[✔️] September 15, 2022 - Global Warming News Digest
Richard Pauli
Richard at CredoandScreed.com
Thu Sep 15 08:48:07 EDT 2022
/*September 15, 2022*/
/[ a sea change in Congress ]/
*U.S. House Democrats probe PR firms' work for oil, gas companies*
By Valerie Volcovici - September 14, 2022
The report, which was based on its review of documents like submissions
for industry awards, said PR firms helped oil companies fend off climate
policies and mislead the public about their green claims by "engineering
astroturf 'citizen' groups to advocate for industry interests and defeat
legislative proposals, and using unscrupulous tactics to sabotage
genuine policy solutions and attack community advocates."
PR firms declined to attend the hearing about whether they helped the
fossil fuel industry spread disinformation about climate change,
according to the House of Representatives panel holding the event.
"Of note, PR firms Singer Associates, Story Partners, and Pac/West
Communications were invited but refused to attend," Committee
spokesperson Lindsay Gressard said on Tuesday.
Gressard said FTI Consulting (FCN.N), another PR firm the committee is
investigating, will not testify because it is working with the committee
to turn in documents that the panel requested earlier this summer..
- -
While public scrutiny around energy companies' "greenwashing" claims has
grown, the marketing agencies behind the campaigns have largely escaped
scrutiny.
- -
"Fossil fuel marketers have shifted from denying or minimizing the
science behind climate change to falsely suggesting that oil and gas are
a central part of the climate-solutions mix," she said in her testimony,
adding that 60% of energy company ads touted a green claim.
The House Oversight committee's Democrats came to a similar conclusion
in their own year-long investigation into whether oil companies have
misled the public on climate change.
https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/oil-industrys-ad-firms-shun-us-hearing-climate-disinformation-2022-09-14/
- -
/[ from the Drilled podcast ]/
*Yes, The New York Times Really IS Shilling for Big Oil*
By Amy Westervelt – 14 Sep 2022 –
I wish Reps Raskin and Porter had not scheduled hearings at the same
time today, but the fact that they're both happening are pretty great.
Raskin is looking into the corporate push to limit individual free
speech, via both SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation)
suits and anti-protest "critical infrastructure" (more on that one next
week) and Porter is presiding over a hearing close to my heart: “The
Role of Public Relations Firms in Preventing Action on Climate Change."
If you haven't yet, go listen to our season on this topic. Some of my
favorite sources on this subject contributed new research to the
Committee on Natural Resources's investigation, and the resulting report
is incredible, laying out the work that firms like Group SJR, Universal
McCann, T Brand Studio, Sam Singer Associates and more have done to
manipulate the public conversation on climate, greenwash for oil
companies and, in Singer's case, exploit news deserts to the industry's
benefit (Singer oversaw the creation of the Richmond Standard in
Richmond, Ca years ago and, more recently, the Permian Proud in Texas's
Permian Basin.
In an award submission Singer Associates submitted for the Richmond
Standard, the firm wrote that: "The website has achieved regional
dominance, with a readership surpassing 'the circulation of the two
major daily newspapers in the area, the San Francisco Chronicle and the
Contra Costa Times.'"
It's hard to believe that claim and I wouldn't put it past Singer and co
to just make it up, but the point is: that's the goal. For the company
paper to beat out the real papers. As more oil and gas towns, regions,
and states lose their papers is this what we can expect? Company papers
for company towns?
The case study of SPR Group's work to help Exxon appeal to GenZ is also
eye-opening. Mimicking BuzzFeed's video style, SPR claims to have gotten
more young people to watch the whole video than other videos on various
social media platforms. "The videos sought to show 'how natural gas is a
lower emission' fossil fuel with an essential role in 'building
America’s cleaner power grids,'" the report notes. A message that of
course directly contradicts the truth: A recent EPA analysis of the U.S.
oil and gas supply chain shows that methane released from natural gas
extraction exceeded EPA estimates by around 60%, nearly doubling the
climate impact of natural gas and causing warming on par with coal plants.
Universal McCann's partnership with the New York Times T Brand Studio
for Exxon also features in the report, which notes that the campaign,
which launched across all NYT platforms simultaneously, was intended to
“drive awareness of ExxonMobil’s commitment to the research and
development of lower-emissions energy through next-gen biofuels,”
“develop positive brand perception of ExxonMobil through their efforts
as a forward thinking and responsible company,” and “increase
favorability of primary audiences.” In an award submission Universal
McCann explained that had worked with the NYT's internal brand studio
"to create content in a 'Timesian voice' that would feel 'native to the
publication,' and which 'mirrored the award-winning journalism of the
world-renowned publication [to ensure] authenticity, credibility and
relevance, and [be] ultimately more impactful to the audience.'" UM
also noted that the campaign's content included “a first-ever
consecutive ‘Science Times’ print takeover, an interactive long-form
journalistic-style article, CGI print spreads, audio spots in top-rated
‘The Daily’ podcast, online ads, social posts, and homepage videos.
Every time I've written about the T Brand studio's work for oil
companies, I've had people say "but there's a separation between ad and
edit!" and I reply, "sure, but readers don't know that, and that is the
entire reason oil companies hire the T Brand studio." Now here it is in
Universal McCann's own language, they were looking for "a Timesian voice
that would feel native to the publication and which mirrored the
award-winning journalism of the world-renowned publication."
The Times has some of the best climate reporters out there and this is a
slap in the face to all of them.
The Committee is also investigating another layer of PR firms. Not the
ones that show up to industry conferences and apply for awards, but the
shadowy underlayer willing to do the stuff the more buttoned-up firms
won't. Firms like FTI Consulting, Story Partners, and HBW Resources.
