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As Seen on TV: Big Oil’s Dystopian View of California’s Climate Agenda

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Tuesday, August 27, 2024

A woman swelters in her darkened bedroom; another stares glumly at the utility bills piled on her desk. A motorist watches with resignation as the gas pump dial spins and the dollar amount climbs while a woman sits behind the wheel of her car and sobs at the hopelessness of it all. The minute-long advertisement’s dystopian take on everyday life in the Golden State is underscored by a singer crooning country singer Cody Jinks’ mournful lyrics: “It’s been too long a time with no peace of mind, and I’m ready for the times to get better.” A still from an advertisement by the Western States Petroleum Association. The ad wasn’t released by a presidential campaign or a social justice organization. Instead, it was produced by the Western States Petroleum Association, the powerhouse oil industry trade and lobbying group. Its implicit message is that policies to fight climate change are hurting regular Californians.  The association ran the slick ad in television markets across the state during the Summer Olympics, said Kevin Slagle, the association’s vice president, strategic communications. Along with a website that features a three-question survey, it is part of a $5 million advertising and polling campaign — more than the petroleum association spent on general lobbying over the first two quarters of the year combined. California’s overarching strategy to limit damage from climate change involves weaning its economy off oil and natural gas. Burning such fossil fuels emits carbon dioxide, the main driver of the climate crisis. The hotter atmosphere has killed people and caused billions of dollars in damage from severe flooding, drought, prolonged heat waves and wildfires — all hallmarks of human-caused climate change.  The oil lobby is trying to defeat bills that would encourage oil companies to clean up thousands of polluting idle wells and allow cities and counties to ban oil drilling.  There are serious questions as to whether California’s climate plans will place an uneven burden on state residents.  Electric vehicles are still too expensive for many lower-income residents, and California gasoline — which already has the highest per-gallon price in the nation — is taxed to pay for climate-friendly low-carbon fuels programs, nudging the price even higher. Drivers could soon be charged even more to make up for lost tax revenue at the pumps. Meanwhile, power bills are rising for lower-income residents to help pay for electrifying buildings, while natural gas users could see further rate spikes.   But a review of the Western States Petroleum Association’s lobbying actions shows that its legislative priorities in the current session focus less on increasing economic equity and more on defeating bills that would curtail the industry.  The oil lobby is trying to defeat bills that would encourage oil companies to clean up thousands of polluting idle wells (AB 1866) and allow cities and counties to ban oil drilling (AB 3233). It also lobbied against a bill to plug low-producing wells near homes (AB 2716): That bill has since been amended to apply only to the Inglewood Oil Field in Los Angeles. Such actions could benefit working-class Californians, particularly in communities of color that tend to be closest to oil and gas production. And the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said that poverty and economic inequality exacerbate the effects of climate change. As the California legislative session winds down in August, all three bills are up for a final vote by lawmakers this week. The measures are part of a “Make Polluters Pay” package championed by climate advocates. It originally included a bill that would have forced companies that emitted a billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions or more to pay for damage and preparations for future climate disasters — with 40% reserved for disadvantaged communities. Another would have forced oil companies to cover medical bills for people sickened by oil wells. Neither bill advanced after the Western States Petroleum Association, the California Independent Petroleum Association and the California Chamber of Commerce lobbied against them. Slagle said the Western States Petroleum Association opposed the “Make Polluters Pay” package because California has “already addressed” concerns about local pollution from oil wells, citing a landmark but much-delayed law passed in 2022 that increased the required distance between schools and neighborhoods and oil and gas operations. A still from an advertisement by the Western States Petroleum Association. “We’ll need these products for a while,” Slagle said, referring to oil and gas. The purpose of the petroleum association’s television ad campaign, he said, is to highlight how California’s climate policies — such as “arbitrary timelines” for electrifying vehicles, buildings and home appliances — worsen people’s financial struggles.  The petroleum association hired Probolsky Research to survey 900 people in May. Most respondents agreed they were concerned about how California’s climate goals would affect their daily lives. But the petroleum association didn’t release the methodology behind the survey; Slagle said the association’s ongoing polling is “not scientific.” The California Air Resources Board adopted regulations to prohibit the sale of fossil-fuel-powered cars by 2035 and to require that 80% of household appliances such as stoves and water heaters be electric by that year if a house changes hands. The California Energy Commission, meanwhile, wants 90% of the state’s electricity production to come from zero-carbon sources by the same time, a goal set by legislation.  Taken together, such policies could unduly burden lower-income residents. In 2022, the California Air Resources Board reported that the combined effects of transitioning from fossil fuels will lead to a $4.1 billion decline in income for households making less than $100,000 a year by 2035. In contrast, households with higher incomes will see a gain of $3.5 billion.  Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara) introduced AB 1866 directing oil operators to plug wells that are no longer in operation but are likely still releasing methane, a potent greenhouse gas. He sees his legislation as a way to protect public health, especially in communities where residents lack the resources to prepare for and recover from sudden climate-driven disasters Companies that do not comply could be charged thousands of dollars per well — a significant increase from the current fees under a state program that has allowed companies to keep wells unplugged for decades. It’s a necessary step since the number of idle wells in California has increased over the last seven years, Hart said.  The think tank Carbon Tracker Initiative estimates that the cost to taxpayers of plugging uncovered wells in California will be at least $6.9 billion.  “The idea that it’s just a business practice where we can idle a well and have [it] leak and not attend to it, that there may be a point in the future where oil prices are high enough and we want to re-open them — that isn’t a great environmental strategy for residents of California,” Hart told Capital & Main.  Slagle said many wells in the state “aren’t temporarily producing” but could come back to life when “market conditions improve.”  An economic forecast by the Carbon Tracker Initiative, a London-based think tank, shows that the costs of plugging oil and gas wells will eclipse potential profits of drilling California’s dwindling reserves — yet companies have been required only to offer up bonds worth a fraction of cleanup costs. The think tank estimates the cost to taxpayers of plugging uncovered wells in California to be at least $6.9 billion. In addition to its TV ad, the Western States Petroleum Association is placing ads on Facebook taking aim at Hart’s bill and AB 3233, sponsored by Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-San Luis Obispo), which would codify the right of cities and counties to prohibit oil and gas production. It would build on recent measures by local governments to prohibit drilling. In 2021, Culver City voted to require oil companies to plug all of their remaining oil wells. The following year, the city and county of Los Angeles separately voted to phase out drilling over the next 20 years.  “The regular Californians that I meet really care deeply about their health,” Addis told Capital & Main. “They care deeply about their air quality and living in a world where we don’t have extreme weather events.” In June, the California Geologic Energy Management Division released an analysis by a scientific advisory panel of more than 72 peer-reviewed studies affirming that people who live closer to gas and oil wells “experience a greater risk of decreased respiratory function and adverse perinatal outcomes” than those those who live farther away.  Slagle dismissed the analysis and that of similar studies. “Frankly, we believe a lot of science in them was designed to meet the political goals,” he said. The Western States Petroleum Association ads contends that Hart’s and Addis’ bills will make gasoline more expensive and result in job losses. “Let us power our state for more affordable energy and progress we can all be proud of,” one of the ads says. Copyright 2024 Capital & Main

