Climate Nexus – 3/26/18

The latest: Arizona utilities & lawmakers pass bill in advance of renewables ballot
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Top Stories (#Top Stories) | Climate  (#News) News (#News) | Analysis & Opinion (#Analysis & Opinion) | Denier Roundup (#Denier Roundup)

** FIRST LOOK
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The Global Landscapes Forum will present a discussion on the importance of behavior change for land use change on Tuesday, March 27. Click here (http://events.globallandscapesforum.org/digitalsummits/land-use-change-needs-behavior-change/) for webinar info.

Grim Outlook For Biodiversity Worldwide: The world’s biodiversity is shrinking at an alarming rate, scientists cautioned at a major international summit last week. Exhaustive new reports on regional trends unveiled at the summit provide a dramatic picture of how the impacts of human activity, including man-made climate change, are destroying plant and animal species. Findings from the reports include projections that Asia could lose all “exploitable fish stocks” for commercial fishing by 2048, Africa could lose half of bird and mammal species by 2100, and the Americans will have 15 percent fewer plant and animal species by 2050 compared to today. “We must act to halt and reverse the unsustainable use of nature or risk not only the future we want but even the lives we currently lead,” Robert Watson, the chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, told The Guardian. (The Guardian
(https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/23/destruction-of-nature-as-dangerous-as-climate-change-scientists-warn) , AP (https://apnews.com/b0b9c82fedd44415aa3249d46b4f4b58/UN-reports-see-a-lonelier-planet-with-fewer-plants,-animals) , Deutsche Welle (http://www.dw.com/en/time-running-out-to-save-the-earths-plants-and-animals/a-43091288) , Vice (https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/kzxw8z/humans-will-suffer-as-climate-change-takes-its-toll-on-biodiversity-un-report-finds) , Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-environment-biodiversity/natures-alarming-decline-threatens-food-water-energy-u-n-idUSKBN1GZ1UR) )

Arizona Legislators & Utilities Pass Preemptive Bill Against Renewable Energy: Arizona legislators are moving to protect the state’s utilities from potential new language added to the state constitution that would require them to more than triple their current renewable energy goals. Organizers are currently gathering signatures in the state for a November ballot measure that, if passed, would require utilities to source half of their energy from renewables by 2030. However, GOP lawmakers are moving quickly to go on the defensive: Gov. Doug Ducey on Friday signed a bill into law that would set penalties for utilities not complying with the possible new standards no higher than $5,000 and, in some cases, as low as $100. The Arizona Public Service Commission has admitted to helping to draft the bill, while Democratic legislators have accused their Republican counterparts of coopting the will of Arizonans before the ballot measure has a chance to pass. (AP
(http://www.azfamily.com/story/37798805/new-arizona-law-aims-to-buck-clean-energy-ballot-plan) , UtilityDive (https://www.utilitydive.com/news/arizona-lawmakers-pass-bill-to-undermine-renewable-energy-ballot-proposal/519880/) , Arizona Republic (https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/legislature/2018/03/23/ducey-signs-bill-give-aps-easy-out-clean-energy-requirements-ballot-measure/454972002/) , Arizona Capitol Times (https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2018/03/23/ducey-signs-legislation-to-protect-utilities-from-proposed-renewable-energy-requirements/) )

Indigenous Women Leaders Call Out Ecuadorian President on Oil: Indigenous women from the Amazon forest in Ecuador called on the country’s president last week to put an end to drilling and mining in the rainforest. Following a five-day protest in front of a central government building, a delegation of women leaders met with President Lenín Moreno on Thursday to present a list of demands, which include stopping oil and mining projects and launching official investigations into attacks against indigenous leaders. Moreno in December had agreed to put a moratorium on drilling in the Amazon without consent from indigenous communities, but announced a new oil auction in February. “Your government cannot permit that our rights continue to be violated,” Patricia Gualinga, an indigenous Kichwa from Sarayaku, told Moreno. “Ecuador has to change its energy policy. It could be an example for the world.” (The Guardian
(https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/23/keep-off-our-land-indigenous-women-tell-ecuadors-president) , Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ecuador-landrights-indigenous/from-ecuadors-amazon-to-presidents-palace-indigenous-women-demand-end-to-drilling-idUSKBN1GZ2N3) )
EPA: EPA is said to side with carmaker calls to ease efficiency rules (Bloomberg BNA (https://bnanews.bna.com/environment-and-energy/epa-is-said-to-side-with-carmaker-calls-to-ease-efficiency-rules) ), Pruitt says he’s ‘dumbfounded’ by ‘media narratives’ on travel costs (The Hill (http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/379927-pruitt-dumbfounded-by-media-narrative-on-travel-costs) ), what do offshore drilling and Toys R Us have in common? (Washington Examiner (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/what-do-offshore-drilling-and-toys-r-us-have-in-common) )

