WEBVTT - Never Let a War Go to Waste

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<v Speaker 1>Pushkin. Lots of people have been drawing comparisons between the

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<v Speaker 1>US invasion of Iraq in two thousand and three and

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<v Speaker 1>the attacks on Iran in twenty twenty six. Alas point

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<v Speaker 1>to similarities, like claims about nuclear weapons.

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<v Speaker 2>It's also Cowbart testified at Barts the intelligence community said

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<v Speaker 2>Iran wasn't building a nuclear weapon.

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<v Speaker 3>What you said, I think they were very close to having.

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<v Speaker 4>I take the threat very seriously. I take the fact

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<v Speaker 4>that he develops weapons of mass destruction very seriously.

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<v Speaker 1>And the preemptive nature of these attacks.

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<v Speaker 5>There was abundantly clear that if Iran came under attack

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<v Speaker 5>by anyone, the United States or Israel or anyone, they

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<v Speaker 5>were going to respond and respond against the UN the

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<v Speaker 5>United States.

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<v Speaker 1>But then the conversation turns quickly to the many differences,

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<v Speaker 1>the fact that, unpopular as it was, the Iraq War

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<v Speaker 1>did actually have congressional approval, for example, or that there

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<v Speaker 1>were ground troops in Iraq that we haven't really seen

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<v Speaker 1>any wrong For me, the way these two moments in

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<v Speaker 1>US history connect has less to do with intelligence reports

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<v Speaker 1>and battle plans and Republican presidents than it does with

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<v Speaker 1>fossil fuels and propaganda. It pulls together a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>the stories we've been covering over the past several years

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<v Speaker 1>into a single timeline, a unified arc towards fossil fascism.

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<v Speaker 1>To understand what's happening now and where it might head,

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<v Speaker 1>we need to take a step back and look at

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<v Speaker 1>where it came from and how the whole thing hangs together.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's what we'll be doing over the course of

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<v Speaker 1>this three part mini series. Iimimi Westervelt and this is drilled.

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<v Speaker 1>The fossil fuel industry and American identity have always been

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<v Speaker 1>deeply entwined, and in case anyone ever forgets it, the

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<v Speaker 1>American Petroleum Institute is there to beat us over the

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<v Speaker 1>head with it, over and over and over again.

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<v Speaker 6>This year we mark America's two hundred and fiftieth birthday.

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<v Speaker 6>Since the beginning of our great nation, we have never

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<v Speaker 6>accepted limits on what can be achieved. That spirit has

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<v Speaker 6>defined the energy story. In eighteen fifty nine, the Drake Well,

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<v Speaker 6>America's first commercial oil well struck oil in northwest Pennsylvania.

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<v Speaker 6>This breakthrough helped launch a new era of prosperity.

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<v Speaker 1>Here's Mike Summer's American Petroleum Institute President at the twenty

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<v Speaker 1>twenty six State of American Energy event, talking about America's

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<v Speaker 1>first oil well, discovered in Pennsylvania in eighteen fifty nine,

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<v Speaker 1>and how it sparked the modern global oil industry, which

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<v Speaker 1>of course he connects directly back to American energy dominance today.

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<v Speaker 6>It was a reminder then, as it is now, that

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<v Speaker 6>the American energy leadership has never been accidental.

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<v Speaker 1>In this ten minute or so speech, Summers gives us

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<v Speaker 1>a neat and tidy illustration of fossil fascism. Not only

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<v Speaker 1>do you have the nationalism and the idea of a

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<v Speaker 1>return to previous greatness that is the hallmark of fascism

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<v Speaker 1>of every kind.

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<v Speaker 6>Well, we embrace innovation, growth and prosperity, or slide backward,

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<v Speaker 6>deny facts, delaying progress and ignoring the realities of rising demand.

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<v Speaker 6>That's the choice, and the American people have made up

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<v Speaker 6>their mind. We choose energy success, not surrender.

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<v Speaker 1>But you also have that national identity and former glory

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<v Speaker 1>linked inextricably to fossil fuels.

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<v Speaker 6>Americans spent years being told that they should do less,

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<v Speaker 6>build less, produce less, and pay more. We're done with

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<v Speaker 6>all of that. American energy is the future, and America

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<v Speaker 6>is ready to lead.

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<v Speaker 1>And importantly threatened by a small minority.

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<v Speaker 6>A small fringe is stuck in the past. They oppose growth, expansion,

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<v Speaker 6>and new infrastructure. They're against new jobs, higher living standards.