A $5 million prime-time ad campaign is aimed at climate policies the industry claims make life miserable for Californians. The post As Seen on TV: Big Oil’s Dystopian View of California’s Climate Agenda appeared first on .

A woman swelters in her darkened bedroom; another stares glumly at the utility bills piled on her desk. A motorist watches with resignation as the gas pump dial spins and the dollar amount climbs while a woman sits behind the wheel of her car and sobs at the hopelessness of it all.

The minute-long advertisement’s dystopian take on everyday life in the Golden State is underscored by a singer crooning country singer Cody Jinks’ mournful lyrics: “It’s been too long a time with no peace of mind, and I’m ready for the times to get better.”

A still from an advertisement by the Western States Petroleum Association.

The ad wasn’t released by a presidential campaign or a social justice organization. Instead, it was produced by the Western States Petroleum Association, the powerhouse oil industry trade and lobbying group. Its implicit message is that policies to fight climate change are hurting regular Californians. 

The association ran the slick ad in television markets across the state during the Summer Olympics, said Kevin Slagle, the association’s vice president, strategic communications. Along with a website that features a three-question survey, it is part of a $5 million advertising and polling campaign — more than the petroleum association spent on general lobbying over the first two quarters of the year combined.

California’s overarching strategy to limit damage from climate change involves weaning its economy off oil and natural gas. Burning such fossil fuels emits carbon dioxide, the main driver of the climate crisis. The hotter atmosphere has killed people and caused billions of dollars in damage from severe flooding, drought, prolonged heat waves and wildfires — all hallmarks of human-caused climate change.
 

The oil lobby is trying to defeat bills that would encourage oil companies to clean up thousands of polluting idle wells and allow cities and counties to ban oil drilling.

 
There are serious questions as to whether California’s climate plans will place an uneven burden on state residents. 

Electric vehicles are still too expensive for many lower-income residents, and California gasoline — which already has the highest per-gallon price in the nation — is taxed to pay for climate-friendly low-carbon fuels programs, nudging the price even higher. Drivers could soon be charged even more to make up for lost tax revenue at the pumps. Meanwhile, power bills are rising for lower-income residents to help pay for electrifying buildings, while natural gas users could see further rate spikes.  

But a review of the Western States Petroleum Association’s lobbying actions shows that its legislative priorities in the current session focus less on increasing economic equity and more on defeating bills that would curtail the industry. 

The oil lobby is trying to defeat bills that would encourage oil companies to clean up thousands of polluting idle wells (AB 1866) and allow cities and counties to ban oil drilling (AB 3233). It also lobbied against a bill to plug low-producing wells near homes (AB 2716): That bill has since been amended to apply only to the Inglewood Oil Field in Los Angeles.

Such actions could benefit working-class Californians, particularly in communities of color that tend to be closest to oil and gas production. And the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said that poverty and economic inequality exacerbate the effects of climate change. As the California legislative session winds down in August, all three bills are up for a final vote by lawmakers this week.

The measures are part of a “Make Polluters Pay” package championed by climate advocates. It originally included a bill that would have forced companies that emitted a billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions or more to pay for damage and preparations for future climate disasters — with 40% reserved for disadvantaged communities. Another would have forced oil companies to cover medical bills for people sickened by oil wells.

Neither bill advanced after the Western States Petroleum Association, the California Independent Petroleum Association and the California Chamber of Commerce lobbied against them.

Slagle said the Western States Petroleum Association opposed the “Make Polluters Pay” package because California has “already addressed” concerns about local pollution from oil wells, citing a landmark but much-delayed law passed in 2022 that increased the required distance between schools and neighborhoods and oil and gas operations.

A still from an advertisement by the Western States Petroleum Association.

“We’ll need these products for a while,” Slagle said, referring to oil and gas. The purpose of the petroleum association’s television ad campaign, he said, is to highlight how California’s climate policies — such as “arbitrary timelines” for electrifying vehicles, buildings and home appliances — worsen people’s financial struggles. 

The petroleum association hired Probolsky Research to survey 900 people in May. Most respondents agreed they were concerned about how California’s climate goals would affect their daily lives. But the petroleum association didn’t release the methodology behind the survey; Slagle said the association’s ongoing polling is “not scientific.”

The California Air Resources Board adopted regulations to prohibit the sale of fossil-fuel-powered cars by 2035 and to require that 80% of household appliances such as stoves and water heaters be electric by that year if a house changes hands. The California Energy Commission, meanwhile, wants 90% of the state’s electricity production to come from zero-carbon sources by the same time, a goal set by legislation. 

Taken together, such policies could unduly burden lower-income residents. In 2022, the California Air Resources Board reported that the combined effects of transitioning from fossil fuels will lead to a $4.1 billion decline in income for households making less than $100,000 a year by 2035. In contrast, households with higher incomes will see a gain of $3.5 billion. 

Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara) introduced AB 1866 directing oil operators to plug wells that are no longer in operation but are likely still releasing methane, a potent greenhouse gas. He sees his legislation as a way to protect public health, especially in communities where residents lack the resources to prepare for and recover from sudden climate-driven disasters

Companies that do not comply could be charged thousands of dollars per well — a significant increase from the current fees under a state program that has allowed companies to keep wells unplugged for decades. It’s a necessary step since the number of idle wells in California has increased over the last seven years, Hart said.
 

The think tank Carbon Tracker Initiative estimates that the cost to taxpayers of plugging uncovered wells in California will be at least $6.9 billion.

 
“The idea that it’s just a business practice where we can idle a well and have [it] leak and not attend to it, that there may be a point in the future where oil prices are high enough and we want to re-open them — that isn’t a great environmental strategy for residents of California,” Hart told Capital & Main. 

