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sharonkelly.bsky.social
Sharon Kelly
@sharonkelly.bsky.social
2.7K followers 1.9K following 11 posts
Sharon Kelly is an investigative reporter for DeSmog, covering energy and climate.
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sharonkelly.bsky.social
Sharon Kelly @sharonkelly.bsky.social · 1d
Important piece from @desmog.com‘s @rtakver.bsky.social!
rtakver.bsky.social
Rei Takver @rtakver.bsky.social · 1d
OpenAI *really* isn't hiding its intention to power the AI boom with fossil fuels.

New from me @desmog.com

www.desmog.com/2025/10/13/o...
OpenAI’s New Energy Chief Is a Trump Administration Natural Gas Evangelist
The ChatGPT creator hired John McCarrick, a gas-loving former Trump energy official, to guide how the company will source huge quantities of power for its colossal supercomputers.
www.desmog.com
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Reposted by Sharon Kelly
desmog.com
DeSmog @desmog.com · Sep 2
The Trump administration's "climate working group" produced a report full of errors, typos, and climate denial talking points, according to a new review by upwards of 100 climate experts led by @andrewdessler.com. @sharonkelly.bsky.social and @ejgertz.bsky.social report for @desmog .
Scores of Climate Experts Condemn Trump Climate Report as ‘Junk Science’
A 435-page review found the authors used standard climate denier tropes to produce a report riddled with errors.
buff.ly
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sharonkelly.bsky.social
Sharon Kelly @sharonkelly.bsky.social · Aug 19
Big tech and big oil say AI can help cut climate-changing pollution.🌍

Meanwhile, they're mostly using AI to drill more oil🛢️, while handing it the keys to the ⚡ power grid.

My latest, for @desmog.com, on the race to use AI for fossil fuels underneath the greenwashing: www.desmog.com/2025/08/13/c...
Can AI Slash Pollution? Fossil Fuel Industry Is Investing in Boosting Oil Production, Profits Instead
DeSmog reveals that Big Oil says they’re using AI to produce more fossil fuels, while utilities are exploring how “AI agents” could take over key power grid functions.
www.desmog.com
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Reposted by Sharon Kelly
ashleybraun.bsky.social
Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · Aug 19
Sometimes it's hard to grasp the scale of data center projects and the amount of power they might use. Here's one attempt to explain that for a proposed project in a rural community 40 miles southwest of Atlanta. There's a public hearing on it Tuesday www.desmog.com/2025/08/18/a...
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sharonkelly.bsky.social
Sharon Kelly @sharonkelly.bsky.social · Aug 19
Phenomenal reporting from @desmog.com’s Edward Donnelly.

County officials have significant say over data center development — which means lobbyists are now parachuting into rural spots like Coweta County, GA, working to reshape local zoning rules to benefit big tech

www.desmog.com/2025/08/18/a...
Data Center Lobbyists Clear the Way for Mega-Projects in Rural Georgia
Public records reviewed by DeSmog show developers worked to dilute draft planning rule in Coweta County.
www.desmog.com
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Reposted by Sharon Kelly
geoffdembicki.bsky.social
Geoff Dembicki @geoffdembicki.bsky.social · Aug 18
Tech bros love to say AI will fix climate change but oil companies are mostly using it to drill for more oil.

@sharonkelly.bsky.social was at an industry event where a Shell exec said 'about 70 percent of our technology effort' is on fossil fuel production.

www.desmog.com/2025/08/13/c...
Can AI Slash Pollution? Fossil Fuel Industry Is Investing in Boosting Oil Production, Profits Instead
DeSmog reveals that Big Oil says they’re using AI to produce more fossil fuels, while utilities are exploring how “AI agents” could take over key power grid functions.
www.desmog.com
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Reposted by Sharon Kelly
grizeldatee.bsky.social
Terri Glass @grizeldatee.bsky.social · Aug 14
There is so much to unpack here: agentic AI operating without human oversight, AI running on fossil fuels also acquiring those fuels, the probability of AI being the cause of a natural disaster and the liability issues. #AI #Environment #Climate www.desmog.com/2025/08/13/c...
Can AI Slash Pollution? Fossil Fuel Industry Is Investing in Boosting Oil Production, Profits Instead
DeSmog reveals that Big Oil says they’re using AI to produce more fossil fuels, while utilities are exploring how “AI agents” could take over key power grid functions.
www.desmog.com
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sharonkelly.bsky.social
Sharon Kelly @sharonkelly.bsky.social · Aug 13
“Just 14 percent of oil and gas producers said they use AI for emissions monitoring, leak detection, and other environmental tools, IBM’s survey found.

