleground states such as Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, and Texas.“In some cases, we actually draft them for them,” Jessica Anderson, the executive director of Heritage Action for America, a sister organization of the Heritage Foundation, told the foundation’s donors at an April 22 gathering in Tucson, “or we have a sentinel on our behalf give them the model legislation so it has that grassroots, from-the-bottom-up type of vibe.”
Mother Jones released a three-minute excerpt of the most explosive moments from the leaked video, detailing a massive right-wing effort to draft and pass model bills restricting voting access, which Anderson said was intended to “right the wrongs of November.
Now we’re bringing you an in-depth video featuring five extended highlights from our investigation, exposing Heritage Action’s $24 million campaign over the next two years to roll back access to the ballot and block congressional Democrats’ sweeping democracy reform bill, the For the People Act. This video takes you inside the strategy Heritage is using to weaponize Trump’s Big […]
Stephan: In the last 24 hours, the carbon era has begun its formal dissolution. This is wonderful news, and just one part of the good news.
Milieudefensie director Donald Pols, right, celebrates the outcome of the verdict in the court case of Milieudefensie, the Dutch arm of the Friends of the Earth environmental organization, against Shell in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, May 26, 2021 In a landmark legal battle of climate change activists in the Netherlands energy giant Shell was ordered to rein in its carbon emissions. Credit: AP Photo/Peter Dejong
THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS — A Dutch court on Wednesday ordered Royal Dutch Shell to cut its carbon emissions by net 45% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels in a landmark case brought by climate activism groups, which hailed the decision as a victory for the planet.
The Hague District Court ruled that the Anglo-Dutch energy giant has a duty of care to reduce emissions and that its current reduction plans were not concrete enough.
The decision could set a precedent for similar cases against polluting multinationals around the world. Activists gathered outside the courtroom erupted into cheers as the decision was read out loud.
“The climate won today,” said Roger Cox, a lawyer for the Dutch […]
Sergio Chapa and Caroline Hyde, Reporters - Bloomberg Green
Stephan: More good news. Shell, Chevron, and Exxon in a single day have received legal notice that the days of the oil industry's domination are coming to an end.
Chevron Corp. shareholders voted for a proposal to reduce emissions from the company’s customers, the latest sign that oil titans are coming under increasing pressure to address environmental concerns.
According to a preliminary tally, 61% of investors backed the proposal at the company’s annual investor meeting on Wednesday, rebuffing the company’s board, which had urged shareholders to reject it. An item asking Chevron to report on how a significant reduction in fossil-fuel demand would affect its business and a request for a report on political lobbying were narrowly voted down.
The vote, which came on the same day Royal Dutch Shell Plc was ordered by a Dutch court to slash its emissions harder and faster than planned, highlights an unprecedented push to hold oil giants accountable for their contributions to climate change. Also on Wednesday, at least two nominees of an activist investment firm won seats on Exxon Mobil Corp.’s board in a major setback for Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods.
Chevron should be able to increase returns to investors at the same time as it […]
Sarah McFarlane and Christopher M. Matthews, - The Wall Street Journal
Stephan: And here is the good news about Exxon, and a wrap up article by the leading business newspaper of what this means for the petroleum and gas industry. This is a historic day that changes the course of the future. Bravo!
Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell received sharp prods to move away from fossil fuels more quickly, in decisions highlighting the power of investors and activists. Credit: Andrew Kelly/Reuters
ExxonXOM 1.17% Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch ShellRDS.A 0.38% PLC suffered significant defeats Wednesday as environmental groups and activist investors step up pressure on the oil industry to address concerns about climate change.
The back-to-back, watershed decisions demonstrated how dramatically the landscape is shifting for oil-and-gas companies as they face increasing pressure from environmentalists, investors, lenders, politicians and regulators to transition to cleaner forms of energy.
“The events of today show definitively that many leaders in the oil-and-gas industry have a tin ear and do not understand that society’s views and […]
Stephan: The integrity of the EPA was deliberately destroyed by Trump and his administration to curry favor with the chemical agriculture industry and keep it donating to the Republican Party. Here is some good news. Under Biden and his administration, those depredations are being reversed, and we have in this extraordinary report where the EPA admits it did wrong and is reversing itself. Good news.
The EPA’s Scientific Integrity Policy affirms that the The EPA needs to Agency’s ability to pursue its mission to protect document and follow human health and the environment depends upon established procedures the integrity of the science on which the EPA relies. to ensure scientifically Per the policy, the EPA’s scientists and managers sound decisions are expected to represent the Agency’s scientific regarding pesticides. activities clearly, accurately, honestly, objectively, thoroughly, without political or other interference, and in a timely manner, consistent with their official responsibilities. Additionally, federal and EPA requirements include documenting the formulation and execution of policies and decisions. For pesticide registration decisions, the OCSPP’s Office of Pesticide Programs must review registrations and document its decisions.
We found that the EPA’s 2018 decision to extend registrations for three dicamba pesticide products varied from typical operating procedures. Namely, the EPA did not conduct the required internal peer reviews of scientific documents created to support the dicamba decision. While division-level management review is part of the typical operating procedure, interviewees said that senior leaders in the […]