Slagle said many wells in the state “aren’t temporarily producing” but could come back to life when “market conditions improve.” 

An economic forecast by the Carbon Tracker Initiative, a London-based think tank, shows that the costs of plugging oil and gas wells will eclipse potential profits of drilling California’s dwindling reserves — yet companies have been required only to offer up bonds worth a fraction of cleanup costs. The think tank estimates the cost to taxpayers of plugging uncovered wells in California to be at least $6.9 billion.

In addition to its TV ad, the Western States Petroleum Association is placing ads on Facebook taking aim at Hart’s bill and AB 3233, sponsored by Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-San Luis Obispo), which would codify the right of cities and counties to prohibit oil and gas production. It would build on recent measures by local governments to prohibit drilling.

In 2021, Culver City voted to require oil companies to plug all of their remaining oil wells. The following year, the city and county of Los Angeles separately voted to phase out drilling over the next 20 years. 

“The regular Californians that I meet really care deeply about their health,” Addis told Capital & Main. “They care deeply about their air quality and living in a world where we don’t have extreme weather events.”

In June, the California Geologic Energy Management Division released an analysis by a scientific advisory panel of more than 72 peer-reviewed studies affirming that people who live closer to gas and oil wells “experience a greater risk of decreased respiratory function and adverse perinatal outcomes” than those those who live farther away. 

Slagle dismissed the analysis and that of similar studies. “Frankly, we believe a lot of science in them was designed to meet the political goals,” he said.

The Western States Petroleum Association ads contends that Hart’s and Addis’ bills will make gasoline more expensive and result in job losses. “Let us power our state for more affordable energy and progress we can all be proud of,” one of the ads says.

