Tag: Trump

  • Biden Steps Down – A Pivotal Moment for Climate Action, Says Oil Change U.S. Executive Director

    For IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    July 21, 2024

    In response to President Biden stepping down, Elizabeth Bast, Oil Change U.S. Executive Director, said:

    “With extreme storms, crushing heat, and severe droughts, Joe Biden’s decision to step down as the presidential nominee is a pivotal moment for climate action. While Biden entered the White House vowing to stop drilling on public lands, oil production surged to unprecedented levels under his presidency. This catastrophic increase will have lasting dangerous effects on our health and safety for many years to come. 

    “The Democratic National Convention must seize this opportunity to select a candidate with a proven climate record who will prioritize transitioning away from fossil fuels and address the climate crisis head-on. Our future hinges on this decision. Whether it is Kamala Harris or another candidate, we will hold their feet to the fire to ensure they are the climate president we desperately need. This is a chance to leave a lasting climate legacy and truly lead on the global stage. 

    “It shows leadership and courage for Biden to step down to avoid a Trump presidency. Another Trump term would spell disaster, especially for Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities, and strike a blow against our climate ambitions. A candidate backed by people power is our path forward to a sustainable future. As the world watches, U.S. climate leadership must mean stopping oil and gas expansion, ending fossil fuel subsidies, and leading a just transition.”

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    Oil Change U.S. is a national organization focused on exposing the true costs of fossil fuels, supporting real climate leadership, and building a just, equitable, and renewable energy future in the United States. Oil Change U.S. is one of several organizations that coordinates the national No Fossil Fuel Money pledge and the national Green New Deal Champions campaign. For more information, please visit OilChangeUS.org.

  • Oil Change U.S. Demands Immediate Action in Response to Attempted Coup

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    January 7, 2021

    Contact:
    David Turnbull, david [at] priceofoil.org
    Elizabeth Bast, ebast [at] priceofoil.org

    Oil Change U.S. Demands Immediate Action in Response to Attempted Coup

    In response to the events in Washington DC and around the country on January 6th, including a violent attempted coup, Elizabeth Bast, Executive Director of Oil Change U.S., released the following statement:

    “Yesterday’s violent insurgency at the U.S. Capitol and a number of state capitals, provoked and supported by Donald Trump and his enablers in Congress and the Executive Branch, was reprehensible. It was also an inevitable outcome of the hateful rhetoric and incitement to violence that Trump has spewed since before he took office, and particularly in recent months around the election.

    “Repeated messages from Trump baselessly challenging the integrity and results of the Presidential election, supported by continued conspiracy ramblings and objections by many Republicans in Congress, directly led to yesterday’s attempted coup. This challenge to the peaceful transfer of power is a full assault on the fabric of democracy in the United States.

    “Every single day Trump remains in office poses a danger to the United States and its people. Congress should act decisively to impeach and remove him from office immediately. Those elected officials who supported his false claims have violated their oaths of office; the members of Congress who objected to the peaceful transfer of power should be investigated and expelled from Congress.

    “The lack of preparation and inadequate response by the U.S. Capitol Police and other relevant agencies to the violent attack on the Capitol should also be investigated. It has been abundantly clear for weeks — including through Trump’s own words — what would happen yesterday. Yet, this attack on the Capitol while the entire Congress was at work inside resulted in minimal arrests. We mourn the loss of life, but cannot help but note that history shows that had the insurrection not been a mob of mostly white people, the force used by police and resulting death toll would surely have been higher. Black Lives Matter protests in DC and around the country this summer provide troubling proof of this racist reality.

    “Even with all that has transpired, we have significant opportunities to rebuild our democracy in coming months and years. Indeed, a strong, sustained response to these events is critical so as not to normalize political violence.

    “The Georgia U.S. Senate results, which were overshadowed yesterday by the happenings at the Capitol, were historic, with Reverend Raphael Warnock elected as the state’s first Black Senator and Jon Ossoff as its first Jewish Senator. The election shifts the balance of power in the Senate, giving deciding votes to Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris, the first woman and second person of color to be elected Vice President. The diversity and representation of elected officials only continues to grow.

    “Responding to the threat of climate change will require a wholly moral and definitive response from elected leadership. A functioning U.S. democracy is and will always be key to our global climate future. There is much work to be done to restore our democracy to what it was before the Trump destruction of the past four years, and to improve it further until it is truly inclusive, representative, and responsive to the will of all of the American people and not only those with privilege, access, and money.”

