They’re Gaslighting Us
Solar panels, heat pumps, electric cars: clean energy is here, and, as the state ramps up incentives, it will become more affordable.
The fossil fuel industry knows they can’t win in a fair fight. So they’ve been hiding behind front groups with positive-sounding names like New Yorkers for Affordable Energy and Smarter NY Energy and spreading propaganda in a covert campaign to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt about climate solutions.
Over the past two years, they have flooded the state with fear-mongering mailers, TV spots, social media ads, robo-calls, and aggressive lobbying of our state legislators.
The Evidence
A “Battle Plan” to kill NY climate action. Watch what the fossil fuel industry says when they think nobody’s listening.
Propaganda at the pump! A Smarter NY Energy scare video plays on the screen of a pump at a Mirabito gas station.
The Front Groups, And Who They Really Are:
Read this comprehensive report on how the gas industry, often in alliance with other fossil fuel businesses, has been gaslighting New Yorkers and state legislators for years. It’s an eyeful.
“NEW YORKERS FOR AFFORDABLE ENERGY”
Funded by some of the most toxic fossil fuel companies, including utilities like National Grid, and pipeline companies like Enbridge, a Canadian company. Enbridge’s “Line 3” pipeline was built through wetlands and under the headwaters of the Mississippi, despite years of protests led by Native American water protectors.
“SMARTER NEW YORK ENERGY”
Funded by contributions from propane and heating oil distributors. They’re spending upwards of $1 million to terrify New York residents with wild claims built around focus-group-tested messages, that the transition off of fossil fuels mean skyrocketing out of pocket costs, an unreliable electric grid, and depriving New Yorkers of choices in how they cook and heat their homes.
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