Message From the Editor

Activists and scientists have found alarming levels of radioactivity in samples collected along the road and soils outside Austin Master Services, an oilfield waste processing facility with a history of sloppy practices in eastern Ohio. The facility is located just down the street from a high school football stadium and less than 1,000 feet from a set of city drinking water wells, raising public health concerns from a nuclear forensics scientist about the extent of possible radioactive contamination. Justin Nobel investigates.

Meanwhile, Indigenous leaders have called on Citigroup to stop financing oil and gas projects in the Amazon, saying the bank’s activities contradict its climate pledges by putting the threatened ecosystem at greater risk. Citigroup, a leading financier of the fossil fuel industry, has sought to position itself as a climate leader in the past year, pledging to slash emissions from its portfolio to net zero by 2050, and announcing a coal phase-out. But Indigenous leaders said that its role in enabling the expansion of the oil and gas industry was pushing the Amazon rainforest closer to the brink of collapse. Rachel Sherrington reports.

A group of House Democrats on Wednesday sent letters to 13 of the top U.S. insurers, urging them to stop profiting “from the expansion of fossil fuels while ripping the rug out from under the communities most affected by climate change.” U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Mondaire Jones (D-NY) led 14 colleagues in calling on the companies to end underwriting and investing in fossil fuel projects. Read on.

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Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle

Executive Director

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‘This Needs to Be Fixed’: Nuclear Expert Calls Radioactivity Levels Found Outside Ohio Oilfield Waste Facility ‘Excessive’​​​​​​​

— By Justin Nobel (16 min. read) —

Activists and scientists have found alarming levels of radioactivity in samples collected along the road and soils outside Austin Master Services, an oilfield waste processing facility with a history of sloppy practices in eastern Ohio. The facility is located just down the street from a high school football stadium and less than 1,000 feet from a set of city drinking water wells, raising public health concerns from a nuclear forensics scientist about the extent of possible radioactive contamination. 

‘Existential Threat’: Indigenous Leaders Urge Citigroup to Stop Backing Amazon Oil​​​​​​​

— By Rachel Sherrington (5 min. read)—

Indigenous leaders have called on Citigroup to stop financing oil and gas projects in the Amazon, saying the bank’s activities contradict its climate pledges by putting the threatened ecosystem at greater risk. 

Citigroup, a leading financier of the fossil fuel industry, has sought to position itself as a climate leader in the past year, pledging to slash emissions from its portfolio to net zero by 2050, and announcing a coal phase-out.

House Dems Call On Top U.S. Insurers to End Backing of Fossil Fuel Projects

— By Jessica Corbett, Common Dreams (3 min. read)—

A group of House Democrats on Wednesday sent letters to 13 of the top U.S. insurers, urging them to stop profiting “from the expansion of fossil fuels while ripping the rug out from under the communities most affected by climate change.”

U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Mondaire Jones (D-NY) led 14 colleagues in calling on the companies to end underwriting and investing in fossil fuel projects.

Redlined Neighborhoods in Cities Across the US Saw More Oil Drilling, Study Finds​​​​​​​

— By Sharon Kelly (5 min. read)—

Roughly 17 million people in the U.S. live within a mile of an oil or gas well — putting them at higher risk of health problems like heart disease, breathing issues, anxiety and depression, and complications during pregnancy, a growing body of research shows.

But all is not equal when it comes to who exactly lives near oil wells — and intentional racial discrimination in federal mortgage policies, reflected in a practice known as “redlining,” may have played a role, according to a new study published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology.

Social Media Giants Get a Failing Grade on Climate Disinformation

— By Sharon Kelly (4 min. read) —

The first page of Menlo Park, California’s 2030 Climate Action Plan shows a map predicting which parts of the city will be underwater by the end of the century, flooded by the rising waters of San Francisco Bay. The famed headquarters of Facebook’s parent company Meta appears as an island, the roads leading to 1 Hacker Way erased by a sea of blue.

Sea level rise is just one imminent threat for Silicon Valley. Concerns about the upcoming wildfire season are looming over California, with over 95 percent of the state experiencing severe or extreme drought. Climate scientists warn future years may bring wildfire smoke at levels the San Francisco Chronicle calls “practically unbearable.”

From the Climate Disinformation Database: The Atlas Network

The Atlas Network is a Washington, DC-based non-profit organization that describes itself as working to support a growing network of more than 450 “free market” organizations in more than 90 countries promoting free market ideas. 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 its full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database and Koch Network Database.