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Burgess COMMENTARY Peter Burgess | ||
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Oops!...I Published a Climate Science Denier (Again) Phoebe Cooke phoebe@desmog.uk via cmail19.com 8:00 AM (1 hour ago) to me Friday 25 February 2021 Did you hear the one about the climate science denier, the tabloid and the green energy supplier? It’s not a strong joke, but it is an intriguing story. When the Daily Express and The Sun both launched green campaigns this month, it caused a fair few environmentalists to choke a little on their morning toast. Once the initial shock had worn off, the move was broadly welcomed. After decades of tabloids failing to really acknowledge the climate crisis, this new development suggested the papers were finally catching up with their increasingly environmentally conscious readers – albeit clothed in the rhetoric of eco-nationalism. So it was a real test of the new Express green regime when Octopus Energy popped up this week in an advert next to an article featuring climate science denier Naomi Seibt. The piece quoted Seibt criticising the BBC’s decision to show Greta Thunberg’s new documentary. This is nothing new. Over the past two years, the paper has regularly featured stories about the 20-year-old German, a former member of US climate science denial group The Heartland Institute, which is funded by Exxon and the Koch family foundations (among others). In doing so, the Express has arguably presented Seibt with a sizable platform to question mainstream scientific consensus on climate change. The advert for Octopus Energy – that claims to sell power that is “good for the planet” – was flagged by campaign group Stop Funding Heat, prompting the company to review the sites they exclude from their advertising. And, in a sign of these changing times, the Express swiftly removed the entire article once alerted to it. “As soon as I became aware of these stories I removed them as they fail to reflect our direction of travel in pursuing a greener, environmentally friendly agenda,” editor-in-chief Gary Jones told DeSmog. Of course, you could question why the article was even published in the first place. But like the Express' green conversion, the right decision is better late than never. As always, we love feedback on the newsletter. If you have anything to say, please email editor@desmog.uk. Image credit: Giphy Support DeSmog: Become a patron today! DeSmog exists to hold the powerful to account on their climate pledges. If you think that's important too, then please support us. We are determined to keep DeSmog free to access. But we are independent, meaning we don't take advertising money and we don't have corporate donors. So we rely on the support of you, our dear readers, to continue our work. If you can, please donate today! NEW STORIES Daily Express Removes Climate Denial Article That 'Fails to Reflect Our Direction of Travel' The Daily Express removed an article quoting prominent climate science denier Naomi Seibt after a green energy supplier said it was reviewing whether to remove its advertising from its wesite. The article quoted Seibt criticising the BBC’s decision to show Greta Thunberg’s new documentary. Read more... Climate Deniers Backed Violence and Spread Pro-Insurrection Messages Before, During, and After January 6 On the day of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, former coal mining executive Don Blankenship, who ran against Donald Trump as a third-party candidate in the 2020 election, began an all-caps Twitter thread. “Why is it that American politicians and media support citizen uprisings in China, Poland, South Africa, [...] but when an American citizen is killed during an uprising against a corrupt American government the citizens are at fault?” Read more... Shell’s 'Delusional' Net Zero Strategy Commits $8 Billion to Fossil Fuels Shell’s new net zero strategy is “grotesque” and includes an “impossible” reliance on tree-planting, campaigners have claimed. The oil major today revealed an “accelerated” strategy to reduce oil production and decarbonise its products by 2050. Read more... Fossil Fuel Air Pollution Linked to 1 in 5 Deaths Globally, New Study Reveals Fossil fuel air pollution is responsible for roughly one in five deaths worldwide, a much higher death toll than previously thought, according to a new study published Tuesday. Poor air quality from burning fossil fuels such as coal and diesel was responsible for more than 8 million deaths in 2018, according to research published February 9 in the journal Environmental Research. Read more... £335: The Price of Tullow Oil's Environmental Failings — and a Boy’s Funeral Following a disputed presidential election at the end of 2007, violence broke out in Kenya that saw thousands of people displaced from their homes and left more than 1,000 dead. Among them was Joseph Loree, a 58-year-old father of eight who lived and worked in the Rift valley region of the country, the hotbed of tribal clashes. Tragedy followed him again eight years later, when, in 2016, his 14-year-old son Eliar drowned while swimming at an abandoned quarry. Read more...
Phoebe Cooke
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