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<v Speaker 6>They resist the energy required, the power modern life. They

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<v Speaker 6>offer no vision for the future.

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<v Speaker 1>Listening to this talk earlier this year, I was reminded

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<v Speaker 1>of a conversation I had with Brown University environmental sociologist

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<v Speaker 1>doctor Robert Brule a few years ago about how long

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<v Speaker 1>the American Petroleum Institute has been connecting fossil fuels to

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<v Speaker 1>American identity.

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<v Speaker 3>The why and share of the effort that these guys

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<v Speaker 3>are spending money on. And it's not on science denial. Yes,

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<v Speaker 3>they spend this much on science denial, and you know,

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<v Speaker 3>I'm not saying that that isn't important and doesn't count,

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<v Speaker 3>but you know, they're spending probably five or ten times

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<v Speaker 3>more trying to influence the perceptions of these corporations and

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<v Speaker 3>the perceptions of their product and tying their product to

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<v Speaker 3>the American way of life and everything good about America.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, apple pie mom, you know the flag fossil fuels,

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<v Speaker 3>and so by implication, what they do is they basically

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<v Speaker 3>say any attack on fossil fuels is an attack on

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<v Speaker 3>our way of life. That's an extremely powerful argument that

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<v Speaker 3>the fossil fuel companies have been making for decades, that

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<v Speaker 3>they've been connecting fossil fuels with the American way of

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<v Speaker 3>life and the good life.

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<v Speaker 1>The APA was formed as World War One, the first

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<v Speaker 1>fossil fueld War came to a close. Oil companies had

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<v Speaker 1>been coordinating during the war to ensure a study supply

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<v Speaker 1>of fuel to the front and Standard Oil of New

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<v Speaker 1>Jersey publicist Ivy Lee thought it would be a shame

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<v Speaker 1>if that coordination ended when the war did.

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<v Speaker 3>After the war ended, there was an interest in sort

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<v Speaker 3>of coordinating an industry position for the petroleum industry to

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<v Speaker 3>represent their interests to the public. And out of that

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<v Speaker 3>comes the American Petroleum Institute and Ivy lead Ross, on

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<v Speaker 3>his experience in the War Propaganda Board, effort to start

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<v Speaker 3>developing larger institutional public relations efforts, and he works with

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<v Speaker 3>the head of Standard Oil of New Jersey, which we

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<v Speaker 3>now know as Exxon Mobil to form the American Petroleum

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<v Speaker 3>Institute in nineteen nineteen and so the American Petroleum Instudents

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<v Speaker 3>is now one hundred years old and it's considered to

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<v Speaker 3>be the really the first modern, sophisticated, public relations oriented

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<v Speaker 3>trade association in the world.

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<v Speaker 1>But it's not just the American Petroleum Institute that emerges

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<v Speaker 1>out of World War One. There's also a newly delineated

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<v Speaker 1>region with a whole bunch of new states and borders

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<v Speaker 1>carved up by the fossil fuel industry and its government

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<v Speaker 1>backers in France, Britain, the Netherlands, and the US after

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<v Speaker 1>the break. How the thirst for Middle East oil both

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<v Speaker 1>contributed to World War One and reconfigured global politics when

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<v Speaker 1>the war ended. From the very early days of the

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<v Speaker 1>oil industry, it's been tied to national identity. It is

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<v Speaker 1>inextricably linked to both nationalism and imperialism. That one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>year history is covered in great detail and a whole

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<v Speaker 1>bunch of really good books I'm going to link to

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<v Speaker 1>in the show notes, but will now attempt to summarize.

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<v Speaker 1>In about five minutes. Here we go history time. Okay, So,

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<v Speaker 1>just as the Americans are getting going in Pennsylvania, Russia's

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<v Speaker 1>czar opens up the Baku region of Azerbaijan to private

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<v Speaker 1>oil prospectors. By eighteen ninety, Russian oil is giving American

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<v Speaker 1>oil a run for its money. At the same time,

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<v Speaker 1>the Dutch have moved to modernize the oil industry in

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<v Speaker 1>Indonesia and start the Royal Dutch Oil Company. Then they

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<v Speaker 1>merge with Shell Transport to create Royal Dutch Shell and

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<v Speaker 1>ship oil all over the world. So within really just

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<v Speaker 1>a few decades, the oil industry is taking root everywhere.

