Drilled

This time we're doing something a little different: a season in three parts, all about the gas industry and how it's managed to embed itself into society. First up, Part 1 Plastic Pipelines: A look at how the fracking boom led to a plastics boom, through the story of one petrochemical company operating on the Gulf Coast, and the two women—one in Texas, the other in Louisiana—taking them on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new season about the natural gas industry, presented in three parts. Coming soon, Part 1: Pipelines to Plastic about the direct connection between the fracking boom and the plastics boom, told through the story of Formosa Plastics, a company with an environmental record so bad it couldn't get permits in its own country so it searched the globe for a new home, with weaker environmental regulations, and found it in the American South. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steven Donziger went to trial for the criminal contempt charge that's kept him on house arrest for 600 days and counting. Paul Paz Y Mino of Amazon Watch brings us an update on the trial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new study from Harvard science historians Naomi Oreskes and Geoffrey Supran points to the use of language targeted specifically to downplay the reality of climate change and shift responsibility entirely onto consumers. Geoffrey Supran, the lead author on the study, joins to discuss.Study: https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322(21)00233-5Read more: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/climate-change-exxonmobil-harvard-study-1169682/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new study out from Harvard University explores the health impacts of transitioning from coal to other combustible fuels. The findings are important for climate policy, particularly the fact that biomass is a huge contributor to air pollution despite representing only a small percentage of energy generation and that natural gas still contributes significantly to air pollution and its associated health impacts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congressman Ro Khanna leads a discussion on fossil fuel subsidies, emphasizing the need for their elimination to combat climate change. The podcast explores the financial industry's shift towards divestment from high carbon projects, debunking myths surrounding job loss and gas price increases. It encourages advocating for environmentally sustainable alternatives and mobilizing against fossil fuel subsidies in the infrastructure bill.

Steven Donziger, the American attorney we profiled in S5 is scheduled for trial May 10th, but his lawyers have filed another motion to dismiss, alleging vindictive prosecution. Karen Savage joins for an update on this story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talked about rights of nature a bit in the Ecuador-Chevron season, the Latin American country was the first in the world to integrate the concept of rights of nature in its Constitution. Now the Constitutional Court is reviewing its first rights of nature case. U.S. communities are pursuing the idea as well, and the fossil fuel industry is trying to block rights of nature laws from ever passing. Josh Boaz Pribanic and Melissa Troutman, co-founders of Public Herald join to talk about their new documentary on the rights of nature, Invisible Hand.Check out Invisible Hand: https://www.invisiblehandfilm.com/premiere/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Biden Administration has rolled out its Build Back Better plan and it includes a lot of progressive wishlist items, but the left is still pushing for more scale. The THRIVE Act, reintroduced by Sen Markey and Rep Dingell last month is what they're pushing towards and Peoples Action Climate Justice director Kaniela Ing joins to walk us through the asks, and what he's hearing from folks on the ground.Learn more:https://www.thriveagenda.com/https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-markey-rep-dingell-reintroduce-thrive-resolution-to-build-back-economy-following-coronavirus-pandemichttps://peoplesaction.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Local activists and legislators have been fighting the Enbridge natural gas compressor in Weymouth for years. It's too close to residents and businesses, and poses too many health risks to a community that's already borne the burden of too much pollution, they say. The project was approved by FERC in 2019, built and became operational in 2020. Then it had an emergency shutdown. And another. Now FERC is considering the unprecedented move of re-thinking its permit, a decision that could have broad ramifications.Check out Miriam Wasser's ongoing reporting on this at WBUR: https://www.wbur.org/earthwhile/2021/03/19/weymouth-compressor-ferc-precedent-enbridge-natural-gas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices