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Over 10,000 survivors and their allies call on the U.S. Department of Justice to hold fossil fuel polluters accountable
Chesapeake Climate Action Network and Public Citizen delivered a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) demanding that it hold oil and gas companies accountable for fueling climate-driven disasters such as floods, fires, hurricanes, and extreme heat that have destroyed property and taken innocent lives. The letter, signed by more than 10,000 people across the country, including more than 1,000 individuals who have survived climate-fueled disasters, demands that DOJ investigate Big Oil for knowingly fueling dangerous climate change and intentionally misleading the public about its role.
The delivery of this letter represents a growing push for justice for the survivors of fossil-fueled climate disasters. Seven states, thirty-five municipalities, and the District of Columbia are crafting significant legislation or suing the oil and gas industry. This movement extends beyond the United States. In Europe, climate survivors brought the first criminal suit against Big Oil, and there are numerous civil suits across the continent.
As early as the 1950s, the fossil fuel industry knew that burning fossil fuels would contribute to climate change. Instead of working to prevent this existential threat, Big Oil continues to sabotage climate solutions, lobby against aggressive climate action, and spend billions of dollars to deceive the public.
Quotes:
“The 2018 Camp Fire burned down my family home in Paradise, took the lives of 84 neighbors, and left hundreds of families displaced for years. Now my friends are going through the unthinkable once again as another record breaking fire sweeps through Butte County. This year’s Park Fire is the 4th largest wildfire in California history. Let’s be clear, the fingerprints of the fossil fuel industry are all over it. The industry continues to ignore the catastrophic consequences of burning fossil fuels, which heats our atmosphere and increases the scale and frequency of disasters. The Department of Justice needs to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable now.” — Allen Myers, former resident of Paradise California and board member at Regenerating Paradise
“I’m a single mom of three who used all my savings to realize my dream of opening my clothing store and flower shop. The floods took everything. Rebuilding is a long road: everyone thinks the floodwaters recede and that’s it, you’re done. That couldn’t be further from the truth. But we have to keep going! I like to joke that I pay my bills with optimism. “Can I pay that in three installments” is basically my most asked question these days. The hardest is watching what it’s like for my kids. They are retraumatized every time there’s a flood warning. In fact, the whole community feels that way. And sometimes I have to make choices no parent should have to make – last month, I chose between groceries and sending my son to hockey camp. I just couldn’t tell him no. So I was hungry, but I’m still here. Meanwhile the rich oil execs get to keep making piles of money. It’s wrong. They’ve got to be held accountable and help rebuild the communities that have been impacted.” — Jenny Sebold, survivor of the Great Vermont Flood of 2023, Montpelier, VT
“Climate-induced disasters, such as tornadoes and hurricanes, caused by fossil fuel companies’ pollution and negligence cannot go unnoticed any longer. It’s unfair for myself, a single mom of six, and others in my community to continuously have to fight for clean air and clean water, care for sick children who are being poisoned by industry, and mourn the loss of loved ones dying from cancer daily all while these industries continue to pollute. As if that’s not enough we are also the ones most impacted by the disasters having to constantly evacuate and rebuild. We are tired of being resilient. It is high time we hold these companies accountable for their actions and demand that they pay for the climate crimes they have committed. We must make polluters pay for the damage they have caused to our environment and communities. They’ve caused this mess and they need to pay to mitigate it.” — Roishetta Ozane, founder, director, and chief executive officer of the Vessel Project of Louisiana and a survivor of hurricanes, fires, tornadoes, and pollution on the U.S. Gulf Coast
“Climate catastrophes are not natural disasters—they are crimes perpetrated by the fossil fuel industry. The human toll has been unimaginable, destroying entire communities, wrecking businesses that families built from the ground-up, and stealing lives. Climate survivors and their allies have had enough, and our message to the Justice Department is clear: investigate the fossil fuel industry and make polluters pay. Big Oil has been sacrificing our health and safety to line their pockets for over half a century. Survivors of climate crimes deserve justice no less than the victims of homicide, arson, assault and battery, armed robbery, and other felonies.” — Clara Vondrich, Senior Policy Counsel, Public Citizen
“Climate disaster survivors know who is responsible for their suffering. For decades, Big Oil lobbied against aggressive climate action, all while knowing how fossil fuels would drive extreme weather, deadly heat waves, floods and fire. As climate change increasingly and continuously disrupts weather patterns around the world, the number of climate survivors will also grow and languish for justice. The government has the moral responsibility to protect and defend its citizens, and the letter demands that the Department of Justice act on this obligation.” – Gabrielle Walton, Federal Campaigns Associate, Chesapeake Climate Action Network
Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that champions the public interest in the halls of power. We defend democracy, resist corporate power and work to ensure that government works for the people - not for big corporations. Founded in 1971, we now have 500,000 members and supporters throughout the country.
(202) 588-1000"We're at a tipping point, where the next administration must act decisively to avert a public health catastrophe that could define the next decade."
