Category: Climate

Innamorato Endorsed by National Advocacy Group in County Exec Race

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ClimatePress

Food & Water Action, the political arm of the national advocacy group Food & Water Watch, is endorsing State Representative Sara Innamorato in the race for Allegheny County Executive. 

The organization has spent the past five years building a strong grassroots presence in the county, working with residents to restrict fracking activities in 25 municipalities and scoring a major victory to ban fracking in county parks. 

In 2022, Food & Water Action knocked on tens of thousands of doors and made nearly half a million calls to Allegheny County voters, helping to elect Summer Lee and Chris Deluzio to Congress. The organization has shifted their capacity towards getting Innamorato elected in 2023, having already knocked on nearly 6,000 doors talking to voters about the county executive election.

Food & Water Action Pennsylvania State Director Megan McDonough released the following statement:

“Sara Innamorato has been a champion for working families in Allegheny County. As a state representative, Sara authored the Whole Home Repair Program, and passed this game-changing climate bill into law. She will fight to crack down on the polluters that harm the health of our communities, because she understands that we have the tools we need to keep major sources of pollution away from our homes and schools. Allegheny County deserves a leader who is willing to take on the toughest fights to build safe, healthy communities. Sara Innamorato has proven herself to be exactly that leader.”

Biden’s SOTU Energy Agenda is a Muddle of Dangerous Contradictions

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ClimatePress

Last night in his State of the Union address, President Biden remarked on a number of topics related to his climate and energy agenda, including related provisions of the recently-passed Inflation Reduction Act. In response, Food & Water Action Executive Director Wenonah Hauter issued the following statement:

“Last night President Biden rightly identified the climate crisis as an existential threat driven by the fossil fuel industry. Yet his energy agenda boldly encourages expanded oil and gas drilling and fracking across the country. Rather than pushing for a quicker end to fossil fuel development, President Biden is approving new drilling at a quicker pace than Trump did. There couldn’t be a greater contradiction in Biden’s statements and actions. 

“President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act is wasting billions to encourage fossil fuel industry-promoted schemes like carbon capture and hydrogen energy, and he’s pushing to increase fossil fuel exports around the world.

“Meanwhile, fossil fuel giants including BP and Shell are already walking back weak commitments to reduce emissions, seeing no reason to act on climate when the administration is giving them the green light to keep drilling and fracking. If President Biden really wanted to rein in exorbitant fossil fuel industry profits, he would act to halt their polluting, climate-killing practices – not encourage them.”

Contact: Seth Gladstone – [email protected]

How State-Level Organizing Could Spark National Change in 2023

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ClimateFoodNews & OpinionWater

by Mark Schlosberg

It’s easy to feel discouraged with the House of Representatives controlled by hard right-wingers. But federal legislation is only one avenue for change. 

This year, Food & Water Action is working at the state level toward big policies with national impact. Building on our years of work with communities on the ground, we’re growing grassroots power. Because of that work, 2023 could be a banner year, with or without federal legislation. 

From New York, to Iowa, to Oregon and beyond, here’s how we’re moving the needle on food, water, and climate. 

How State Wins Ripple into National Action

Though the national stage gets much attention, we’ve seen how state victories can be just as impactful. For instance, back in 2011, we called for a ban on fracking, despite its popular support and reputation as a “bridge fuel” among many environmental organizations. 

Some said fighting for a ban was politically naive, but we didn’t listen. With grassroots partners in New York, we built a powerful coalition and successfully banned fracking in the state. That helped change the conversation, and the environmental community has now reached a consensus against fracking.

Moreover, the New York ban led to bans in Maryland, Washington state, and communities across the country. It also energized a growing movement working to move off fossil fuels. 

We’ve seen this happen with other issues as well, from banning arsenic in chicken feed in Maryland, to stopping water privatization in California and Illinois. These state-level efforts laid the groundwork for nationwide change. 

Now, we’re building on this history of influential state wins in our current campaigns. 