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<v Speaker 1>But that's not happening in the Middle East, although lots

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<v Speaker 1>of people are speculating that there are large oil reserves there.

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<v Speaker 1>Why well, because it's mostly controlled by the Ottoman Empire,

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<v Speaker 1>the so called sick man of Europe, which is in

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<v Speaker 1>economic freefall and limping toward collapse. Various countries start jocking

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<v Speaker 1>to grab the Arabian Peninsula and the oil that lays

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<v Speaker 1>below it. Germany, Britain and France are all there. Germany

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<v Speaker 1>starts building the Baghdad Railway from Baghdad to Berlin, which

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<v Speaker 1>would give them access both to the oil fields of

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<v Speaker 1>Bastra and the ports of the Persian golf An Australian

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<v Speaker 1>gold miner William Darcy begins exploring for oil nearby in

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<v Speaker 1>Persia today Iran and putting bids in on oil fields

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<v Speaker 1>in modern day Iraq. In nineteen oh eight, just as

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<v Speaker 1>he's getting ready to shut down the Persian exploration, he

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<v Speaker 1>hits black gold. He creates a new company, the Anglo

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<v Speaker 1>Persian Oil Company. That's the company known today as BP,

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<v Speaker 1>and guarantees Britain a study supply of Arabian oil. They

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<v Speaker 1>want more, particularly those Mesopotamian oil fields in what is

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<v Speaker 1>today Iraq. For years, Anglo Persian tries to convince the

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<v Speaker 1>Ottoman Empire to give them a concession there. Twice they

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<v Speaker 1>have contracts drawn up and ready to sign, and something happens.

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<v Speaker 1>The first time, rioting breaks out in Istanbul and the

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<v Speaker 1>sultan is deposed before he can sign. The second Archduke Ferdinand,

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<v Speaker 1>heir apparent to the Austro Hungarian Empire, is assassinated, kicking

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<v Speaker 1>off World War One. During the war, Britain takes possession

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<v Speaker 1>of Baghdad and Bosra. As the war comes to an end,

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<v Speaker 1>several secret treaties come to light, among them a collection

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<v Speaker 1>of letters between diplomats Mark Sykes of Britain, George Picot

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<v Speaker 1>of France, and Russian foreign minister Sergey Sazanov, known collectively

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<v Speaker 1>as the Pike's Picot Agreement, negotiated in early nineteen sixteen.

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<v Speaker 1>It splits up the Arabian Peninsula between the three countries,

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<v Speaker 1>without of course, consulting any of the people who actually

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<v Speaker 1>live there. Britain gets Bagdad and Basra, France gets Mosul,

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<v Speaker 1>and Syria Persia's split between Russia and Britain. Anglo Persian

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<v Speaker 1>is not happy about this. They do not like the

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<v Speaker 1>idea of giving Mosul to the French and immediately begin

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<v Speaker 1>working behind the scenes to undermine this arrangement. Yeah, another

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<v Speaker 1>secret deals signed in late nineteen eighteen, the French agree

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<v Speaker 1>to give up Mosil so long as they can retain

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<v Speaker 1>a share of the oil there and control of Syria.

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<v Speaker 1>Digging up shares of the Arabian Peninsula's oil even enters

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<v Speaker 1>into the Versailles Peace Treaty talks in nineteen nineteen, where

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<v Speaker 1>Royal Dutch Shell also enters the chat. There's a whole

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<v Speaker 1>bunch of geopolitical jockeying and a lot of drawing of

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<v Speaker 1>lines and creation of new countries that absolutely sets up

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<v Speaker 1>the next one hundred years of conflict in the region.

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<v Speaker 1>For our purposes, I'm going to jump to the formation

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<v Speaker 1>of Iraq in nineteen twenty two via a treaty that

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<v Speaker 1>Britain drafts with its personally selected monarch King Feisal. It's

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<v Speaker 1>important not just because it creates modern day Iraq, but

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<v Speaker 1>also because it's where an oil giant that had been

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<v Speaker 1>missing from the conversation suddenly appears. It's right, it's the US,

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<v Speaker 1>and particularly Standard Oil of New Jersey, the company known

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<v Speaker 1>today as Exxon mobil. The US had provided most of

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<v Speaker 1>Britain's oil during World War One, and oil for a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of the other allies too, and now they want

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<v Speaker 1>in on divvying up the Ottoman oil spoils. But in

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<v Speaker 1>typical American fashion, the US had also refused to join

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<v Speaker 1>the League of Nations and had never declared war against

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<v Speaker 1>the Ottoman Empire, only Germany, which had targeted US vessels.

