Breaking: Greenpeace Destroyed in Trial Verdict

A lesson on how the energy industry can and should fight back against its irresponsible and demagogic enemies

This is one of the happiest headlines and feel-good news stories you’ll ever read—in the Washington Post no less:

Greenpeace ordered to pay Dakota Access Pipeline operator $667 million in case that could destroy the group

Greenpeace must pay the oil company that operates the Dakota Access Pipeline $667 million in damages for defaming it, a North Dakota jury decided Wednesday — a massive financial blow to the group that environmentalists say could chill future advocacy.

“Chill future advocacy” you say? This verdict might provide enough “chill” to single-handedly end global warming. I was once chided for calling Greenpeace “the John Birch Society of the environmental movement” because this characterization was unfair to the John Birch Society, and that is correct. I merely meant that Greenpeace is an extremist organization, which is what the JBS was supposed to be according to the mainstream media, while they never describe any environmental organization as extremist.

The damage amount may well be reduced by the judge or on appeal, but it will still likely be a crushing blow to Greenpeace, USA:

Greenpeace has said that a verdict in favor of Energy Transfer would be likely to mean the end of its 50-year-old affiliate in the United States, Greenpeace USA. In 2023, the most recent year for which the group’s tax records were available, it had roughly $40 million in revenue and 191 employees.

File this in your already bulging Winning file for 2025:

Michael Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, said the verdict was unlikely to stop activists from publicly opposing oil and gas drilling or picketing pipeline companies. But he said it could make environmentalists fearful of disrupting fossil fuel projects — pipelines, mines, power plants — as they are being built.

“It sends a chilling message to physical climate protests — anything that actually disrupts fossil fuel production,” he said.

Forget Winning! Start a parallel “Chilling” file. So much chilling. I’m not going to get tired of all the chilling. Chill some champagne.

Meanwhile, if climate protestors can’t block pipelines, mining trucks, etc., they can go back to throwing tomato soup at rare paintings in museums I suppose.