Fossil Fueled Foolery an Illustrated Primer on the Fossil Fuel Industry’S Deceptive Tactics
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Fossil Fueled Foolery An Illustrated Primer on the Fossil Fuel Industry’s Deceptive Tactics SECOND EDITION NAACP ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE JUSTICE PROGRAM APRIL 2021 1 Table of Contents Overview ...................................................................................................................... 4 Top 10 Fossil Fuel Industry Tactics .......................................................................... 8 Invest in Efforts that Undermine Democracy ....................................................... 9 Finance Political Campaigns and Pressure Politicians ..................................... 11 Fund Scientists and Scientific Research Institutions to Publish Biased Research Studies .................................................................................................. 12 Say Government Regulations Hurt the Economy and Low-Income Communities .......................................................................................................... 14 Deny or Understate the Harms Polluting Facilities Cause to People and the Environment ........................................................................................................... 15 Deflect Responsibility – Shift Blame to Communities They Pollute ................ 19 Exaggerate the Level of Job Creation and Downplay the Lack of Quality and Safety in Jobs ........................................................................................................ 21 Co-opt Community Leaders and Organizations and Misrepresent the Interests and Opinions of Communities .............................................................................. 22 Praise False Solutions While Claiming that Real Solutions are Impractical, Impossible, or Harmful for BIPOC and Poor Communities .............................. 26 “Embrace” Renewables to Control the New Energy Economy ........................ 28 The Real Facts About the Imperative to Transition to A New Energy Economy 29 Fossil Fuel Emissions Kill – Disproportionately Killing Residents of BIPOC and Low-Income Communities ............................................................................ 29 Fossil Fuel Pollution Affects Communities Differently: BIPOC Communities Carry Burdens & Harms, with Few Economic Benefits ..................................... 32 Clean Energy Can Power Our Nation ................................................................. 35 Clean Energy Makes Sense: Health, Economic, and Environmental Benefits ................................................................................................................................. 36 The New Energy Economy Creates Better, Safer Jobs with Less Investment ................................................................................................................................. 37 Transitioning to a New Energy Economy is the Only Real Solution................ 38 2 Climate Justice Advocacy: 10 Ways Communities Can Advance the Shift to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Resources ....................................................... 39 Leverage Residents’ Solidarities within Communities to Ground Resistance Against Climate Injustices and Fossil Fuel Manipulation ................................. 41 Shift the Narrative Towards Justice: Renewable Resources Support Equity and Community Resiliency ................................................................................... 43 Seed Education in Communities for Sustainable Change: Public Learning Practices and Community-Based Participatory Action Research .................... 44 Expand Networks of Support at the Local, Regional, and National Level ...... 47 Support and Advance Just and Equitable Policies ............................................ 48 Participate in the Process..................................................................................... 50 Take Legal Action ................................................................................................. 52 Reverse Citizens United ....................................................................................... 52 Support Campaign Finance Reform ................................................................... 53 List of Technical Resources ..................................................................................... 54 Glossary of Terms ..................................................................................................... 55 Image Credits ............................................................................................................ 57 3 Overview On September 17th, 2020, the public art piece, “Metronome,” installed ten stories high in Manhattan’s Union Square, was reprogrammed to countdown Earth's life. The Climate Clock1 now displays the remaining time until climate conditions become irreversible – if we do not make the critical shifts necessary to save our environment, health and wellbeing. With each tick, we are reminded that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, global temperatures will lead to devastating climate effects. The Climate Clock in Manhattan began its countdown from seven years, 103 days, 15 hours, 40 minutes, and seven seconds. At the time of this primer’s release, April 1st 2021, the virtual climate clock (Climate Clock2) reads approximately six years, 309 days, 19 hours, 58 minutes, and four seconds. Between the Climate Clock’s first tick and now, less than a year has passed and we have experienced: Record-breaking storms3 making landfall and reaching "hurricane" status in the U.S.; GOP representatives continuing to push skewed climate agendas that protect fossil fuels companies4 that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions; and A massive snowstorm5 in Texas that left millions without water and power during below- freezing temperatures. Although it is April Fools' Day, indeed, this is no joke. Yet, the conservative-based, American Legislative Exchange Council's (ALEC) position on Environmental Stewardship6 openly states on their website, "The reality of the situation, 1 Machemer, T. (2020, September 22). Clock in New York counts down the time remaining to avert climate disaster. Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/clock-new-york-counts-down-time-remaining-avert-climate-disaster-180975881/ 2 The climate clock. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://climateclock.world/. 3 Chinchar, A., & Miller, B. (2020, August 30). Climate change didn't cause Hurricane Laura but it did make the storm worse. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/30/weather/weather-hurricane-laura-climate-impacts-scope/index.html 4 Siegel, J. (2020, February 12). House Republicans unveil 'realistic' climate plan focused on capturing carbon from fossil fuels. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/house-republicans-unveil-realistic-climate-plan-focused-on-capturing-carbon-from- fossil-fuels 5 Texas' frozen power grid is a preview of climate Change disasters to come. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas- power-outage-storm-climate-change/ 6 Environmental stewardship. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.alec.org/issue/environmental-stewardship/ 4 however, is that it is an amazing time to be living in the U.S. and environmental quality has hardly ever been better than it is today." Yep. You’d expect to see “April Fools!” but they manage to make such ridiculous claims with a straight face! The NAACP’s inaugural edition of the Fossil Fueled Foolery primer, 2019, shed light on the deceptive tactics used by fossil fuel conglomerates and their supporters at the expense of communities most affected by their pollution. They will deny any responsibility, but we’re not fooled, they are responsible for the dire climate conditions. Communities already fraught with decades of disenfranchisement, disinvestment, and displacement are now also subject to the worst effects of climate change. Not to mention the observed health-related risks due to increased toxins in the environment within Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and low-income communities. In 2021, the effects of a respiratory-based pandemic have intensified these inequities, ravaged the economy, and accelerated the need for environmental and healthcare solutions. 5 You would think this would be enough of a call to action. Instead some of the world's largest banks7 still funnel trillions of dollars into fossil fuels ($2.7 trillion since the Paris Agreement). This is going on even after the adoption of the Paris Agreement (Dec. 2015), and the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) requirement for urgent and aggressive action on eliminating greenhouse gas emissions. Reports published by the NAACP such as -- Coal Blooded: Putting Profits Before People, Fumes Across the Fenceline, and Lights Out in the Cold: Reforming Utility Shut Off Policies as if Human Rights Matter – highlight fossil fuel companies’ exploitative tactics that conceal their environmental destruction and diminish their social and economic harm. Climate effects are not always what meets the eye. There are invisible effects on community cohesion and emotional support systems that pose deep, visceral threats to a community's internal resilience.8 So, no - environmental quality is not "hardly ever been better than it is today." The more they deny, the more communities suffer. Yet, there’s hope. Next to the virtual Climate Clock, there is a "lifeline" - a percentage of the world's energy from renewable resources. At the time of this primer’s release, we are at 28%