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<v Speaker 1>At one of the very first meetings of the American

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<v Speaker 1>Petroleum Institute, US oil executives began agitating for a way

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<v Speaker 1>into Iraq's oil fields. They start releasing all these white

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<v Speaker 1>papers and pamphlets and memos and talking to the press

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<v Speaker 1>about how the British and French oil monopolies are anti

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<v Speaker 1>democratic and anti American. British inspire back that America has

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<v Speaker 1>established monopolies for itself in the Philippines and Haiti, only

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<v Speaker 1>to turn around and criticize Britain for supposedly doing the

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<v Speaker 1>same in Iraq. A massive amount of imperialist sword fighting ensues,

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<v Speaker 1>all while pretending to be very very concerned for the

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<v Speaker 1>rights of the Ottoman Empire's former citizens. Of course, when

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<v Speaker 1>the alliance between Britain and King Faisal is finalized at

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<v Speaker 1>the end of nineteen twenty two, it includes an open

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<v Speaker 1>door for American oil companies in the region. Success except

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<v Speaker 1>that the Turkish Petroleum Company still legally holds the oil

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<v Speaker 1>concession in Iraq, and its negotiator, holosed Sarcus Gulbenkian, a

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<v Speaker 1>Turkish born Armenian educated in Britain, is outsparting all of them.

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<v Speaker 1>Discussions drag on for years, mostly because of Glbenkian, and

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<v Speaker 1>finally in nineteen twenty eight Glbenkian is ready to sign

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<v Speaker 1>a deal. Turkish petroleum will be divided four ways equally

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<v Speaker 1>between Anglo Persia BP today, Royal Dutch Shell Combani Foncees

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<v Speaker 1>de Petron Total Energies Today, and a consortium of US

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<v Speaker 1>companies called the Near East Development Corporation led by Standard

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<v Speaker 1>Oil of New Jersey, later Exxon and Socony Vacuum later Mobile.

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<v Speaker 1>Each group has also given one point twenty five percent

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<v Speaker 1>of their share to the only private stakeholder in the agreement,

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<v Speaker 1>Gulbenkian himself. Accompanying the agreement is a map of the

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<v Speaker 1>Arabian Peninsula with a red line drawn around it, which

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<v Speaker 1>gives the document its name, the Red Line Agreement. Standard

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<v Speaker 1>Oil's publicist Earl Newsome, was educating executives and Washington politicians

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<v Speaker 1>about it back in the nineteen twenties and nineteen thirties.

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<v Speaker 1>When I came across those documents in his archive, suddenly

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<v Speaker 1>the strong sense of entitlement that US oil companies had

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<v Speaker 1>seemed to feel around a rock and its oil made sense.

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<v Speaker 1>It wasn't justified, not at all, but at least I

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<v Speaker 1>knew where this entitlement had come from. It also helped

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<v Speaker 1>make the American Petroleum Institute's power make more sense. It

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't just operating as a trade group lobbying for this

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<v Speaker 1>or that policy. It was actually negotiating foreign policy on

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<v Speaker 1>behalf of the US. No wonder it and the industry

0:15:31.442 --> 0:15:35.402
<v Speaker 1>it represented saw itself as just an extension of America

0:15:35.402 --> 0:15:38.522
<v Speaker 1>and American identity and no wonder, it was so important

0:15:38.602 --> 0:15:40.402
<v Speaker 1>to protect that connection.

0:15:40.762 --> 0:15:46.722
<v Speaker 4>Not only smooth and efficient, but powerful as well. I

0:15:46.882 --> 0:15:51.402
<v Speaker 4>watched them for hours. Great Jinny meed they were superb.

0:15:52.162 --> 0:15:55.722
<v Speaker 4>I just couldn't help comparing them with ours. If you

0:15:56.042 --> 0:16:00.802
<v Speaker 4>call that a comparison, surely these vehicles must be the

0:16:00.842 --> 0:16:03.242
<v Speaker 4>property of the highest officials.

0:16:04.042 --> 0:16:05.002
<v Speaker 6>I was wrong.

0:16:06.042 --> 0:16:09.162
<v Speaker 4>It seems that almost everybody in this country has one

0:16:09.162 --> 0:16:13.322
<v Speaker 4>of those. They call them automobiles.

