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The New York Times, in its inexhaustible capacity to load an argument when attacking institutions it loathes, did it once again, leaving out key information when covering a ridiculous lawsuit targeting the major oil companies of the Western Hemisphere.
The lawsuit brought by Misti Leon after the death of her mother, Juliana Leon, accuses oil companies of causing Juliana’s death in 2021 because of their contribution to climate change. Juliana, 65, died in her car on June 28, 2021, from hyperthermia. The lawsuit names Exxon, British Petroleum, Chevron, Shell, Conoco, and Phillips 66 oil companies, as well as the Olympic Pipe Company, because of their contribution to climate change.
“The day Julie died was the hottest day ever recorded in Washington with temperatures in Seattle, where Julie died, peaking around 108°F. It was the third consecutive day above 100°F, and record nighttime temperatures prevented the built environment from being able to dissipate the heat it had absorbed throughout the day. In effect, Seattle had turned into an oven,” the lawsuit claims. “This heat was deadly, particularly for those who were unable to escape the heat or were otherwise vulnerable to excessive temperatures.”
“The heat dome that scorched the Pacific Northwest in 2021 would have been ‘virtually impossible’ were it not for man-made climate change, according to researchers with World Weather Attribution, an international group of scientists and meteorologists,” The New York Times wrote. “Around the world, extreme heat has emerged as one of the deadliest manifestations of a warming planet.”
Yet the Times never mentions some salient points regarding Leon’s death, even though they’re included in the lawsuit.
One: Two weeks before her death, doctors performed bariatric surgery on her; she had been on a liquid diet ever since. Two: The day of her death, she was returning from a doctor’s appointment where they told her she could resume eating solid foods. The Times never mentions that the car’s air conditioning broke, prompting Leon to roll down the windows and pull over to the side of the road. Three: Weather forecasts said the heat would be intense that day.
But as was pointed out by research meteorologist Ryan Maue, who issued a thread on X about the lawsuit, “The research study that concluded this heat wave event was ‘virtually impossible’ without climate change does not provide an analysis of all ‘heat dome’ events from the past 2,000 years — instead focusing on model data since 1950.”
The research study that concluded this heat wave event was "virtually impossible" without climate change does not provide an analysis of all "heat dome" events from the past 2,000 years — instead focusing on model data since 1950. https://t.co/wArrgiOkCz
— Ryan Maue (@RyanMaue) May 29, 2025
Additionally, a study of the Pacific Northwest heat wave between June 25-30, 2021, asserted:
Several factors came together to produce this extreme event: a record-breaking midtropospheric ridge over British Columbia in the optimal location, record-breaking midtropospheric temperatures, strong subsidence in the lower atmosphere, low-level easterly flow that produced downslope warming on regional terrain and the removal of cooler marine air, an approaching low-level trough that enhanced downslope flow, the occurrence at a time of maximum insolation, and drier-than-normal soil moisture.
It is shown that all-time-record temperatures have not become more frequent and that annual high temperatures only increased at the rate of baseline global warming. Although anthropogenic warming may have contributed as much as 1°C to the event, there is little evidence of further amplification from increasing greenhouse gases. Weather forecasts were excellent for this event, with highly accurate predictions of the extreme temperatures.
“Ms. Leon was first approached in late 2023 by a nonprofit group, the Center for Climate Integrity, which helps assemble and promote cases against big oil and gas companies,” the Times admitted.
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