DOE: Trump’s crude bailout of dirty power plants failed, but a subtler bailout is underway (Vox (https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/3/23/17146028/ferc-coal-natural-gas-bailout-mopr) ), Perry steers clear of Trump’s chaos with laser focus on energy (Politico Pro (https://www.politicopro.com/energy/article/2018/03/perry-steers-clear-of-trumps-chaos-with-laser-focus-on-energy-437214) $), Trump to name Energy Department official as top aide, sources say (Bloomberg (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-25/trump-said-to-name-energy-department-official-as-top-energy-aide) )

DOI: Trey Gowdy wants answers from Ryan Zinke on $139,000 door (Washington Examiner (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/trey-gowdy-wants-answers-from-ryan-zinke-on-139-000-door) , The Hill (http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/379950-house-oversight-committee-requests-details-on-zinkes-139000-door) ), Internal watchdog to open probe into National Park Service leader for allegedly making crude gesture (Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/03/23/internal-watchdog-to-open-probe-into-national-park-service-leader-for-allegedly-making-crude-gesture/?utm_term=.96fd0557a15a) $)

THE HILL: Dem senator introduces bill to publicize Trump officials’ flying (The Hill (http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/379982-new-bill-would-publicize-trump-administrations-officials-flying) ), can the most hated man in West Virginia win? (Politico (https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/03/26/west-virginia-senate-don-blankenship-2018-217703) )

HURRICANES: 6 months after Hurricane Maria, Whitefish presses to get paid (Politico (https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/23/hurricane-maria-whitefish-firm-payments-440267) )

CITIES & STATES: Virginia DEQ holding final input session on carbon plan (AP (http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/business/article205808574.html) ), governor’s office says Northam will veto bill aimed at thwarting carbon rule (The Roanoke Times (http://www.roanoke.com/news/politics/general_assembly/governor-s-office-says-northam-will-veto-bill-aimed-at/article_a7238eae-3153-565d-849c-861ae4962769.html) , E&E (https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/03/22/stories/1060077051) $), climate change policy is proving difficult to enact even in liberal states with Democratic control (The Intercept (https://theintercept.com/2018/03/23/climate-change-washington-state/) ), see everything bad about climate change in a single California town (Wired (https://www.wired.com/story/montecito-is-everything-bad-about-climate-change-in-a-single-california-town/) ), in Alaska, a town threatened by climate change gets federal funding to relocate (ThinkProgress
(https://thinkprogress.org/newtok-alaska-gets-relocation-funding-35b4434242a6/) ), in a methane hot spot, environmental politics roil a county commission (Huffington Post (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/la-plata-county-recall-methane_us_5ab12b39e4b0eb3e2b30dd51) )

IMPACTS: Arctic sea ice missed a record low this winter–barely(New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/23/climate/arctic-ice-maximum.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fclimate&action=click&contentCollection=climate&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront) $, AP (https://apnews.com/e21d40a339e74bdaa6d9bcd14214a6a6/Winter-Arctic-sea-ice-again-grew-far-less-than-normal) , Vox (https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/3/15/17099686/arctic-warm-winter-sea-ice-melting-facts) ), Arctic Ocean ice near record low for winter, boost for shipping (Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-arctic/arctic-ocean-ice-near-record-low-for-winter-boost-for-shipping-idUSKBN1GZ2UK) ), a heat wave left Arctic sea ice near a record winter low–this town is paying the price (InsideClimate News
(https://insideclimatenews.org/news/23032018/arctic-sea-ice-record-low-maximum-warm-winter-indigenous-coastal-communities-bering-strait-alaska-hunting-whaling-climate-change) ), global CO2 emissions rise after Paris climate agreement signed (E&E (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/global-co2-emissions-rise-after-paris-climate-agreement-signed/) )

