U.S. Democrats Lift Ban On Donations From Fossil Fuel Companies
In this newsletter:
1) Elon Musk's Oil Conspiracy Against Tesla Ends With Saudi’s Oil Billions
Bloomberg, 14 August 2018
2) More Green Hypocrisy: U.S. Democrats Lift Ban On Donations From Fossil Fuel Companies
Independent Journal Review, 12 August 2018
3) U.S. Interior Secretary Blames Radical Environmentalists For California Wildfires
SF Gate, 13 August 2018
4) Germany Razes 20 Villages For Massive Opencast Coal Mine
Thomson Reuters Foundation, 13 August 2018
5) Benefits Of Global Warming: Record Harvests Reported In Numerous Countries
Global Warming Policy Forum, 11 August 2018
Full details:
1) Elon Musk's Oil Conspiracy Against Tesla Ends With Saudi’s Oil Billions
Bloomberg, 14 August 2018
Elon Musk has always hated the fossil-fuel industry. His stated mission for Tesla Inc. is to hasten its demise, and more than once he’s blamed the “unrelenting and enormous” power of oil interests for sabotaging his efforts. But now, in his bid to take Tesla private, Musk is courting billions of oil dollars.
After a week of playing coy about who he’s been trying to enlist to help buy out Tesla’s publicly traded shares, Musk revealed at least one partner: Saudi Arabia. It’s hard to think of a more perfect symbol of Big Oil and its money than a sovereign wealth fund created by world’s biggest oil producer. Musk said in a blog post on Monday that he’s been in talks with Saudi Arabia “going back almost two years.”
Constructing the appearance of a high-stakes struggle between Tesla and the fossil-fuel industry has always been key to Tesla’s brand strategy. In the age of global warming, Musk has argued over and over again, you’re either part of the solution with civilization hanging in the balance or you’re the problem. Every time he unveils a new Tesla product—be it a battery for your home or an expensive sports car—he’s careful to lay out the case for how it helps the worldwide transition to sustainable energy. The idea that oil money was arrayed against him made buying his products seem like choosing a side in an epochal struggle.
By now it’s clear, however, that the battle lines can’t be quite so neatly drawn.Some of the very parties Musk has been condemning as threats to the planet want to be seen as part of the solution, too.
An Oil Conspiracy Theory
To get a sense of Musk’s distrust of the fossil fuel industry, you don’t have to go back far.
In an email to his workforce in June, Musk alleged attempts by a former employee, later identified as Martin Tripp, to “sabotage” the company. The letter described “a long list of organizations that want Tesla to die,” including, Musk said, the oil industry. Tripp has since filed a whistle-blower complaint with the SEC claiming Tesla made misstatements to investors and is seeking $1 million in damages from Musk’s public condemnation.
From Musk’s email:
The oil and gas companies, the wealthiest industry in the world—they don’t love the idea of Tesla advancing the progress of solar power and electric cars. Don’t want to blow your mind, but rumor has it that those companies are sometimes not super nice. Then there are the multitude of big gas/diesel car company competitors. If they’re willing to cheat so much about emissions, maybe they’re willing to cheat in other ways?
With Musk’s new disclosures about his talks with Saudi Arabia, it’s clear that this email was written long after he knew the biggest pool of oil money was interested in financing, not destroying, his company.
Full story
2) More Green Hypocrisy: U.S. Democrats Lift Ban On Donations From Fossil Fuel Companies
Independent Journal Review, 12 August 2018
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) lifted their ban on donations from fossil fuel companies, their employees and their political action committees (PACs).
In June, the DNC announced that they would no longer accept donations from the energy sector, pointing to their dedication to battling climate change.
Christine Pelosi, daughter of Minority leader Nancy Pelosi, proposed the ban on donations, pointing to the 2016 platform amendment that increased dedication to battling climate change.
“Fossil fuel corporations are drowning our democracy in a tidal wave of dark oily money; they have deceived the public about the impacts of climate change, fought the growth of clean renewable energy, and corrupted our political system,” the resolution stated.
According to DNC Chairman Tom Perez, the sudden policy change was a response to complaints from workers in the energy section.
Perez stated that he didn’t want to prevent full DNC participation from “workers, including those in energy and related industries, who organize and donate to Democratic candidates individually or through their unions’ or employers’ political action committees.”
Not everyone is thrilled with Perez’s decision to lift the ban. Many took to Twitter to question the decision. […]
Although Perez maintains that the decision was only about energy sector worker inclusion, the Democrats’ donations have been down and continue to sink. The DNC was making about half as much as their Republican counterparts at the beginning of the year.
Full story
3) U.S. Interior Secretary Blames Radical Environmentalists For California Wildfires
SF Gate, 13 August 2018
With more than a dozen wildfires actively burning across California, the Trump Administration on Sunday charged that environmentalists are partially to blame.
click on image to watch full interview
“America is better than letting these radical groups control the dialogue about climate change,” Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said in an exclusive interview with KCRA. “Extreme environmentalists have shut down public access. They talk about habitat, and yet they are willing to burn it up.”