Copyright 2024 Capital & Main

Read the full story here.
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A campaigning Labour hero & a remarkable minister who transformed lives - upgrading millions of council homes, coalfield regeneration, tackling climate change. Fierce & warm hearted - there was no one like him. Thinking of Pauline & family today From Ed Balls, the former adviser to Gordon Brown and later secretary of state for childrenFrom Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader I am really sad to hear that John Prescott has passed away. John was a huge figure and personality, from his seafaring union days to the highest offices in Government. I will be forever grateful for his personal and political support in the 2017 and 2019 elections. His endless warmth and iconic wit were loved on the campaign trail. My deepest sympathies to John’s family at their loss. He will be greatly missed. From Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary 1/2 John Prescott was a political giant who made a unique contribution to the Labour and trade union movement he loved so deeply. Authentic, funny, tough, highly skilled and, at times, unpredictable, he often used the phrase “traditional Labour values in a modern setting”. 2/2 In doing so, he would reassure and inspire Party members with whom he had a great bond. He will be much missed. All our thoughts are with Pauline and his family on this very sad day. From David Lammy, foreign secretary John Prescott was one of the giants of our party. Committed, loyal, Labour to his core. A relentless champion of working people who never forgot who he came into politics to fight for. Full of good humour and blunt common sense. Rest in peace Angela Rayner pays tribute to Prescott, saying he was 'inspiration to me'Angela Rayner is often compared to John Prescott. They were both brought up working class, became Labour MPs after working in the trade union movement and have been frequently patronised or demonised by Tories and the media, partly on the grounds of class snobbery. And both ended up deputy PM.Here is her tribute to Prescott. Through his half a century of public service and a decade as deputy prime minister, John Prescott was driven by his Labour values to serve working people. Fiercely proud of his working class and trade union roots, he never lost sight of who he came into politics to serve. He used the chance he was given to change the lives of millions of working people. A giant of the labour movement and loyal friend, he will be remembered with huge fondness by all those who knew him. John was not only a Labour legend but an inspiration to me, and always so generous with his time and support. We will miss him greatly. Our thoughts and prayers are with Pauline, David, Johnathan and the rest of the family. ShareUpdated at 04.06 ESTPrescott's family ask people not to send flowers but to donate to Alzheimer's Research UK insteadHere is the full statement from John Prescott’s family announcing his death. Prescott was living with Alzheimer’s in his final years and his family have asked wellwishers minded to send flowers to donate to Alzheimer’s Research UK instead.They say: We are deeply saddened to inform you that our beloved husband, father and grandfather, John Prescott, passed away peacefully yesterday at the age of 86. He did so surrounded by the love of his family and the jazz music of Marian Montgomery. John spent his life trying to improve the lives of others, fighting for social justice and protecting the environment, doing so from his time as a waiter on the cruise liners to becoming Britain’s longest serving deputy prime minister. John dearly loved his home of Hull and representing its people in parliament for 40 years was his greatest honour. We would like to thank the amazing NHS doctors and nurses who cared for him after his stroke in 2019 and the dedicated staff at the care home where he passed away after latterly living with Alzheimer’s. In lieu of flowers and if you wish to do so, you can donate to Alzheimer’s Research UK. As you can imagine, our family needs to process our grief so we respectfully request time and space to mourn in private. Thank you. Here is a John Prescott picture gallery.Gordon Brown pays tribute to PrescottGood morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Caroline Davies.The former prime minister Gordon Brown has just been on the Today programme paying tribute to John Prescott. He said: John was a friend of mine, he was a colleague, but when you think of him, he was a colossus, he was a titan of the Labour movement. John Lennon talked about working class hero. It’s difficult to fit that term, but I think John would like that. You’ve got to look at his achievements. He was probably the first government minister to see the importance of the environment. Kyoto, that environmental treaty in 1997, you’ve got to attribute that to John’s hard work with Al Gore. Then he saw the importance, and he was a pioneer of regional policy. So the fact we have devolution and mayors owes a great deal to what John was thinking right throughout the 1980s and 90s when I was working with him. And then we mustn’t forget that one of the great achievements of John as environment secretary was the repair and improvement of housing, 1.5m houses which would not have been repaired without John’s determination that the social housing stock had to be remodernised. So you’ve got to look at the practical achievements of someone who possibly surprised himself by the way that he managed to become deputy prime minister, but actually made a huge difference. Yorkshire has “lost one of its great political heavyweights,” said Tracy Brabin, mayor for West Yorkshire. In a post on X she said: Deeply sad news to hear of John Prescott’s passing. Yorkshire has lost one of its great political heavyweights. A true Northerner with unwavering authenticity. John’s record speaks for itself: tackling regional inequalities, fighting for social justice and protecting the environment. We must all now build on his legacy and work tirelessly, as he did, to create a country that works for all. ShareUpdated at 03.44 ESTLord Prescott’s wife and two sons said he had been in a care home recently living with Alzheimer’s. Hilary Evans-Newton, chief executive at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: It’s heartbreaking to hear that former deputy prime minister, Lord John Prescott, one of the most prominent political figures of our generation, has died with Alzheimer’s. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time. It’s tragic how many lives are being lost to dementia, the leading cause of death in the UK. We’re incredibly moved by Lord Prescott’s family, who have asked for donations to Alzheimer’s Research UK, in lieu of flowers. As the UK’s leading dementia research charity, we’re accelerating progress towards a cure, so no one’s life has to end this way.

Climate
Government
Social Justice

The climate crisis is a big problem. Marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is dreaming of even bigger solutions.

Here’s an exercise for you: Imagine the trajectory of our current climate crisis.  You probably don’t need to imagine very hard what this future looks like because we’re seeing it play out in the present: towns torn apart by massive hurricanes, thousands displaced by wildfires, lives taken by extreme heat. All of it is enough […]