RENEWABLES: Proposed solar farm attracts protest (Kankakee Daily Journal (http://www.daily-journal.com/news/local/proposed-solar-farm-attracts-protest/article_1d57df56-2e06-11e8-9691-a304684665ce.html) ), good news about renewables: but the heat is still on to cut fossil fuel use (The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/25/renewables-good-news-heat-on-cut-fossil-fuel-use) ), US withdraws from wind energy power line project (Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-energy-clean-line/u-s-withdraws-from-wind-energy-power-line-project-idUSKBN1GZ3A2) ), study predicts major expansion of offshore wind along Atlantic coast (ThinkProgress (https://thinkprogress.org/offshore-atlantic-wind-grows-as-costs-decline-585bed01c992/) , FT (https://www.ft.com/content/f6465fca-2edf-11e8-9b4b-bc4b9f08f381) $), offshore wind farm gets closer to cranking out megawatts (NJ Spotlight
(http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/18/03/25/offshore-wind-farm-gets-closer-to-cranking-out-megawatts/) )

OIL & GAS: Shell faces shareholder push on climate change goals (FT (https://www.ft.com/content/fae8e478-2eba-11e8-9b4b-bc4b9f08f381) $), JP Morgan facing shareholder backlash over oil sands financing (Bloomberg (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-23/jpmorgan-facing-shareholder-backlash-over-oil-sands-financing) ), how to compare climate risk across the biggest oil companies (Bloomberg (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-24/how-to-compare-climate-risk-across-the-biggest-oil-companies) ), one of world’s dirtiest oil sources wants to go green (Bloomberg (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-26/one-of-world-s-dirtiest-oil-sources-wants-to-be-green-but-how) )

COAL: Big coal no more (Politico EU (https://www.politico.eu/article/coal-lobby-electricity-energy-union-big-coal-no-more/) ), minister cites climate change in rejection of opencast coal mine (The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/mar/23/minister-rejects-opencast-coal-mine-northumberland-citing-climate-change-fears) ), coal production up thanks to exports (Lexington Herald-Dispatch (http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/coal-production-up-thanks-to-exports/article_6a592770-42c3-5ed4-ae78-dc60bbcd3ff3.html) ), hemmed in by big coal: ‘a bad feeling is constantly hanging over us’ (The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/25/hemmed-in-by-big-coal-bad-feeling-is-constantly-hanging-over-us) ), attorneys general from 4 states back coal ash cleanup ruling (AP (https://apnews.com/88dc902029ac4e4dbe980bd584ba20b5/Attorneys-general-from-4-states-back-coal-ash-cleanup-ruling) ), Pennsylvania coal production holds steady (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
(http://triblive.com/state/pennsylvania/13397064-74/pennsylvania-coal-production-holds-steady) ), report: US coal productivity rising despite mine closings (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (http://triblive.com/usworld/world/13392522-74/report-us-coal-productivity-rising-despite-mine-closings) )

POWER PLANTS: Regulators cite Appalachian Power Co. for industrial waste (AP (https://apnews.com/b7871b9b45ce47bd8f5541874546e039/Regulators-cite-Appalachian-Power-Co.-for-industrial-waste) ), FirstEnergy solutions bankruptcy restructuring likely, power plants would be closed or sold (Cleveland Plain-Dealer (http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2018/03/firstenergy_bankruptcy_restruc.html) ), Clinton power plant to close 6 years earlier than scheduled (AP (https://apnews.com/28f0e86eef7443eb915e7db2b41483c9/Clinton-power-plant-to-close-6-years-earlier-than-scheduled) )