Twice as many (28 percent) reported using AI for oil and gas drilling”

More on how Big Oil uses AI, from @desmog

www.desmog.com/2025/08/13/c...
Can AI Slash Pollution? Fossil Fuel Industry Is Investing in Boosting Oil Production, Profits Instead
DeSmog reveals that Big Oil says they’re using AI to produce more fossil fuels, while utilities are exploring how “AI agents” could take over key power grid functions.
www.desmog.com
1
Reposted by Sharon Kelly
nickcunningham.bsky.social
Nick Cunningham @nickcunningham.bsky.social · Jul 31
The LNG industry is also working to weaken the methane regulation, which may be one of the few policies of oversight on the US gas industry left (with Trump blowing up all domestic regulation)

Europe at risk of weakening its own rules under American pressure, locking in dependency on one supplier
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Reposted by Sharon Kelly
nickcunningham.bsky.social
Nick Cunningham @nickcunningham.bsky.social · Jul 31
U.S. LNG lobbying aimed at weakening EU methane rules

gasoutlook.com/analysis/u-s...
U.S. LNG lobbying aimed at weakening EU methane rules - Gas Outlook
The EU has pledged to buy U.S. LNG as part of a trade deal with Trump. The Trump administration and the U.S. LNG industry has seized on the trade talks to target the EU Methane Regulation with the goa...
gasoutlook.com
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Reposted by Sharon Kelly
nickcunningham.bsky.social
Nick Cunningham @nickcunningham.bsky.social · Jul 23
States have legal duty to stop producing and using fossil fuels, top UN court rules

Landmark opinion says those that fail to prevent climate harm could be liable for compensation and restitution

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
States have legal duty to stop producing and using fossil fuels, top UN court rules
Landmark opinion says those that fail to prevent climate harm could be liable for compensation and restitution
www.theguardian.com
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sharonkelly.bsky.social
Sharon Kelly @sharonkelly.bsky.social · Jul 23
American natural gas industry will find it "very, very challenging" to meet Europe's methane pollution standards, Center for LNG says.

More on the push to undercut Europe's climate rules to make room for US natural gas, including talk of reducing fines to $1, here:
www.desmog.com/2025/07/23/a...
As Trump’s Trade Deadline Looms, U.S. Gas Exporters Are Sweating Over Meeting Europe’s Pollution Standards
The EU’s new methane rules threaten U.S. LNG exports. But industry insiders and lobbyists are pressuring the EU to look the other way
www.desmog.com
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Reposted by Sharon Kelly
adambarnett.bsky.social
Adam Barnett @adambarnett.bsky.social · Jul 16
Fun fact: Chris Wright is former CEO of oil company Liberty Energy and ex-director of oil & gas lobby group Western Energy Alliance.

Not mentioned by @economist.com

Heatwave is a weird time to publish climate denial from a fossil fuel lobbyist

www.desmog.com/2025/02/17/u... @desmog.com
economist.com
The Economist @economist.com · Jul 16
“Yes, atmospheric CO2 has increased over time—but so has life expectancy,” writes Chris Wright. In a guest essay America’s energy secretary invites the world to rethink renewable energy
econ.st/4kCU2kY
Illustration: Dan Williams
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sharonkelly.bsky.social
Sharon Kelly @sharonkelly.bsky.social · Jun 18
As Woodside moves forward on Louisiana LNG project (formerly Driftwood LNG), Australian unions & activists warn company's accidents are mounting.

"We’ve had a number of incidents, a number of near-misses, a number of injuries" says union organizer Doug Heath. "It’s the worst it’s been in 20 years"
desmog.com.web.brid.gy
DeSmog @desmog.com.web.brid.gy · Jun 18
Safety Warnings Follow Australia’s Woodside Energy to U.S. as $17 Billion LNG Project Moves Ahead
As Woodside Energy investors convened for their annual meeting in Perth, Australia, on May 8, they were met by protests and heckling. Activists, angered over the fossil fuel company’s climate impacts and accidents, repeatedly disrupted speeches by company management. While management and demonstrators debated, Woodside workers about 800 miles to the north were scrambling to […] The post Safety Warnings Follow Australia’s Woodside Energy to U.S. as $17 Billion LNG Project Moves Ahead appeared first on DeSmog.
www.desmog.com
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Reposted by Sharon Kelly
drrobertbullard.bsky.social
Dr. Robert D. Bullard @drrobertbullard.bsky.social · Jun 14
As Trump Unwinds Federal Oversight, States Become Battlegrounds for Environmental Data - DeSmog www.desmog.com/2025/06/11/a...
As Trump Unwinds Federal Oversight, States Become Battlegrounds for Environmental Data
From Colorado to Virginia, environmental groups are challenging legal barriers that prevent scientists and communities from seeing the full picture of fossil fuel harms.
www.desmog.com
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Reposted by Sharon Kelly
geoffdembicki.bsky.social
Geoff Dembicki @geoffdembicki.bsky.social · Apr 7
Hilarious to me that oil execs are privately freaking out about the Trump administration's chaos.

