Category: Democracy

by Mia DiFelice

This spring, people across the country have carried out the annual ritual of filing their taxes. At the same time, megacorporations are benefiting from huge tax credits and tax breaks, to the delight of their CEOs and shareholders. They’re dodging taxes and reaping taxpayer dollars for profit.

This issue is especially stark when it comes to the energy sector. Many tax benefits are supposed to encourage projects that will fight climate change. But instead, many of these benefits are going to climate scams that do more harm than good. 

In November, we have the opportunity to change this. Food & Water Action is working to elect allies who will help cut taxpayer subsidies to greenwashed schemes. With your help, we’ll elect leaders who will stop support for these four climate scams, invest in real solutions, and end our reliance on dirty energy once and for all.

1. Carbon Capture and Storage: Big Oil’s Big Bet to Keep Drilling

Big Oil and Gas know that fossil-fueled energy is on its way out the door. So the industry is clawing on to profits in any way they can — while slapping a “climate fix” sticker on top. Its biggest scam yet: carbon capture and storage. 

Carbon capture technologies are supposed to pull carbon dioxide from operations like power plants, and even right out of the sky, to prevent more global warming. But we know carbon capture is expensive, it doesn’t work, and it will give the fossil fuel industry cover to continue drilling and polluting.

Nevertheless, we are paying for corporations’ failed experiments. The federal government has already poured billions into unsuccessful projects. Newer laws, including 2023’s Inflation Reduction Act, have designated additional billions toward new carbon capture projects. 

That money will have little to show for it by way of climate benefits. Instead, it’ll lead to more drilling and more emissions.

2. Factory Farm Gas Entrenches Polluting Factory Farms

Recently, the factory farm industry has turned to what it calls a “renewable” energy source: so-called “biogas.” This gas is derived from the waste of factory farms and turned into fuel to heat homes and power vehicles.

The industry is heavily greenwashing it as a “sustainable” solution to the colossal amounts of toxic manure that factory farms produce. However, it wouldn’t have this massive waste problem if not for the industry’s cost-cutting manure “management” practices. 

What’s more, this factory farm gas is mostly methane — just like fracked gas. It will run in the same leaky, dangerous pipeline system and have similar climate impacts — on top of the climate impacts of the factory farm model itself. Big Oil and gas companies like Chevron and BP are even getting in on the game.

And taxpayers are paying handsomely for these schemes. At a federal level, digester companies are getting tax credits and subsidies through laws like the Farm Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act. Meanwhile, state programs, like that in California, are also heaping taxpayer-funded incentives on factory farm gas projects. 

3. Hydrogen Hubs Promise Huge Build-Outs of Dirty Infrastructure

Hydrogen boosters are hyping up this “fuel of the future” while hiding a lot of downsides. It’s incredibly inefficient, comes with massive risks to public health and safety, and almost all of it comes from fracked gas. Turning hydrogen into energy may be emissions-free, but getting the hydrogen in the first place is often not.

But if corporations get their way, hydrogen infrastructure, including pipelines, power plants, refineries, and more, will crisscross our country — and taxpayers will foot the bill. 

Already, the Department of Energy is preparing to disburse $7 billion in taxpayer dollars to develop “hydrogen hubs.” State and local governments are preparing to spend even more to lure developers to set up shop. 

4. Corn Ethanol Encourages Climate-Ruining Industrial Farm Practices

Once upon a time, ethanol made from corn was hailed as a sustainable alternative to gasoline. So for years, the federal government has mandated that our gasoline supply incorporate a certain amount of corn ethanol. It also sends billions of taxpayer dollars a year to industrial corn farming. 

This has driven a glut of corn and explosive growth in the ethanol industry. Now, a full 45% of the country’s corn goes to ethanol. (Another 40% goes to feeding animals in factory farms, which means most of the corn grown today does not feed people.)

However, we’ve known for years that ethanol is not the green fuel the industry claimed it was. Accounting for all the emissions from industrial farming practices, corn ethanol is actually worse for the climate than gasoline. At the same time, those industrial farming practices are ruining our environment and our health.