Here’s an exercise for you: Imagine the trajectory of our current climate crisis.  You probably don’t need to imagine very hard what this future looks like because we’re seeing it play out in the present: towns torn apart by massive hurricanes, thousands displaced by wildfires, lives taken by extreme heat. All of it is enough to make a person freeze with fear. But there is a flip side to this terror.  Such an all-consuming problem inherently requires innovative solutions and adaptations of epic proportions. So here’s another exercise: Close your eyes and think, what could a world that hasn’t just taken the climate crisis seriously but also risen to the challenge look like? Envisioning a better future in the face of serious climate threats might seem like lofty daydreaming, especially when we take into consideration our world leaders’ inaction. But Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a marine biologist and climate policy wonk, has spent much of her career dreaming and coming up with climate solutions — and she knows that nihilism and avoidance won’t get us anywhere. In her recently published book, What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures, Johnson tackles how we can transform our ways of being, thinking, and doing to stop the worst of climate change. She expertly intertwines her conversations with scientists, artists, and activists to create a practical and accessible guidebook for a more just future brimming with possibilities — a salve for even the most environmentally anxious.  “Peril and possibility coexist,” she writes in the book. Of course, she’s well aware of just how big of an environmental mess our world is in, but you won’t catch her dwelling on the worst-case scenarios for long. “We’re pretty fucked,” Johnson said in her September interview on Vox’s The Gray Area, “but there’s a lot we could do to have a better possible future.”  Johnson is particularly adept at speaking to those who know the climate crisis is real but have the instinct to bury their head in the sand at the thought of such a massive existential crisis. Though she is frank about the state of our world’s environmental health, she speaks and writes with an energizing clarity — whether it’s conversing with climate advocates for her book tour or breaking down big environmental questions as a co-host of the podcast How to Save a Planet. It’s Johnson’s understanding of our instinct to flee the climate problems that has made it essential for her to explore the possibilities to address it and take action that goes beyond protesting or voting. These are important measures, Johnson believes, but also broad ones that aren’t necessarily fine-tuned to our individual experiences, skills, and interests.  For Johnson, a Brooklyn native who calls the ocean her love before it became her career, that looked like co-founding Urban Ocean Lab (UOL) in 2018. The nonprofit think tank specializes in researching coastal cities in the United States — places that one in five Americans call home and are often vulnerable to some of the worst environmental disasters — and developing equitable, pragmatic policy recommendations for these regions.  One such recommendation is UOL’s climate readiness framework for coastal cities. It’s a comprehensive collection of over 70 actions that coastal communities can apply to better adapt to current and future climate risks, such as working with community-based organizations to strengthen disaster preparedness plans and developing home relocation programs for low-income residents and people of color living in climate-vulnerable places.  The Caribbean region in particular has a special place in Johnson’s heart — her late father hailed from Jamaica, whose waters have suffered from pollution and overfishing. “To me, ocean conservation is in part about cultural preservation,” she writes after reflecting on her father’s life between Jamaica and New York City. “We are losing something more fundamental than a meal: a way of life.” It makes sense that Johnson has also worked to improve the waters surrounding these islands. Prior to founding UOL, she led an ocean management policy project called the Blue Halo Initiative at the Waitt Institute, where she served as executive director. Starting in Barbuda in 2013, Johnson focused on engaging with the community, interviewing hundreds of fishers and residents to develop policy recommendations for better preserving the waters and the species within it. Just a year later, the Barbuda Council signed into law a set of ocean zoning policies to protect underwater ecosystems and ensure sustainable fishing. These efforts were soon replicated in Montserrat and Curaçao. Johnson’s reverence for the ocean and the career she’s made out of it has made its way into the American political sphere, too. Back in 2019, the Green New Deal, a set of proposed progressive climate policies, was supported by left-leaning candidates up and down the ballot. Johnson had just one issue with it: It left out our seas almost entirely. “I was feeling bummed about the ocean getting short shrift in the Green New Deal Resolution — just a single, vague reference to the ocean,” Johnson wrote in What If We Get It Right? That summer, Johnson co-authored an op-ed in Grist about this big blue gap and what solutions to fill it with. Within that year, Johnson was contacted by Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 presidential campaign to help write what would become the Blue New Deal, an official policy platform for the Warren campaign. It was an extensive list of actions, like expanding marine protected areas, building climate-smart ports, and holding Big Agriculture accountable for water pollution. When Johnson later met Sen. Warren, she wrote in What If We Get It Right? that “[Senator Warren] told me it was the plan that got the most excited mentions in her selfie lines.” And while Joe Biden won the Democratic nomination and the election, his administration became the first to put out a federal Ocean Climate Action plan — which included similar elements to the Blue New Deal — after dozens of businesses and organizations (including UOL) pushed the White House to do so. There are a lot of studies that show engaging with nature helps our physical and mental well-being, so it’s not surprising that conserving our environment is important for many people. One word that Johnson often uses and embodies is “biophilia”: a love for nature and life, and in her words, “a powerful driving force for conservation.” With this in mind, I have one more exercise for you: Think of moments you’ve felt biophilia. Maybe you once walked through a lush forest, swam in a pristine lake, or witnessed snow-capped mountains up close. Perhaps you’ve encountered one of the millions of amazing creatures that inhabit these ecosystems. But how can one hold onto this sense of biophilia if much of our ways of life are destroying the very essence of it?  It’s all the more reason not to let our worries immobilize us and instead try to get it right, just as Johnson has done. Her wide-ranging expertise on climate policy; deeply empathetic and inclusive lens for climate solutions; and her unwavering, contagious biophilia has made her a bold visionary to follow in the climate space.  How apt that a lover of the ocean is making waves. —Sam Delgado

Climate
Crisis
Agriculture

Denmark is tiny. Its ambition to make its food system more climate-friendly is huge.

