truthout--2020-04-27--US Oil and Gas Methane Emissions Are 15 Percent Higher Than We Thought

Methane emissions are vastly undercounted at the state and national level because we ’ re missing accidental leaks from oil and gas wells , according to a new study .
Methane is a greenhouse gas that , when initially released , is about 87 times more potent than carbon dioxide at driving global warming ( it doesn ’ t last as long in the atmosphere , however , so when averaged over a century methane is about 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide at driving global warming ) .
Methane causes about 25 percent of human-driven climate change according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the oil and gas industry is the leading emitter of methane .
Last year , global atmospheric methane reached a 20-year high .
The new study , conducted by researchers at Cornell University and published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology , looked at 589,175 operator reports on methane leaks from both fracking and conventional oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania from 2014-2018 .
The researchers found that methane emissions in the state are at least 15 percent higher than previously thought — and they believe a similar under-counting is happening at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percent of methane going into the atmosphere that we didn ’ t know about is very significant for climate change in the short term , ” Tony Ingraffea , professor emeritus of engineering at Cornell and the study ’ s lead author , told EHN .
Ingraffea also authored a groundbreaking study in 2011 that determined methane emissions from fracking accelerate global warming more than carbon dioxide emissions from either coal or conventional oil and gas .
Pennsylvania is the second largest producer of natural gas in the country after Texas .
Ingraffea @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a study published this week by Harvard researchers that found methane emissions in the Permian basin in Texas and New Mexico are more than two times higher than federal estimates .
Methane exposure is rarely a threat to human health except under extreme circumstances , but “ as a climate change exacerbator , ” Ingraffea said , “ it affects the health of every human on the planet.
” The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection ( PA DEP ) has required all oil and gas well operators in the state to measure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wells once per quarter since 2014 .
Fracking wells are required to submit quarterly reports on their findings , while conventional wells must submit reports at least once a year .
No other state has such extensive methane leak monitoring , and this study , which took three years to complete , marks the first time the data has ever been analyzed .
While other studies have estimated methane leaks from oil and gas , such as flying over gas wells in aircrafts with methane detection equipment , this is the first to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by oil and gas well operators .
“ This is a profoundly important database , ” Ingraffea said .
“ There ’ s nothing comparable happening in any other part of America.
” Ingraffea and his colleagues found that the Pennsylvania oil and gas wells that reported methane leaks over the five year period emitted an average of about 56 gigagrams ( or 56 billion grams ) of methane into the atmosphere every year .
These emissions are not currently included in the state ’ s methane emissions inventory .
PA DEP director @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agency is still reviewing the study ’ s findings and can ’ t yet speculate about what actions it may take in response .
A series of studies conducted by the Environmental Defense Fund previously estimated that around 10 teragrams ( or 10 trillion grams ) of methane are leaking from the oil and gas sector across the country each year .
“ The amount of methane coming from leaks in Pennsylvania is a relatively small subset of that , ” Ingraffea said .
“ But if we take a wild guess and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pennsylvania to all of America , we ’ re looking at three million wells and 20 times the methane emissions we saw in the Pennsylvania data.
” Meanwhile , the Trump Administration has proposed rolling back existing methane regulations at the federal level through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) .
The EPA ’ s rule , which is not yet finalized , aims to lift rules from the Obama Administration that required companies to detect and fix methane leaks .
In a statement , EPA Administrator said the revisions would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the oil and gas industry.
” “ EPA is moving in the wrong direction , ” Ingraffea said , adding that a major part of the problem is a failure to accurately measure our current methane emissions .
“ Missing 10 to 15 percent of methane emissions would be like saying we ’ re off about carbon dioxide emissions by factor of two , ” he added .
“ No one would accept that .
Everyone would be saying , ‘ We ’ re in big trouble.
’ Being off this much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ important.
” Ingraffea noted that their calculations are likely on the low end of true methane emissions from oil and gas well leaks in Pennsylvania .
There are around 132,000 operating oil and gas wells in the state , but fewer than half of those reported data on methane leaks to the PA DEP as required .
Of the some 60,000 wells that submitted reports , about half of those didn ’ t actually include any data , citing various reasons they couldn ’ t take measurements on methane leaks ( like inability @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The study also only looked at data from wells that are actively producing — it didn ’ t account for methane leaks from abandoned wells or wells that were still being actively drilled or fracked ( and not yet producing ) .
Shader said that the wells missing data are conventional wells , not fracking wells , and include things like home-use wells and wells from small operators .
“ DEP often receives data from these operators on paper , and it must be entered manually , which can cause delays in making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said , “ however , DEP has and will continue to take enforcement actions against operators that do not comply with the reporting requirements.
” The Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association ( PIOGA ) declined to comment on whether the industry is working to resolve these issues with reporting .
The researchers also noted some major issues with the reliability of the data .
For example , some wells that reported large quantities of methane leaks for several years in a row would suddenly report none after being purchased by a different @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reason for this is a lack of consistency in testing techniques , Ingraffea said .
Operators aren ’ t all required to use the same testing equipment or methods .
“ Not only is much of the data unreliable , ” he said , “ but I will go on record as saying that some of the data being reported to the state is downright fraudulent.
” There ’ s also no minimum reporting requirement , so some operators would note that the emissions were too low to report , but the researchers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they used to determine that .
All of these factors likely mean the reported emissions the researchers analyzed are underestimates .
Ingraffea said there should be a requirement to measure and report on methane leaks in a consistent manner and “ super emitters ” should be targeted and required to fix leaking equipment .
“ Most wells aren ’ t leaking , ” he said .
“ If they ’ re operating correctly , they shouldn ’ t leak .
Maybe just 10 percent of all unconventional wells are leaking , for example @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leaking the same amount , either .
Some leak just a little , and some , the super emitters , leak like sieves .
DEP should require those to be fixed.
” Many of those super emitters are coalbed methane wells , most of which are located in the Southwestern part of the state where a majority of the state ’ s fracking also occurs .
“ DEP is also concerned with these ‘ super emitters , ’ Shader said , “ and is exploring ways to identify them , as well as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” He added that DEP is aware that methane leaks are also a problem at abandoned wells ( which were not looked at as part of the Cornell study ) , but that the agency “ has very few resources to devote to plugging , ” and hopes initiatives like Governor Wolf ’ s Restore PA initiative , which would provide funding for critical state infrastructure including plugging abandoned wells , will help address the leaks .
In December , Pennsylvania ’ s Environmental Quality Board voted in favor of a new set @ @ @ @ @ @ @ volatile organic compounds ( VOC ) like benzene , toluene , and other chemicals linked to cancer and other health effects from fracking sites .
The rule is slated to be enacted following a 60-day public comment period , which the PA DEP said is expected to occur sometime this year , “ likely next month.
” Governor Tom Wolf ’ s office , which drafted the regulations , claimed the new rule would also indirectly reduce methane emissions by more than 75,000 tons ( about 68 gigagrams ) per year , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doesn ’ t directly address methane leaks .
“ We have known for years that PA DEP ’ s emissions inventory , which relies on industry-reported data , significantly understates the actual emissions coming from the Pennsylvania oil and gas sector , ” Joseph Otis Minott , executive director and chief counsel for Philadelphia-based advocacy group Clean Air Council , told EHN .
“ We are encouraged to see that DEP estimates its proposed existing source rule will reduce over 75,600 [ tons per year ] of methane emissions and would respectfully urge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ period on the proposal as soon as possible.
” Ingraffea said there have been “ hundreds of reports and papers looking at methane emissions published since my first paper came out in 2011…and the scientific consensus is that what EPA is reporting to all of us , and to Congress , and to the President significantly underestimates the actual methane emissions from the oil and gas industry .
”

