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January 11, 2021 - The legal, real estate, investment, and oil and gas industries are among those that have contributed the most to the U.S. senators who were part of the effort to overturn the outcome of the presidential election. Among the companies that back spending groups which in turn have supported the Senate's election deniers are Altria Group, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Noble Energy, and Walt Disney. There's growing pressure on companies to reconsider their giving.

April 14, 2017 - The Trump administration unveiled plans to expand offshore drilling at last week's conference of the National Ocean Industries Association. Launched by Exxon in the 1970s to represent the offshore drilling industry, NOIA has been investing in politicians from Southeastern states where its members would like to do business.

August 25, 2016 - The North Carolina utility giant and other fossil-fuel interests are contributing to a national super PAC that's using divisive social issues like abortion and religion to boost the election chances of U.S. Senate candidates who reject the science of human-caused global warming.

April 30, 2015 - Five years after the BP disaster, a group of governors led by North Carolina's Pat McCrory is pushing for drilling in the Atlantic. The group has close ties to a secret-money nonprofit and energy lobbyists, a relationship that raises questions about transparency, ethics and the blurring of public and private interests.

May 9, 2014 - While the new U.S. National Climate Assessment is forthright in stating the scientific evidence, the report avoids assigning blame for the run-up in greenhouse gas emissions to specific parties. That's where the Climate Accountability Institute comes in.

August 21, 2013 - A new report documents the extensive pollution released in Louisiana last year during Hurricane Isaac, a relatively mild Category 1 storm. It serves as a warning for storm-vulnerable states like Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina now considering opening up their coasts to energy exploration.

August 8, 2013 - The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority was formed after Hurricane Katrina to ensure qualified experts -- not politicians' friends -- were in charge of flood control. But now the authority is under pressure from Gov. Bobby Jindal and other Louisiana politicians for filing a lawsuit to force oil and gas companies to pay for the damage they've done to the state's coastal wetlands.