@sharonkelly.bsky.social has more in @desmog.bsky.social

www.desmog.com/2025/04/04/o...
Oil Execs Warn Privately That Trump’s ‘Chaos’ Could Be ‘Disaster’ for Their Industry
After donating heavily to Trump’s reelection, Big Oil is just catching on that the president's policies can hurt them too, anonymous survey of industry executives reveals.
www.desmog.com
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Reposted by Sharon Kelly
desmog.com
DeSmog @desmog.com · Apr 4
Anonymous survey shows Big Oil knows the truth. While they publicly cheer Trump's chaos, privately they’re sounding the alarm: The president's unstable leadership is bad for their bottom line — and, ultimately, our planet. Read the full story from @sharonkelly.bsky.social: loom.ly/Ikkblxg
Oil Execs Warn Privately That Trump’s ‘Chaos’ Could Be ‘Disaster’ for Their Industry
After donating heavily to Trump’s reelection, Big Oil is just catching on that Trump’s policies can hurt them too, anonymous survey of industry executives reveals.
loom.ly
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sharonkelly.bsky.social
Sharon Kelly @sharonkelly.bsky.social · Apr 4
That “burdensome” environmental red tape oil lobbyists hate? Turns out it might be pretty small potatoes (most drillers estimated costs<$1.99/bbl) — especially compared to “chaos”and “uncertainty” of Trump trade moves, Dallas Fed survey of oil and gas execs suggests www.desmog.com/2025/04/04/o...
Oil Execs Warn Privately That Trump’s ‘Chaos’ Could Be ‘Disaster’ for Their Industry
After donating heavily to Trump’s reelection, Big Oil is just catching on that Trump’s policies can hurt them too, anonymous survey of industry executives reveals.
www.desmog.com
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sharonkelly.bsky.social
Sharon Kelly @sharonkelly.bsky.social · Jan 28
Interior nominee Doug Burgum hosted a large number of oil, gas and coal execs for dinner in the after hours of an oil conference in May. Great work by @fldnotes.bsky.social obtaining the “VIP Dinner” guest list and other documents. www.desmog.com/2025/01/27/t...
Trump Interior Nominee Doug Burgum Hosted ‘VIP Dinner’ for Oil, Gas, and Coal Execs Last Year, Emails Show
North Dakota’s Rainbow Energy – which plans to mix coal, crypto, and carbon capture – among those invited to the former governor’s table.
www.desmog.com
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Reposted by Sharon Kelly
desmog.com
DeSmog @desmog.com · Jan 22
📊 NEW RESEARCH

Thousands of tweets from some of the nation’s largest oil, agrichemical, and plastics trade groups and corporations created an obstructive climate denial echo chamber.

@sharonkelly.bsky.social reports: loom.ly/l_M_BTc
New Study Shows How Fossil Fuel Sectors Create a Climate Denial Echo Chamber on Social Media
Research finds signs of “coordinated climate obstruction efforts” among oil, plastics, and agrichemical industries in social media messaging.
www.desmog.com
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sharonkelly.bsky.social
Sharon Kelly @sharonkelly.bsky.social · Dec 18
Thanks Nick!
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Reposted by Sharon Kelly
desmog.com
DeSmog @desmog.com · Dec 18
"Just six months after announcing its latest discovery in the region, ExxonMobil pulled up its anchors and left Suriname...ExxonMobil’s exit is the latest sign that natural gas is causing big headaches for the international oil companies"

Analysis by @sharonkelly.bsky.social: loom.ly/k-BwaBk
ExxonMobil's Exit from Suriname Raises Pressure on Guyana Amid Natural Gas Concerns
By some estimates, there might be 2.4 billion barrels of oil deep below the waters of the Atlantic ocean off the coast of Suriname, South America’s smallest country. The problem for multinational oil ...
www.desmog.com
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sharonkelly.bsky.social
Sharon Kelly @sharonkelly.bsky.social · Nov 16
Indeed! Great flag, thank you. What I think is compelling in Rebecca’s latest is she found oil trade group reactions to early climate warnings from industry-funded org. Instead of heeding warnings, memo shows oilmen faulted org for supporting pollution curbs & failing to be “protective” of industry
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sharonkelly.bsky.social
Sharon Kelly @sharonkelly.bsky.social · Nov 15
Highly recommend @rebeccajohn.bsky.social's investigation, which you can read in full here. She finds "Compelling new evidence shows this pattern of behavior [deny, dismiss, or downplay] was already hardwired into the industry’s DNA by 1955" www.desmog.com/2024/11/12/r...
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