0:16:13.842 --> 0:16:16.802
<v Speaker 1>This is a clip from an American Petroleum Institute propaganda

0:16:16.802 --> 0:16:19.721
<v Speaker 1>film that came out in the fifties. Doctor Brule told

0:16:19.722 --> 0:16:21.841
<v Speaker 1>me about it a few years ago, and I think

0:16:21.842 --> 0:16:24.441
<v Speaker 1>about it all the time. It's done in the style

0:16:24.522 --> 0:16:28.522
<v Speaker 1>of the Jetsons and depicts Martians landing on Earth. The

0:16:28.602 --> 0:16:32.002
<v Speaker 1>Martians are communists for some reason, and they visit Earth

0:16:32.042 --> 0:16:35.042
<v Speaker 1>and they see cars and oil and decided capitalism is

0:16:35.042 --> 0:16:35.681
<v Speaker 1>the way to go.

0:16:36.322 --> 0:16:40.282
<v Speaker 4>And only one in almost a thousand makes a major discovery,

0:16:40.962 --> 0:16:45.762
<v Speaker 4>pretty big odds. Yet America has proved reserves, the oil

0:16:45.842 --> 0:16:52.362
<v Speaker 4>supplies still underground have kept increasings heavily. I couldn't imagine

0:16:52.442 --> 0:16:56.482
<v Speaker 4>how this ever increasing supply of oil was achieved until

0:16:56.522 --> 0:17:00.522
<v Speaker 4>I found out that there's not just one but thousands

0:17:00.561 --> 0:17:04.962
<v Speaker 4>of oil companies, all competing with each other to discover

0:17:05.162 --> 0:17:08.962
<v Speaker 4>and develop new sources of oil for believe it or not,

0:17:09.602 --> 0:17:12.682
<v Speaker 4>in the USA, anyone who was willing to risk it

0:17:12.922 --> 0:17:13.922
<v Speaker 4>can drill for oil.

0:17:15.282 --> 0:17:19.122
<v Speaker 1>The American Petrolling Institute has only increased its power since then.

0:17:19.522 --> 0:17:22.841
<v Speaker 1>It commissioned one of the industry's first reports on global

0:17:22.882 --> 0:17:26.002
<v Speaker 1>warming in the late nineteen sixties and was integral and

0:17:26.042 --> 0:17:30.042
<v Speaker 1>shaping the economic argument against acting on climate change.

0:17:30.482 --> 0:17:33.242
<v Speaker 2>I was interested in the American Petrollum Institute, and I

0:17:33.402 --> 0:17:38.401
<v Speaker 2>downloaded all the news articles that talked about the American

0:17:38.402 --> 0:17:43.282
<v Speaker 2>Petroleum Institute and climate change, and there, as you can imagine,

0:17:43.282 --> 0:17:45.962
<v Speaker 2>there are thousands of them, and they go all the

0:17:45.962 --> 0:17:50.002
<v Speaker 2>way back to the nineteen eighties. So I downloaded them

0:17:50.042 --> 0:17:52.802
<v Speaker 2>and I sorted them chronologically, and I just started reading

0:17:52.841 --> 0:17:54.441
<v Speaker 2>all of them just to get an idea of what

0:17:54.522 --> 0:17:59.802
<v Speaker 2>the American Petrollum Institute was saying about climate change. And

0:18:00.242 --> 0:18:05.962
<v Speaker 2>I noticed that in the early nineties, the American Petroleum

0:18:05.962 --> 0:18:10.242
<v Speaker 2>Institute is quoting these economists saying, you know, climate change

0:18:10.321 --> 0:18:12.561
<v Speaker 2>is not a problem. It's not going to hurt society

0:18:12.601 --> 0:18:14.242
<v Speaker 2>that much, and it's going to be too expensive to

0:18:14.242 --> 0:18:17.482
<v Speaker 2>get off the fossil fuels, so we shouldn't do anything

0:18:17.482 --> 0:18:18.482
<v Speaker 2>about this problem.

0:18:19.162 --> 0:18:22.002
<v Speaker 1>That's Ben Fronte, who heads up the Climate Litigation Lab

0:18:22.042 --> 0:18:25.762
<v Speaker 1>at Oxford University and uncovered a lot of early API

0:18:25.882 --> 0:18:27.601
<v Speaker 1>documents on climate change.