PIPELINES: Canada: how a pipeline engineer got arrested in anti-pipeline protests (The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/24/canada-arrests-trans-mountain-pipeline-oil) ), central to Enbridge’s new Minnesota pipeline request is how much oil is needed (Minneapolis Star Tribune (http://www.startribune.com/central-to-enbridge-s-new-minnesota-pipeline-request-is-how-much-oil-is-needed/477780853/) $)

INT’L: ‘We want to repower NSW’: thousands rally against coal in Sydney (The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/mar/24/we-want-to-repower-nsw-thousands-rally-against-coal-in-sydney) ), investors give E.ON edge after big German power deal (Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-innogy-m-a-e-on-investment/investors-give-e-on-edge-after-big-german-power-deal-idUSKCN1GS21M) ), Britain blocks plans for new coal mine on climate grounds (Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-coal-mine/britain-blocks-plans-for-new-coal-mine-on-climate-grounds-idUSKBN1GZ1DG) ), Abu Dhabi’s utility folded into new energy department – spokesman (Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/article/emirates-adwea/abu-dhabis-utility-folded-into-new-energy-department-spokesman-idUSL8N1R7040) ), utilities step into blockchain to stay ahead of Europe’s energy shakeup (Reuters
(https://www.reuters.com/article/us-energy-germany-blockchain/utilities-step-into-blockchain-to-stay-ahead-of-europes-energy-shakeup-idUSKBN1GZ1I2) ), conservationists and foresters at loggerheads over Poland’s ancient forest (Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-poland-forest-logging/conservationists-and-foresters-at-loggerheads-over-polands-ancient-forest-idUSKBN1H10CU) ), Europe’s $38 billion carbon market is finally doing its job (Bloomberg (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-26/europe-s-38-billion-carbon-market-is-finally-starting-to-work) ), Iceland signs $250 million deal to clean up Chinese power (Bloomberg (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-25/a-250-million-jackpot-shows-iceland-is-deepening-its-china-ties) )

ACTIVISM: Lights go dark for Earth Hour to highlight climate change (AP (http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/wireStory/lights-dark-earth-hour-highlight-climate-change-53997819) ), ‘it’s more than just turning off the lights’: what else to do for Earth Hour (The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/23/its-more-than-just-turning-off-the-lights-what-else-to-do-for-earth-hour) )

DENIERS: The climate is changing for climate skeptics (Huffington Post (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/climate-change-trial-california_us_5ab53d0ce4b054d118e2a0d9) )

VEHICLES: India says to give incentives to battery makers as it promotes electric vehicles (Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/article/india-electric/india-says-to-give-incentives-to-battery-makers-as-it-promotes-electric-vehicles-idUSL3N1R54WD) )

SOLUTIONS: What on earth? Why climate change skeptics are backing geoengineering (Reveal (https://www.revealnews.org/article/what-on-earth-why-climate-change-skeptics-are-backing-geoengineering/) ), can hacking the planet ward off climate change? (San Francisco Chronicle (https://www.sfchronicle.com/science/article/Can-hacking-the-planet-ward-off-climate-change-12780532.php) )

EDUCATION: Mailings to teachers highlight a political fight over climate change in the classroom (PBS NewsHour (https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/mailings-to-teachers-highlight-a-political-fight-over-climate-change-in-the-classroom/) ), Juneau school officials consider teaching climate change (AP (https://apnews.com/c071cfd3ae2c493388f9c06a07c07370/Juneau-school-officials-consider-teaching-climate-change) ), climate change goes to business school(s) (Axios (https://www.axios.com/climate-change-goes-to-business-schools-1521736957-cf9ff600-263a-467d-8cfd-18e8e782d0a3.html) ), volunteer army answers the call of science (Nexus Media News (https://nexusmedianews.com/volunteer-army-answers-the-call-of-science-f9d727f04c0d) )

THAT’S FISHY: Endangered status of Atlantic sturgeon up for review (AP (https://apnews.com/a7e5e43ec71246be99ba0727289c8946/Endangered-status-of-Atlantic-sturgeon-up-for-review) ), to save whales, Maine’s iconic lobster industry may have to change (NPR (https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/03/24/596183734/to-save-whales-maines-iconic-lobster-industry-may-have-to-change) )