Methane emissions are vastly undercounted at the state and national level because we’re missing accidental leaks from oil and gas wells, according to a new study.
Methane is a greenhouse gas that, when initially released, is about 87 times more potent than carbon dioxide at driving global warming (it doesn’t last as long in the atmosphere, however, so when averaged over a century methane is about 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide at driving global warming). Methane causes about 25 percent of human-driven climate change according to the Environmental Defense Fund, and the oil and gas industry is the leading emitter of methane. Last year, global atmospheric methane reached a 20-year high.
The new study, conducted by researchers at Cornell University and published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, looked at 589,175 operator reports on methane leaks from both fracking and conventional oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania from 2014-2018. The researchers found that methane emissions in the state are at least 15 percent higher than previously thought — and they believe a similar under-counting is happening at the national level.
“Another 15 percent of methane going into the atmosphere that we didn’t know about is very significant for climate change in the short term,” Tony Ingraffea, professor emeritus of engineering at Cornell and the study’s lead author, told EHN.
Ingraffea also authored a groundbreaking study in 2011 that determined methane emissions from fracking accelerate global warming more than carbon dioxide emissions from either coal or conventional oil and gas. Pennsylvania is the second largest producer of natural gas in the country after Texas. Ingraffea’s study comes on the heels of a study published this week by Harvard researchers that found methane emissions in the Permian basin in Texas and New Mexico are more than two times higher than federal estimates.
Methane exposure is rarely a threat to human health except under extreme circumstances, but “as a climate change exacerbator,” Ingraffea said, “it affects the health of every human on the planet.”
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) has required all oil and gas well operators in the state to measure the amount of methane leaking from producing wells once per quarter since 2014. Fracking wells are required to submit quarterly reports on their findings, while conventional wells must submit reports at least once a year. No other state has such extensive methane leak monitoring, and this study, which took three years to complete, marks the first time the data has ever been analyzed.
While other studies have estimated methane leaks from oil and gas, such as flying over gas wells in aircrafts with methane detection equipment, this is the first to use data that’s been self-reported by oil and gas well operators.
“This is a profoundly important database,” Ingraffea said. “There’s nothing comparable happening in any other part of America.”
Ingraffea and his colleagues found that the Pennsylvania oil and gas wells that reported methane leaks over the five year period emitted an average of about 56 gigagrams (or 56 billion grams) of methane into the atmosphere every year. These emissions are not currently included in the state’s methane emissions inventory.
PA DEP director of communications Neil Shader told EHN the agency is still reviewing the study’s findings and can’t yet speculate about what actions it may take in response.
A series of studies conducted by the Environmental Defense Fund previously estimated that around 10 teragrams (or 10 trillion grams) of methane are leaking from the oil and gas sector across the country each year. “The amount of methane coming from leaks in Pennsylvania is a relatively small subset of that,” Ingraffea said. “But if we take a wild guess and extrapolate what we’re seeing in Pennsylvania to all of America, we’re looking at three million wells and 20 times the methane emissions we saw in the Pennsylvania data.”
Meanwhile, the Trump Administration has proposed rolling back existing methane regulations at the federal level through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA’s rule, which is not yet finalized, aims to lift rules from the Obama Administration that required companies to detect and fix methane leaks. In a statement, EPA Administrator said the revisions would remove “unnecessary and duplicative regulatory burdens from the oil and gas industry.”
“EPA is moving in the wrong direction,” Ingraffea said, adding that a major part of the problem is a failure to accurately measure our current methane emissions.
“Missing 10 to 15 percent of methane emissions would be like saying we’re off about carbon dioxide emissions by factor of two,” he added. “No one would accept that. Everyone would be saying, ‘We’re in big trouble.’ Being off this much in our methane accounting is just as important.”
Unreliable Reporting Ingraffea noted that their calculations are likely on the low end of true methane emissions from oil and gas well leaks in Pennsylvania. There are around 132,000 operating oil and gas wells in the state, but fewer than half of those reported data on methane leaks to the PA DEP as required. Of the some 60,000 wells that submitted reports, about half of those didn’t actually include any data, citing various reasons they couldn’t take measurements on methane leaks (like inability to access the well site). The study also only looked at data from wells that are actively producing — it didn’t account for methane leaks from abandoned wells or wells that were still being actively drilled or fracked (and not yet producing). Shader said that the wells missing data are conventional wells, not fracking wells, and include things like home-use wells and wells from small operators. “DEP often receives data from these operators on paper, and it must be entered manually, which can cause delays in making the data available electronically,” he said, “however, DEP has and will continue to take enforcement actions against operators that do not comply with the reporting requirements.” The Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association (PIOGA) declined to comment on whether the industry is working to resolve these issues with reporting.
The researchers also noted some major issues with the reliability of the data. For example, some wells that reported large quantities of methane leaks for several years in a row would suddenly report none after being purchased by a different operator the following year. One likely reason for this is a lack of consistency in testing techniques, Ingraffea said. Operators aren’t all required to use the same testing equipment or methods. “Not only is much of the data unreliable,” he said, “but I will go on record as saying that some of the data being reported to the state is downright fraudulent.” There’s also no minimum reporting requirement, so some operators would note that the emissions were too low to report, but the researchers have no way of knowing what threshold they used to determine that. All of these factors likely mean the reported emissions the researchers analyzed are underestimates. Ingraffea said there should be a requirement to measure and report on methane leaks in a consistent manner and “super emitters” should be targeted and required to fix leaking equipment. “Most wells aren’t leaking,” he said. “If they’re operating correctly, they shouldn’t leak. Maybe just 10 percent of all unconventional wells are leaking, for example, but they’re not all leaking the same amount, either. Some leak just a little, and some, the super emitters, leak like sieves. DEP should require those to be fixed.” Many of those super emitters are coalbed methane wells, most of which are located in the Southwestern part of the state where a majority of the state’s fracking also occurs. “DEP is also concerned with these ‘super emitters,’ Shader said, “and is exploring ways to identify them, as well as being interested in suggestions for identifying them.” He added that DEP is aware that methane leaks are also a problem at abandoned wells (which were not looked at as part of the Cornell study), but that the agency “has very few resources to devote to plugging,” and hopes initiatives like Governor Wolf’s Restore PA initiative, which would provide funding for critical state infrastructure including plugging abandoned wells, will help address the leaks.
Lack of Regulations, Lack of Accounting In December, Pennsylvania’s Environmental Quality Board voted in favor of a new set of regulations aimed at reducing emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) like benzene, toluene, and other chemicals linked to cancer and other health effects from fracking sites. The rule is slated to be enacted following a 60-day public comment period, which the PA DEP said is expected to occur sometime this year, “likely next month.” Governor Tom Wolf’s office, which drafted the regulations, claimed the new rule would also indirectly reduce methane emissions by more than 75,000 tons (about 68 gigagrams) per year, but environmental advocates expressed frustration that the rule doesn’t directly address methane leaks. “We have known for years that PA DEP’s emissions inventory, which relies on industry-reported data, significantly understates the actual emissions coming from the Pennsylvania oil and gas sector,” Joseph Otis Minott, executive director and chief counsel for Philadelphia-based advocacy group Clean Air Council, told EHN. “We are encouraged to see that DEP estimates its proposed existing source rule will reduce over 75,600 [tons per year] of methane emissions and would respectfully urge the Department to open a public comment period on the proposal as soon as possible.” Ingraffea said there have been “hundreds of reports and papers looking at methane emissions published since my first paper came out in 2011…and the scientific consensus is that what EPA is reporting to all of us, and to Congress, and to the President significantly underestimates the actual methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.”
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.


truthout--2020-04-27--Local-Level Fossil Fuel Fights Face Violent Retaliation From Industry

