Message From the Editor

This week, Michael Mann’s defamation lawsuit came to a conclusion with a jury finding in Mann’s favor and awarding him $1 million in punitive damages!

The defamation lawsuit 12 years in the making, brought by climate scientist Michael Mann, opened January 18th in Washington, D.C. Superior Court. Mann sued two conservative commentators — Mark Steyn and Rand Simberg, who is an analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute — for defamation, alleging that their attempts to discredit his work in print and online had damaged his reputation and led to a decline in his ability to secure research funding.

Our on-the-ground reporters have been following this trial closely the past few weeks as the defendants doubled down on climate denial, as Mann took the stand, and as it went to the jury earlier this week. The jury’s finding in Mann’s favor is not only a personal win, but sends a strong message in defense of climate science and scientists.

In a separate piece by Geoff Dembicki, we tackled Canadian conservative influencer Jordan Peterson’s new online school launching in February. More than a dozen instructors associated with the school, called Peterson Academy, have disputed the existence of a climate emergency, or opposed solutions that could address dangerous levels of warming.

“What Jordan Peterson is doing is very common in many conservative and far-right networks, which is leveraging populist angst about experts, especially around issues like climate change,” says Tanner Mirrlees, an associate professor at Ontario Tech University and a member of the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism.

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Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

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Image credit: Julian Meehan/Flickr

Michael Mann Wins $1 Million Verdict In Defamation Trial

— By Diane Bernard and Adam M. Lowenstein (7 min. read) —

In a victory for climate scientists, jurors in Michael Mann’s defamation case against Rand Simberg and Mark Steyn awarded Mann $1 million in punitive damages for defamatory comments made in 2012.

In a unanimous decision, jurors agreed that both Simberg and Steyn defamed Mann in blog posts that compared Mann to convicted sex offender Jerry Sandusky, former assistant football coach at Penn State University. They announced that Simberg will pay $1,000 in punitive damages and Steyn will pay the larger $1 million.

Jordan Peterson’s New Online School Will Be Rife with Climate Crisis Deniers

— By Geoff Dembicki (5 min. read) —

Over a dozen instructors associated with a new online school called Peterson Academy, created by Canadian conservative influencer Jordan Peterson, have disputed the existence of a climate emergency, or opposed solutions that could address dangerous levels of warming. Their taped two-hour lectures for the venture will be part of its offerings if and when it launches in February after several months of delay.

Stephen Hicks, a professor at Rockford University in Illinois, has contributed courses on modern and postmodern philosophy. Last year Hicks rhetorically asked on his blog whether climate researchers were “over-hyping because they have a political agenda,” terming them “those chronic-doomster semi-scientists.”

How the Oil Industry Indefinitely Delays Cleaning Up Oil and Gas Wells in California

— By Joe Fassler (10 min) —

A new report from the Sierra Club has found that more than 40,000 unplugged oil and gas wells are sitting idle across California — potentially leaking planet-warming gas and unsafe chemicals, but no longer actively extracting fossil fuels. 

In theory, it shouldn’t be possible to leave so many wells in that neglected state. Companies that operate in California are required to safely “abandon” wells that are no longer in use, removing pumpjacks and sealing off openings forever with concrete. And yet, the report found that more than 40 percent of unplugged wells in California haven’t produced oil or gas in at least two years, which is the state’s formal criteria for an “idle” well. According to Sierra Club’s review of California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) data, only three companies are responsible for most of these wells: Chevron, Aera Energy, and California Resources Corporation. And while operators do pay modest fees for letting their wells stay idle so long, aggressive industry lobbying has helped to keep those penalties as low as possible. 

Are Europe’s Farmers Protesting Green Reforms? It’s Complicated

— Rachel Sherrington (8 min. read) —

Across France, Italy and Belgium last week thousands of farmers descended on capital cities to express their deep discontent with the European food system.

The scenes were dramatic. Parked tractors brought traffic to a standstill in Paris, and on Thursday burning piles of hay and debris sent up huge, dark plumes of smoke in Brussels. The protests show no sign of slowing down and are expected this week across Italy, Slovenia and Spain.

Pro-Coal MP Appointed to Lead Influential Cross-Party Environment Group

— By Phoebe Cooke and Sam Bright (4 min. read) —

A Tory MP who backed the UK’s first new coal mine in over 30 years has been elected to chair the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on environment.

Desk-banging and jeering were heard in the House of Commons committee room on Wednesday night as lawmakers voted in Trudy Harrison, who represents Copeland in West Cumbria – where the proposed mine in Whitehaven is located.

From the Climate Disinformation Database: Peterson Academy

Peterson Academy is a non-accredited “online universal education platform” created by controversial Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson and his daughter, Mikhaila Fuller (formerly Peterson) originally set to launch in November 2023. Jordan Peterson, promoting the Academy in online videos, has said the reason to get a degree is “because otherwise you’re going to be a useless, resentful, bitter, pointless, counterproductive lump.” Peterson Academy does not appear to have published its stance on climate change. However, Peterson has said he is working with Bjorn Lomborg, who has consistently downplayed the dangers of man-made climate change.

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