New NAACP Report: Fossil Fueled Foolery 2.0

BALTIMORE (April 1, 2021) - On April 1, 2019, the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program (ECJP) released "Fossil Fueled Foolery: An Illustrated Primer on the Top 10 Manipulation Tactics of the Fossil Fuel Industry." This April Fools' Day, ECJP is releasing "Fossil Fueled Foolery 2.0: An Illustrated Primer on the Fossil Fueled Industry's Deceptive Tactics." 

The NAACP's inaugural edition of the Fossil Fueled Foolery primer, 2019, shed light on the deceptive tactics used by fossil fuel conglomerates and their supporters at the expense of communities most affected by their pollution. Communities already fraught with decades of disenfranchisement, disinvestment, and displacement are also subject to the worst effects of climate change and increased toxins in the environment. 

In just the past six months, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), low-income, and other frontline communities have experienced the disproportionate impacts of:

• Record-breaking storms making landfall and reaching "hurricane" status in the U.S.
• GOP representatives continuing to push skewed climate agendas that protect fossil fuels companies that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions
• A massive snowstorm in Texas that left millions without water and power during below-freezing temperatures.

In 2021, the effects of a respiratory-based pandemic have intensified these inequities, ravaged the economy, and accelerated the need for environmental and healthcare solutions. 

Although it is April Fools' Day, indeed, this is no joke. 

The NAACP seeks to empower communities most affected by climate change to network resources and develop community-driven strategies. The scales are "tipped" and to beat wealthy corporations at their own game, we must be knowledgeable about the strategies and tactics they use. When we take up this fight, we fight for us: our histories, our identities, our health. We must, as Shirley Chisolm notes, be "Unbought, Unbossed, and Unbamboozled."

In accordance with the NAACP's longstanding commitment to justice and civil rights, the purpose of this primer is to: 

• Identify and describe the common tactics used by the fossil fuel industry and associated supporters that not only promote their agendas, but embed climate injustices;
• Provide real facts on the issues; and
• Provide stories and strategies of action and advocacy within our communities that ground resistance to injustices caused by the fossil fuel industry

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About the NAACP:

Founded in 1909 in response to the ongoing violence against Black people around the country, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is the largest and most pre-eminent civil rights organization in the nation. We have over 2,200 units and branches across the nation, along with well over 2M activists. Our mission is to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.

In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP.

NOTE: The Legal Defense Fund – also referred to as the NAACP-LDF was founded in 1940 as a part of the NAACP but separated in 1957 to become a completely separate entity. It is recognized as the nation's first civil and human rights law organization, and shares our commitment to equal rights.