Zinke was in Northern California on Sunday to survey the damage from the deadly Carr Fire, which has destroyed more than 1,000 homes.
“Unfortunately, this trip is about fires,” said Zinke before heading to the fire zone. “I’ve heard the climate change argument back and forth. This has nothing to do with climate change. This has to do with active forest management.”
Zinke said that California’s forests are too dense and he wants to remove dead and dying trees before they become fuel for wildfires.
“Let’s not shut roads down so forest fighters don’t have access,” Zinke said. “Let’s make sure fire breaks are in place to protect our communities and to protect those areas that we all believe are special.”
Zinke’s comments on climate change produced some fiery reactions from environmental groups.
“We need to deal with the reality that climate change is a big part of the problem,” said Paul Mason, vice president of Pacific Forest Trust.
see also: Over the last 40 years, there is a surprising trend with California wildfires
In a year that is already being called one of the worst ever for wildfires in the western United States, there is another fact that some may find remarkable: For nearly 40 years, the number of wildfires in California has been declining.
California wildfire data reviewed by a USGS research ecologist shows a trend that many may find hard to believe: Since a peak in 1980, there have been fewer and fewer wildfires in California. This is true across the entire state, according to researcher Jon Keeley, who is also a professor at UCLA.
According to his paper, co-authored with Alexandra D. Syphard, we need to rethink our ideas about the frequency of wildfires.
Full story
4) Germany Razes 20 Villages For Massive Opencast Coal Mine
Thomson Reuters Foundation, 13 August 2018
Once the Garzweiler opencast mine is finished, 20 villages will have gone.
For four generations, Portz family life has focused around a quaint, red-brick farmhouse and the fertile fields beyond, ready for early harvest after this summer’s high heat.
Soon, the family will pull its last potato and final spike of grain from the rich Immerath soil.
Big coal is coming to replace their agrarian way of life. […]
VILLAGES VANISH
Roughly 1.3 billion tons of lignite – a soft coal – were discovered long ago under the village and its surrounding land in Germany’s North Rhine Westphalia state. Few locals took the threat seriously, so life continued until development of the mine became reality and villages were lined up for destruction.
Immerath is one of the last to make way for the expansion of Garzweiler opencast mine, which is run by giant German energy provider RWE, supplying one third of Germany’s overall power.
Once Garzweiler is finished, 20 villages will have gone.
Under the scheme, some 5,000 people will be forced to move, compensated with either a new house or cash. RWE says almost half of locals just take the money.
“Our expectation is that Garzweiler will be open until the middle of the century,” RWE press officer Guido Steffen told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
“Germany is making radical changes, but even in the long run, in order to provide energy, we can’t forgo conventional power plants.”…
Germany’s Environmental Agency says the Federal Mining Act prioritises the extraction of raw materials over the interests of the common good.
Since 1945, hundreds of villages yielded to a growing need for energy, with 40 percent of Germany’s power coming from coal.
Full story
see also GWPF coverage of Germany’s coal shenanigans
5) Benefits Of Global Warming: Record Harvests Reported In Numerous Countries
Global Warming Policy Forum, 11 August 2018
Following recent reports of record coffee harvests comes news that Ukraine, Argentina and the U.S. are expecting record corn and soyabean crops. It would appear that record warm years have been exceptionally good for global agriculture as stocks of cereal, rice and coarse grains all reached record levels.
BUENOS AIRES, Aug 8 (Reuters) – Argentina is expected to produce a record crop of wheat and corn during the 2018-19 season as farmers planted more hectares of both than in previous years, the Rosario grains exchange said on Wednesday.
Brazil Soyabean Production To Touch Record Levels In 2018/19
US forecasts record soyabean crop
The US government has forecast the largest soyabean crop in history thanks to a favourable growing season, putting more pressure on prices for a commodity that has already been hit by Chinese tariffs.
The US Department of Agriculture said the 2018 US soyabean crop would total 4.59bn bushels this autumn, up 4 per cent from last year’s record 4.39bn bushels. The forecast reflected a bumper yield of 51.6 bushels per acre and widespread plantings across the Midwest.
The estimate suggests that farmers will have plenty of soyabeans to sell, albeit at lower prices. The department said the US would still be storing 785m bushels of leftover soyabeans next summer, a forecast up 205m from last month…. The USDA also forecast a larger-than-expected corn crop of 14.6bn bushels, thanks in part to a record yield of 178.4 bushels per acre.
But harvests in Western Europe have been hit by drought conditions this year.
Southern Europe may salvage EU maize harvest but huge imports loom
Favourable prospects for maize in southern Europe could help offset damage from drought and heatwaves further north, but the EU is still expected to import a record amount to feed livestock following a poor wheat harvest, analysts said.
Widely followed analysts Strategie Grains on Thursday increased slightly their European Union grain maize crop forecast, as upgrades for countries like Romania balanced cuts in Germany or France.
Full story
The London-based Global Warming Policy Forum is a world leading think tank on global warming policy issues. The GWPF newsletter is prepared by Director Dr Benny Peiser - for more information, please visit the website at www.thegwpf.com.
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