The investigation is ongoing and I suspect there are more hearings to
come. Unlike oil companies, which can afford to only want policy to go
one way, at least some of these PR firms will lose clients and
credibility over this. A few might even want to save their own
reputations by coming clean about what this industry has asked them to do...
You can watch the hearing at 10am ET on the House Natural Resource
Committee's YouTube channel.
Universal McCann's partnership with the New York Times T Brand Studio
for Exxon also features in the report, which notes that the campaign,
which launched across all NYT platforms simultaneously, was intended to
“drive awareness of ExxonMobil’s commitment to the research and
development of lower-emissions energy through next-gen biofuels,”
“develop positive brand perception of ExxonMobil through their efforts
as a forward thinking and responsible company,” and “increase
favorability of primary audiences.” In an award submission Universal
McCann explained that had worked with the NYT's internal brand studio
"to create content in a 'Timesian voice' that would feel 'native to the
publication,' and which 'mirrored the award-winning journalism of the
world-renowned publication [to ensure] authenticity, credibility and
relevance, and [be] ultimately more impactful to the audience.'" UM
also noted that the campaign's content included “a first-ever
consecutive ‘Science Times’ print takeover, an interactive long-form
journalistic-style article, CGI print spreads, audio spots in top-rated
‘The Daily’ podcast, online ads, social posts, and homepage videos.
Every time I've written about the T Brand studio's work for oil
companies, I've had people say "but there's a separation between ad and
edit!" and I reply, "sure, but readers don't know that, and that is the
entire reason oil companies hire the T Brand studio." Now here it is in
Universal McCann's own language, they were looking for "a Timesian voice
that would feel native to the publication and which mirrored the
award-winning journalism of the world-renowned publication."
The Times has some of the best climate reporters out there and this is a
slap in the face to all of them.
The Committee is also investigating another layer of PR firms. Not the
ones that show up to industry conferences and apply for awards, but the
shadowy underlayer willing to do the stuff the more buttoned-up firms
won't. Firms like FTI Consulting, Story Partners, and HBW Resources.
The investigation is ongoing and I suspect there are more hearings to
come. Unlike oil companies, which can afford to only want policy to go
one way, at least some of these PR firms will lose clients and
credibility over this. A few might even want to save their own
reputations by coming clean about what this industry has asked them to do...
You can watch the hearing ... on the House Natural Resource Committee's
YouTube channel.
https://www.drilledpodcast.com/finally-congress-looks-at-the-role-of-pr-firms-in-climate-obstruction/
/[ UNHCR is the UN Refugee Agency - concerned with Environment,
Disasters and Climate Change ]/
*The climate crisis is a human crisis. It is driving displacement and
makes life harder for those already forced to flee.*
The impacts of climate change are numerous and may both trigger
displacement and worsen living conditions or hamper return for those who
have already been displaced. Limited natural resources, such as drinking
water, are becoming even scarcer in many parts of the world that host
refugees. Crops and livestock struggle to survive where conditions
become too hot and dry, or too cold and wet, threatening livelihoods. In
such conditions, climate change can act as a threat multiplier,
exacerbating existing tensions and adding to the potential for conflicts.
Hazards resulting from the increasing intensity and frequency of extreme
weather events, such as abnormally heavy rainfall, prolonged droughts,
desertification, environmental degradation, or sea-level rise and
cyclones are already causing an average of more than 20 million people
to leave their homes and move to other areas in their countries each year.
Some people are forced to cross borders in the context of climate change
and disasters and may in some circumstances be in need of international
protection. Refugee and human rights law therefore have an important
role to play in this area.
- -
[T]he term “climate refugee” is not endorsed by UNHCR, and it is more
accurate to refer to “persons displaced in the context of disasters and
climate change.”
https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/climate-change-and-disasters.html
/[ The Nation magazine ] /
*Want to Fight Climate Change? Look to Local Politics.*
Since its founding in 2015, the New Haven Climate Movement has used
national momentum to create regional change with a model that can be
replicated around the country.
By Charlotte Hughes - Sept 14, 2022
- -
In Connecticut, the New Haven Climate Movement shows just how much local
politics still matters. The group recently used national momentum to
create regional change, pushing the municipal council to delegate $5
million of its American Rescue Plan funding toward local projects aimed
at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/climate-change-new-haven-local-politics/
- -
/[ one city's movement]/
*The New Haven Climate Movement*
We are a coalition from across New Haven working to restore a safe
climate. We are facing a climate emergency. We need strong action now.
Our Current Campaigns:
- Climate Justice Schools / Schools as Climate Leaders
- BoE Climate Emergency Resolution
- New Haven Rescue Plan: Act Now on Climate Emergency
- Electric Future Campaign
- 2023 Campaign
- New Haven Bike Vision: Reduce Transportation Pollution Now
https://www.newhavenclimatemovement.org/
/
/
/[ arresting visual -- graphic of the day ]/
*Air Temperature Rank by Month*
https://twitter.com/Supermoosie/status/1256866022822301699/photo/1
https://twitter.com/ZLabe/status/1510724788485951491/photo/1
/[The news archive - looking back]/
/*September 15, 2002*/
September 15, 2002: The New York Times reports:
"For the first time in six years, the annual federal report on air
pollution trends has no section on global warming, though President
Bush has said that slowing the growth of emissions linked to warming
is a priority for his administration.
"The decision to delete the chapter on climate change was made by top
officials at the Environmental Protection Agency with White House
approval, White House officials said."
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/15/us/with-white-house-approval-epa-pollution-report-omits-global-warming-section.html
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