Environmental Working Group, a research and advocacy nonprofit, released a roadmap on Thursday calling for a comprehensive government program to address the PFAS contamination crisis facing the United States.
The EWG roadmap details the agency-by-agency response the group says is needed to deal with the environmental and public health threat posed by the nearly ubiquitous presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are linked to many cancers and other serious health conditions.
EWG's plan involves not just steps that should be taken by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) but also the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the departments of Agriculture, Defense, and Health and Human Services, and several other federal agencies.
Scott Faber, EWG's vice president of government affairs, said in a statement that PFAS contamination was "an unfolding disaster that demands immediate and unprecedented action."
"We're at a tipping point, where the next administration must act decisively to avert a public health catastrophe that could define the next decade," he said.
The contamination crisis from the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS is far from over, despite the Biden-Harris administration’s strides combating PFAS pollution. EWG has identified steps the next administration should take to build on successes so far. https://t.co/BQUUNnUTdI
— EWG (@ewg) August 15, 2024
EWG commended the Biden administration for the steps that it's taken to deal with the PFAS contamination crisis. The White House put forth an eight-agency PFAS plan in October 2021 and has implemented key parts, most notably by setting strict national limits on PFAS in drinking water. That rule, finalized in April, faces legal challenges from industry groups.
PFAS are set of roughly 16,000 synthetic compounds that were developed by chemical companies for use in a wide range of products. They can enter the human body—where, as "forever chemicals," they accumulate in bones and organs—through drinking water, food, the skin, or the air. Most Americans have PFAS in their blood.
Reporting by Sharon Lerner, a ProPublica journalist who previously worked at The Intercept, has indicated that 3M and DuPont, two of the major PFAS producers, knew about the dangers and widespread distribution of PFAS but hid them from the public.
In April, the EPA designated two of the most common PFAS, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), as hazardous substances under the Superfund law—another move that EWG celebrated.
"But there's much more that must be done," according to the new roadmap, authored by John Reeder, EWG's vice president of federal affairs.
In the roadmap, Reeder, a former EPA deputy chief of staff, called for the agency to double its budget for PFAS—i.e., increase its funding request to Congress—and crack down on industrial discharges, among many other proposals. He also called on the FDA to ban the use of PFAS in food packaging and establish limits on their use in foods. For the Department of Defense, Reeder's plan includes giving defense communities safe water to drink—at least 100 military sites are known to have contaminated water—and end the use of PFAS in firefighting foam.
Such federal action will likely depend on the results of the presidential and congressional elections. Project 2025, a right-wing policy blueprint for a Republican administration, proposes deregulation of PFAS and funding cuts for key EPA functions. Experts inside and outside the agency toldThe Guardian late last month that a victory by Republican nominee Donald Trump would mean PFAS rules would become subject to a great deal of industry influence.
Meanwhile, the scale of the PFAS problem continues to become more clear. Data recently updated by the EPA shows that 7,457 U.S. drinking water locations have PFAS in their supply, putting much of the American population at risk, according to EWG. The EPA has found that there's "no safe level of exposure" to PFOA and PFOS.
"The sheer number of contaminated sites is a red flag that says we are facing a pervasive and devastating crisis," said Tasha Stoiber, a senior scientist at EWG. "More than 130 million Americans are drinking water tainted with PFAS, putting them at risk of severe health issues. This is no longer just an environmental concern; it's a major public health emergency."
"It's wonderful to see the vice president unleash a suite of policy proposals to crack down on these cheaters and protect Americans' pocketbooks," said one advocate.
Economic justice advocates on Thursday applauded the Harris campaign's announcement the Vice President Kamala Harris is planning to unveil a historic ban on food and grocery price gouging amid widespread discontent about costs that have ballooned by 26% in the last five years.
The Democratic presidential candidate is expected to unveil the proposal for the first-ever federal price gouging ban at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina on Friday, detailing plans to direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to impose "harsh penalties" on companies that hike food prices to pad their profits.
As president, the campaign said late Wednesday, Harris would set "clear rules of the road to make clear that big corporations can't unfairly exploit consumers to run up excessive corporate profits on food and groceries," building on actions President Joe Biden has taken, such as the creation of a Strike Force on Unfair and Illegal Pricing and his guidelines aimed at reining in corporate mergers.
The rules would be introduced in Harris' first 100 days in office, should she win the presidential election in November.
Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Action, said Biden and Harris have set out to correct "decades of failure by federal leaders to tackle food monopolies [that] have sent grocery prices skyrocketing."
"President Biden finally turned the corner with real action against ill-advised corporate mergers, and the Harris campaign's signals of intent to work even harder against food profiteering are encouraging," said Hauter. "We look forward to seeing robust antitrust policy that will make a difference in our wallets, and send the food monopolies packing."
Food & Water Action pointed out that the proposal came a day after it was announced that the multinational food company Mars would acquire its competitor, Kellanova, for $36 billion "in a bid to dominate snack market sales at consumers' expense."
