More on Fake Protests & Fossil Fueled PR – CleanTechnica

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Earlier this week, we covered a funny press release and resulting conversation our mailroom staff had with the Extinction Rebellion, a group that claims to care about climate change but only really pushes people away from climate action via extreme tactics targeting what they somehow see as “high carbon footprint” events, like … tennis and snooker tournaments, and “unsustainable technologies,” like … EVs. If you’re scratching your head, we were, too.

Highlights included the XR’s spokesperson:

1. being unaware of how Life Cycle Analyses (LCAs) worked but nevertheless repeatedly asserting they were flawed, even when presented with ISO standards that document their process;
2. being really hesitant to describe California’s record of almost two months running on renewable energy and the closure of Hawaii’s last coal plant as “good things” — I mean, it took prodding multiple times on each to get him to reply on either;
3. being unable to identify who funds XR;
4. being unable to cite a source of education for XR staff except for one very obscure British citizen with a YouTube channel and potentially a fake diploma from a college we contacted and searched records from and were unable to confirm the person had ever gone to school there;
5. suggesting that protesting EVs was more important than protesting private jets or yachts or gas guzzling SUVs, due in large part to the unrecyclability of the wiring (uh … what?);
6. having no actual answers to the climate crisis except creation of a “citizens’ lobby” wherein local citizens would make decisions over the way resources were allocated in their area, and no response to the idea that this might result in a tragedy of the commons.

Whether XR is a fake organization funded by the fossil industry or just a well intentioned but extreme (and rather clueless) group of people is a good question, but the result is the same either way — they are fighting against those of us who are actually making progress on climate, and are one of the best tools of misinformation the fossil industry could ever ask for.

So, it got us thinking, we ought to publish a few other of the more … fake … protests that we see, just to shed some light on the fact that there’s deliberate misinformation out there and attempts to deceive the public, purportedly in the name of a good cause.

This one came to us from a Manhattan PR firm, purporting to represent the Indigenous peoples of the North Slope of Alaska, and calling to rebuke political leaders (all of them Democrats) for failing to respect the voices of Indigenous people and the sacred ground they live on. It’s been edited for length, clarity, and grammar.

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*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

May 1, 2024

U.S. House of Representatives Defends Indigenous Self-Determination on Alaska’s North Slope with Passage of HR 6285

The “Alaska’s Right to Produce Act” pushes back on recent unprecedented federal attacks on Indigenous communities and advances North Slope Iñupiat self-determination on their ancestral homelands.

Anchorage, AK – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 6285, “Alaska’s Right to Produce Act,” introduced by Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN) in response to the Biden administration’s unprecedented, unilateral September 2023 decisions impacting North Slope Iñupiat homelands within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The bill would reverse the federal government’s mandates in NPR-A and ANWR and reflect overwhelming opposition to the Department of the Interior (DOI)’s actions by North Slope Iñupiat communities, whose voices have repeatedly been ignored by the administration.

“Since the Biden administration announced this decision in September, our voices, which overwhelmingly reject the federal government’s decisions, have been consistently drowned out and ignored,” said Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat President Nagruk Harcharek. “This administration has not followed its well-documented promises to work with Indigenous people when crafting policies affecting their lands and people. We are grateful to Congress for exercising its legislative authority to correct the federal government’s hypocrisy and advance Iñupiaq self-determination in our ancestral homelands.”

The Biden administration’s decisions are not aligned with the North Slope Iñupiat after it grossly mismanaged the public engagement process and cut local Indigenous elected officials out of policy discussions. DOI Secretary Haaland herself has ignored or denied at least eight meeting requests by North Slope elected Indigenous leadership, including during her visit to Alaska in the fall of 2023.

The bill’s advancement follows DOI’s recent move to finalize its NPR-A Proposed Rule, which would restrict access to over 50% of the North Slope Iñupiat’s ancestral NPR-A homelands despite widespread opposition by Indigenous communities who live on the North Slope. The administration is expected to soon advance its unnecessary supplemental environmental impact statement within ANWR, including the lands surrounding Kaktovik. (Editor’s addition of bold…of course fossil fuel extraction doesn’t need EIS, right? I mean, what could possibly go wrong drilling for oil in hard to reach places??)