Fighting fossil fuel companies can be dangerous business .
The people of County Mayo , Ireland , found that out when they rose up against Shell Oil in the early 2000s .
The uprising lasted 15 years .
Protesters were beaten and jailed .
But they delayed the refinery ’ s opening by 10 years , cost Shell billions of dollars and caused the company a public relations nightmare , as a new book by Fred Wilcox , Shamrocks and Oil Slicks , recounts .
In the fight over the gas pipeline and refinery in County Mayo , Wilcox interviewed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ innkeepers , teachers — about the gas infrastructure and recounts the brutality they endured when they resisted .
As farmer Willie Corduff says , “ I think that if Shell had known at the beginning that we weren ’ t after money … they would have taken us out , killed us.
” Corduff was one of the “ Rossport 5 ” — three County Mayo farmers and two teachers jailed for resistance such as telling Shell engineers to get off their property .
Shell got an injunction against them , which they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to help resisters , ” Wilcox told Truthout via email .
“ The church abandoned them .
The media maligned them .
The police beat them.
” The horrible irony is that there was no benefit to Ireland from this refinery .
Shell took all the revenues .
Politicians and the clergy were allegedly paid off .
Shell ’ s own Environmental Impact Statement revealed that Shell planned to dump mercury , selenium , cobalt and radioactive elements into the local bay and lake .
“ The enforcers Shell brought to Ireland were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beat the company ’ s opponents , ” according to Wilcox .
The Rossport 5 , however , had a huge impact .
Spontaneous celebrations broke out throughout Ireland the day the injunction was lifted and the Rossport 5 were released .
The “ foreshore license ” exemplified the many illegalities in the planning process .
Wilcox ’ s book reports that a government minister issued a foreshore license that allowed “ the project ’ s developers to do almost anything they want , up to the foreshore [ or seashore ] .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the foreshore as being eight kilometers inland , which … is completely illegal .
The foreshore is part of the shore between the high-water mark and the low .
That ’ s it.
” According to local activist Mark Garavan , “ even if officials have to change laws , that ’ s exactly what they are prepared to do.
” Or , as journalist Liamy MacNally sums up this shameful episode : “ The people of Erris were betrayed by the government , by Mayo County Council and by the oil company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all these lies being told … even perjury in court .
I witnessed it.
” Legal skullduggery is a feature of oil companies ’ assaults on local people .
From the perjury MacNally says he witnessed in Ireland to the judge-shopping that some accuse Chevron of in its battle against Ecuadorians over its Amazon pollution , the courts are the scene of many fossil fuel corporate abuses.
” Ecuadorians in the Amazon rainforest found out how dangerous fossil fuel companies are following an oil spill by Texaco ( later acquired by Chevron ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ courts , and a fight that continues today .
In Ecuador , Chevron continues to push legislation that would undermine the judiciary and make the Ecuadorian government liable for Chevron ’ s pollution , according to Kevin Koenig of Amazon Watch .
To insulate itself from paying for its Amazon damage , Chevron long ago removed all its assets from Ecuador , because when Chevron bought Texaco in 2000 , it became liable for “ the Amazon Chernobyl ” – more than 900 carcinogenic waste pits and the dumping of roughly 16 billion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Indigenous people in Ecuador sued Texaco , owned by Chevron , in 2003 over their destroyed land , polluted water and subsequent health issues resulting from the oil spill .
They suffer from cancers , respiratory ailments , skin lesions and miscarriages in great numbers – all symptoms of hydrocarbons in drinking water and on the skin .
These victims won over $ 9 billion from the company in Ecuadorian court in 2013 .
So Chevron went to the New York courts , according to Koenig , to prevent Ecuadorian communities from ever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fraud and illegal impropriety in the Ecuadorian court proceedings .
According to Greenpeace ’ s Rex Weyler , Chevron found a friendly New York judge , Lewis A. Kaplan , who “ allowed a RICO racketeering case against two Ecuadoreans … and their American lawyer , Steven Donziger.
” Koenig described this “ attack on a human rights attorney , Donziger , who is currently under house arrest pending appeal ” as unprecedented .
But on February 25 , in a huge blow to Chevron , bar referee John Horan recommended returning Donziger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suspended following his arrest .
Now Ecuadorians must file suits in foreign countries where Chevron has assets to claim recompense .
In 2015 , they did so in Argentina and Canada .
In Argentina , according to Koenig , Chevron pressured the Kirchner government , threatening to leave the country .
On appeal , Koenig says Chevron argued that the Ecuadorian award was based on fraud and legal malfeasance , and that Ecuadorians should not get Chevron ’ s Argentina assets , because Chevron in Argentina is a separate corporation from Chevron .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ This , Koenig observes , “ is the way the corporate structure of the fossil fuel industry is designed to guarantee impunity .
They set up subsidiaries to protect themselves from liability.
” In Canada , Chevron delayed , denied and stalled , Koenig says .
In 2018 , the high court sided with the oil company .
Chevron did not respond to a request for comment .
This resembles Shell ’ s tactics in Nigeria , where it has stalled living up to its side of a court-ordered bargain .
What Shell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and its people in the Niger Delta in the 1990s is orders of magnitude worse than what happened anywhere else .
The 1956 discovery of oil there led to environmental catastrophe and crimes against humanity .
Several human rights cases , beginning in 1966 , sought to hold Shell accountable for crimes such as summary execution , crimes against humanity , torture , inhumane treatment and arbitrary arrest and detention .
Back in the 1990s , environmental protesters were killed .
Toyin Falola and Roy Doron ’ s book , Ken Saro-Wiwa , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ writer , Saro-Wiwa , who was framed and falsely accused of murder , along with eight other environmental activists , and hanged by the Nigerian military government in 1995 .
Saro-Wiwa was world-renowned for leading the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People ( MOSOP ) , a group the military intended to crush .
“ Although Ogoniland is only a small part of the Niger Delta , ” according to Amnesty International , “ MOSOP ’ s protest had potentially wide ramifications .
The government ’ s finances relied upon oil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made up 95.7 % of Nigeria ’ s total exports.
” Saro-Wiwa ’ s execution led to Nigeria ’ s suspension from the Commonwealth of Nations , whose 54 members are mostly former territories of the British Empire , for over three years .
Suspension is the most serious punishment the commonwealth imposes .
In 2009 , Shell settled the Saro-Wiwa case , paying $ 15.5 million to his family without admitting liability .
According to Amnesty International , the Niger Delta is “ one of the most polluted places on earth , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Little did the … Ogoni communities … know that their culture , traditions , practices and livelihood were about to be flushed into the septic tank of horror , ” Falola said about Shell ’ s arrival in the Delta in an email to Truthout .
“ The Ogoni have been treated by the company , with the keen collaboration of the Nigerian government , with disdain and as a nonentity , whose survival or death means nothing and affects none.
” Falola cited a United Nations Environment Programme report that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ air , up to five feet of dead soil and poisoned waters.
” In spite of Shell ’ s withdrawal , there are no longer any fish in the water .
“ The air remains cancerous , ” Falola wrote , “ as they battle with acidic rains , no farmlands to yield bountiful harvest … nothing but hell on earth.
” Currently , the situation is stalemated .
A British court ruled in 2011 that Shell must admit liability for the damage caused in Ogoniland .
Shell agreed to cleanup and compensation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but as of today , none of this has happened .
According Falola , “ although the oil company had moved its operations away from this area , its major pipelines still cut across their lands … [ and ] pose danger to the Ogoni people , as the leaks exacerbate their already worsening condition.
” Shell did not respond to a request for comment .
Though Shell has stalled on fulfilling a court order , in the U.S. , fossil fuel companies use the courts to attack protesters .
Several states have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a felony to “ interfere ” with pipelines .
Criminalizing Pipeline Protest in the U.S .
In the U.S. , recent years saw the huge struggle against fossil fuel extraction and transport centered on the Dakota Access Pipeline ( DAPL ) .
On March 26 of this year , U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered an environmental review by the Army Corps of Engineers .
He has not yet decided if the pipeline can continue to transport oil .
But either way , this is a victory for all those who opposed and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the DAPL system is the Bayou Bridge Pipeline ( BBP ) in Louisiana , completed in March 2019 , but two lawsuits continue .
The BBP runs about 162 miles across the entire state from Lake Charles to the Mississippi River .
It “ brings fracked crude oil from … North Dakota to the Gulf , ” reported Yessenia Funes last year .
Locals opposed it at least since 2017 .
It is owned by Energy Transfer Partners and Phillips 66 .
One lawsuit against the BBP involves local landowners , who charge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their permission .
In January , their attorneys argued this in appellate court .
The trial court had already found that the BBP unlawfully trespassed onto private property , but , according to the anti-pipeline group Louisiana Bucket Brigade , “ allowed the company to take the land after the fact under the power of eminent domain.
” A second suit in Louisiana state court was brought by plaintiffs including Atchafalaya Basinkeeper , Sierra Club and Earth Justice .
The suit challenges the permit itself .
According to the Basinkeeper ’ s executive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is his group ’ s issue , specifically that the corps of engineers doesn ’ t enforce permits and the damage to wetlands is astronomical .
“ It looks good on paper , ” Wilson says , “ but they don ’ t enforce it .
And that ’ s what they did with the Bayou Bridge.
” Neither Energy Transfer Partners nor Phillips 66 responded to requests for comment .
Wilson ’ s group preferred the legal route to protests , which legislators used as an excuse to pass a “ critical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Transfer Partners to militarize local police .
As reported by Truthout , the critical infrastructure law made it a felony to trespass on the pipeline .
Protesters argue that the law violates their First Amendment rights and are suing .
Protester Anne White Hat faces “ up to 10 years in prison ” after being arrested near a Bayou Bridge construction site , as she wrote in Truthout .
The message of Shamrocks and Oil Slicks and indeed of all these struggles against fossil fuel extraction is that oil companies are lethally flexible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the government , they ’ ll try with the courts , the media , the clergy , anything to extract their profits .
But resistance , of the sort in County Mayo , can hurt those profits .
That is the one thing these corporations can not tolerate , and the one thing that might drive them away .