Fighting Factory Farms With Statewide Bans

For years, we’ve worked to stop the factory farms that dominate our food system, threaten our climate, and pollute our communities. 

In Oregon, a moratorium on factory farms is now in sight. We have a new governor, more champions in the state legislature, and more organizations joining our efforts. This year, we’re doubling down on on-the-ground organizing, helping Oregonians to engage their representatives and communities in this fight. 

A statewide factory farm moratorium in Oregon — the first in the country — would advance efforts against factory farms nationwide. Moreover, it would help us fight factory farm gas, a greenwashed marketing ploy propping up both dirty energy and factory farms. That’s why we’re dedicating more research, national volunteers, and funding for key tactics. 

Protecting Our Water by Going After Its Worst Abusers

Across the U.S., millions lack access to affordable clean water at the tap — but not because there’s no water. We face a crisis of underinvestment in water infrastructure, coupled with policies that put big agriculture and fossil fuel corporations before our human right to water. 

Nowhere is this crisis more extreme than in California, where over a million people lack reliable access to clean water. In 2023, we’re ramping up our campaign for water justice in the Golden State. That includes fighting for a moratorium on fossil fuel permits, factory farms, tree nuts, and alfalfa. These industries guzzle tons of water, even when the wells of nearby residents run dry. 

With upcoming research and new volunteer efforts, we can pressure Governor Newsom to protect our communities and climate. Last year, we successfully moved Newsom to embrace protection zones between oil drilling and homes and schools. This campaign, led by environmental justice groups, shows that big changes in California are possible. 

Now, we’re growing our efforts to stop new drilling permits. A statewide moratorium on new drilling in California would be the first of its kind, setting a powerful national precedent. 

Stopping Fracked Gas in Its Tracks

The science is clear: we need to move off fossil fuels as quickly as possible. That means ending policy that benefits dirty energy companies, as well as investing big in clean energy. 

So in New York, we’re working to ban gas hookups in new construction. We already won a gas ban in New York City; now, the state ban is just within reach, with support from Governor Hochul and more than 80 state legislators. 

At the same time, we’re pushing for the Build Public Renewable Act, which would allow New York’s largest public utility to build new renewable energy projects. 

Not only are we targeting fossil fuels in buildings — we’re working against fracking operations, fossil fuel power plants, and pipelines in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and California.

Moreover, we’re fighting Big Oil’s latest schemes to protect its dying industry. High on our radar: carbon capture and storage. In Iowa, we’re fighting plans for three carbon pipelines that will threaten public health and mask more pollution and emissions.

We’ve spent years on the ground in Iowa, helping to build a powerful bipartisan movement against these pipelines. In 2023, we’re advancing efforts to pass legislation that will stop pipeline companies from wrenching land from families and farmers.

Iowans aren’t the only ones threatened with Big Oil’s climate scams — hydrogen power buildouts, factory farm gas facilities, and more loom over communities across the country. A victory in Iowa will drive efforts nationwide to stop harmful industry boondoggles.

2023 Will Be Our Year — With Your Help

In the face of congressional inaction, we know we must use every strategy we have to protect our food, water, and climate. We’ve seen how state-level organizing can drive huge national changes. So in 2023, we’re doubling down on everything from blocking fossil fuel permits to protecting our water; ending factory farms to exposing carbon capture and other greenwashing grifts. 

But we can’t do it without you. Every campaign starts at the grassroots, with communities pitching in whatever they can — time, expertise, resources. With your help, we’ll secure the wins we need to secure a livable future for all.

Join us in our work toward a livable future for all!

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Hydrogen Hubs: How This New Boondoggle Will Cost Us Billions

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ClimateNews & Opinion

by Mia DiFelice

It may start with tanker trucks rolling past your neighborhood; a nondescript warehouse; a bold announcement from your governor, or a small press release in your local paper — your city is preparing to become part of a hydrogen hub. 

So what exactly does this mean for you, your neighbors, and the climate?

