Itai Vardi
DigBoston
Boston, MA, United States
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Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
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Past articles by Itai:
WEYMOUTH ACTIVISTS CONTINUE TO CHALLENGE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
On a small and unassuming plot of land sandwiched between Weymouth and Quincy, a mere stone’s throw from the Fore River Bridge, the biggest climate battle in New England rages on. → Read More
A Democratic Think Tank Is Promoting Pushback Against Climate Lawsuits
One of the outfits promoting the efforts to counter climate lawsuits is the Progressive Policy Institute. → Read More
Enbridge Is Behind This Front Group Pushing the Company’s Line 3 Oil Pipeline
Minnesotans for Line 3 presents itself as a grassroots organization. It's not. → Read More
Exclusive: Enbridge Is Behind This Front Group Pushing the Company’s Line 3 Oil Pipeline Project
Minnesotans for Line 3, a group established last year to advocate for an Enbridge oil pipeline project, presents itself as a grassroots organization consisting of “thousands of members.” → Read More
As Natural Gas Infrastructure Decisions Loom, Massachusetts Gov. Baker Invests in Fossil Fuel Companies
Amidst growing controversy over his administration’s support for new natural gas projects, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker personally invested in the fossil fuel industry, DeSmog has found. → Read More
After DeSmog’s Revelations, Enbridge’s Weymouth Gas Facility Air Permit in Jeopardy
In a surprise move that threw a controversial fossil fuel project into a whirlwind, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) late last week revealed new evidence of toxins in the area of a proposed natural gas facility in the greater Boston area. → Read More
More Evidence of Undisclosed Carcinogens at Site of Enbridge’s Proposed Greater Boston Gas Project
Newly uncovered air quality samplings by the State of Massachusetts showed elevated levels of carcinogens and other pollutants at Enbridge’s proposed natural gas compressor station in a densely populated site near Boston. → Read More
Exclusive: Israel’s PM Netanyahu Benefited From Cousin’s Unauthorized Deals With Libya
Nathan Milikowsky's firm sold electrodes to Libya while Netanyahu invested in its raw material supply company. → Read More
Massachusetts Hired Energy Industry Execs to 'Independently' Review State’s Gas System
A private contractor employed by the state of Massachusetts to conduct a statewide safety review of its gas distribution companies hired gas industry executives for the project, documents obtained by DeSmog show. They include two former executives of National Grid — one of the companies under review — and Enbridge, a main supplier of gas in the state. → Read More
Exclusive: Rhode Island Governor Nixed Agency Critiques of LNG Facility, Silencing Health and Justice Concerns
Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo, a Democrat, squashed a letter by her own state health agency, which raised serious concerns about a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in a densely populated Providence neighborhood. Documents obtained by DeSmog show that last summer Raimondo nixed a → Read More
How A General-Turned-Oil Lobbyist Helped Push Through The Dakota Access Pipeline
Newly released emails reveal the behind-the-scenes role played by retired Brig. Gen. Robert Crear at the Army Corps of Engineers. → Read More
Exxon Attorney Drafted White House Comments Backing Top Trump Environmental Pick
Newly obtained emails involving the nomination of a climate change denier for the White House post show the fossil fuel industry’s sway over Trump's admi... → Read More
Emails Show ‘Cozy’ Ties Between EPA’s Air Office And Its Chief's Former Firm
Bill Wehrum pushed industry-friendly policies as he and his staff stayed in contact with his old corporate law firm. → Read More
Trump’s Pick to Lead Energy Tech Innovation Program Is Invested in Gas Utilities and Pipeline Companies
A nominee to head a cutting-edge research program in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is personally invested in various natural gas-based utilities and gas pipeline companies. → Read More
5 Virginia Officials Involved in Regulating Dominion Energy Are Invested in the Company
Five employees of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) have financial interests in Dominion, the state’s largest utility and energy company. The officials are involved, in one way or another, in permitting or overseeing the company’s activities, ranging from water discharges to → Read More
Fossil Fuel Industry Outspent Environmentalists and Renewables by 10:1 on Climate Lobbying, New Study Finds
Industry sectors based on fossil fuels significantly outspent environmental groups and renewable energy companies on climate change lobbying, new research has found. → Read More
Koch-Backed and Anti-Renewable Energy Groups Wooing Interior Department Official
Fossil fuel groups backed by the Koch brothers and lobbyists for anti-renewable energy entities have been courting an Interior Department official responsible for energy policy, according to internal documents. Vincent DeVito, a senior energy advisor to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, has received → Read More
FERC Allowed Chairman McIntyre to Participate in Decisions Concerning his Former Clients
Ethics officials at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) — the agency responsible for approving energy infrastructure such as interstate oil and gas pipelines and overseeing utilities — recently gave the OK for its new chairman, Kevin McIntyre, to be involved in decisions concerning two of his former clients and previous firm, DeSmog has found. → Read More
Pipeline Exec Refers to Activists Opposing Construction Near Bald Eagle Nest as ‘Awful Soulless People’
In a Twitter exchange that quickly devolved into a shouting match and the slinging of insults, an executive for a pipeline company called activists “awful soulless people.” Michelle Smith Hook, Director of Public Relations at Millennium Pipeline Company, was responding to heated tweets by activists → Read More
Top Interior Department Official In Email To Staff: 'Our Job Is To Protect The Secretary'
A scheduler spent $4,000 on a week in the U.S. Virgin Islands to prepare for Ryan Zinke's trip -- a cost one appointee said would draw an inspector's att... → Read More