PHOTOS: Unforgettable sights of our changing world (Nexus Media News (https://nexusmedianews.com/unforgettable-sights-of-our-changing-world-2df468c71de) )

TV: Darren Aronofsky’s new TV series breaks with the hollywood playbook on climate change (Huffington Post (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/darren-aronofsky-climate-series_us_5ab560aee4b0decad049e083) )

NOT SO SWEET: How climate change is affecting the Maine maple syrup industry (Capital Public Radio (http://mainepublic.org/post/how-climate-change-affecting-maine-maple-syrup-industry#stream/0) )
* Inside Exxon’s climate-change strategy (Axios, Amy Harder column (https://www.axios.com/reality-checking-exxons-climate-strategy-a5d1fbc1-a811-48b4-87f9-84ff8039097f.html) )
* In court, Big Oil rejected climate denial (The Guardian, Dana Nuccitelli column (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/mar/23/in-court-big-oil-rejected-climate-denial) )
* DC’s lukewarm response to ‘Rothschilds controlling the climate’ comment is unacceptable (The Hill, Mark Plotkin op-ed (http://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/379890-dcs-lukewarm-response-to-rothschilds-controlling-the-climate-comment-is) )
* What climate change means to our crucial snowpack (Seattle Times, Nicholas Bond and Karin Bumbaco op-ed (https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/what-climate-change-means-to-our-crucial-snowpack/) )
* Boston’s ad hoc planning doesn’t work with climate change (Boston Globe, Renee Loth column (https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2018/03/25/boston-hoc-planning-doesn-work-with-climate-change/1VcvT6idAGPbcowO3CyCeN/story.html) $)
* The Paris climate accords are looking more and more like fantasy (NY Mag, David Wallace-Wells analysis (https://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/03/the-paris-climate-accords-are-starting-to-look-like-fantasy.html) )
* Smart homes and renewable energy are changing how Texans live (Austin Business Journal, Michael Bates op-ed (https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2018/03/23/viewpoint-smart-homes-internet-connected.html) $)

Fake Articles on Fake News Sites, Fake Facts on Fake Prager University Videos

It’s no secret that websites like the Daily Caller, Breitbart and Daily Wire are full of fake news nonsense. But an investigation by (https://www.buzzfeed.com/janelytvynenko/this-public-relations-firm-has-been-secretly-placing?utm_term=.ysd2zkdRz#.bkwrGaA5G) Jane Lytvynenko (https://www.buzzfeed.com/janelytvynenko) published in Buzzfeed last week revealed that Republican-led public relations firm Third Dimension Strategies, or TDS, has covertly placed at least 33 op-eds for its clients in 10 different conservative media outlets. With content ranging from contact lens regulations (https://www.dailywire.com/news/18344/eyecare-lobbyists-push-legislation-inflate-daniel-maclane) to the renewable fuel standard (http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/02/01/magloughlin-proof-that-the-renewable-fuel-standard-is-corporate-welfare/) , the pieces were so manufactured they were sometimes credited to authors who don’t exist. But apparently the tight editorial standards of the Daily
Caller and friends let these fake pieces slip through…

Per Lytvynenko’s piece, these fake pieces appear to be confined to conservative media, where they’re preaching to the choir and unlikely to change many minds. But changing minds is the aim of another conservative PR effort. This one, however, disguises itself not as op-eds but as an online university.

Prager University sounds innocent enough, and its glossy 5-minute videos appear educational, which is part of why they have millions of views. But what sort of educational institution is Prager University? Or PragerU, for the hip young kids?

Mark Oppenheimer explores the operation for the March/April edition Mother Jones (https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/03/inside-right-wing-youtube-turning-millennials-conservative-prageru-video-dennis-prager/) . As you may have guessed, Prager University is in no way an actual university. It’s just a bunch of heavily advertised five-minute YouTube clips that Oppenheimer describes as “engineered to sway those in the mushy middle, especially young people trying to figure out what they stand for.”