Climate scientists agree on at least one necessary change to our food system: People, especially those in rich countries, ought to be eating more plants and fewer animals.  Globally, livestock production accounts for some 15 to 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions and accelerates a host of other environmental problems, from deforestation to freshwater depletion […]

Climate scientists agree on at least one necessary change to our food system: People, especially those in rich countries, ought to be eating more plants and fewer animals.  Globally, livestock production accounts for some 15 to 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions and accelerates a host of other environmental problems, from deforestation to freshwater depletion to air pollution. And yet virtually all Western governments have designed their food policy to churn out more and more meat, milk, and eggs.  The idea that we need to eat more, not less, meat is also baked into many nations’ cultural psyches, with both subtle and overt messages that meat equals masculinity and prosperity. Meat has been dragged into many countries’ culture wars, stifling civil discussions over how to make food systems sustainable. One country, though, far more than any other, has heeded the climate scientists’ advice: Denmark, the small Scandinavian nation of 6 million people known for its intensive factory farming system and resulting pork and dairy exports. In 2021, the Danish Parliament and government made a deal to shift its food system in a more plant-based and organic direction, and has set aside around $200 million US to do it. About $85 million is going to farmers who grow plant-based foods. The rest is being used to fund new projects, like experimenting with “nudge theory” — redesigning cafeterias to subtly encourage consumers to choose more plant-based options — and launching a startup incubator for plant-based companies at the Technological Institute of Denmark.  Many people have labored to turn these ideas into policy, but Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl, the secretary-general of the Vegetarian Society of Denmark, has unquestionably been the leader. Dragsdahl became the society’s first employee in 2016, when he went unpaid for the first year or so. Since then, the organization has grown to employ 22 staff members.  How exactly did a tiny organization with little political clout blaze a trail toward a more sustainable, humane food system? I spoke with Dragsdahl last month to find out. His secret, it turns out, is diplomacy.  Dragsdahl and his vegetarian society colleagues spent years building a coalition of farmers, scientists, and organic food advocates, emphasizing shared values — sustainability and food innovation — instead of differences, like the merits of vegetarianism. This big-tent approach appealed to politicians, including not just members of left-wing parties but also politicians on the right, one of whom called the country’s plant-based action plan an “intelligent idea,” according to Dragsdahl.    “That, I think, shows the fact that we and other stakeholders have somehow managed to mainstream this,” he told me. “There are still ideological battles and clearly we’re not done, but we have to a large extent managed to get many people to see that this should also be a part of Danish agriculture and that it should be stronger. That there’s actual potential in this. That there’s no need to fight over more plants.” My conversation with Dragsdahl has been edited for length and clarity. What role does meat play in Danish society? It’s really a centerpiece of food culture, of Danish culture. There are many social events, whether it’s football events — people will have their hot dogs — and when they’re grilling in the summer.  Apart from food culture … Denmark is a very agricultural nation. We are the most cultivated country in the world, together with Bangladesh, in terms of the [percentage of the] surface of the land being cultivated, because the country is very flat, so you can say it’s suitable for this.  Even though the country might be suitable, you can over-cultivate it. And that is the problem — we have severe biodiversity loss here, severe eutrophication. … So it’s definitely damaging the local environment here. But for many decades, it has been difficult to do anything about it because at least some people have felt we are an agricultural nation. It’s in our blood, that’s who we are. And livestock is an integral part of that.  So there are things here, both culturally but also politically. And there’s this universal pride for people — that Danish dairy, Danish butter, is being exported to the whole world… But also, of course, bacon and pork products. But that has been increasingly questioned in the last 10 years.  What happened to lay the groundwork for the plant-based action plan? In 2019, we got the idea to start something we call the Danish Network for Plant Proteins. You make such a network, really, to make people feel welcome no matter where they’re from. … We had hard-hitting scientists, we had inspiring startups, we had interesting content — but always in a friendly and warm and pragmatic tone. And that meant that even the farming association [the Danish Agriculture and Food Council] attended. They later came back to us a month later and told us that they liked our approach. We don’t agree about scaling down livestock production, but they did agree that we could work together on how to look more into plant-based [food production] to diversify Danish agriculture.  When they did that, it almost immediately eliminated any opposition from a large part of the political spectrum. So maybe some of the resistance in the right wing became neutral, and some of the hesitance among the parties in the center of Danish politics became slightly positive. And that was extremely helpful because you move the entire playing field. And then, of course, the parties which are even more progressive on the center and center-left wing, they can push even harder for it and get the middle parties on board without the right wing making a big fuss about it. And the farmers’ association was definitely important for that. I think we have really successfully been insisting that plant-based is both the whole foods plant-based and the processed [foods] and everything in between. And by insisting on that, we’re getting less opposition between the people who just want everything to be home-cooked and believe children should be taught how to cook their own vegetables again. These solutions are both needed, and there [are] also places in between. There might be processed products that imitate meat but that are processed in milder ways. I think many of the Danish startups in this space are actually trying to find these kinds of solutions. So that has been a way to get many different kinds of people on board.  What kind of plant-based projects have been awarded funding?  So far, around 35 projects have been granted [in each of two rounds].  In the first round, the Hospitality School of Copenhagen got funding for a vegetarian chef’s degree. They got the funding for developing a curriculum that the government could then approve as acceptable for a new chef’s degree — which does not have any meat — and that degree becomes part of the government system, so it becomes a formal government education. But they could not have done it without getting funding to develop the curriculum. In the second round, some [agricultural] schools applied for funding for developing a curriculum on legumes, but also to teach the professionals in the kitchens at the farmer schools how to include more legumes in the foods eaten by the young farmers. What else should people know about Denmark’s efforts to build a more plant-based food system? Denmark is not paradise. [People] will have this excuse — they’ll say, “This is just Denmark, Denmark is always ahead on everything.” But that’s not the full story. And I think that’s the important part to be told here. This happened in the country with the largest livestock production per capita and with a very powerful livestock lobbying sector. So when we can succeed on that in Denmark, there will be pathways to that in other countries. And for me, that is a really important message that we should not give up — that there is actually hope.