0:18:27.922 --> 0:18:31.841
<v Speaker 2>And then I saw them the American Petroleum Institute quoting

0:18:31.882 --> 0:18:34.881
<v Speaker 2>and referring to these same economists again and again and

0:18:34.922 --> 0:18:38.762
<v Speaker 2>again for decades in the late nineties and then the

0:18:38.762 --> 0:18:41.802
<v Speaker 2>early two thousands, like wow, these are the go to

0:18:42.042 --> 0:18:46.202
<v Speaker 2>guys for the American Patrollum Institute. And then I discovered

0:18:46.202 --> 0:18:49.002
<v Speaker 2>that a lot of those studies that the American Petroleum

0:18:49.002 --> 0:18:53.561
<v Speaker 2>Institute was citing by those economists were actually funded and

0:18:53.642 --> 0:18:58.002
<v Speaker 2>commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute. So that was incredible.

0:18:58.002 --> 0:19:02.921
<v Speaker 2>But what really got my attention was back in twenty seventeen,

0:19:03.042 --> 0:19:07.081
<v Speaker 2>I think, and Donald Trump had announced that he was

0:19:07.121 --> 0:19:09.802
<v Speaker 2>going to pull the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement,

0:19:11.282 --> 0:19:15.042
<v Speaker 2>and in a speech he gave to justify doing that,

0:19:15.561 --> 0:19:20.802
<v Speaker 2>he cited some economists and said that the Paris Agreement

0:19:20.882 --> 0:19:23.482
<v Speaker 2>was going to be economically devastating for the US if

0:19:23.482 --> 0:19:26.242
<v Speaker 2>the US stayed in it. And I thought that was

0:19:26.282 --> 0:19:30.802
<v Speaker 2>really surprising, and so I went to go find that study,

0:19:31.002 --> 0:19:34.681
<v Speaker 2>and it was authored by some of the same people

0:19:35.282 --> 0:19:41.362
<v Speaker 2>that had been quoted by the American Patrolium Institute for decades,

0:19:41.402 --> 0:19:43.802
<v Speaker 2>and it was the exact same situation. It was a

0:19:44.242 --> 0:19:49.482
<v Speaker 2>study funded by industry, published by a think tank or

0:19:49.601 --> 0:19:54.282
<v Speaker 2>consulting firm, and then it's quoted as being reliable and

0:19:55.762 --> 0:19:57.042
<v Speaker 2>being rigorous research.

0:20:01.081 --> 0:20:04.962
<v Speaker 1>In late twenty twenty one, before Putin invaded Ukraine, the

0:20:05.002 --> 0:20:08.802
<v Speaker 1>American Patrolling Institute took to cable news shows and the

0:20:08.882 --> 0:20:12.841
<v Speaker 1>Internet to warn the American public that the Democrats and

0:20:12.882 --> 0:20:16.482
<v Speaker 1>their climate policies had made us vulnerable in this situation,

0:20:17.282 --> 0:20:20.082
<v Speaker 1>that if they'd just been allowed to drill as much

0:20:20.081 --> 0:20:23.162
<v Speaker 1>as they wanted, America would be able to rub Russia's

0:20:23.242 --> 0:20:26.242
<v Speaker 1>nose in it and sweep in to save Europe with

0:20:26.442 --> 0:20:27.722
<v Speaker 1>plentiful gas.

0:20:27.922 --> 0:20:31.482
<v Speaker 6>There is a lot of concern about what has been

0:20:31.482 --> 0:20:34.921
<v Speaker 6>put forth by this administration, and there's a lot of uncertainty,

0:20:35.042 --> 0:20:38.282
<v Speaker 6>and that uncertainty is leading to a lack of investment

0:20:38.321 --> 0:20:39.402
<v Speaker 6>in the United States.

0:20:40.002 --> 0:20:40.562
<v Speaker 1>And when the.

0:20:40.522 --> 0:20:45.441
<v Speaker 6>Administration is continually putting forward new proposals the limit production

0:20:45.522 --> 0:20:49.202
<v Speaker 6>in the United States, American oil and gas companies are

0:20:49.321 --> 0:20:50.642
<v Speaker 6>cutting back on production.

0:20:51.442 --> 0:20:54.522
<v Speaker 1>That was our friend api President Mike Summers again, and

0:20:54.642 --> 0:20:58.282
<v Speaker 1>it wasn't just Summers. Lots of other industry spokespeople were

0:20:58.321 --> 0:21:01.561
<v Speaker 1>out saying similar things very early on. In fact, it

0:21:01.601 --> 0:21:05.002
<v Speaker 1>was so early and the messages were so similar that

0:21:05.121 --> 0:21:08.201
<v Speaker 1>I figured there must be some kind of coordination. So

0:21:08.242 --> 0:21:12.202
<v Speaker 1>I called that PR expert, Christine Arena, to ask. She thought, for.

