Assertion Supported
San Luis Obispo postponed its natural gas ban vote after union intimidation
“And ultimately, the scare tactic worked. They postponed their vote on a bill that would have banned gas in new buildings.”
Assertion Supported
Westervelt: Renewable gas can cover at most 16% of current usage
“But by even the most optimistic estimate, RNG could only cover about 16% of current gas use.”
Assertion Supported
Westervelt: 19 states passed laws preempting local gas bans by 2022
“As of early twenty-twenty-two, 19 states have passed preemptive laws banning gas bans.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Amy Westervelt's travel reservations mysteriously canceled while investigating Exxon
“When I was interviewing those former Exxon scientists I mentioned before, the ones that had done all that climate research back in the seventies and eighties, every time I traveled, half my reservations would somehow wind up changed or canceled.”
Assertion Partly supported
The CIA exploited racial divisions in Guyana to back Forbes Burnham
“As they have done in so many countries, the CIA leaned on racial differences to split the parties into two, and then backed Burnham.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Westervelt: Solar and wind intermittency issues are largely addressed
“In fact, the intermittency and storage issues associated with renewables like solar and wind have largely been addressed in recent years.”
Assertion Supported
Westervelt: Consumer Energy Alliance is operated by lobbying firm HBW Resources
“Called the Consumer Energy Alliance, which claims to be a citizen group, but is run out of HBW Resources, an industry lobbying firm.”
Assertion Partly supported
Exxon projected Guyana would account for 25% of its global oil output
“As time went on, Exxon began projecting that oil from Guyana would make up around 25% of its total global output.”
Assertion Supported
Guyanese politicians physically wrestled on the parliament floor over an oil bill
“A fight over one piece of oil-related legislation that actually ended up in a wrestling match. Seriously, some politicians ended up rolling around on the floor of the National Assembly.”
Assertion Contradicted
Exxon paid Equatorial Guinea and Chad just 8% and 10% in royalties
“Equatorial Guinea had only gotten about eight percent royalties in its Contract. Chad got 10%, but Guyana was more stable and developed than those countries had been when they inked contracts with Exxon.”
Assertion Contradicted
Westervelt: Over 50 California cities passed gas bans by end of 2020
“By the end of twenty-twenty, there were more than 50 gas bans in California alone.”
Assertion Supported
Westervelt: Berkeley became the first US city to pass a gas ban in 2019
“Then in 2019, the city of Berkeley, California, became the first U.S. City to pass what's called a gas ban.”
