Climate change denial

CEI Director of the Center for Energy and Environment Myron Ebell in 2017. Photo: Leon Neal (Getty Images)The climate deniers are at it again.In late December, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, released what it’s calling a “Climate Fact Check” report. The report, which was covered breathlessly by Fox News, purports to expose claims made by “climate alarmists and their media allies” in 2022 that “clashed with reality and science.” (Spoiler alert: all the “claims” covered are, in fact, in line…

A protest in front of the Supreme Court in December.Photo: Andrew Harnik (AP)This past year was one of dire climate warnings, from bombshell IPCC reports to a summer of floods and fires to disturbing droughts across the world. And yet, entrenched interests were still working against climate action as hard as ever in 2022. The usual climate suspects were up to their decades-old tricks. (We’re looking at you, Big Oil, and you, GOP politicians.) But some notable—and unusual—parties joined in on the fun (Taylor Swift, alas).…

Ron DeSantis shakes then-President Donald Trump’s hand in May 2019. Photo: Evan Vucci (AP)Two years goes by fast when it comes to politics. While the country is, in many ways, still recovering from the 2020 election, former President Donald Trump made his official 2024 announcement last week, and speculation on who the GOP presidential candidate will be has kicked off in earnest. Looking ahead to 2024, it’s remarkable to see what may have changed in the GOP when it comes to candidates’ messaging on climate and energy—and…

Ron DeSantis and his family after he won his bid for reelection Tuesday.Photo: Rebecca Blackwell (AP)It’s that time of year again, when climate hawks gather around to read the tea leaves about what happened in U.S. national elections. This year’s climate campaign trail, for Democrats, was a lot different than previous years, thanks to the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the U.S.’s first national comprehensive climate bill. For once, Democrats had a concrete climate success to campaign on during the…

Photo: Robyn Beck / AFP (Getty Images)This story was originally published by Grist. You can subscribe to its weekly newsletter here.In the weeks leading up to the midterm election on November 8, environmental groups have been trying to get the attention of the 2 million Americans who care about climate change but don’t usually vote. Their advertisements are appearing on Facebook feeds, popping up on Hulu, and getting delivered to mailboxes week after week. The main message? Your representative finally did something about…

This image gives me hives.Photo: Richard Drew/Associated Press | Screenshot: New York TimesBret Stephens, the New York Times columnist with a long history of bad conservative takes—the same man who decided to quit Twitter after he threw a fit over being called a bedbug—says he’s changed. In an essay for the Times opinion section published Friday, Stephens claims that a visit to Greenland changed his mind on climate change, but the uniquely infuriating essay is still full of Stephens-style bullshit, horrible design choices…

Boats washed up onto a causeway in Fort Meyers, Fl. by Hurricane Ian. Photo: Joe Raedle (Getty Images)Because Florida is in the news, we have to do this again.With Hurricane Ian devastating Florida this week, folks across the political spectrum are using the storm to score easy points. Before the storm even arrived, conservative media made a mountain over the fact that President Biden neglected to call Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis (he eventually did make that phone call). Meanwhile, after Biden granted Florida emergency…

A line delivered by Danny Devito’s Penguin character in the 1992 film Batman Returns is one of the references cited in Chevron’s brief.Photo: Robyn Beck/AFP (Getty Images)Big Oil wants you to believe that, because climate change was mentioned in children’s cartoons and a Batman movie in the 1990s, companies like Chevron hold no responsibilities for the current climate crisis.02:49Guess How Much Crypto's Been Stolen Lately? Part 2Today 10:45AMThat’s the gist of abrief filed by Chevron in Hawaii’s First Circuit Court,…

Photo: Eli Hartman/Odessa American (AP)Five major oil and gas companies are set to release their Q2 earnings reports on Thursday and Friday. The numbers are already astronomical: Shell announced Thursday it had made a jaw-dropping $11.5 billion in profit last quarter, smashing a record it set earlier this year. The industry is expected to log a record $50 billion profit overall, while oil giant ExxonMobil may also post its biggest quarterly profit to date on Friday. But this huge influx of cash, new labor numbers suggest,…

This piece is part of Gizmodo’s ongoing effort to make the Facebook Papers available to the public. See the full directory of documents here.The summer of 2020 proved to be a boiling point for Facebook on climate change. The company had made efforts to insulate its users against the health-related hoaxes that had engulfed its platform as the pandemic began. Some seven million posts were axed between April and June, which did not go unnoticed. The apparent seriousness with which Facebook, now known as Meta,had responded…