0:21:12.601 --> 0:21:16.682
<v Speaker 7>A media campaign where you're engaging different stakeholders and you're

0:21:16.722 --> 0:21:20.641
<v Speaker 7>writing the talking points, if you want your proxies, you know,

0:21:20.682 --> 0:21:25.081
<v Speaker 7>other political officials, other organizations to repeat the same talking points,

0:21:25.081 --> 0:21:27.762
<v Speaker 7>that takes at least three or four weeks. If you're

0:21:27.762 --> 0:21:31.762
<v Speaker 7>producing a creative ad that is on television, that could

0:21:31.841 --> 0:21:35.161
<v Speaker 7>take two months plus in a tight timeline.

0:21:35.321 --> 0:21:36.762
<v Speaker 8>This was just too coordinated.

0:21:37.002 --> 0:21:40.362
<v Speaker 7>Given the timeframe from the triggering event when Putin invaded

0:21:40.722 --> 0:21:44.282
<v Speaker 7>to the release of this creative the intervals were too tight,

0:21:44.601 --> 0:21:47.402
<v Speaker 7>the messages were too word for word. This is an

0:21:47.601 --> 0:21:54.121
<v Speaker 7>organized disinformation effort geared towards affecting policy in the short term.

0:21:54.522 --> 0:21:58.042
<v Speaker 7>I do personally believe that the communications pieces were put

0:21:58.081 --> 0:22:01.641
<v Speaker 7>into place and ready to go prior to February twenty fourth,

0:22:01.882 --> 0:22:04.282
<v Speaker 7>and that the fossil fuel industry knew it stood to

0:22:04.361 --> 0:22:07.762
<v Speaker 7>benefit from Russia's war, not just in terms of near

0:22:07.841 --> 0:22:11.522
<v Speaker 7>term gas prices, but you know, a shorter term scrap.

0:22:12.042 --> 0:22:15.002
<v Speaker 1>It didn't matter that the Democrats hadn't actually managed to

0:22:15.162 --> 0:22:19.162
<v Speaker 1>pass any climate policy, or that permits for oil and

0:22:19.202 --> 0:22:23.482
<v Speaker 1>gas drilling had actually increased under Biden. It didn't matter

0:22:23.561 --> 0:22:26.681
<v Speaker 1>that oil and gas production in the US had just

0:22:26.841 --> 0:22:30.161
<v Speaker 1>hit a record high, or that it was Obama and

0:22:30.202 --> 0:22:32.722
<v Speaker 1>Biden who had led the charge to lift the export

0:22:32.802 --> 0:22:36.002
<v Speaker 1>ban in twenty fifteen, opening the door to the US

0:22:36.042 --> 0:22:39.362
<v Speaker 1>becoming the world's top gas supplier in just a decade.

0:22:40.121 --> 0:22:42.962
<v Speaker 1>What mattered was the story and being able to tell

0:22:43.002 --> 0:22:44.402
<v Speaker 1>it first and loudest.

0:22:45.762 --> 0:22:49.402
<v Speaker 8>The notion that it's octivists and woke people they should

0:22:49.442 --> 0:22:52.282
<v Speaker 8>be the ones to fight climate change. You know, it's

0:22:52.321 --> 0:22:56.242
<v Speaker 8>not relevant for real Americans, this notion that President Biden

0:22:56.282 --> 0:22:59.882
<v Speaker 8>cares more about climate activists than he does about real Americans.

0:23:00.162 --> 0:23:03.282
<v Speaker 8>So there's a concerted push around these narratives.

0:23:04.002 --> 0:23:07.841
<v Speaker 1>Again, it's the industry pulling on the thread of American identity,

0:23:08.081 --> 0:23:12.202
<v Speaker 1>and oil being a fundamental part of it. Worked. Within

0:23:12.202 --> 0:23:15.682
<v Speaker 1>a month, the Biden administration had lifted any delayser restrictions

0:23:15.682 --> 0:23:18.762
<v Speaker 1>on liquefied natural gas terminals and ink to deal with

0:23:18.802 --> 0:23:22.321
<v Speaker 1>Europe that locked them into purchasing large volumes of American

0:23:22.361 --> 0:23:23.722
<v Speaker 1>gas for years to come.

