Excerpt: "Fueling U.S. Forward, a public relations operation funded by the Koch brothers, is trying to spread the message that black people benefit the most from cheap fossil fuels, according to a story in The New York Times. Clean energy, they say, is a threat."



The Koch brothers. (photo: The Young Turks)

The Kochs Launch Campaign to Convince Black People That Dirty Fuel Is Good for Them

By Katie Herzog, Grist

The Kochs launch campaign to convince black people that dirty fuel is good for them.

ueling U.S. Forward, a public relations operation funded by the Koch brothers, is trying to spread the message that black people benefit the most from cheap fossil fuels, according to a story in The New York Times. Clean energy, they say, is a threat.

Last month, the group sponsored a toy drive and gospel concert in Richmond, Virginia. The event included a panel discussion on how the holidays were only possible thanks to oil and gas.

What went unsaid, of course, was that people of color are far more likely to be harmed by the fossil fuel industry than helped. They’re more at risk from climate change and pollution and more likely to suffer health problems tied to burning fossil fuels.

Asthma is more common among black people than white people, partially because they’re more likely to live near coal-fired power plants and other fossil-fuel infrastructure. That’s not exactly because they want those plants in their neighborhoods; it’s because they have less power to fight them.

This is far from the first attempt to turn people of color against renewable energy and, as Fueling U.S. Forward has made clear, it won’t be the last.