We Can Fight Climate Scams in the Voting Booth

Corporations’ greenwashing ploys are receiving taxpayer funds because elected officials are writing subsidies into law. We can change this by electing leaders who will reject these ploys and fight for real solutions.

This year, Food & Water Action is proud to endorse several candidates who will do exactly that. For example, in Maryland, we’re endorsing Dr. Clarence Lam in his race for the House. 

As Clarence said at a recent Food & Water Action event:

We have to fight for the highest possible standard. Things like carbon capture really do not help us in reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. In fact, it actually spurs the opposite; it incentivizes continued use of fossil fuels.

Clarence already has a track record fighting climate scams as a State Senator. He’s stood with us to clean up the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, which props up greenwashed dirty energy like trash incineration and factory farm gas. He’ll take this fight to the federal level and work to end support for boondoggles like carbon capture and storage.

Over the next few months, Food & Water Action is putting our all into supporting candidates like Clarence. We deserve leaders who won’t waste our money or pander to corporate lies; who will fight for us and our livable future.

by Mia DiFelice

With election season in full swing, you may be feeling anxious about what’s at stake in November. You’re not alone. But we also know that elections are a powerful tool for us to shape the systems that shape our lives.

While corporations will spend big to influence races, we can gather the people power to fight them. Ultimately, our votes decide who’s in office, and by working together, we can ensure we have leaders who fight for us and what we care about. We need to elect allies to Congress who will push both their own leadership and the White House to take strong positions and enact the policies we know we need.

Last month, Food & Water Action members joined us to meet some of these allies at our March Livable Future LIVE event, “Our Climate and Democracy Are at Stake: How We’ll Win the 2024 Election.”

During the event, we sat down with our Political Director Mitch Jones to speak with candidates we’ve endorsed, outline our strategy to help them reach Congress, and explain how you can get involved!

Climate Champions Will Defend a Healthy, Bright Future for All of Us

As a medical doctor and professor of public health, Dr. Clarence Lam has seen firsthand the toll of climate change and pollution in Maryland. “I see that the climate crisis that we’re facing is also really a public health crisis, especially for marginalized communities,” he told us. For example, an incinerator in downtown Baltimore burdens its majority-Black, low-income neighbors with noxious air pollution.

For the past nine years, Clarence has served as a State Senator, fighting for policies to protect Marylanders. He joined our successful fight to ban fracking statewide. He’s gone after corporations like poultry factory farms in the Eastern Shore, helping to clean up air and water pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. 

Now, Food & Water Action is thrilled to endorse him in his race for Congress. He will continue bringing science to policy, fighting climate scams like carbon capture and storage, and defending our health and our futures.

“We’re really at a tipping point,” Clarence emphasized. “This is our window of opportunity to make lasting change and make sure that we’re on the right path to ensure a healthy, bright future for all of us.”

Luckily, we have candidates all over the country just like Clarence, who are dedicated to protecting what matters most — clean air, water, and food; a fair economy that puts people over profits; and a healthy environment we can all thrive in. 

Food & Water Action Is Electing Climate Champions Nationwide

We’re proud to endorse candidates like Clarence and like State Representative Laura Friedman, who has fought to protect Californians from climate change and chemical pollution. We’re also fighting for incumbents like Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, lead sponsor of the landmark WATER Act, which would dedicate the needed funds to fix our country’s failing water infrastructure.

We’ve carefully selected our endorsed candidates because we believe in what they do. We also know that many of them are running in nail-biter races that could have huge ripple effects in their region and across the country.

As Mitch explained, “A lot of elections are ones at the margins, and here at Food & Water Action, we’re pretty good at identifying where we can make a real difference in those margins.”

In purple Pennsylvania, we’re endorsing Chris Deluzio, whose race may make or break the Democratic majority in the House. A win for Deluzio won’t just help defend that majority — it will mean families, like those in his district who’ve been impacted by the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, will have someone fighting in their corner. A win for Deluzio would keep a climate champion in the heart of fracking country and add even more momentum to the movement of pro-environment progressives sweeping through the region.

So How Do We Get There?