0:23:24.402 --> 0:23:27.121
<v Speaker 5>We're going to work to ensure an additional fifteen billion

0:23:27.202 --> 0:23:31.601
<v Speaker 5>cubic meters of liquified natural gas LNG for Europe this year.

0:23:32.081 --> 0:23:35.522
<v Speaker 5>We will also work to ensure additional EU market demand

0:23:35.962 --> 0:23:38.922
<v Speaker 5>for fifty billion cubic meters of LNG from the United

0:23:38.962 --> 0:23:41.441
<v Speaker 5>States annually by twenty thirty.

0:23:44.361 --> 0:23:46.601
<v Speaker 1>What we heard from industry at the time was the

0:23:46.642 --> 0:23:49.522
<v Speaker 1>same thing we'd heard from President Trump during his first

0:23:49.601 --> 0:23:53.442
<v Speaker 1>term and are hearing from him and his administration today.

0:23:53.882 --> 0:23:57.082
<v Speaker 1>The idea of a lost and former greatness, of an

0:23:57.081 --> 0:24:00.682
<v Speaker 1>identity in a global dominance that's being threatened not by

0:24:00.682 --> 0:24:04.681
<v Speaker 1>climate change or by war, but by a pesky internal

0:24:04.762 --> 0:24:10.161
<v Speaker 1>minority leftists, environmentalists, climate activists. In his twenty twenty six speech,

0:24:10.361 --> 0:24:14.202
<v Speaker 1>API President Mike Summers described them as people who oppose

0:24:14.482 --> 0:24:18.442
<v Speaker 1>progress and American greatness and will therefore be left behind.

0:24:18.762 --> 0:24:21.282
<v Speaker 6>The future belongs to those who are willing to meet

0:24:21.442 --> 0:24:25.802
<v Speaker 6>demand and to lead with realism. Those who claim to

0:24:25.882 --> 0:24:28.962
<v Speaker 6>scarcity and stagnation will be left behind.

0:24:28.962 --> 0:24:32.721
<v Speaker 1>He hammered. On energy dominance too, a theme repeated often

0:24:32.802 --> 0:24:34.442
<v Speaker 1>by Trump and his administration.

0:24:34.962 --> 0:24:38.802
<v Speaker 5>We're looking to be very energy dominant, and we will

0:24:38.841 --> 0:24:40.081
<v Speaker 5>be in a very short.

0:24:40.042 --> 0:24:41.881
<v Speaker 1>Order unleash energy dominance.

0:24:42.242 --> 0:24:45.561
<v Speaker 3>This is unleashed the National Energy Dominance Council.

0:24:45.802 --> 0:24:51.042
<v Speaker 1>We are unleashing energy dominance that taps into another key

0:24:51.081 --> 0:24:54.922
<v Speaker 1>marker of fascism, the strongman leader guy who's going to

0:24:55.121 --> 0:24:57.922
<v Speaker 1>lead us back to that former glory. In the case

0:24:57.922 --> 0:25:02.002
<v Speaker 1>of fossil fascism, we call it petro masculinity. And the

0:25:02.042 --> 0:25:04.962
<v Speaker 1>current US President is a walking example.

0:25:05.802 --> 0:25:09.722
<v Speaker 9>When I wrote about this, that was during the first

0:25:09.762 --> 0:25:16.081
<v Speaker 9>Trump administration. What I wanted to do was understand this

0:25:16.242 --> 0:25:21.841
<v Speaker 9>connection and far right movements between misogyny, anti feminist politics,

0:25:22.202 --> 0:25:27.841
<v Speaker 9>anti queer politics, and the support for fossil fuel and

0:25:27.922 --> 0:25:32.282
<v Speaker 9>climate denial. And they still tend to be talked about separately,

0:25:33.402 --> 0:25:37.322
<v Speaker 9>as if they are sort of coincidentally inhabiting the same movement.

0:25:38.722 --> 0:25:45.962
<v Speaker 1>That's our story next time. Our senior producer and sound

0:25:45.962 --> 0:25:50.722
<v Speaker 1>designer is Martin Zaltz Austwick. He also composed original music

0:25:50.802 --> 0:25:55.962
<v Speaker 1>for this episode. Matt Fleming created the series artwork. Our

0:25:55.962 --> 0:25:59.722
<v Speaker 1>first Amendment attorney is James Wheaton. The show was reported

0:25:59.762 --> 0:26:01.962
<v Speaker 1>and written by me Amy Westervelt