ExxonKnews
July 26, 2023
Coral reefs are dying at unprecedented rates off the coast of Florida, where the ocean is freakishly hot. A crucial ocean current that affects weather around the world is trending toward collapse as soon as 2025, a new study suggests. Another new scientific analysis deemed this month’s killer heat waves “virtually impossible” if not for fossil fuel driven climate change.
These weren’t inevitable tragedies — they’re the result of the oil and gas industry’s ongoing campaigns to downplay the dangers of fossil fuels, robbing us of precious decades to address the climate crisis. As states and municipalities fight to put Big Oil companies on trial for their fraud and deception, there is now growing pressure for the U.S. Department of Justice — the nation’s biggest public law firm — to follow suit.
Members of Congress have been pleading for the DOJ to investigate Exxon, Shell, and other oil giants for nearly a decade: since InsideClimate News and the Los Angeles Times first broke the “Exxon Knew” story in 2015, Democratic lawmakers have sent five letters asking U.S. attorneys general to determine whether the companies broke federal law.
During Merrick Garland’s confirmation hearing in 2021, Senator Richard Blumenthal told the soon to be attorney general that “nothing could be so important” as the DOJ taking action to hold fossil fuel companies accountable “for lying to the American public about the devastating effects of these products on climate change.” As Garland himself said back then, it is the Justice Department’s responsibility to protect Americans from fraud.
Now, calls for the Department of Justice to investigate the polluters at the helm of climate disinformation are louder than ever.
