Every resident of Cancer Alley interviewed for this report is a descendant of a family that has resided here for generations. Many are direct descendants of people who were enslaved to work on plantations that now hold fossil fuel & petrochemical plants. hrw.org/report/2024/01…

As oil companies announce their record profits off of rising oil prices today, my latest for the @guardian: "There’s just too much leeway for the big banks and the big producers to manipulate if no one is looking and watching what they’re doing."
theguardian.com/environment/20… Overall, global oil production is nearly 5m more barrels a day greater in 2022 than in 2021 and oil exports from Russia into the global market have not been slowed by either the war or sanctions. Yet politicians on both sides of the aisle have called for even more oil drilling?

Beginning now, the CEOs of ExxonMobil, BP America, Chevron, Shell, Devon, and Pioneer Energy will testify before the U.S. House Committee on Energy & Commerce, addressing questions of price gouging and war profiteering. Of concern to the committee is skyrocketing profits at a time of rising gas prices and war. In the first quarter of 2022 vs 2021, the profits of the leading oil companies increased by 288% ExxonMobil, 540% Chevron, 201% ConocoPhillips, 50% BP, 4872% Marathon, and
134% Shell.

I'm working on a book investigating how the the fossil fuel era will end. The world is certainly doing its part today providing me material. The #IPCC is unable to release its report due today because of certain parties resisting scientists demands for the end of fossil fuels./1 "Scientists want to send the extra-clear message that what needs to happen next is to get off fossil fuels to cut emissions as quickly as possible in this decade," a source with knowledge of the internal #IPCC debates over the release of its latest #climate report told @CNN./2

Why did the price of #oil, after falling for 8 days, spike today? Spoiler: not because of a change in supply. "Russian oil continues to flow for the time being due to term deals and trades," @IEA said. Instead, energy traders reacted to IEA's prediction of a potential April drop. IEA warned that "new business has all but dried up" for #Russian #oil as the world shuns the product in response to Russia's war against #Ukraine. If the war continues, and no on will buy Russian oil, "a shut-in of 3 mb/d of Russian oil supply" could start in April," @IEA said.

Biden administration issues orders to expand #LNG exports as Europe seeks to reduce Russian gas. DOE issues authorizations giving Cheniere Energy Inc.'s Sabine Pass in Louisiana & Corpus Christi in Texas ability to export an additional 720 mcf per day.
energy.gov/articles/doe-i… I wrote about the impacts of the #LNG export boom and Cheniere's operations in Louisiana for @Sierra_Magazine, reporting on local impacts to human health, #climate, the environment and local environmental justice communities
sierraclub.org/sierra/2021-6-…

Alright folks, here's a little lecture from my book, The Tyranny of Oil, about how #gasoline prices are set in the U.S., and yes, it's largely under the control of the largest oil companies -- Exxon, Chevron, BP, Shell, etc, -- even though it's not legally supposed to be. a 🧵 1. The major oil companies in the U.S. are vertically integrated, controlling production, refining, & sales.

2) They set the price of #gasoline at stations they own. But most stations are "independently owned" & branded- ie selling the major brands "Exxon" "Shell" "Chevron" etc.

I heard a story on the news today about calls to cut the federal #gas tax in response to rising prices. This is really bad idea. The gas tax supplies money to the federal government to do things like fund public transit. IF you want lower gas prices (IF), focus on companies. First: there's been no reduction in overall exports of #oil & #gas from Russia since its war against #Ukraine, incl via #NordStream1 (c/o S&P Global). Russia did cut gas supply before invasion, not since. Energy traders are driving soaring global prices; not actual supply.

Still no reduction in overall exports of #oil & methane (ie natural) #gas from Russia since its war against #Ukraine, incl via #NordStream1 (c/o S&P Global). Russia did cut gas supply before invasion, not since. Energy traders are driving soaring global prices; not actual supply. The major oil companies, all of which employ energy traders & make a profit off trading, not just selling, oil & gas, are currently making record profits due to the war. In the U.S., just a few Big Oil companies control oil & gasoline refining, distribution, marketing, & sales.

The U.S. oil industry is lobbying for the Biden to go soft on Russian sanctions despite Ukraine invasion. "Sanctions should be as targeted as possible in order to limit potential harm" to U.S. companies, said the American Petroleum Institute. Recall, between 2011 - 2013, then Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson signed cooperation agreements for 10 joint ventures with Russia’s Rosneft. As a result, Exxon's Russian holdings mushroomed to become nearly five times larger than its second-largest holdings—those in the U.S.

In August, I reported for @RollingStone on #Hurricane #Ida's destructive path through Louisiana's Cancer Alley and the home of Sharon Lavigne of @risestjames. On Sunday, I saw first hand the damage that persists. Sharon's GoFundMe supports her rebuilding.
gofund.me/9186556d Sharon is a @goldmanprize winner. She founded and leads Rise St. James in St. James Parish, Louisiana. I first met Sharon when writing this feature article for @RollingStone in 2019.
rollingstone.com/politics/polit…

While falling far short of what is necessary, it's difficult to exaggerate how fundamental a transformation #COP26 was from previous COPs in the manner in which fossil fuels were confronted by governments in and outside of formal negotiations. A joint commitment by nearly 40 countries & institutions to end public finance for oil, gas, and coal projects overseas; The Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, launched by 12 countries and regions, the first diplomatic initiative to phase-out fossil fuel production; the methane pledge;

The final #COP26 text is now agreed to. The Paris Climate Accord, & all previous agreements, assiduously eschewed the words "oil,""coal,""natural gas"or"fossil fuels." This was to intentionally avoid naming & targeting the production of these primary causes of the #ClimateCrisis By focusing exclusively on emissions, nations could continue, for example, to increase production of fossil fuels at home and export the products abroad, while "meeting" their Paris commitment to reduce their own domestic CO2 emissions by increasing domestic use of renewables.

On June 5, @Chevron tweeted this. How do Chevron's operations stack up in response to this statement? For now, let's just look at Chevron's two largest U.S. refineries, both located in communities that are disproportionately black and poor: Pascagoula, MS and Richmond, CA./1 Chevron's largest U.S. refinery is in Pascagoula, MS, a disproportionately black & poor community. Based on Chevron's most recent data, its Benzene releases in Pascagoula were over 50% greater than EPA "actionable" levels and the 5th highest in the nation.c/o @EnviroIntegrity /2

Today I'm sharing a thread of articles I've written featuring powerful women of color defining and defying the harms of racism--including environmental & climate racism--on their lives, with stories from across the U.S. and the world. I hope you'll read, share, & contribute. /1 First, meet Sharon Lavigne. Five generations of Lavigne’s family have lived in St. James, Louisiana. Not far from her home stands a historical marker heralding the 1872 founding of the Settlement of Freetown by former slaves./2 rollingstone.com/politics/polit…

Want to learn more about how black people in the U.S. suffer environmental racism today? Read my @RollingStone article on the new wave of heavily polluting fossil fuel operations being located in "cancer-alley:" black & poor communities across Louisiana.
rollingstone.com/politics/polit… Spurred by the national oil and gas fracking boom, a new wave of industry expansions and mega facilities is pushing into Cancer Alley, an 85-mile stretch along the Mississippi between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Much of the new infrastructure is dedicated to #plastics. /2

President Trump upended decades of U.S. policy that started with Richard Nixon when he declared that the goal of the U.S. was no longer “energy independence” but rather “American energy dominance.” This wasn’t Trumpian hyperbole. latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/… /2 Few policies have been pursued by the administration with more cohesiveness, zeal, and success — or with more potential to yield great and lasting harm. Trump has unleashed a massive, untethered expansion of oil, natural gas and coal production.

Oil drilling and climate change have decimated the Yamal Penninsula of Russia. The devastation they have wrought are the subject of the documentary of tonight's @NatGeoChannel #MARS episode. /2 @Greenpeace Russia reports that every 18 months, over 4 million barrels of oil spew into the Arctic Ocean from Russian operations.