Polluting Democracy
Ohio Republicans accused of taking $60 million in bribes as corruption trial opens
Prosecutors built their racketeering case with wiretaps, undercover agents and confidential sources.
The Guardian
Gulf Coast
How ocean wind power could help the oil industry
The government wants to lease offshore wind in the Gulf of Mexico – but the oil industry wants it for its own needs.
Gulf Coast
The cost to capture carbon? More water and electricity
Cleco wants to capture its climate emissions, raising concerns about impacts on the state’s water supplies.
Gulf Coast
Losing ground: How one New Orleans community is sinking
While land is subsiding throughout the city, industry water use has exacerbated the problem in one predominantly Black and Vietnamese area.
Power Play
Leaked: US power companies secretly spending millions to protect profits and fight clean energy
Leaked: U.S. power companies secretly spending millions to protect profits and fight clean energy One industry consulting firm has influenced politics across Florida, Alabama and at least six other states.
Power Play
A Florida power company didn’t like a journalist’s commentary. Its consultants had him followed
Consultants for Florida Power & Light, the largest electric utility in the US, conducted surveillance on a Jacksonville journalist
Gulf Coast
Industrial water use threatens Louisiana capital’s drinking water
Unchecked water use by companies like Exxon risks saltwater intrusion and undrinkable tap water.
Utilities
Why is eco-conscious California spending millions to support natural gas?
A Los Angeles-area air board faces questions over grant spending amid some of the worst air pollution in the US.
Gulf Coast
Louisiana legislator pushes bills benefiting the oil and gas industry — and her husband
Internal emails show Louisiana state senator Sharon Hewitt worked on a bill with a company that had financial ties to her spouse.
International
Uganda oil project casts shadow over Total’s eco-friendly image
French energy firm plans to drill in national park and build 900-mile pipeline in sensitive environments.
The Guardian
‘They criminalize us’: How felony charges are weaponized against pipeline protesters
Twenty states have passed laws that criminalize protesting, including on infrastructure including pipelines. In Minnesota, at least 66 felony theft charges against Line 3 protesters remain open.
Utilities
Winter gas bill from hell: Oklahomans face paying $1.4 billion over snowstorm
Customers saddled with paying 600 times the usual price for energy as regulators are accused of being too close to the industry they monitor.
Power Play
Revealed: the Florida power company pushing legislation to slow rooftop solar
Florida Power & Light delivered bill text to a state lawmaker. Its parent company sent $10,000 to her campaign coffers.
International
‘No power to stop it’: Optimism turns to frustration over east Africa pipeline
Promised an income, those affected by $20bn oil project are losing their land and resources instead.
Finance
The dark secrets behind big oil’s climate pledges
Oil companies and the banks that finance them are making empty promises – and getting credit for them too.
International
Nigerians could see justice over Shell oil spills after six decades
A landmark legal case is laying the groundwork for communities to sue parent companies for the damages of their subsidiaries.