Message From the Editor

As Hurricane Debby surged north this week, dumping catastrophic amounts of rain throughout Florida and the U.S.’s southeastern coast, it reminded those of us here at DeSmog that the climate crisis, with its increasingly destructive weather patterns and raging wildfires, didn’t come out of nowhere. As Jamie Bristow and Rosie Bell state in a DeSmog opinion piece, “It is the predictable outcome of a societal mindset that allowed global institutions and industries to ‘externalize’ … the unseen costs of pollution and exploitation.” 

Jamie and Rosie go on to ask, are we “optimists” about curing global climate change or “realists” who insist that we’re doomed to live in a forever-compromised climate? Of course, we here at DeSmog are optimistic that we can actually do something to curb climate change. But between curable solutions and complete collapse “lie a wide spectrum of possible middle paths,” the writers say.

So what are those paths? The authors argue that to improve society’s resilience, we must transcend the optimist vs. realist trap and develop a collective mindset focused on reducing harm in the shorter term, and laying a foundation for a transformed future. For a provocative look at their three possible fields of action, click here.

One way to reduce harm in the short term is to be honest about the impacts of climate change, something DeSmog is devoted to. Which is why we needed to point out that in Canada, Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith still won’t publicly mention the links between wildfires and climate change. Yet, the wildfires in Jasper have torn a destructive path through that resort town, even killing one firefighter. Our story shows how Smith has shifted blame away from planet-warming emissions to arson as a major influence in the wildfire problem. We wouldn’t call that an optimist vs. realist trap – but a climate denial trap.

Send us your story tips or feedback: [email protected]. Want to know what our UK team is up to? Sign up for our UK newsletter. 

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

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Image credit: Possessed Photography / Unsplash

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith Still Won’t Mention Wildfire Links to Climate Change

— By Danielle Paradis (4 min. read) —

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith had to hold back tears during an update about a wildfire that had ravaged the town of Jasper, a historical mountain town in Alberta in the Rocky Mountains.

“For many generations the town of Jasper and the park surrounding it have been a source of pride with some of the most beautiful scenery in the entire world,” said Smith through frequent and emotional pauses.

Between Optimism and Despair: The Messy Middle Paths Through Climate Breakdown

— By Jamie Bristow and Rosie Bell (6 min) —

In the escalating drama of climate breakdown — especially as we navigate the apparent crossing of the 1.5C warming threshold — a binary is emerging that wastes a huge amount of time, energy and passion, needlessly limiting our vision to confront and adapt to our situation at all levels of society: Are we (optimist) solutionists or (realist) doomers? 

As “optimists” we’re committed to the idea that it’s not too late to fix things (think ever steeper net zero pathways dependant on direct air capture). As “realists,” we’re committed to telling “the truth” of just how bad things are already (think cascading tipping points and trajectories towards Hothouse Earth).

Oklahoma’s Oil Industry Touts a Voluntary Fund to Clean Up Oil Wells. Major Drillers Want Their Contributions Refunded.

— By Mark Olalde and Nick Bowlin (6 min. read) —

Oklahoma’s oil and gas industry touts its altruism and environmental stewardship by pointing to a voluntary levy that companies pay on their production, which is then used to clean up orphan wells that have been left to the state.

But some of Oklahoma’s biggest oil companies have opted out of the fund, forcing the state to return millions of dollars that would have otherwise gone to restoring land scarred by discarded drilling infrastructure and contaminated by leaks and spills, according to a ProPublica and Capital & Main analysis.

Two-Thirds of People in Climate Denier Nigel Farage’s Constituency Are Worried About Rising Temperatures

— By Sam Bright (5 min. read) —

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is at odds with his own constituents over the issue of climate change, according to new polling. 

A majority (68 percent) of voters in Clacton, Essex, are concerned about the effects of rising temperatures, according to a poll by More in Common, and the think tank E3G.

How to Blunt the ‘New Climate Denial’ with Better Language

— By Geoff Dembicki (7 min. read) —

The idea that the climate debate can be neatly divided into two competing camps — with Republican deniers on the right and Democratic advocates on the left — is one of the many myths that Dr. Genevieve Guenther takes on in her new book The Language of Climate Politics. The reality, according to Guenther, a climate communications expert and founder of the advocacy group End Climate Silence, is that fossil fuel industry talking points permeate the political spectrum, contributing to a mainstream consensus that producing ever more oil, coal and gas is fine even as the planet burns. 

One way to blunt this “new climate denial,” as she calls it, is better and more effective language that puts a phase-out of fossil fuels at the center of the climate action agenda. In an exclusive interview with DeSmog, Guenther explains how oil and gas companies weaponize the language of climate advocates, why it can be a waste of time trying to engage with Fox News viewers and what needs to happen to put truly transformative climate action at the top of political agendas everywhere. 

From the Climate Disinformation Database: Jeff Landry

Jeff Landry was elected Republican governor of Louisiana in 2023, after serving as the state’s attorney general since 2016. According to OpenSecrets.org over Landry’s career, the oil and gas industry has been his largest contributor, totaling over $481,000. Speaking at a press conference in Lafayette, Louisiana, about coastal wetlands problems, Landry called climate change a “hoax,” the Daily Advertiser reported. Recently, Landry supported Denka Performance Elastomers, a Japanese chemical maker, in its attempt to block a new EPA law that updates Clean Air Act standards on chemical and plastics plants, many of which line Louisiana’s Gulf Coast.

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