"The sights were unimaginable...a complete loss of control."

[View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter]( June 8, 2021 It's a far cry from the independent commission to investigate what went wrong on January 6, but a new [Senate report is finally out today]( detailing the security and communication failures surrounding the Capitol attack, as well as damning evidence that federal agencies had known about plans to storm the Capitol for weeks and did, well, effectively nothing to prepare. There's a lot to read in the 128-page report, but here is a key line that jumped out: According to information provided to the Committees, officers received little-to-no communication from senior officers during the attack. For hours the screams on the radio were horrific, the sights were unimaginable, and there was a complete loss of control…For hours NO Chief or above took command and control. Reading that brings me immediately back to Donald Trump's second impeachment trial, where impeachment managers presented video evidence of pro-Trump rioters unleashing harrowing scenes. But let me leave you on a more positive note to round out your Tuesday afternoon! Here's a [lovely photo of a 100-year-old rhododendron]( and the woman who planted it. —Inae Oh Advertisement [The Bulletin of Atomic Scientist]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [Jared Kushner's former lawyer now faces a scandal of his own]( A former client says Lowell never informed her he was under Justice Department scrutiny when he negotiated her plea deal. BY DAN FRIEDMAN SPONSORED POST [Sponsored Content]( [How Climate Change Challenges Farmers Producing the Food You Eat]( Fairtrade collaborates with farmers to adapt to escalating conditions THIS CONTENT WAS PAID FOR AND SPONSORED BY [FAIRTRADE AMERICA](. [Trending] [How the 2022 midterms could be shaped by a few easy-to-ignore elections this year]( BY KARA VOGHT [Why Donald Trump doesn't need Facebook]( BY DAVID CORN [Manchin says voting rights are "fundamental" as he torpedoes the plan to protect them]( BY ARI BERMAN [As the world seeks climate solutions, GOP doubles down on fossil fuels]( BY OLIVER MILMAN Advertisement [The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists]( [Food] [Special Feature]( [New York's Immigrant Bicycle Couriers Are Banding Together to Demand Change]( "If we’re essential, shouldn’t we have what’s essential to survive?" BY ANDREA GUZMAN [Fiercely Independent] Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. [Donate]( [Recharge] SOME GOOD NEWS, FOR ONCE [Meet the Reluctant “Green Hero” Behind ExxonMobil’s Shareholder Coup]( The activist hedge fund behind ExxonMobil’s boardroom coup last week has claimed another seat from the oil giant’s board, taking the number of new directors pushing for climate action from within the company to three. The result of the shareholder vote has installed the hedge fund, named Engine No. 1 after a San Francisco fire station, as a reluctant hero of the climate movement. But its founders insist that the green agenda is not the primary motive behind its battle to drive down the oil giant’s carbon emissions. A strong climate strategy, they say, just makes good business sense. “This debate should not be ideological,” Chris James, the founder of Engine No. 1, said. “When companies think about their impacts, whether they are on communities or the environment, it brings a lot of common sense back to capitalism.” It has taken less than five months for tiny Engine No. 1 to succeed where many big-name climate campaigners and green investors have failed, forcing one of the world’s biggest climate polluters to confront the existential threat of the climate crisis. The investment fund has just a 0.02 percent stake in [Exxon]( but staged the first major rebellion against Exxon at the company’s annual shareholder meeting last week by galvanizing the support of the biggest investors in the world behind its plan [to oust Exxon’s board members]( in favor of handpicked candidates seeking to transform it. But unlike the campaigns that forced Chevron and Shell to cut their carbon emissions, Engine No. 1 puts profits first. James said that environmental impact is just one consideration his firm uses to allocate its time and capital and that ultimately the aim is to create wealth. “Fossil fuels have big negative impacts,” he says. “We take a long-term view to value creation, which means taking these externalities into account. There’s an intrinsic link.” His strategy is to find companies falling short of their potential and then press for changes to increase their market value. The fund has just 22 employees and $240 million of funds under management. Exxon was the first target, and the fund set out to replace four board members with directors who have “experience in successful and profitable energy industry transformations” that can help to turn the challenge of the climate crisis “into a long-term business plan, not talking point.” The three directors shown the door were big business names: former MetLife insurance boss Steven Kandarian; former IBM boss Samuel Palmisano; and Wan Zulkiflee, a former boss of Malaysian state oil group Petronas, who joined the Exxon board this year. Engine No. 1 is now reportedly preparing to raise more funds to test its mettle beyond waging a war on the polluting energy industry. Industry commentators believe their success proves that the world’s biggest investors are [finally aligned with climate campaigners]( in accepting that sustainability is essential not only for the planet but for the future of major companies too. The architect of the rebellion, Charlie Penner, a former partner at the activist fund Jana before joining Engine No. 1, said it had convinced Exxon shareholders they’d be better off with “more dynamic strategic planning, better long-term risk management, more disciplined capital allocation and, most importantly, directors with track records of looking profitably around corners in energy.” The road to a low-carbon future will be particularly steep for Exxon. The oil giant is one of the world’s [biggest contributors to the climate crisis]( and pumps about 4 million barrels of oil every day. Exxon was once the biggest listed company in the world, with a market value of $520 billion before the financial crash in 2008. Since then its worth has shrunk to about $234 billion. In the days leading up to the shareholder vote at the end of May, it emerged that BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager with $9 trillion under management and one of Exxon’s largest shareholders, would also side with the insurgents at Engine No. 1. Then Vanguard Group, a $7 trillion investment adviser and Exxon’s largest shareholder, fell into line with $3 trillion State Street, which is Exxon’s third largest investor. They both voted to oust two of Exxon directors in favor of Engine No. 1’s candidates. This story was originally published by the [Guardian]( and is reproduced here as part of the [Climate Desk]( collaboration. —Jillian Ambrose Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. 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