Food & Water Action doesn’t just have the strategy. We have the volunteers and the experience to put that strategy into practice — and win. We’ve spent years building capacity in key regions across the country. We work with folks just like you who are determined to make sure as many voters as possible hear from us, know what’s at stake, and are moved to cast their vote.

When it comes to countering big spending from corporate interests, we know the only antidote is people power. With corporate propaganda and attack ads flooding the airwaves, going door-to-door and making face-to-face connections break through the noise.

As Laura said, “It’s this kind of grassroots support that gets our message out. And you know what? When people out there hear about what we’re trying to do, they respond… It’s how we, who are just ordinary people, win and take back our planet and our country.” 

There’s a lot at stake this fall, and it can feel overwhelming. But there’s a lot to be excited and hopeful for. Elections are first and foremost opportunities — opportunities to elect candidates who are accountable to us; who will push for stronger policies to end fossil fuels, break up Big Ag, and protect our water. With your help, we’re seizing this opportunity and helping to elect the leaders we need.

Resources Shared at the Event

• Donate now to help us elect climate champions and your gift will be matched — DOUBLING your impact!
• Learn more about our strategy for 2024 in our recent article, “Blueprint for Victory: How We Protect the Planet at the Polls.”
• Check out our full list of endorsed candidates.
• First time volunteering with Food & Water Action? Join our next monthly orientation!
• Sign up to join our election call team and make calls to voters.
• Join our pledge team and get candidates in your community to take the Pledge to End Fossil Fuels.

Iowa has become a battleground of opposition to hazardous carbon pipelines. These pipelines are part of a bogus scheme known as carbon capture and storage (CCS), and in 2021 three corporations proposed nearly 2,000 miles of pipeline within Iowa to transport carbon dioxide from ethanol and fertilizer facilities.

Iowans know CCS is designed to benefit rich executives and entrench the corporate interests driving the climate crisis. Plain and simple, these pipelines are a scam. But despite grassroots opposition, they are being promoted, propped up, and enabled by political leaders in Iowa who are awash in pipeline cash.

This needs to stop. That’s why Food & Water Action is asking Iowa candidates to pledge that they will not accept funds from pipeline interests.

Iowans Have Made Clear: Carbon Pipelines Have No Place Here

Since these pipelines were originally proposed, people across Iowa have been coming together to stand up to Summit, Navigator, and ADM/Wolf. This public outrage undoubtedly played a role in Navigator canceling plans for its carbon pipeline. However, ADM/Wolf’s proposal is still a threat, and Summit recently expanded its proposed pipeline network by 340 miles. 

These pipelines will threaten private property rights through eminent domain and present a dangerously under-regulated public safety concern. They’re also deeply unpopular across the state and party lines. Our 2022 polling found that four out of five Iowans oppose corporations using eminent domain to build the pipelines, and 73% said they’d be less likely to vote for a candidate who supported eminent domain for the lines.

But Iowa’s leading politicians don’t seem to care — probably because they’re indebted to the monied individuals behind these carbon pipeline schemes. People associated with the companies proposing these pipelines have made hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to leading elected officials in Iowa. 

Many of these donations poured in just before the start of the 2022 state legislative session when legislation was first introduced to prevent corporations from using eminent domain for these pipelines. The legislation died in committee in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

It’s time to force politicians across Iowa to go on the record — do they support their constituents or the carbon pipelines? 

If Candidates Really Serve Iowans, They’ll Say “No” to Dirty Pipeline Dollars

Every elected official in the state has a role to play in protecting Iowans from the threat of carbon pipelines. That’s why we’ve launched the No Pipeline Money Pledge. This pledge gives us an important opportunity to educate candidates running for elected office about the carbon pipelines and get them, on the record, committed to opposing these dangerous proposals while in office. 

Taking the No Pipeline Money Pledge means that a politician’s campaign will adopt a policy to not accept any contributions over $200 from the corporate Political Action Committees (PACs), named executives, or lobbyists of companies proposing carbon pipelines in Iowa.

With members of Food & Water Team Iowa, our volunteer program, we will be working throughout 2024 to talk to candidates about their position on the carbon pipeline proposals — and to ask them to demonstrate their commitment to their constituents by signing the pledge.