Climate
Food
Forests

Suggested Viewing

Capturing The Fire

When Louise Coghill saw the first plume of smoke begin to rise behind her parents property, she could never have predicted that in less than four hours, it would become a wall of flames, swallowing everything in its path. A photographer by trade, Louise has travelled the world documenting everything from the nomadic wanderers of Mongolia, to base life at Mount Everest. Capturing the extraordinary comes naturally to Louise, so when her family home in the semi-rural Western Australian town of Gidgegannup became engulfed in flames, her first instinct wasn’t to take shelter, it was to pick up her camera.

Conservation
Climate
Nature

Crossing the Divide

An Iowa farmer reacts swiftly when he hears that radical climate marchers plan to disrupt peace in his tiny town. What he does after that offers a lesson for would-be peacemakers everywhere.

Inspirational
Activism
Climate

Inside The Grand Canyon

This guerrilla style documentary film captures a Colorado River rafting expedition through the Grand Canyon. Exhilarating and sometimes dangerous expeditions like this are not often considered when discussing global climate change but could be helpful to enlighten more folks about the changes to our planet. This rafting trip will soon be a thing of the past with record draughts continuing due to ongoing global climate change caused largely by humans. This is just a tiny slice of natures many warning signs of things to come. We find ourselves in a world of ongoing disbelief and hesitation in lieu of planning for the clear and present dangers from climate change. The Colorado River has already reached devastating levels for communities that depend on the water and electrical power resource. Government study in 2022 showed that Lake Powell could reach ""dead pool"" by 2023. There is no plan to mitigate the catastrophe that will leave over a million and a half people with no electricity.

Water
Climate
Sustainable

The Pleasure of Killing Bugs

In the near future, the climate crisis reaches an irreversible point. A nun and a priest meet to talk about the disappearance of insects.

Climate
Fiction
Student

Beyond the Soil

Beyond the Soil is a short, poetic documentary which explores the emotional impact of climate change on farmers and ranchers who are on the frontlines of the megadrought in the Rocky Mountain West, and their innovation and resilience in the face of ecological crisis.

Climate
Food

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