Fighting fossil fuel companies can be dangerous business. The people of County Mayo, Ireland, found that out when they rose up against Shell Oil in the early 2000s. The uprising lasted 15 years. Protesters were beaten and jailed. But they delayed the refinery’s opening by 10 years, cost Shell billions of dollars and caused the company a public relations nightmare, as a new book by Fred Wilcox, Shamrocks and Oil Slicks, recounts.
In the fight over the gas pipeline and refinery in County Mayo, Wilcox interviewed local people — farmers, fishers, innkeepers, teachers — about the gas infrastructure and recounts the brutality they endured when they resisted. As farmer Willie Corduff says, “I think that if Shell had known at the beginning that we weren’t after money … they would have taken us out, killed us.”
Corduff was one of the “Rossport 5” — three County Mayo farmers and two teachers jailed for resistance such as telling Shell engineers to get off their property. Shell got an injunction against them, which they violated. “The Irish government refused to help resisters,” Wilcox told Truthout via email. “The church abandoned them. The media maligned them. The police beat them.” The horrible irony is that there was no benefit to Ireland from this refinery. Shell took all the revenues.
Politicians and the clergy were allegedly paid off. Shell’s own Environmental Impact Statement revealed that Shell planned to dump mercury, selenium, cobalt and radioactive elements into the local bay and lake. “The enforcers Shell brought to Ireland were ex-army men, hired to harass and beat the company’s opponents,” according to Wilcox. The Rossport 5, however, had a huge impact. Spontaneous celebrations broke out throughout Ireland the day the injunction was lifted and the Rossport 5 were released.
The “foreshore license” exemplified the many illegalities in the planning process. Wilcox’s book reports that a government minister issued a foreshore license that allowed “the project’s developers to do almost anything they want, up to the foreshore [or seashore]. But in this case the Ministry defines the foreshore as being eight kilometers inland, which … is completely illegal. The foreshore is part of the shore between the high-water mark and the low. That’s it.”
According to local activist Mark Garavan, “even if officials have to change laws, that’s exactly what they are prepared to do.” Or, as journalist Liamy MacNally sums up this shameful episode: “The people of Erris were betrayed by the government, by Mayo County Council and by the oil company. Betrayed. Completely … we heard all these lies being told … even perjury in court. I witnessed it.”
In Ecuador, Chevron continues to push legislation that would undermine the judiciary and make the Ecuadorian government liable for Chevron’s pollution.
Legal skullduggery is a feature of oil companies’ assaults on local people. From the perjury MacNally says he witnessed in Ireland to the judge-shopping that some accuse Chevron of in its battle against Ecuadorians over its Amazon pollution, the courts are the scene of many fossil fuel corporate abuses.”
Ecuadorians in the Amazon rainforest found out how dangerous fossil fuel companies are following an oil spill by Texaco (later acquired by Chevron) – a dispute that landed in international courts, and a fight that continues today.
Ecuador Fights a Decades-Long Battle
In Ecuador, Chevron continues to push legislation that would undermine the judiciary and make the Ecuadorian government liable for Chevron’s pollution, according to Kevin Koenig of Amazon Watch. To insulate itself from paying for its Amazon damage, Chevron long ago removed all its assets from Ecuador, because when Chevron bought Texaco in 2000, it became liable for “the Amazon Chernobyl” – more than 900 carcinogenic waste pits and the dumping of roughly 16 billion gallons of toxic wastewater into rivers. Indigenous people in Ecuador sued Texaco, owned by Chevron, in 2003 over their destroyed land, polluted water and subsequent health issues resulting from the oil spill. They suffer from cancers, respiratory ailments, skin lesions and miscarriages in great numbers – all symptoms of hydrocarbons in drinking water and on the skin.
These victims won over $9 billion from the company in Ecuadorian court in 2013. So Chevron went to the New York courts, according to Koenig, to prevent Ecuadorian communities from ever enforcing the award. The company alleged fraud and illegal impropriety in the Ecuadorian court proceedings. According to Greenpeace’s Rex Weyler, Chevron found a friendly New York judge, Lewis A. Kaplan, who “allowed a RICO racketeering case against two Ecuadoreans … and their American lawyer, Steven Donziger.” Koenig described this “attack on a human rights attorney, Donziger, who is currently under house arrest pending appeal” as unprecedented. But on February 25, in a huge blow to Chevron, bar referee John Horan recommended returning Donziger’s law license, which was suspended following his arrest.
What Shell and the Nigerian junta did to Ogoniland and its people in the Niger Delta in the 1990s is orders of magnitude worse than what happened anywhere else.
Now Ecuadorians must file suits in foreign countries where Chevron has assets to claim recompense. In 2015, they did so in Argentina and Canada. In Argentina, according to Koenig, Chevron pressured the Kirchner government, threatening to leave the country. On appeal, Koenig says Chevron argued that the Ecuadorian award was based on fraud and legal malfeasance, and that Ecuadorians should not get Chevron’s Argentina assets, because Chevron in Argentina is a separate corporation from Chevron. In 2018 Chevron won on appeal. This, Koenig observes, “is the way the corporate structure of the fossil fuel industry is designed to guarantee impunity. They set up subsidiaries to protect themselves from liability.” In Canada, Chevron delayed, denied and stalled, Koenig says. In 2018, the high court sided with the oil company. Chevron did not respond to a request for comment.
This resembles Shell’s tactics in Nigeria, where it has stalled living up to its side of a court-ordered bargain.
Shell Poisons Land and People in Nigeria
What Shell and the Nigerian junta did to Ogoniland and its people in the Niger Delta in the 1990s is orders of magnitude worse than what happened anywhere else. The 1956 discovery of oil there led to environmental catastrophe and crimes against humanity.
Several human rights cases, beginning in 1966, sought to hold Shell accountable for crimes such as summary execution, crimes against humanity, torture, inhumane treatment and arbitrary arrest and detention.
Back in the 1990s, environmental protesters were killed. Toyin Falola and Roy Doron’s book, Ken Saro-Wiwa, focused on activist, novelist and television writer, Saro-Wiwa, who was framed and falsely accused of murder, along with eight other environmental activists, and hanged by the Nigerian military government in 1995. Saro-Wiwa was world-renowned for leading the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), a group the military intended to crush. “Although Ogoniland is only a small part of the Niger Delta,” according to Amnesty International, “MOSOP’s protest had potentially wide ramifications. The government’s finances relied upon oil … [which] in 1995 … made up 95.7% of Nigeria’s total exports.” Saro-Wiwa’s execution led to Nigeria’s suspension from the Commonwealth of Nations, whose 54 members are mostly former territories of the British Empire, for over three years. Suspension is the most serious punishment the commonwealth imposes.
In 2009, Shell settled the Saro-Wiwa case, paying $15.5 million to his family without admitting liability. According to Amnesty International, the Niger Delta is “one of the most polluted places on earth,” damaged for decades by oil spills.
Oil companies are lethally flexible: if they can’t sway the government, they’ll try with the courts, the media, the clergy, anything to extract their profits.
“Little did the … Ogoni communities … know that their culture, traditions, practices and livelihood were about to be flushed into the septic tank of horror,” Falola said about Shell’s arrival in the Delta in an email to Truthout. “The Ogoni have been treated by the company, with the keen collaboration of the Nigerian government, with disdain and as a nonentity, whose survival or death means nothing and affects none.” Falola cited a United Nations Environment Programme report that Shell’s activities “heavily contaminated air, up to five feet of dead soil and poisoned waters.” In spite of Shell’s withdrawal, there are no longer any fish in the water. “The air remains cancerous,” Falola wrote, “as they battle with acidic rains, no farmlands to yield bountiful harvest … nothing but hell on earth.”
Currently, the situation is stalemated. A British court ruled in 2011 that Shell must admit liability for the damage caused in Ogoniland. Shell agreed to cleanup and compensation — paying damages to affected communities, but as of today, none of this has happened. According Falola, “although the oil company had moved its operations away from this area, its major pipelines still cut across their lands … [and] pose danger to the Ogoni people, as the leaks exacerbate their already worsening condition.” Shell did not respond to a request for comment.
Though Shell has stalled on fulfilling a court order, in the U.S., fossil fuel companies use the courts to attack protesters. Several states have adopted critical infrastructure laws, making it a felony to “interfere” with pipelines.
Criminalizing Pipeline Protest in the U.S.
In the U.S., recent years saw the huge struggle against fossil fuel extraction and transport centered on the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). On March 26 of this year, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered an environmental review by the Army Corps of Engineers. He has not yet decided if the pipeline can continue to transport oil. But either way, this is a victory for all those who opposed and protested DAPL.
The last leg of the DAPL system is the Bayou Bridge Pipeline (BBP) in Louisiana, completed in March 2019, but two lawsuits continue. The BBP runs about 162 miles across the entire state from Lake Charles to the Mississippi River. It “brings fracked crude oil from … North Dakota to the Gulf,” reported Yessenia Funes last year. Locals opposed it at least since 2017. It is owned by Energy Transfer Partners and Phillips 66.
One lawsuit against the BBP involves local landowners, who charge that the pipeline traversed their property without their permission. In January, their attorneys argued this in appellate court. The trial court had already found that the BBP unlawfully trespassed onto private property, but, according to the anti-pipeline group Louisiana Bucket Brigade, “allowed the company to take the land after the fact under the power of eminent domain.”
A second suit in Louisiana state court was brought by plaintiffs including Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, Sierra Club and Earth Justice. The suit challenges the permit itself. According to the Basinkeeper’s executive director, Dean Wilson, environmental damage is his group’s issue, specifically that the corps of engineers doesn’t enforce permits and the damage to wetlands is astronomical. “It looks good on paper,” Wilson says, “but they don’t enforce it. And that’s what they did with the Bayou Bridge.” Neither Energy Transfer Partners nor Phillips 66 responded to requests for comment.
Wilson’s group preferred the legal route to protests, which legislators used as an excuse to pass a “critical infrastructure” law, and for Energy Transfer Partners to militarize local police. As reported by Truthout, the critical infrastructure law made it a felony to trespass on the pipeline. Protesters argue that the law violates their First Amendment rights and are suing. Protester Anne White Hat faces “up to 10 years in prison” after being arrested near a Bayou Bridge construction site, as she wrote in Truthout.
The message of Shamrocks and Oil Slicks and indeed of all these struggles against fossil fuel extraction is that oil companies are lethally flexible: if they can’t sway the government, they’ll try with the courts, the media, the clergy, anything to extract their profits. But resistance, of the sort in County Mayo, can hurt those profits. That is the one thing these corporations cannot tolerate, and the one thing that might drive them away.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.