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  • Oil Change U.S. Response to Final Presidential Debate

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    October 22, 2020

    Contact:
    Rebecca Concepcion Apostol, rebecca [at] priceofoil.org
    David Turnbull, david [at] priceofoil.org

    Oil Change U.S. Response to Final Presidential Debate

    Tonight, President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden faced off in the final debate before the election. Oil Change U.S. has endorsed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for President and Vice President. See our previous statement here. In response to tonight’s debate, Rebecca Concepcion Apostol, National Program Director of Oil Change U.S. released the following statement:

    “As if we could have expected anything less, tonight was yet another opportunity to see the drastic difference between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. On one hand, we have a measured, reasonable public servant who clearly understands the gravity of the climate crisis, that families belong together, and we must confront critical issues facing our country. While we may not always agree with his approach, we can see his willingness to listen, proven by a commitment to ending federal subsidies to the oil industry, and we look forward to finding solutions and common ground. On the other hand, we have Donald Trump, unhinged and desperate, flailing about, spewing a combination of lies and hateful rhetoric at every turn.

    “With just over a week to the election, it’s fundamentally clear that our democracy, our humanity, and our climate are all at stake. A second term of Donald Trump would be a disaster of historic proportions. A Joe Biden administration would give us a fighting chance at a more just world for all our families, and we look forward to engaging in that fight once Biden is elected.”

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    PAID FOR BY OCUSA, WWW.OILCHANGEUSA.ORG, 714 G STREET SE #202, WASHINGTON, DC 20003. NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE, CANDIDATE’S AUTHORIZED POLITICAL COMMITTEE, OR CANDIDATE’S AGENTS.

    Oil Change U.S. is dedicated to supporting real climate leadership, exposing the true costs of fossil fuels, and building a just, equitable, and renewable energy future in the United States. Read more at http://oilchangeus.org.

  • Oil Change U.S. Response: Trump’s Speech at Fracking Conference Was a Dumpster Fire

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    October 23, 2019

    Contact:
    David Turnbull, david [at] priceofoil [dot] org
    Collin Rees, collin [at] priceofoil [dot] org

    Oil Change U.S. Response: Trump’s Speech at Fracking Conference Was a Dumpster Fire

    Today, President Donald Trump spoke to a fracking industry conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In response to the president’s speech, David Turnbull, Strategic Communications Director at Oil Change U.S., released the following statement:

    “From the hearty handshakes between the president and fossil fuel industry executives, to the toxic masculinity exuding from the president as he heckled protesters, to Trump’s rambling description of catastrophic deregulation at the expense of our climate and communities, this speech was a classic Trump dumpster fire.

    “While Trump’s descriptions of his administration’s actions were largely overblown or inaccurate, the reality is Trump’s oil-soaked administration has paved the way for the U.S. oil and gas industry to run roughshod on communities at the frontlines and to drill and frack our climate to the brink.

    “Our next president must do precisely the opposite. We need a president who will not shake hands with industry executives, but will instead take them to court for their crimes. We need a president who gets serious about a just transition away from fossil fuel production, not one attempting to bring back the past and resurrect a dirty industry.

    “Thankfully, what we’re seeing from Democratic presidential candidates is a newfound willingness to directly confront the fossil fuel industry. All of the top candidates have signed the No Fossil Fuel Money pledge, most agree we must end new fossil fuel production on federal lands, and many want to stop fracking entirely. This is the kind of leadership our country needs. What was on display in Pittsburgh today was a disaster in every sense of the word.”

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  • Trump tramples on bedrock environmental laws in service to Big Oil

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    April 10, 2019

    Contact:
    David Turnbull, david [at] priceofoil [dot] org
    Collin Rees, collin [at] priceofoil [dot] org

    Trump tramples on bedrock environmental laws in service to Big Oil

    Today, President Trump announced actions aimed at speeding approvals of oil and gas infrastructure proposals. In response, David Turnbull, Strategic Campaigns Director with Oil Change U.S., issued the following statement:

    “Today, President Trump has taken a jackhammer to two of our bedrock environmental laws, the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, all in service to the oil and gas industry. In trampling on these foundational policies, Trump is doubling down on climate disaster, seeking to ram through new fossil fuel infrastructure that our society simply can’t afford. The United States is poised for a massive expansion of out-of-control oil and gas production in the coming years that will make it nearly impossible to avoid climate catastrophe if left unchecked, and Trump’s executive orders today move us in exactly the wrong direction.

    “President Trump continues to have oil in his eyes, obscuring the ever-worsening crisis around us. Fortunately, the American people have woken up to this disaster in the making and are standing up for our communities and our climate. While Trump stands with Big Oil executives raking in billions of public dollars in subsidies each year, we proudly stand with frontline communities and the pipeline fighters and water protectors who are standing up every day for all of us. The fight continues.”

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    Note for Editors:

    A January 2019 analysis showed that the new U.S. oil and gas production through 2050 could unlock carbon emissions equivalent to the lifetime output of nearly 1,000 coal plants: http://priceofoil.org/2019/01/16/report-drilling-towards-disaster/