We need candidates at all levels of Iowa’s government to oppose carbon pipelines and fight for their constituents and for real climate solutions. Candidates for office at all levels of government in Iowa are welcome to sign the pledge. 

Get Involved! Ask Your Candidates to Take the “No Pipeline Money Pledge”

It’s time to stand together to say enough is enough: we need to expose the cushy profiteers who are playing inside games with our elected officials. Our leaders must remember who they’re accountable to: the people. These wealthy corporate interests can flood them with cash during the campaign season, but we, the people, have the real power. This November we can choose to keep them in office — or vote them out. 

Help us build the list of candidates refusing to be influenced by pipeline money. Sign up to encourage candidates for office in your area to sign the No Pipeline Money Pledge. We’ll send you a packet of materials to help you get started!

by Sam Bernhardt

In 2024, our planet is once again on the line. It’s imperative that we elect allies to Congress who defend our climate and our communities. However, many lawmakers are willing to throw us under the bus for dirty campaign cash. That’s why Food & Water Action follows the money, calls out shady dealings, and works to defeat candidates who put profit over people.

Take current Rep. Mike Lawler, who is supposed to be representing New York’s Hudson Valley. Instead, his voting record, past employment, and campaign contributions make clear he actually represents the oil and gas industry.

Mike Lawler Votes Big for Big Oil and Gas

As a Congressmember, Lawler has done nothing to stave off the effects of climate change or protect the environment. One of his first votes was in favor of H.R. 1. This bill would expand drilling and fracking on public lands and waters, cut environmental protections, increase fossil fuel exports, and undercut renewable energy growth. 

Lawler has also signed on as a cosponsor of the Energy Choice Act, which would block states from transitioning off of fossil fuels, as well as several bills that would block transitioning away from using fossil fuels in home heating.

His most consequential — and shameful — decision as a Congressmember was voting to make Rep. Mike Johnson Speaker of the House. Johnson is a climate denier who worked to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Lawler’s dismal climate record dates back to his time as a New York Assemblymember. At that time, he overestimated the importance of natural gas for fueling New York’s homes. And, he even presented fracked gas as a climate solution (in fact, the industry is making matters worse).

Lawler Works for the Fossil Fuel Industry, Not New Yorkers

Mike Lawler doesn’t do all this for free. He’s backed by the deep pockets of Big Oil and Gas. During his time as a state legislator, Lawler worked as a fossil fuel lobbyist (which he disclosed here).

He made thousands of dollars running the oil industry front group New Yorkers for Affordable Energy. This group fought against New York’s landmark climate law, pushed to build new gas pipelines around New York, and tried to keep New York’s buildings hooked on fossil fuels by blocking the All Electric Buildings Act.

Mike Lawler was literally on the oil industry’s payroll as one of their lobbyists, but he has also been bought and paid for as a member of Congress. Since the beginning of 2023, Lawler has accepted over $51,000 from the oil and gas industry. 

He took thousands from the corporate PAC for Phillips 66, Exxon, Chevron, and Marathon Petroleum. He’s also taken money from the president of the American Petroleum Institute.

Moreover, some of his largest contributors were the Kemmerer coal magnate family ($26,400) and fossil fuel pipeline king Kelcy Warren, of Energy Transfer, and Warren’s wife ($13,200). These are the voices Rep. Lawler is listening to when he casts his votes in the Capitol.

While Lawler’s busy doing the fossil fuel industry’s bidding, he’s cutting back on the arduous work of serving his constituents. Lawler had a policy of banning the media from his town hall events. (He only recently reversed the practice after pushback.)  

We Can Defeat Corporate Cronies in 2024

Unfortunately, Lawler isn’t an outlier in Congress. Our legislature has many lawmakers who would rather take industry cash than look after the people who elected them. In 2024, many of these corporate cronies will be on the ballot. And we’re doing everything in our power to boot them out. 

Throughout this year, Food & Water Action is working to unseat legislators like Lawler and get allies in office. Allies who are willing to address the real root of issues like energy unaffordability and our climate emergency, and won’t shill for the industry that’s worsening these problems for New Yorkers. With your help, we’re mobilizing with volunteers across the state to fight for the candidates they need and deserve.