In 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act created a pot of $7 billion to fund the development of hydrogen hubs (H2Hubs). In the coming years, the Department of Energy will distribute those funds to at least six proposals, submitted by state or regional coalitions.

Proponents proclaim the H2Hub program is central to our country’s “low-carbon” future. But they are ignoring or hiding hydrogen’s many problems — from its health and safety risks, to its bogus climate credentials. 

The Endlessly Dirty Possibilities of a Hydrogen Hub

Though H2Hub proposals vary widely, they all entail networks of production, transport, storage, and end-users for hydrogen. Some of the proposed projects could sprawl across several states; for example, through thousands of miles of pipelines for liquid hydrogen or hydrogen-derived ammonia. 

Hydrogen or ammonia could end up at fertilizer corporations, oil refineries, heavy-duty transport companies, power plants, and more. Some proposals even suggest exporting hydrogen and ammonia, creating new global markets for what are essentially fossil fuels.

Hubs will also differ by the feedstocks used to make hydrogen. Notably, DOE’s program requires at least one hub to use natural gas, and at least two built in a “natural gas-rich area.” 

This would include hubs using industry-branded “blue hydrogen.” Boosters claim blue H2 is “carbon neutral” because it combines gas-powered hydrogen production with carbon capture technology, designed to grab CO2 emissions and store them underground. 

However, carbon capture has never worked reliably or at scale. And even if this fairy tale did deliver, it wouldn’t be good news. Lifecycle emissions of “blue hydrogen” are actually worse for the climate than burning coal. Moreover, “blue hydrogen” would create more pollution from fracking and pipelines.

So it’s no surprise that dirty energy companies have flocked to hydrogen development and H2Hub proposals. Facing blowback from broken promises and dangerous pollution, they are now using hydrogen to greenwash and create new markets for fracked gas.

At the same time, DOE requires only one of its H2Hubs to produce renewables-based hydrogen. But even so-called green hydrogen has a dirty underbelly, including its huge costs and unsustainable water consumption. It doesn’t live up to its climate claims, either, as it diverts renewables on the grid to less-efficient hydrogen production.

How an H2Hub Could Shake Up the Ohio River Valley

The Ohio River Valley is home to Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia — and a H2Hub proposal. Centered in West Virginia, the applying coalition includes EQT, a Pittsburgh-based gas company, and Chemours, a spin-off of chemical giant Dupont. 

Nationwide, H2Hub proposals have spurred policies to make applicants more attractive to hydrogen business. The Ohio River Valley is no exception. Recently, Pennsylvania passed $1 billion in tax credits to any facility that becomes part of a H2Hub.

But here’s the catch: any facility in the hub can claim a credit for hydrogen as well as fracked gas. Pennsylvania’s Governor Wolf claimed that the gas credit is for a “bridge” phase that should last only “a year or two,” before hydrogen goes completely renewable. Yet, the law allows companies to claim the gas credit for two decades. 

What’s more, this Pennsylvania credit adds to the flood of subsidies hydrogen producers can claim via the Inflation Reduction Act.

A H2Hub in the Ohio River Valley, and anywhere, is a risky bet on a huge buildout of doubtful technology. Residents would be stuck with the pollution, and taxpayers would be stuck with the bill.

H2Hub grants could cover, at most, 50% of a project’s cost — the rest would fall to private companies and other public sources. That includes taxpayers, through subsidies like those in the Inflation Reduction Act and Governor Wolf’s measure.

Plus, for hubs that include power production, utilities could pass the cost of new hydrogen infrastructure onto ratepayers. By one estimate, higher taxes and utility rates would cost Pittsburgh households at least $1,000 a year if a hub came to Western Pennsylvania. 

“Permitting Reform” Threatens to Fast-Track H2Hubs 

In late 2022, so-called permitting reform dominated debate in Congress. While proponents argued that we need permitting reform for clean energy buildouts, we know it’s really about fast-tracking fossil fuel infrastructure — including hydrogen projects.