truthout--2020-04-28--Trump Encourages School Openings, But Majority of Americans Think It’s Unsafe

As President Donald Trump continues to encourage an end to stay-at-home orders in response to the coronavirus pandemic — even encouraging state governors to open schools again — the vast majority of Americans appear unwilling to see social distancing measures loosened just quite yet .
Trump made the suggestion to chief executives of the nation ’ s states on Monday , according to reporting from ABC News .
“ Some of you might start thinking about school openings , ” Trump said to governors .
“ Because a lot of people are wanting to have the school openings .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ young children have done very well in this disaster that we ’ ve all gone through .
So a lot of people are thinking about the school openings.
” Trump also said that governors should “ seriously consider it ” and that they should “ maybe get going on it.
” Although not yet focusing on schools , some states are already taking his advice to heart , ending some social distancing measures and allowing a number of businesses to reopen their doors , in spite of signs demonstrating it may be premature @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for example , restaurants reopened their doors in most of the counties , with some restrictions still in place ( bar areas are still closed and live music is discouraged ) .
But even as Tennessee reopened most of its dining establishments — ahead of the recommendations Trump himself had in mind — the Volunteer State is seeing a rise in coronavirus cases .
Sunday was the highest single-day increase in new COVID-19 cases in Tennessee , with 478 people reported as testing positive for the virus .
As some states choose to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are taking , polling indicates that Americans overall are approving of the stay-at-home measures that are currently being implemented across most of the country , according to a Washington Post/University of Maryland national poll .
Respondents were asked two questions about social distancing measures within that poll , one focused on their effects on businesses , the other on restrictions on public crowd gatherings .
In both instances , the American people supported current rules that are in place , with a sizable amount saying even more restrictions were needed .
Asked about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 64 percent of Americans said the measures were appropriate , while 22 percent said they should go even further .
Just 14 percent said they were too restrictive .
The public ’ s views on restrictions on businesses saw similar numbers : 66 percent said they were appropriate , and 16 percent said they were not restrictive enough .
Seventeen percent were not approving of the measures , deeming them too burdensome .
There appeared to be bipartisan agreement on the issue , too .
Though the numbers trended slightly differently for Republicans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s own party faithful were approving of stay-at-home measures to combat COVID-19 .
Only 29 percent of GOP-leaning respondents in the poll said restrictions on businesses were too severe , while 60 percent agreed they were appropriate .
On the issue of crowd sizes , just 22 percent of Republicans said things were too restrictive , but again , 60 percent said the rules were fine .
In addition to his numerous gaffes and disturbing ideas on how to overcome coronavirus , the continued push by Trump to “ reopen ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may be a political motivation on his part rather than one concerned with helping the American people — may be hurting his reelection chances .
The Washington Post/University of Maryland poll also found strong disapproval numbers on the president ’ s response to the crisis so far , with 52 percent rating his performance as “ not so good ” or “ poor.
” Separate polling has also found that Americans are not as enthusiastic as Trump is about ending social distancing rules quite yet .
Seventy-two percent of Americans are more concerned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with regard to ending stay-at-home measures , as opposed to being concerned that things move too slow , according to a recent ABC News/Ipsos poll .
Another factor that could be causing harm to Trump ’ s image ?
That he regularly congratulates himself as tens of thousands of Americans have died as a result of COVID-19 .
As of Tuesday afternoon , the total number of reported cases of infection in the United States had topped one million , and more than 57,000 Americans have reportedly died so far from COVID-19 .

Tennessee restaurants reopened on Monday, the day after the state reported its single-highest day of new COVID-19 cases.
As President Donald Trump continues to encourage an end to stay-at-home orders in response to the coronavirus pandemic — even encouraging state governors to open schools again — the vast majority of Americans appear unwilling to see social distancing measures loosened just quite yet.
Trump made the suggestion to chief executives of the nation’s states on Monday, according to reporting from ABC News.
“Some of you might start thinking about school openings,” Trump said to governors. “Because a lot of people are wanting to have the school openings. It’s not a big subject, young children have done very well in this disaster that we’ve all gone through. So a lot of people are thinking about the school openings.”
Trump also said that governors should “seriously consider it” and that they should “maybe get going on it.”
Although not yet focusing on schools, some states are already taking his advice to heart, ending some social distancing measures and allowing a number of businesses to reopen their doors, in spite of signs demonstrating it may be premature to do so.
In Tennessee, for example, restaurants reopened their doors in most of the counties, with some restrictions still in place (bar areas are still closed and live music is discouraged). But even as Tennessee reopened most of its dining establishments — ahead of the recommendations Trump himself had in mind — the Volunteer State is seeing a rise in coronavirus cases.
Sunday was the highest single-day increase in new COVID-19 cases in Tennessee, with 478 people reported as testing positive for the virus.
As some states choose to go the route that Tennessee and others are taking, polling indicates that Americans overall are approving of the stay-at-home measures that are currently being implemented across most of the country, according to a Washington Post/University of Maryland national poll.
Respondents were asked two questions about social distancing measures within that poll, one focused on their effects on businesses, the other on restrictions on public crowd gatherings. In both instances, the American people supported current rules that are in place, with a sizable amount saying even more restrictions were needed.
Asked about restrictions in place on crowd sizes, 64 percent of Americans said the measures were appropriate, while 22 percent said they should go even further. Just 14 percent said they were too restrictive.
The public’s views on restrictions on businesses saw similar numbers: 66 percent said they were appropriate, and 16 percent said they were not restrictive enough. Seventeen percent were not approving of the measures, deeming them too burdensome.
There appeared to be bipartisan agreement on the issue, too. Though the numbers trended slightly differently for Republicans, they still indicated that most of Trump’s own party faithful were approving of stay-at-home measures to combat COVID-19.
Only 29 percent of GOP-leaning respondents in the poll said restrictions on businesses were too severe, while 60 percent agreed they were appropriate. On the issue of crowd sizes, just 22 percent of Republicans said things were too restrictive, but again, 60 percent said the rules were fine.
In addition to his numerous gaffes and disturbing ideas on how to overcome coronavirus, the continued push by Trump to “reopen” the nation’s economy — which may be a political motivation on his part rather than one concerned with helping the American people — may be hurting his reelection chances. The Washington Post/University of Maryland poll also found strong disapproval numbers on the president’s response to the crisis so far, with 52 percent rating his performance as “not so good” or “poor.”
Separate polling has also found that Americans are not as enthusiastic as Trump is about ending social distancing rules quite yet. Seventy-two percent of Americans are more concerned that things may move too quickly, with regard to ending stay-at-home measures, as opposed to being concerned that things move too slow, according to a recent ABC News/Ipsos poll.
Another factor that could be causing harm to Trump’s image? That he regularly congratulates himself as tens of thousands of Americans have died as a result of COVID-19. As of Tuesday afternoon, the total number of reported cases of infection in the United States had topped one million, and more than 57,000 Americans have reportedly died so far from COVID-19.


