Message From the Editor

This week has been an active week of stories at DeSmog. First, over in Pennsylvania, investigative reporter Edward Donnelly reported on the potential new build that could be the largest LNG export terminal on the U.S. eastern seaboard.

If built, the proposed 100-acre Penn America Energy plant would become the most compact LNG terminal in the U.S., and the first in such a densely populated area. But Zulene Mayfield is fighting back.

“Why do we always have to justify our position to live in a clean, healthy, and safe environment?” asks Mayfield, who told DeSmog that Chester residents have nothing to gain, and much to lose, from the proposed LNG terminal.

On the other side of the planet, we saw news from Argentina and Brazil from reporter Lucas Araldi. In Brazil, right-wing think tanks are aligning with agribusiness to seek a path back to power. And an analysis piece covers Javier Milei, a climate change denier widely supported by the Atlas Network who won the necessary votes to run in Argentina’s presidential election in October.

Diving into additional research, Nick Cunningham unearthed documents that suggest that the Portland City government compromised with the oil industry in private. Despite city claims that the approval of Zenith Energy’s controversial oil-by-rail facility was a routine administrative matter, internal documents suggest political staff laid the groundwork for a deal.

In the summer of 2022, faced with a very real opportunity to confront the fossil fuel industry, potentially forcing the facility to halt oil train shipments entirely, the city instead chose to strike a compromise that allows the oil facility to continue to operate.

Make sure to read the rest of our latest articles on our website.

Have a story tip or feedback? Get in touch: [email protected]. Want to know what our UK team is up to? Sign up for our UK newsletter.

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

P.S. Investigative journalism like this is made possible by readers like you. Can you donate $10 or $20 right now to support more of this essential work?

Image credit Edward Donnelly

As EU Weans Itself From Russian Energy, U.S. Shale Gas Industry Pushes New LNG Export Plant in Pennsylvania

— By Edward Donnelly (9 min. read) —

When Zulene Mayfield testifies next week against plans to build a $6.8 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in her Pennsylvania hometown, she will be facing off against some of the most powerful fossil fuel interests in the United States.

As co-founder of the community group Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living, Mayfield has spent years fighting to protect her majority Black and low-income city from the pollution spewed by the nearby Covanta waste-to-energy facility — the country’s largest waste incinerator.

In Brazil, Right-Wing Think Tanks Align with Agribusiness to Seek a Path Back to Power

— By Lucas Araldi (9 min. read) —

“I even took off my farm boots and wore high heels to come here today,” Camila Telles told the audience of political activists, business executives, and students at April’s Liberty Forum, an annual conservative gathering in Brazil sponsored by the Atlas Network.

Telles is an agribusiness influencer – her clients include the major Brazilian meat producers Seara and Friboi – with more than 300,000 followers on Instagram and a talent for taking her pro-big farmer messages viral. From the dimly-lit stage, she opened the event’s first-ever panel on agribusiness with familiar talking points, mocking leftists for blaming climate change on cows.

The Atlas Network and the Building of Argentina’s Donald Trump

— By Lucas Araldi (4 min. read) —

Ask Argentine politician, economist, and presidential candidate Javier Milei what he thinks of climate change, and he might tell you that it’s “another lie of socialism” and “part of the agenda of Cultural Marxism.” 

The right-wing politician is part of coalition Libertad Avanza and this August won the most votes in Argentina’s primary election, enabling him to run for president on October 23. 

Portland City Government Compromised with Oil Industry in Private, Documents Suggest

— By Nick Cunningham (16 min. read) —

In the summer of 2022, it seemed that the days of an oil-by-rail facility in Portland, Oregon, were numbered. The previous year, the city had rejected a land use permit for a company called Zenith Energy, which receives crude oil shipped by rail from as far away as North Dakota. Zenith had appealed the decision, but had already suffered a string of defeats in the state. 

Climate activists and community associations, who were concerned about the risks associated with oil-by-rail shipments, counted the city’s rejection of the permit as a major victory, and were tantalizingly close to prevailing over the company.

Two-Thirds of Conservative Endowment Fund Directors Are Linked to Fossil Fuels and Polluting Industries

— By Sam Bright (5 min. read) —

Two-thirds of the directors who run the Conservative Party’s multi-million-pound endowment fund have interests in fossil fuel firms or polluting industries, DeSmog can reveal.

The Conservative Party Foundation Limited was founded in 2009 with the purpose of raising and managing “legacy funds to support the long term finance of the Conservative Party”.

From the Climate Disinformation Database: Atlas Network

The Atlas Network (Atlas Economic Research Foundation) is a Washington, DC-based non-profit organization that describes itself as working to support a growing network of more than 500 “free market” organizations in nearly 100 countries promoting free market ideas. Atlas Network is the trading name of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, which was founded by Antony Fisher in 1981 with the goal of spreading “innovative, market-based perspectives to issues of public policy” globally. Many of the member think tanks of the Atlas Network have supported climate science denial and have campaigned against legislation to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

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