Message From the Editor

It was a big week for books here at DeSmog! Long-time contributor Justin Nobel published his much-awaited book "Petroleum-238: Big Oil’s Dangerous Secret and the Grassroots Fight to Stop It" — available on Bookshop, Amazon, or from your local bookseller.

Justin has been reporting on toxic and radioactive waste in the oil and gas industry for years, including an entire set of shocking investigations he did for DeSmog. “Petroleum-238” brings together all his reporting in a horrifying true story that no one has told before. It takes you inside an industry that fought against regulation and shows you the results: Oilfield waste workers handling this toxic and radioactive byproduct sometimes in just T-shirts, eating lunch and smoking cigarettes and occasionally having barbecue cookouts in this absurdly contaminated workspace.

Read our teaser for “Petroleum-238” and then grab your own copy and dive into the full story.

Justin wasn’t the only DeSmog author to publish a book this week. (I told you it was a big one for books!) Contributor Joe Fassler published his debut novel, “The Sky Was Ours.” We don’t often cover fiction, but Joe’s book tackles some tried-and-true DeSmog themes, like the false promises of technofixes and how to work towards a better world. Read our Q&A with Joe about the novel, and then pick up a copy!

While you’re waiting for both books to arrive in the mail, dive into the latest from our Ad and PR team. They reported this week that Reuters and the Financial Times took down Saudi Aramco advertorials produced by the publications’ in-house ad teams. Want to learn more? Scroll to the end of this newsletter for our profile of Reuters Plus, the in-house ad studio that has created sponsored content for various fossil fuel clients.

Have a story tip or feedback? Get in touch: [email protected]. Want to know what our UK team is up to? Sign up for our UK newsletter. 

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

P.S. Our journalists can do powerful work that lays the seeds for books thanks to reader support. Can you donate $10 or $20 right now to support more of this essential work?

Image credit: Sabrina Bedford, cover design; Julie Dermansky, cover photo; Karen LeBlanc, author photo.

Financial Times, Reuters Pull Saudi Aramco-sponsored Climate Content 

— By Joey Grostern (4 min. read) —

The Financial Times and Reuters have taken down advertorials paid for by Saudi Aramco that showcased the oil giant’s preferred climate solutions.

The content, which was produced by FT and Reuters’ in-house ad agencies, disappeared following a February 20 complaint to UK regulators that the FT ads mislead readers by depicting the world’s biggest oil company as a climate champion.

Big Oil’s Dangerous Radioactive Secret

— By Justin Nobel (6 min) —

In Paris, France, there are fine cafés and famous landmarks. But what nobody really knows is at the other end of a building known as Le V, on the northeast side of the city, is a portal that leads to a secret pile of fracking waste from the woods of West Virginia. A lot more comes to the surface at an oil and gas well than just the oil and gas, including billions of pounds of waste every day across the U.S., much of it toxic and radioactive. My journey into this topic started when an Ohio community organizer told me someone made a liquid deicer out of radioactive oilfield waste for home driveways and patios, which was supposedly “Safe for Pets” and had been selling at Lowe’s. As you will see, this indeed was the case.

The Allure of Flight

— By Lindsey J. Smith (7 min. read) —

Ten years ago, when DeSmog journalist Joe Fassler began writing a novel, he never imagined it would have anything to do with climate or the environment. But as time passed and his novel evolved, he found that themes from his work as an environmental journalist began to permeate the narrative. 

The result is “The Sky Was Ours“ (Penguin Books, April 23), a modern retelling of the story of Daedalus and Icarus. The novel, set in 2005, follows 24-year-old Jane, whose rising concern for the world around her pushes her to run away. On the road, she falls in line with a charismatic radical named Barry, and becomes seduced by his single-minded pursuit of creating wings that humans can use to fly.

UK Accused of ‘Helping Russia’ as Refined Oil Imports From ‘Laundering’ Countries Remain at Record High

— By Sam Bright (4 min. read) —

The UK has been accused of “helping Russia pay for its war on Ukraine” by continuing to import record amounts of refined oil from countries processing Kremlin fossil fuels. 

Government data shows that imports of refined oil from India, China and Turkey amounted to £2.2 billion in 2023, the same record value as the previous year, up from £434.2 million in 2021.

EPA’s New Rule Aims to Cut Toxic Emissions, but Cancer Alley Air Pollution Could Worsen

— By Julie Dermansky (6 min. read) —

Leaders in the fight for clean air from Louisiana’s Cancer Alley joined the Environmental Protection Agency’s Administrator Michael Regan on April 9 in Washington, D.C., for the announcement of a new rule governing air toxics-spewing chemical plants. The rule is intended to prevent cancer in surrounding low-income and minority communities.

The announcement represents a milestone for environmental justice in communities historically overburdened by air-toxics pollution. But a growing number of proposed industrial projects threaten to further pollute the mostly low-income Black neighborhoods along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans — already home to a large number of petrochemical plants and refineries. 

From the Advertising & Public Relations Database: Reuters Plus & Reuters Events

Reuters Plus & Reuters Events is the in-house advertising studio for the news outlet Reuters and has created campaigns for fossil fuel clients, including Aramco, the UAE’s state oil company ADNOC, Shell, and BP. Created in 2017, Reuters Plus operates separately from the Reuters newsroom. However, Reuters Plus also relies on the credibility of the Reuters news organization to attract clients; its website declares “the world listens to Reuters.” 

Read the full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database, Ad & PR Database, and Koch Network Database.