truthout--2020-04-28--Trump Ignored More Than a Dozen Early COVID Briefings — But Now Blames China

President Donald Trump continues to place much of the blame for the presence of coronavirus in the United States on China , suggesting in comments on Monday that his administration was looking into Beijing ’ s actions to demonstrate that they are at fault for the pandemic ’ s spread .
“ We ’ re doing very serious investigations… .
We are not happy with China , ” Trump said to reporters .
“ There are a lot of ways you can hold them accountable.
” The new strategy seems to be one that Republicans , in general , are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ memo detailed how Senate Republicans are aiming to put most of the blame for the disease on China within their campaign strategy .
“ Coronavirus was a Chinese hit-and-run followed by a cover-up that cost thousands of lives , ” that memo said .
But the way Trump acted early on during the crisis puts contentions like these into doubt , as it was evident in public statements that the president was all-too-happy to accept China ’ s narrative on the disease while ignoring the warnings in the President ’ s Daily Brief @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to do so .
On January 31 , Trump ordered most travel from China to be suspended to stop the spread of COVID-19 , though some exceptions were allowed .
He has since claimed that the decision has “ saved a lot of lives , ” but experts say there ’ s no real way to tell if that ’ s true or not .
In the immediate weeks following that date , however , the president took a more congenial tone with China .
On February 10 , he said that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ professionally ” and that they had the virus “ under control.
” “ I really believe they are going to have it under control fairly soon , ” Trump added .
On February 13 , after being questioned about it , Trump seemed to acknowledge that China ’ s messaging on coronavirus could probably not be trusted , but he also appeared to justify President Xi Jinping ’ s decision to be less forthcoming on what was happening on the ground .
“ Well , you never know .
I think they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it .
So you know , I mean , if somebody — if you were running it , you ’ d probably — you wouldn ’ t want to run out to the world and go crazy and start saying whatever it is because you don ’ t want to create a panic , ” Trump explained .
He elaborated that he continued to think “ President Xi is extremely capable ” in handling the matter .
Those words from Trump contradict what his intelligence team was trying to tell him at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Trump received more than a dozen PDB reports from officials in January and February demonstrating the seriousness of the pandemic in China , including its spread to other parts of the world .
Since Trump reportedly doesn ’ t read the briefings himself ( preferring to hear them orally from aides , if at all ) , the coronavirus issue was discussed out loud for his benefit in oral versions of the PDBs in mid- to late-January , according to at least one official .
Included in the PDBs was the fact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when it came to information the country ’ s leaders were trying to disseminate .
Still , as noted above , Trump appeared willing to accept Beijing ’ s statements on occasion , or if he didn ’ t trust them , he didn ’ t seem to think that their misinformation about the spread of COVID-19 was anything to worry over .
Indeed , Trump spent most of February downplaying the seriousness of coronavirus , including on February 26 when he implied that the number of cases then seen in the U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ within a matter of days .
When critics noted that his words contradicted what health experts were saying about the disease , the president scoffed at them , stating that those critics were engaged in a “ new hoax ” against him to make him look bad politically .
Trump claimed at that time that Democrats and the media were in “ hysteria mode ” about the possibility of the virus spreading more .
Almost two months to the day since those comments , however , it seems those worries might have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have died from COVID-19 and over a million cases have been reported in the U.S. as of Tuesday morning .

President Donald Trump continues to place much of the blame for the presence of coronavirus in the United States on China, suggesting in comments on Monday that his administration was looking into Beijing’s actions to demonstrate that they are at fault for the pandemic’s spread.
“We’re doing very serious investigations…. We are not happy with China,” Trump said to reporters. “There are a lot of ways you can hold them accountable.”
The new strategy seems to be one that Republicans, in general, are signing onto, as a newly disclosed memo detailed how Senate Republicans are aiming to put most of the blame for the disease on China within their campaign strategy.
“Coronavirus was a Chinese hit-and-run followed by a cover-up that cost thousands of lives,” that memo said.
But the way Trump acted early on during the crisis puts contentions like these into doubt, as it was evident in public statements that the president was all-too-happy to accept China’s narrative on the disease while ignoring the warnings in the President’s Daily Brief (PDB) from intelligence officials not to do so.
On January 31, Trump ordered most travel from China to be suspended to stop the spread of COVID-19, though some exceptions were allowed. He has since claimed that the decision has “saved a lot of lives,” but experts say there’s no real way to tell if that’s true or not.
In the immediate weeks following that date, however, the president took a more congenial tone with China. On February 10, he said that the nation’s leaders were running things “professionally” and that they had the virus “under control.”
“I really believe they are going to have it under control fairly soon,” Trump added.
On February 13, after being questioned about it, Trump seemed to acknowledge that China’s messaging on coronavirus could probably not be trusted, but he also appeared to justify President Xi Jinping’s decision to be less forthcoming on what was happening on the ground.
“Well, you never know. I think they want to put the best face on it. So you know, I mean, if somebody — if you were running it, you’d probably — you wouldn’t want to run out to the world and go crazy and start saying whatever it is because you don’t want to create a panic,” Trump explained.
He elaborated that he continued to think “President Xi is extremely capable” in handling the matter.
Those words from Trump contradict what his intelligence team was trying to tell him at the time.
According to The Washington Post, Trump received more than a dozen PDB reports from officials in January and February demonstrating the seriousness of the pandemic in China, including its spread to other parts of the world. Since Trump reportedly doesn’t read the briefings himself (preferring to hear them orally from aides, if at all), the coronavirus issue was discussed out loud for his benefit in oral versions of the PDBs in mid- to late-January, according to at least one official.
Included in the PDBs was the fact that China couldn’t be trusted when it came to information the country’s leaders were trying to disseminate. Still, as noted above, Trump appeared willing to accept Beijing’s statements on occasion, or if he didn’t trust them, he didn’t seem to think that their misinformation about the spread of COVID-19 was anything to worry over.
Indeed, Trump spent most of February downplaying the seriousness of coronavirus, including on February 26 when he implied that the number of cases then seen in the U.S. would be “close to zero” within a matter of days.
When critics noted that his words contradicted what health experts were saying about the disease, the president scoffed at them, stating that those critics were engaged in a “new hoax” against him to make him look bad politically.
Trump claimed at that time that Democrats and the media were in “hysteria mode” about the possibility of the virus spreading more. Almost two months to the day since those comments, however, it seems those worries might have been justified, now that nearly 60,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and over a million cases have been reported in the U.S. as of Tuesday morning.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.


truthout--2020-04-28--Fiona Apple on Her New Album and Acknowledging Indigenous Lands

In a broadcast exclusive , world-renowned singer-songwriter Fiona Apple joins Democracy Now !
for the hour to discuss her critically acclaimed new album , “ Fetch the Bolt Cutters , ” which was released early amid the pandemic .
“ I ’ ve heard that it ’ s actually making people feel free and happy , ” Apple says , “ and it might be helping people feel alive or feel their anger or feel creative .
And that ’ s the best thing that I could hope for.
” Her record includes an acknowledgment that the album was “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and Suma territories.
” We also speak with Native American activist Eryn Wise , an organizer with Seeding Sovereignty , an Indigenous-led collective that launched a rapid response initiative to help Indigenous communities affected by the outbreak .
This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
FIONA APPLE : [ singing ] Fetch the bolt cutters I ’ ve been in here too long Fetch the bolt cutters I ’ ve been in here too long Fetch the bolt cutters I ’ ve been in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ AMY GOODMAN : Fetch the Bolt Cutters .
That ’ s the name of the new critically acclaimed album , just released , by singer-songwriter Fiona Apple , into a world under lockdown .
Fiona Apple ’ s fifth album was released months early due to the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic .
The remarkable album has become somewhat of a soundtrack of our time , with emotionally wrought songs including “ Ladies , ” “ Relay ” and , of course , “ Fetch the Bolt Cutters.
” Music website Pitchfork gave the album @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rating in nearly a decade .
The record also includes a land acknowledgment .
The bottom of the tracklist on the back of Fiona Apple ’ s album cover reads , quote , “ Made on unceded Tongva , Mescalero Apache , and Suma territories.
” Well , Fiona Apple joined us on Friday from her home in Los Angeles along with Native American activist Eryn Wise .
Eryn is a Native American organizer with Seeding Sovereignty , an Indigenous-led collective Fiona Apple supports .
Seeding Sovereignty has launched a rapid response initiative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outbreak .
In New Mexico , Navajo Nation is the epicenter of the outbreak throughout Native America and has the third-highest infection rate in the country , following only New York and New Jersey .
I began our conversation with Fiona asking her about her new album .
AMY GOODMAN : Congratulations on this album .
Did you expect anything like the global acclaim that you are getting right now upon this release ?
FIONA APPLE : No , I did not .
It ’ s a little bit uncomfortable , to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ release a record in a time when I thought it would have a chance to be listened to .
And I ’ m just so , so happy that it turned out to — it seems like it ’ s actually doing the thing that any artist would want their art to do , which is to help people feel free , especially when they ’ re not feeling free .
AMY GOODMAN : I mean , what could be a better name and title for your album and song than Fetch the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about how you came up with that ?
FIONA APPLE : Well , I was at home , as I usually am , and my housemate Zelda and I were watching the show The Fall , starring Gillian Anderson , and were just eating dinner , watching a television show .
And there ’ s a scene where she was to rescue a young girl from where she thought was locked behind this door , and they were supposed to wait for backup .
And she just sort of throws away this line @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the bolt cutters.
” And I just shot up from the couch , because I was like , “ This sounds — this is exactly what my — this is what my record is going to be called.
” And I wrote it on the chalkboard .
I got a tattoo .
So , that ’ s what the title is about .
AMY GOODMAN : So you came up with the title before you came up with the song .
FIONA APPLE : Oh , yes .
The song “ Fetch the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ song that I wrote for the record .
And it was just — it was sort of the last thing that I had on my mind after the culmination of everything that had been going on in my life , that I finally was just like , “ Let me face this all and just see it all , so that I can finally get out of here.
” And then , of course , as soon as I saw — as soon as I fetched the bolt cutters and was like , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out of here , ” then we got on lockdown .
So… AMY GOODMAN : So , Fetch the Bolt Cutters , the album , includes a land acknowledgment .
You ’ ve described it as sort of a last song of the album .
Talk about what this land acknowledgment means to you .
FIONA APPLE : Well , Eryn and I had been talking about doing land acknowledgments .
She wanted to start this project , which I think is amazingly smart and would be so nutritious for Americans , is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that they acknowledge the lands , the unceded lands , that they ’ re performing on , and perhaps educate people — and Eryn will correct me on any of this if I ’ m wrong , but educate people about the tribes that lived on those territories , so that we can keep aware of where we are and what the story is .
Now , the fact that we can ’ t tour now until probably 2022 maybe or late 2021 means that I can ’ t do that on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to me when the album was finished .
She said , “ I wonder if you would consider doing this on the album.
” And I just thought , “ Absolutely , of course .
That makes total sense .
And yes , I would love to do that.
” And I do think that putting that on my album , as opposed to just like saying something like “ I support this cause , ” and the act of giving songs , giving sync requests , keeps them close to me and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s not just like a one-time thing that I ’ m just saying , “ Oh , I ’ m into this cause right now because it ’ s kind of interesting , ” but I ’ m just going to flit off over there after it ’ s over and just be done with it .
This way , I ’ m tied into it with something that I made , now has more meaning because it ’ s attached to them .
So , it ’ s a way for me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be listening and to be able to be a friend in whatever best way I can .
AMY GOODMAN : So , you say , “ Made on unceded Tongva , Mescalero Apache , and Suma territories.
” Where are you ?
FIONA APPLE : Well , I ’ m in Los Angeles , so that would be Tongva .
And then we did go to Texas for a little bit .
It wasn ’ t entirely made in this house .
We had gone and done a session on a pecan ranch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the addresses of any place that anything was done — the mixing studio , my house and the sonic ranch in Texas .
And she took those addresses and told me what the real addresses of those places are , which is these territories .
And it ’ s just very important to keep on saying it , because it ’ s not in everybody ’ s day-to-day life .
People aren ’ t thinking about this every day , and they really should be , that we are not living on land @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not only that , but — I mean , I ’ m sorry if I ’ m getting ahead of myself here , but I was reading — you know , once I was done with this album , I ’ m not interested in myself so much anymore , you know ?
So I ’ m starting to read the news a lot more .
And I ’ m ashamed of how uneducated I am , but I don ’ t want to let that shame keep me from being in conversations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ keep me from being able to be useful to people , because it ’ s that shame or that guilt about that , that sometimes keeps people from wanting to enter a conversation .
And I just think that this is always relevant , and it always will be , and it needs to be constantly .
Constantly , you need to be reminded of it .

In a broadcast exclusive, world-renowned singer-songwriter Fiona Apple joins Democracy Now! for the hour to discuss her critically acclaimed new album, “Fetch the Bolt Cutters,” which was released early amid the pandemic. “I’ve heard that it’s actually making people feel free and happy,” Apple says, “and it might be helping people feel alive or feel their anger or feel creative. And that’s the best thing that I could hope for.” Her record includes an acknowledgment that the album was “Made on unceded Tongva, Mescalero Apache, and Suma territories.” We also speak with Native American activist Eryn Wise, an organizer with Seeding Sovereignty, an Indigenous-led collective that launched a rapid response initiative to help Indigenous communities affected by the outbreak.
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman.
FIONA APPLE: [singing] Fetch the bolt cutters I’ve been in here too long Fetch the bolt cutters I’ve been in here too long Fetch the bolt cutters I’ve been in here too long Fetch the bolt cutters
AMY GOODMAN: Fetch the Bolt Cutters. That’s the name of the new critically acclaimed album, just released, by singer-songwriter Fiona Apple, into a world under lockdown. Fiona Apple’s fifth album was released months early due to the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic. The remarkable album has become somewhat of a soundtrack of our time, with emotionally wrought songs including “Ladies,” “Relay” and, of course, “Fetch the Bolt Cutters.” Music website Pitchfork gave the album a 10-out-of-10 score, its first perfect rating in nearly a decade. The record also includes a land acknowledgment. The bottom of the tracklist on the back of Fiona Apple’s album cover reads, quote, “Made on unceded Tongva, Mescalero Apache, and Suma territories.”
Well, Fiona Apple joined us on Friday from her home in Los Angeles along with Native American activist Eryn Wise. Eryn is a Native American organizer with Seeding Sovereignty, an Indigenous-led collective Fiona Apple supports. Seeding Sovereignty has launched a rapid response initiative to help Indigenous communities affected by the outbreak. In New Mexico, Navajo Nation is the epicenter of the outbreak throughout Native America and has the third-highest infection rate in the country, following only New York and New Jersey. I began our conversation with Fiona asking her about her new album.
AMY GOODMAN: Congratulations on this album. Did you expect anything like the global acclaim that you are getting right now upon this release?
FIONA APPLE: No, I did not. It’s a little bit uncomfortable, to be honest. But I just wanted to release a record in a time when I thought it would have a chance to be listened to. And I’m just so, so happy that it turned out to — it seems like it’s actually doing the thing that any artist would want their art to do, which is to help people feel free, especially when they’re not feeling free.
AMY GOODMAN: I mean, what could be a better name and title for your album and song than Fetch the Bolt Cutters for our time? Talk about how you came up with that?
FIONA APPLE: Well, I was at home, as I usually am, and my housemate Zelda and I were watching the show The Fall, starring Gillian Anderson, and were just eating dinner, watching a television show. And there’s a scene where she was to rescue a young girl from where she thought was locked behind this door, and they were supposed to wait for backup. And she just sort of throws away this line, and she says, “Fetch the bolt cutters.” And I just shot up from the couch, because I was like, “This sounds — this is exactly what my — this is what my record is going to be called.” And I wrote it on the chalkboard. I got a tattoo. So, that’s what the title is about.
AMY GOODMAN: So you came up with the title before you came up with the song.
FIONA APPLE: Oh, yes. The song “Fetch the Bolt Cutters” was actually the second-to-last song that I wrote for the record. And it was just — it was sort of the last thing that I had on my mind after the culmination of everything that had been going on in my life, that I finally was just like, “Let me face this all and just see it all, so that I can finally get out of here.” And then, of course, as soon as I saw — as soon as I fetched the bolt cutters and was like, “I’m going to get out of here,” then we got on lockdown. So…
AMY GOODMAN: So, Fetch the Bolt Cutters, the album, includes a land acknowledgment. You’ve described it as sort of a last song of the album. Talk about what this land acknowledgment means to you.
FIONA APPLE: Well, Eryn and I had been talking about doing land acknowledgments. She wanted to start this project, which I think is amazingly smart and would be so nutritious for Americans, is that when artists go on tour, that they acknowledge the lands, the unceded lands, that they’re performing on, and perhaps educate people — and Eryn will correct me on any of this if I’m wrong, but educate people about the tribes that lived on those territories, so that we can keep aware of where we are and what the story is.
Now, the fact that we can’t tour now until probably 2022 maybe or late 2021 means that I can’t do that on the road, so Eryn brought this up to me when the album was finished. She said, “I wonder if you would consider doing this on the album.” And I just thought, “Absolutely, of course. That makes total sense. And yes, I would love to do that.”
And I do think that putting that on my album, as opposed to just like saying something like “I support this cause,” and the act of giving songs, giving sync requests, keeps them close to me and my life, so that it’s not just like a one-time thing that I’m just saying, “Oh, I’m into this cause right now because it’s kind of interesting,” but I’m just going to flit off over there after it’s over and just be done with it. This way, I’m tied into it with something that I made, now has more meaning because it’s attached to them. So, it’s a way for me to also make a life commitment to be listening and to be able to be a friend in whatever best way I can.
AMY GOODMAN: So, you say, “Made on unceded Tongva, Mescalero Apache, and Suma territories.” Where are you?
FIONA APPLE: Well, I’m in Los Angeles, so that would be Tongva. And then we did go to Texas for a little bit. It wasn’t entirely made in this house. We had gone and done a session on a pecan ranch in Texas. And I gave Eryn the addresses of any place that anything was done — the mixing studio, my house and the sonic ranch in Texas. And she took those addresses and told me what the real addresses of those places are, which is these territories. And it’s just very important to keep on saying it, because it’s not in everybody’s day-to-day life. People aren’t thinking about this every day, and they really should be, that we are not living on land that was ceded to us.
And not only that, but — I mean, I’m sorry if I’m getting ahead of myself here, but I was reading — you know, once I was done with this album, I’m not interested in myself so much anymore, you know? So I’m starting to read the news a lot more. And I’m ashamed of how uneducated I am, but I don’t want to let that shame keep me from being in conversations and keep me from asking questions and keep me from being able to be useful to people, because it’s that shame or that guilt about that, that sometimes keeps people from wanting to enter a conversation. And I just think that this is always relevant, and it always will be, and it needs to be constantly. Constantly, you need to be reminded of it.