“America is a country governed by law. But when it comes to North Slope Iñupiat lands, the federal government refuses to follow rules and regulations – as if they are above the law – demanding consultation with federally recognized tribal governments,” said ICAS Director of Natural Resources and Tribal Council Secretary Doreen Leavitt. “The administration’s actions are not only unjust; they are illegal. We are grateful that HR 6285 will mend this breach and ensure that our voices are not only heard but reflected in federal policy. And quyanaqpak to Rep. Stauber for taking on the late Rep. Don Young’s (R-AK) issues as if they were your own.”

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CleanTechnica (CT): Wow, this is the first time I’ve ever seen Republicans care about indigenous people! Oh wait … no, they just care about the fossil industry that backs them. LOL

Manhattan PR guy:

Good Morning Clean Technica Team,

This response to Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat’s (VOICE) press release highlighting the passage of the bipartisan HR 6285 is deeply offensive and disappointing. We would like an apology on behalf of Clean Technica to our client.

As the elected Indigenous leaders note in the release, the bill is important for advancing North Slope Iñupiat self-determination in their homelands. Beginning with the Alaska Purchase in 1867 and continuing to the modern day, the North Slope Iñupiat, like many other Indigenous communities across the country, have been overlooked and cut out of policy discussions affecting their lands and people. They have fought for decades for their rightful seat at the table. It is shocking that your organization chose to send such a disrespectful and, frankly, anti-Indigenous note to cheapen this milestone for their communities.

This is a serious issue that calls into question Clean Technica’s reputation as a respectable outlet. We hope that your organization treats it as such and responds promptly to apologize for its message.

CT: So you’re saying that the Indigenous people you purport to represent want more oil drilling on their ancestral lands? Do you really believe that?

The thing is, NAME, this is nothing new – American Petroleum Institute and others have “partnered” with local “opposition groups” in every corner of the world to…you guessed it….always push more fossil expansion and/or fight clean energy developments. This is simply the latest time we’ve seen it, and I imagine that you’re paid by…someone with a lot of vested interest in expanding oil production, right? I imagine the North Slope Iñupiat are not paying your Midtown Manhattan PR firm salary, right?

I’ll tell you what – we’ll issue an apology if you show me the money – who pays your salary, NAME? Where does the money originate from?

If you don’t reply, I guess I’ll know the answer. LOL

Manhattan PR guy:

While it’s perfectly fine to have substantive disagreements on policy, it’s another entirely to reject comments by multiple Indigenous elected officials speaking on behalf of their constituents to praise this bill, claim that their words are not authentically their own and somehow puppeteered by outside organizations, and assume that they’re unable to afford communications support. VOICE is funded by its members – the elected Indigenous leaders of Alaska’s North Slope, including its home-rule government, the North Slope Borough – not outside entities.

It is disappointing that you reject the authenticity of their words or their capacity to afford professional staff to help tell their story and advocate for their region. Your attitude and disregard for their self-determination should be called what it is: racism.

We stand by and are willing to accept an apology on their behalf.

CT: So you’re saying that there are zero, I mean, zero, outside influences here? No outside money? No fake grassroots groups? None of the usual fossil fuel PR playbook of divide and conquer? No fossil fuel funded PR firms? Your company gets paid entirely by the hard working folks you represent, plumbers, fishermen, farmers, shopkeepers… none of whom have a single conflict of interest that would support more fossil drilling? None?

[NAME]. Come on, friend. Just be honest – I’ll tell you what – you disclose your conflicts of interest with the fossil industry, and I’ll be more than happy to apologize to anyone who is purely interested in nothing but the betterment of humanity.

I stand by waiting for your full disclosure!

Hi [NAME],

I take it from your silence that I’m on to something here? I imagine that the people you are representing, including elected officials (who, I’m guessing got their campaign funds almost entirely from fossil sources), are only really rooting for the fossil fuel companies to drill their ancestral homelands and bring lots of chemicals that will continue to show up in the breast milk of their sisters and daughters for the next few generations because they do have a vested interest. (If you’re curious about the breast milk, see “Our Stolen Future” by Theo Colborn – north slope Arctic indigenous communities have some of the highest levels of chemicals in their breast milk!)

Yes? It’s ok – we all have to make a living. Just good to be honest with ourselves, you know? There’s always tradeoffs. No judgment here – just trying to make sure that disclosures are clear.

Still more than happy to issue an apology if I’m wrong.

All the best.