The House Oversight Committee recently held a hearing to interrogate Big Oil executives about their companies’ decades of deliberate climate disinformation. A disappointing yet unsurprising outcome tells us it’s time for more climate mandates for real accountability.
Exxon’s decades of deceit and indifference have left local communities and sensitive ecosystems at risk of catastrophe.
The past year has shown us what we can accomplish when faced with unprecedented upheaval. Now we are focused on driving forward a future that is equitable and healthy for all – while also confronting the most urgent environmental threats in the here and now. The work we do together in the next five years… Continue reading Conservation Matters Summer 2021: Year in Review
The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a stay on CLF’s lawsuit against ExxonMobil for its failure to prepare its Everett coastal facilities for the impacts of climate change, clearing the way for the case to head to trial. The suit alleges that ongoing spills at ExxonMobil’s Everett Terminal and the company’s failure to address… Continue reading Court Clears Way for CLF’s Lawsuit Against Exxon to Go to Trial
I grew up in communities that needed environmental justice the most. I also lived in neighborhoods that already had the resources and ability to make change. Still, I didn’t understand the difference or know what the environmental world called the movement until later in life. I could only connect the dots when I had more access to education and a framework for understanding the issue.
The impacts of Hurricanes Harvey and Laura on oil and chemical facilities in Texas and Louisiana were foreseeable. Yet, Big Oil giants like ExxonMobil and Shell have left their facilities there vulnerable – and now the surrounding communities are paying a terrible, long-term price. It is difficult to grapple with such a massive corporate failure. We can’t risk the same happening here in New England.
ExxonMobil’s climate neglect puts local communities in danger.
“The communities surrounding this facility cannot wait for the EPA to dig through a mountain of backlogged permits to feel safe,” said Bradley Campbell, President of Conservation Law Foundation. “And waiting for a major storm to expose the vulnerability of the terminal is also not an option. This case needs to move forward now so Exxon is forced to prepare for the impacts the climate crisis will have on this facility. The health of thousands of its neighbors depends on it.”
“As a result of those intense rains, that treatment system is being overwhelmed on a regular basis, leading to violations of their Clean Water Act permit and leaving exposure of local waters and local communities to some pretty powerful carcinogens and other toxins,” said Brad Campbell, president of the Conservation Law Foundation.
Conservation Law Foundation filed its groundbreaking lawsuit against ExxonMobil for violations of federal environmental laws and for failing to prepare its Everett terminal to withstand the effects of climate change. CLF’s complaint alleges that ExxonMobil has been aware of the risks climate change poses and has not taken sufficient action — or “failed to design and implement protective measures” — to address them.