A leaked early draft proposal bore the watermark of the industry group American Petroleum Institute, which seems to have majorly swayed the proposal. 

Massive public opposition blocked the proposal from passing this year. But as many Congressmembers are prioritizing it this year, we’re staying vigilant. Proposals like those bearing an API watermark would not only grow fossil fuels — it would drive even more pollution and emissions through fast-tracked hydrogen hubs.

Hydrogen Hubs Distract From Real Climate Solutions

DOE won’t announce the H2Hub grant recipients until later this year. It will then take years more for projects to come online. However, the program is only part of a bigger buzz around hydrogen. 

Projects across the country are already in motion, including hubs that could move forward without DOE funding. Those projects count venture capitalists, huge corporations, state universities, and more among their backers and developers. They’ll also rely on federal and state subsidies to boost profits.

But we can’t let these projects go through without a fight.

Ultimately, H2Hubs will be expensive and resource-hungry, especially for energy and water. A buildout will fleece taxpayers while doubling down on dangerous pollution in frontline communities. 

At the same time, H2Hubs could entrench our fossil fuel dependence and distract from real climate solutions. By worsening the climate crisis, they’ll threaten our food and water, too.

We know how to fight climate change, and it doesn’t involve expensive, polluting technologies backed by Big Oil and Wall Street. Instead, we need bold plans to phase out fossil fuels and replace them with clean, renewable energy.

People need to know: we don’t need expensive, polluting hydrogen hubs. We need renewables, now.

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Frack Checking Zeldin’s Inaccurate Claims

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ClimatePress

For Immediate Release

One week from Election Day, fracking is on the ballot in the New York gubernatorial election. Anti-fracking activists are rallying behind Democrat Kathy Hochul, as Republican Lee Zeldin seeks to reverse New York’s fracking ban. Zeldin’s fracking endorsement echoes industry lies and talking points from as far back as 2014, when then Governor Cuomo enacted New York’s fracking ban. 

Governor Hochul has pledged not to take New York backwards on its fracking ban, which safeguards public health, safety, water and climate.

Food & Water Action breaks down Zeldin’s inaccurate fracking claims.

Fracking Jobs Numbers Are Dangerously Inflated

For years, the oil and gas industry has been wildly inflating estimates of direct and indirect jobs created by the fracking industry. Numbers from the oil and gas trade association American Petroleum Institute (API) range from 2.5 million to 11 million for industry jobs nationwide. But a Food & Water Watch analysis from January 2022 – which is based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics – debunks these claims, showing that the industry employs far fewer workers than it claims: About 541,000 nationwide, or less than 0.4 percent of all jobs.

What’s more, industry employment is on the decline, suffering losses even as oil and gas production has increased. Total oil and gas employment nationwide has fallen 33 percent since 2014. Over the same period, production has risen 32 percent. Zeldin’s fracking job creation claims are dangerously inaccurate.

Fracking Brought Economic Devastation to Pennsylvania, Not Success

Contrary to Zeldin’s claims, fracking has not brought economic development and jobs to neighboring Pennsylvania. In fact, Pennsylvania is a case study of the dangers of doing the dangerous fracking industry’s bidding. Just under 25,000 workers are employed in the state’s oil and gas industries, a mere 5% of what API claims. Last year, employment in those fields shrank by 20 percent, though record amounts of gas were produced.

Indeed, a February 2021 Ohio River Valley Institute report found that Pennsylvania’s top fracking counties see declines in personal income, jobs, and population at higher rates than non-fracking counties. For example, while Pennsylvania saw a 1.5% population increase, fracking counties saw a 2.6% decline. These are indicators of economic devastation, not success, and Zeldin’s desire to replicate these results in New York is dangerous.

“All of the Above” Energy Is No Climate Fix

Zeldin told the New York Times that he is an “all-of-the-above energy guy,” outlining a policy stance incompatible with avoiding the worst of the climate crisis. A 2022 Food & Water Watch report reveals that a decade of impressive growth in clean energy nationally was matched by increases in fossil fuel production – showing that any meaningful climate policy must focus on measures to stop new fossil fuel extraction and infrastructure.

