Plus, Reform’s new directors on climate...

From the Editor's Desk

Every week, it seems that the Trump administration continues its all-out attack on climate science and renewable energy. The latest high-profile action was to halt the nearly complete Revolution wind project off the coast of New England. President Trump has a well-known dislike for wind energy. Before the last election, he promised to come for wind.

“This is what happens when ideology runs the power grid.” But that quote doesn’t come from Trump.

Instead, look to Alberta as the anti-renewables trendsetter, as DeSmog’s Mitch Anderson writes. Premier Danielle Smith, representing Alberta’s oil sands industry, said those words back in 2023 when commenting on the province’s high electricity rates. Smith tried framing renewable energy policies, and a long-out-of-power government, as the culprit. But what she did next set the stage for Trump’s actions today.

A moratorium on all wind and solar projects? Check. Create such burdensome rules that they drive away nearly 11 gigawatts of proposed clean energy development? Check.

As Mitch points out, Premier Smith was “ahead of the curve in terms of weaponizing the powers of the state against renewable energy generation.” Get the full story.

While the U.S. government makes it harder to add what’s often the cheapest and cleanest forms of electricity to the grid, power demand keeps rising. The timing comes as developers pitch new data center projects in rural communities. 

But the runway isn’t always smooth for these “hyperscale” data center projects, which power the artificial intelligence technology Silicon Valley promotes heavily. Just take Project Sail — a data center the size of 600 football fields proposed for Coweta County, Georgia.

After facing concerns about how this might alter the area’s rural character, Prologis, the San Francisco industrial real estate developer behind Project Sail now appears on a public charm offensive. From radio station appearances to local BBQs, Prologis representatives appear determined to win over hearts and minds.

“Don’t patronize us,” said Laura Beth, chair of Citizens for Rural Coweta, a newly formed group opposing the project. 

This push comes after Atlas, an area developer that seemed to serve as a proxy for Prologis, applied to rezone the sprawling wooded lot to “light industrial.” That first alerted residents to the project. Beth’s group worries about impacts from traffic construction, local water supplies, and air pollution from hundreds of on-site air generators. Edward Donnelly has the full story.

Read more coverage ranging from AI slop to tech giants praising climate denial in our Tech vs. Climate series.

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Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director
 
P.S. DeSmog continues to keep you informed about threats to our climate across the globe — from up-to-the minute reporting to essential database profiles that help others fight climate denial and delay. Can you donate $10 or $20 right now to support more of this essential work?

Image: Block Island Wind Farm, the first U.S. offshore wind farm, in 2016. Credit: Dennis Schroeder / NREL (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Understanding Alberta’s Expensive, Ideological War on Renewable Energy

— By Mitch Anderson (4 min. read) —

Premier Danielle Smith and U.S. President Donald Trump are weaponizing the powers of the state against wind and solar energy generation.

‘Don’t Patronize Us’: Data Center Charm Offensive Irks Opponents in Rural Georgia

— By Edward Donnelly (6 min. read) —

San Francisco-based developers launch publicity drive to soothe local concerns over giant project.

Reform’s New Board Members: What Have They Said About Climate Change?

—By Adam Barnett (5 min. read) —

Farage’s new directors reflect his anti-science views.

Reform Plans to Hand Fracking Windfall to Trump Donor

— By Sam Bright and Rei Takver (5 min) —

Farage’s representatives have held meetings with a MAGA-linked fossil fuel firm.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

‘Maddening’ Proof Plastics Industry Knew Recycling Was False Solution in 1974, New Document Shows

— By Rebecca John (9 min. read) —

Exclusive finding by DeSmog shows high-level industry awareness that recycling plastic ‘not feasible’ as companies face lawsuits over alleged public deception campaign.

From the Climate Disinformation Database: John Christy

John Christy is an atmospheric scientist who joined the U.S. Department of Energy under President Donald Trump in 2025. He is one of the coauthors of the July 2025 DOE report attacking climate science. Christy is listed as a professor of Atmospheric Science and Director of the Earth System Science Center of the University of Alabama, Huntsville, and has been the Alabama State Climatologist since November 2000. In 2007, Christy wrote, “I’m sure the majority (but not all) of my IPCC colleagues cringe when I say this, but I see neither the developing catastrophe nor the smoking gun proving that human activity is to blame for most of the warming we see.” In 2016, he testified to the U.S. Congress, “The real world is not going along with rapid warming. The models need to go back to the drawing board.” He has downplayed humanity’s role in affecting the climate and repeated common climate denier tropes about CO2 boosting plant growth.

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