Such acquisitions have continued, said Food & Water Action, even as the monthly food cost for a family of four sticking to inexpensive groceries to save money increased 50% over the past four years, while the top four grocery companies in the U.S. saw their revenues go up as much as 36%.
"The cost of a whole chicken rose 41%, while poultry giants Tysons Foods and Perdue saw revenue increases of 22.5% and 54.9%, respectively," said the group.
While grocery prices have gone up by just 1% in the past year, costs have not eased since they shot up due to supply chain and labor issues during the coronavirus pandemic.
A Gallup poll in May found that 41% of Americans viewed the high cost of living as the most pressing financial issue for their families, and a survey by public opinion research group Blueprint found in June that penalties for companies that price gouge had the support of 81% of respondents, including 86% of Independent voters.
"It's hard to get down an aisle in the grocery store without finding an example of price gouging or price fixing, and it's costing us dearly," Lindsay Owens, executive director of the think tank Groundwork Collaborative, told The Washington Post. "It's wonderful to see the vice president unleash a suite of policy proposals to crack down on these cheaters and protect Americans' pocketbooks."
On social media on Thursday, Owens exposed "some of the worst offenders" who raise prices with the goal of boosting profits—a major driver of inflation, according to an analysis by Groundwork earlier this year.
"Practices like shrinkflation (that half empty bag of chips) and it's evil twin skimpflation (like when Wishbone salad dressing swaps the oil for water), or Walmart rigging the produce scales to charge a little more on a pound of oranges, are everywhere," said Owens. "It's wonderful to see that Harris will address her plans to take on price gouging in the food and grocery sector tomorrow. She has a strong track record of going after cheaters from her time as California's top lawyer, and through her great work this past four years."
As Americans express strong support for price gouging penalties, said David Sirota, founder of The Lever, Harris' proposal will "inevitably" push Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump into defending corporations that willfully force families to pay more for essentials.
The proposal will "bait the entire American right into screaming, 'Let them eat cake' as they go on record in support of food conglomerates fleecing the working class," said Sirota.
"If implemented, Project 2025 would lead to a multibillion-dollar annual giveaway to corporations at the expense of Medicare enrollees and taxpayers," warns a new Center for American Progress report.
Project 2025—the far-right initiative to expand U.S. presidential power and purge the federal civil service—poses a dire threat to the government-run healthcare coverage enjoyed by tens of millions of senior citizens by making private, for-profit Medicare Advantage plans the default option for all Medicare enrollees, a report published Thursday warned.
The Center for American Progress (CAP) report said the goal of the Heritage Foundation and other right-wing groups behind Project 2025 involves "pushing the United States toward a future of fully privatized Medicare."
"If implemented, Project 2025 would lead to a multibillion-dollar annual giveaway to corporations at the expense of Medicare enrollees and taxpayers, and at the expense of Medicare's financial sustainability," CAP said, noting that "Medicare Advantage costs the Medicare program 22% more per enrollee than traditional Medicare."
"If Project 2025's plan to make MA the default option were to expand the proportion of Medicare beneficiaries in MA to 75%—up from its current enrollment level of 51%—CAP estimates that wasteful spending could approach an eye-popping $2 trillion over 10 years," the publication states.
Furthermore, the report says that "making Medicare Advantage the default option would restrict more Medicare enrollees' options over which doctors and hospitals they can receive care from."
Report co-author and CAP research associate for health policy Brian Keyser said in a statement that "Project 2025's plan to make Medicare Advantage the default option would give corporations even more power and strip doctors and patients of the freedom to make decisions about what care enrollees can or cannot receive."
"Project 2025's plan makes it clear—its priority is to help boost profit-driven corporations' bottom lines at the expense of Medicare enrollees' access to care and the future solvency of Medicare," Keyser added.
Often derided as "Medicare Disadvantage" by critics, MA was created by a GOP-controlled Congress and signed into law in 2003 by then-President George W. Bush "as a way of routing hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars into the pockets of for-profit insurance companies," according to frequent Common Dreams opinion contributor Thom Hartmann.
A report published last year by Physicians for a National Health Program revealed that MA plans are overcharging U.S. taxpayers by up to $140 billion per year, enough to completely eliminate Medicare Part B premiums or fully fund Medicare's prescription drug program.
The MA report is part of a CAP series on Project 2025—which also includes ananalysis from last week showing how the initiative "would make it easier for big corporations to dump dangerous toxins that poison Americans."
According to the report, the initiative's plan to dismantle environmental regulations—as former President Donald Trump, the 2024 GOP nominee, did during his first term—threatens to reverse progress in protecting Americans from toxins like lead, soot, and other poisons including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as "forever chemicals" because they don't break down easily over time.
In an attempt to distance himself from the extremist agenda, Trump has claimed that he "knows nothing about" Project 2025 or who is behind it.
However, at least 140 people who worked in the first Trump administration have been involved with Project 2025, and last week The Washington Post published an article revealing that Trump took a private jet flight with Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts to a conference where the GOP nominee said that the conservative think tank is "going to lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do."