An “all of the above” pro-fracking Governor would take New York backwards and torpedo Governor Kathy Hochul’s climate progress.

Food & Water Action Northeast Region Director Alex Beauchamp issued the following statement:

“For eight years, New York’s fracking ban has kept New Yorkers safe and healthy, preserving our air, water and climate for a livable future. Lee Zeldin wants to undo all of that. His reckless, uninformed policies are reflective of a candidate concerned with fear mongering over reality, talking points over action.

“Under Governor Hochul, New York has stopped the construction of two new fracked gas plants, denied key permits for a fossil fuel powered crypto-mining facility, and made real steps toward banning fossil fuels in new buildings including passing a city-level ban in New York City last year. This is the direction New York needs to go — forward not backward.

“Fracking’s day in New York is over. We can’t let Zeldin restart the clock.”

Contact: Phoebe Galt, [email protected]

This Bill Will Help Lower Gasoline Prices By Banning Gas Exports

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ClimateNews & Opinion

by Mia DiFelice

Gas prices have been top-of-mind and top-of-newsfeed for months now, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and supply shocks in the wake of the pandemic shook up the market. More recently, international oil cartel OPEC+ announced plans to lower production to keep prices high.

But few outlets have pointed to one of the key drivers of our pain at the pump — greedy oil and gas corporations that would rather send our supply abroad for maximum profit than serve customers at home. 

Our researchers have dug through the data, and we’ve found damning evidence of corporate greed. Oil and gas companies have been exporting historically high amounts of finished gasoline, squeezing domestic supply and sending high prices even higher.

But now, Rep. Rho Khanna (D-CA) has introduced new legislation to end gasoline exports.

Our Gasoline Export Boom is No Coincidence

Our latest analysis shows that in the first six months of 2022, gasoline exports jumped nearly 9% compared to the first six months of 2021. And 2021 was already a huge year for gasoline exports. The U.S. exported over 12 billion gallons, 1.5 billion more than 2020. That gasoline could have fulfilled the needs of 30 million American drivers for a whole year. 

These exports put pressure on our domestic supply of gasoline. Because of the supply squeeze, corporations can boost prices — and profits. Shell’s profit margins from refining alone have tripled in this year’s second quarter, to the tune of billions of dollars. Chevron and Exxon’s refining profits have also surged by the billions since this time last year.

In October, the U.S. Department of Energy pointed out that these profits are possible because gasoline companies have failed to manage their domestic supply. But while we suffer at home, those very same companies are exporting gasoline at historic levels.

This is only the latest in a long line of corporate greed that takes advantage of crises for profit, while hurting workers and families. In the past few years, lying meat corporations have hidden behind the pandemic to price-gouge us at the grocery store. Meanwhile, fracked gas companies jumped on Europe’s energy crisis to build out polluting infrastructure in our communities. 

Without government action, we can’t expect corporations to give up on their dirty tactics.

We Can Lower Gas Prices By Banning Gas Exports Now

Political pundits have taken the Biden administration to task for not drilling. But not only did Biden ramp up drilling well before our gasoline price hikes — this false claim distracts from the real issue of gasoline exports. Moreover, more drilling for crude won’t help gasoline supplies when refineries are already running on all cylinders.

Over the past few years, Food & Water Action has thrown a spotlight on the role of corporate greed in rising prices. This week, we finally have action in Congress. The Gasoline Export Ban Act, introduced by Rep. Khanna, would require the president to ban exports when gasoline prices rise above $3.12 for one week. 

Today’s gas prices show yet again that corporations can’t be trusted to keep the interests of their customers in mind. Rather, they’re happy to pursue any path that will bring them more profits. We need the Gas Export Ban Act to reign in Big Oil and lower the prices on this essential fuel for working families.

Ask your Congress member to support the Gas Export Ban!

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