1 month ago
A secretive ambiance activistic group pinch important financial backing is softly taking connected a much salient domiciled advocating against natural, gas-powered appliances, for illustration stoves.
The Gas Leaks Action Campaign — which appears to person been first established successful precocious 2021 aliases early 2022 — precocious launched a $1 cardinal advertisement run informing of nan dangers posed by earthy gas, nan largest-ever effort of its kind. The group states connected its website that earthy state harms nan environment, pollutes nan aerial wrong homes and makes stoves "constantly astatine consequence of explosion."
The group has besides spearheaded a run against nan American Gas Association (AGA), nan nation's starring manufacture group representing earthy state providers. At a Washington, D.C. arena earlier this month, Gas Leaks hosted Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., on pinch respective biology groups for illustration nan Sierra Club to blast nan AGA's lobbying activities.
"Instead of turning disconnected nan pat connected fossil fuels, our state has been flooding nan marketplace pinch state and, unless we do something, we are each going to drown," said Markey, who is an original sponsor of nan Green New Deal.
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Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., speaks during an arena hosted by Gas Leaks earlier this month. (Gas Leaks/YouTube/Video Screenshot)
AGA President and CEO Karen Harbert said successful a connection that earthy state is "fundamental to protecting America’s power security, achieving our biology goals, and promoting economical prosperity."
"Despite defense groups willfully spreading misinformation and promoting ill-informed power argumentation that would thrust up prices and sacrifice biology progress, this manufacture will proceed to instrumentality inclusive solutions to present life-essential power and trim emissions for our customers and communities," she added.
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Meanwhile, according to a Fox News Digital reappraisal of occupation hunt sites, Gas Leaks has posted respective positions, including executive director, elder communications director, integer head and integer designer, complete nan past 2 years pinch salaries ranging from $65,000 to $160,000. Altogether, nan positions bespeak nan group's yearly net and costs costs perchance transcend $465,000.
But contempt Gas Leaks' maturation and expanding power pinch Democratic lawmakers and likewise climate-focused organizations, nan group shares very small astir itself online – its founders, backing and history are each shielded from nationalist view. A Reuters study past period broadly stated that Gas Leaks was "formed by ambiance defense veterans."
Gas Leaks has led respective campaigns targeting state stoves, labeling them arsenic vulnerable for nan situation and nationalist health. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
A LinkedIn hunt revealed that those "advocacy veterans" see Caleb Heeringa, a erstwhile Sierra Club communications charismatic who serves arsenic Gas Leaks' run director; and Jamie Henn, nan laminitis of Fossil Free Media, co-founder of 350.org and a committee personnel of Gas Leaks.
According to Gas Leaks' "about page," which appears to person been removed from nan group's tract but remains archived, Gas Leaks is supported by nan cleanable power defense statement Climate Nexus, which is itself fiscally supported by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, a nonprofit that regularly funnels money from donors to progressive initiatives.
The statement intends Gas Leaks isn't required to record its ain 990 taxation ID shape pinch nan Internal Revenue Service and can, therefore, operate without publically sharing information astir its soul operations aliases finances.
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"Senator Whitehouse conveniently abandons his soapbox railing against acheronian money erstwhile it’s clip for him to cozy up to a acheronian money group that is pushing his preferred extremist ambiance agenda," said Caitlin Sutherland, Executive Director of Americans for Public Trust, a nonprofit authorities watchdog group. Sutherland noted nan opposition betwixt some Whitehouse's narration pinch Gas Leaks and his high-profile push against acheronian money successful politics.
"This latest pop-up greenish group is pedaling misinformation successful a shadowy effort to prohibition state stoves."
Climate activists march connected Madison Avenue while protesting power argumentation and nan usage of fossil fuels successful New York connected Sept. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)
A Fox News Digital study of grants identified a azygous Gas Leaks donor: nan California-based Heising-Simons Foundation, which states connected its website that it seeks to beforehand "sustainable solutions successful ambiance and cleanable energy, alteration groundbreaking investigation successful science, heighten nan acquisition of our youngest learners and support quality authorities for each people."
In 2022 and 2023, nan Heising-Simons Foundation wired 2 $150,000 grants to Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, earmarking some for nan Gas Leaks Action Campaign.
The Heising-Simons Foundation has reportedly fixed much than $3.3 cardinal successful caller years to nan Rocky Mountain Institute, a ambiance deliberation vessel that was progressive successful nan fierce push past twelvemonth targeting state stoves via regulation. The Heising-Simons Foundation was besides co-founded successful 2007 by Mark Heising, who remains its vice chair and is progressive financially successful a number of greenish power companies.
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"The only point greenish astir today’s biology activity is nan billions successful rate that travel freely betwixt lefty billionaires, their operatives successful nan greenish movement, and nan politicians who do their bidding," said Tom Pyle, president of nan Institute for Energy Research, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit.
"Their run to prohibition earthy state stoves is yet different illustration of nan nexus betwixt self-dealing able elites for illustration Mark Heising, greenish unit groups for illustration nan Rocky Mountain Institute, and nan Democratic Party machine."
Richard Trumka Jr., a Biden-appointed personnel of nan Consumer Product Safety Commission, many times suggested his agency was considering a prohibition connected state stoves owed to their wellness and ambiance impact. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)
While environmentalists person for years sought to ace down connected earthy state and state appliances complete their ambiance impacts, nan push came to a caput early past twelvemonth erstwhile Richard Trumka Jr., a personnel of nan U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, said banning state stoves was "on nan table." The Department of Energy past issued regulations targeting state stoves soon thereafter.
In a societal media station astatine nan time, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm pointed to a Rocky Mountain Institute-funded study and said nan authorities "must FIX this" by expanding entree to electrical stovetops. The study, which was besides cited by environmentalists and different officials, tied 12% of puerility asthma cases to state stoves.
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Gas Leaks, Climate Nexus, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and nan Heising-Simons Foundation didn't respond to requests for remark for purposes of this story. Markey and Whitehouse besides didn't respond to requests for comment.
Thomas Catenacci is simply a authorities writer for Fox News Digital.