Oppenheimer details how through Prager, far-right Christian extremism is being mass marketed to impressionable young YouTube viewers. It’s spearheaded by Roy Moore (https://pragertopia.com/2017/12/12/prager-20171212-2-mortal/) supporter Dennis Prager, (https://www.desmogblog.com/dennis-prager) a religious conservative talk show host known for (https://rewire.news/article/2015/04/30/conservatives-spend-millions-proselytizing-school-children/) being anti-marriage equality (http://www.dennisprager.com/why-a-good-person-can-vote-against-same-sex-marriage/) , anti-feminism (https://townhall.com/columnists/dennisprager/2017/05/16/feminism-and-intelligence-n2327178) , anti-multicultural (http://www.dennisprager.com/1400-english-girls-raped-multiculturalism/) and even anti-self esteem (https://web.archive.org/web/20170906015654/https://townhall.com/columnists/dennisprager/2010/11/30/want-to-raise-a-good-person-stop-nurturing-your-childs-self-esteem-n1012249) . Prager is the kind of
man who equivocates (https://www.creators.com/read/dennis-prager/06/07/the-rape-of-a-name-is-also-rape) false rape accusations with rape, says a wife’s mood is less important (https://townhall.com/columnists/dennisprager/2008/12/30/when-a-woman-isnt-in-the-mood-part-ii-n1026804) than her husband’s desires, and defends married men (https://www.prageru.com/videos/he-wants-you) who leer at other women.

The Prager U 5-minute video “lessons” aren’t much more modern than its namesake’s views. Whether it’s defending police (https://www.prageru.com/videos/are-police-racist) and southern Republicans (https://www.prageru.com/videos/why-did-democratic-south-become-republican) from charges of racism, decrying all mainstream news as fake news (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOZ0irgLwxU) , denying the gender wage gap (https://www.prageru.com/videos/there-no-gender-wage-gap) , claiming Christians are the most persecuted minority (https://www.prageru.com/videos/worlds-most-persecuted-minority-christians#.VL63Z8aFFHs) , or opposing gun control (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAXxQBIfH7I) , there doesn’t appear to be any issue Prager isn’t ready to “educate” viewers about.

Prager’s climate videos alone–which include Will Happer criticizing climate models (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZN2jt2cCU4) , Bjorn Lomborg telling us everything’s fine (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PWtaackIJU) , or Richard Lindzen explaining what scientists think about climate change (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwqIy8Ikv-c) –have millions of views between them. Prager’s videos tend to recycle already-debunked material dug up from the rest of denierdom, so we don’t tend to pay them much attention.

But we thought they’d be worth mentioning when we saw in Oppenheimer’s story that PragerU is funded by a pair of brothers who earned a fortune off of fracking.

No, not the Kochs, but their fellow Heritage and Franklin Center funders Dan and Farris Wilks (http://prospect.org/article/meet-billionaire-brothers-you-never-heard-who-fund-religious-right) . Having made a fortune in fracking, the brothers are now dedicated to funding conservative causes (https://www.alternet.org/meet-frackers-right-wing-billionaire-brothers-biblical-ambitions) . Farris Wilks is also a preacher, who says that homosexuality (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-wilks-specialreport/special-report-touting-morality-billionaire-texas-brothers-top-2016-donor-list-idUSKCN0RB0ZF20150911) is “a perversion tantamount to bestiality, pedophilia and incest.” On climate change, Wilks preached that if God “wants the polar caps to remain in place, then he will leave them there.”

But Wilks’ funding doesn’t mean the Kochs don’t also have connections in PragerU. For example, last year Desmog’s Ben Jervey showed (https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/09/07/prageru-war-cars-video-attack-electric-cars-koch-funded-lauren-fix) that PragerU’s “War on Cars” video featured Lauren Fix, whose husband’s race car happens to be sponsored by the Kochs’ now-defunct Fueling US Forward campaign.

Given Dennis Prager’s views on women, we’re just surprised she was allowed to speak at all.

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