truthout--2020-04-28--Government Must Pay $12 Billion to Obamacare Insurers, Supreme Court Rules

Insurance companies are entitled to recoup $ 12 billion from the federal government in unpaid Obamacare claims , the Supreme Court ruled Monday in an 8-1 vote .
The companies were shielded under the “ risk corridor ” provision of the Affordable Care Act ( ACA ) , which promised compensation for companies that incurred losses in the marketplaces created by the law .
The original remuneration period lasted three years , but Congressional Republicans capped payments between 2015 and 2017 , which the insurers argued was a bait and switch .
The court agreed .
“ These holdings reflect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ itself : The government should honor its obligations , ” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for the majority .
Justice Samuel Alito cast the lone dissenting vote , calling the taxpayer-funded program a “ massive bailout ” for companies that “ bet unsuccessfully on the success ” of the ACA .
GOP efforts to eliminate the program began in 2013 , led by Sen Marco Rubio , R-FL .
Speaking to then-candidate Donald Trump in a February 2016 debate , Rubio called the fund a “ bailout.
” “ All these lobbyists you keep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fund in the law that would allow public money to be used — taxpayer money — to bail out companies when they lost money .
We led the effort and wiped out that bailout fund , ” Rubio , who had been inaccurately using the term for years , said .
( Alito called the program a “ massive bailout ” in his dissenting opinion . )
Congress inserted the risk corridor program into the ACA as a sort of financial equalizer to encourage companies to participate in the law ’ s insurance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off the ground while keeping premiums under control .
The plan was supposed to pay for itself : Profitable marketplace insurers would pay “ user fees , ” which would be used to partially compensate unsuccessful companies .
But insurers took big hits in the marketplaces , and soon the fund was paying out more than it made .
In 2014 , $ 362 million in user fees had to cover $ 2.87 billion in losses — a $ 2.5 billion deficit .
Republicans did not want taxpayers to subsidize a law they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In an effort to starve Obamacare , the GOP blocked the Department of Health and Human Services ( HHS ) from funding the risk corridors .
The companies left the exchanges , and rates went up , destabilizing the marketplace .
By 2016 , the year the ACA was set to close the program , risk corridors faced a $ 12 billion shortfall .
Rubio said the 2014 GOP bill was “ a big part of ending Obamacare for good.
” Insurers filed lawsuits against the government , claiming the GOP had not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — and that they were still owed billions .
The Trump administration argued that HHS did not have to pay , but the high court sided with the companies , ruling that the risk corridor program was “ a rare money-mandating obligation ” that Congress created but could not repeal .
The ruling is not expected to have much of an effect on Obamacare , which the Trump administration has targeted through its support of a red-state lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law ’ s individual mandate .
The high court will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the weeks leading up to the election .
“ The federal government can not order private citizens to purchase subpar insurance that they don ’ t want , and I look forward to finally settling the matter before the U.S. Supreme Court , ” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said .

Insurance companies are entitled to recoup $12 billion from the federal government in unpaid Obamacare claims, the Supreme Court ruled Monday in an 8-1 vote.
The companies were shielded under the “risk corridor” provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which promised compensation for companies that incurred losses in the marketplaces created by the law.
The original remuneration period lasted three years, but Congressional Republicans capped payments between 2015 and 2017, which the insurers argued was a bait and switch. The court agreed.
“These holdings reflect a principle as old as the nation itself: The government should honor its obligations,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for the majority.
Justice Samuel Alito cast the lone dissenting vote, calling the taxpayer-funded program a “massive bailout” for companies that “bet unsuccessfully on the success” of the ACA.
GOP efforts to eliminate the program began in 2013, led by Sen Marco Rubio, R-FL. Speaking to then-candidate Donald Trump in a February 2016 debate, Rubio called the fund a “bailout.”
“All these lobbyists you keep talking about, they put a bailout fund in the law that would allow public money to be used — taxpayer money — to bail out companies when they lost money. We led the effort and wiped out that bailout fund,” Rubio, who had been inaccurately using the term for years, said. (Alito called the program a “massive bailout” in his dissenting opinion.)
Congress inserted the risk corridor program into the ACA as a sort of financial equalizer to encourage companies to participate in the law’s insurance exchanges. The move helped get them off the ground while keeping premiums under control. The plan was supposed to pay for itself: Profitable marketplace insurers would pay “user fees,” which would be used to partially compensate unsuccessful companies.
But insurers took big hits in the marketplaces, and soon the fund was paying out more than it made. In 2014, $362 million in user fees had to cover $2.87 billion in losses — a $2.5 billion deficit.
Republicans did not want taxpayers to subsidize a law they had tried to repeal for years. In an effort to starve Obamacare, the GOP blocked the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from funding the risk corridors. The companies left the exchanges, and rates went up, destabilizing the marketplace. By 2016, the year the ACA was set to close the program, risk corridors faced a $12 billion shortfall. Rubio said the 2014 GOP bill was “a big part of ending Obamacare for good.”
Insurers filed lawsuits against the government, claiming the GOP had not eliminated risk corridors — only restricted payments — and that they were still owed billions. The Trump administration argued that HHS did not have to pay, but the high court sided with the companies, ruling that the risk corridor program was “a rare money-mandating obligation” that Congress created but could not repeal.
The ruling is not expected to have much of an effect on Obamacare, which the Trump administration has targeted through its support of a red-state lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law’s individual mandate. The high court will hear the case this fall, likely in the weeks leading up to the election.
“The federal government cannot order private citizens to purchase subpar insurance that they don’t want, and I look forward to finally settling the matter before the U.S. Supreme Court,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.