Record Cyclone Hits Mozambique and Malawi For A Second Time, Killing Over 100: At over a month old, Tropical Cyclone Freddy has become the longest-lived and most energetic tropical cyclone ever recorded, as it made a second landfall across Mozambique and Malawi with sustained winds of nearly 100 miles per hour after rapidly intensifying for a record-smashing seventh time. The storm first developed on February 6 and took a 5,500-mile route across the Indian Ocean traveling over Madagascar before it made landfall in Mozambique on February 24, then headed back out to Madagascar, and then again turned back to Mozambique and made landfall again this past weekend. Mozambique has suffered more than a year’s worth of rain in the past month, raising concerns that rivers could burst from their banks and trigger huge floods. Some of the impacted areas could get more than 25 inches of rain. Scientists have found climate change is making tropical storms stronger as climate pollution warms oceans, evaporating seawater and transferring heat energy back into the atmosphere, which generates stronger storms more prone to rapid intensification. (CNN, AP, Reuters, Al Jazeera, BBC, Washington Post $)

Biden Admin Approves Massive New Oil Drilling Project In Alaska: Known as “Willow,” the $8 billion plan led by ConocoPhillips, is forecast to produce around 600 million barrels of oil over 30 years, generating the climate pollution equivalent of what roughly 66 new coal-fired power plants emit each year. In response Sunrise Movement Executive Director Varshini Prakash said in a statement that “President Biden’s decision to move forward with the Willow Project abandons the millions of young people who overwhelmingly came together to demand he stop the project and protect our futures.” Oil from the three Willow drill sites won’t flow for 6 years and will take place inside the petroleum reserve, the largest single expanse of untouched land in the U.S. (CBS News, CNN, AP, NPR, CNBC, Gizmodo, Reuters, New York Times $, The Atlantic, Washington Examiner, The Hill, The Guardian, Grist, Axios, E&E $, TIME $, Bloomberg $, Politico $, Explainers: AP, E&E $)

Scientists Find Climate Change Behind Extreme Drought And Rain: In a new study published in Nature Water, authors find a warming planet is increasing the frequency, duration, and severity of drought and heavy rainfall events. “This is an observation. It’s actual data,” Matthew Rodell, a hydrologist at NASA and co-author of the study told the Washington Post. More severe drought and rainfall occurred in the last 8 years than in the previous decade, a trend that authors find is attributable to anthropogenic climate change. The scientists used a pair of satellites to measure how the Earth stored water - in groundwater, surface water, ice, and snow - over 1,000 events from from 2002 to 2021. “It’s incredible that we can now monitor the pulse of continental water from outer space,” Park Williams, a bioclimatologist who was not involved in the study told the AP. “I have a feeling when future generations look back and try to determine when humanity really began understanding the planet as a whole, this will be one of the studies highlighted.” (PBS NewsHour, AP, CNN, Washington Post $, New York Times $, Climate Signals Explainers: Drought, Extreme Precipitation)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Rich countries export twice as much plastic waste to the developing world as previously thought (Grist)

ENVIRONMENTAL (IN)JUSTICE: Family of Manuel Teran detail findings of independent autopsy, demand answers (Atlanta News First)

EPA: Watchdog dings EPA on wildfire air quality work (E&E $), White House feels heat as smog decision nears (E&E $)

DOI: Former Pentagon climate aide joins Interior water team (E&E $)

WHITE HOUSE: Kamala Harris to talk climate with African leaders (E&E $)

CITIES AND STATES: New York City begins its climate change reckoning on the lower east side, the hard way (Inside Climate News), Activists push green power to counter NJ Transit's plan for backup fossil fuel power plant (Bergen County Record), Minnesota nuclear power reactor seeks 20-year license extension (Reuters), How Cincinnati’s Climate Safe Neighborhoods Partnership promotes climate equity (Yale Climate Connections), PSEG unfazed by New Jersey’s plan to examine gas utilities’ future but critical of regional grid operator (Politico Pro $), Would renewed utility deal help N.M. reach 100% clean power? (E&E $)

UNITED NATIONS: U.N. secretary-general warns world is at a global warming crossroads (UPI), UN head calls for scientist to serve 'cold, hard facts' that will push governments to curb climate change (Fox News), ‘Planet in the crosshairs’: UN chief demands rapid emission cuts (Al Jazeera), UN chief: ‘Cold, hard facts’ should guide climate policy (AP)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Can the new high seas treaty help limit global warming? (Inside Climate News)

IMPACTS: Food brands struggling to weather the 'polycrisis' unleashed by war and climate change (Reuters), California, Northeast menaced by late-season winter storms (Reuters), Climate is changing too quickly for the Sierra Nevada's 'zombie forests' (NPR), 

CALI FLOODING: California copes with heavy rain, flooding in latest 'atmospheric river' storm (Reuters), Badly flooded California braces for another atmospheric river (Gizmodo), Flood problems grow as new storm heads toward California (AP), As atmospheric river exits, a new storm threatens California (E&E $), Next atmospheric river brings "high risk" of flooding to soaked California (Axios), California, struggling with weekend floods, braces for new atmospheric river (The Hill), Before disastrous flood, officials knew Pajaro River levee could fail but took no action (LA Times $)

RENEWABLES: A new solar model is bringing bigger savings to renters in Minneapolis (Energy News Network), Can solar power Ukraine’s recovery? (Energy Monitor), SVB failure leaves small US solar projects needing new ally (Bloomberg $)

GAS STOVES: We know gas stoves have health risks. What about other gas appliances? (Canary Media)

OIL & GAS: Oil and gas costs expected to rise 10% this year — report (E&E $), Oil giant Saudi Aramco sees historic $161B profit (E&E $), Oil sinks in volatile trading as bank failure sparks selling (Bloomberg $), Winter power grid troubles put scrutiny on natural gas reliability (Politico Pro $)

TIDAL: A tidal power ‘mega project’ in one of Europe’s iconic waterways could power 1 million homes. But costs are huge (CNBC)

FERC: Q&A: Acting FERC Chair Willie Phillips (Politico Pro $)

MINERALS: Europe balks at strategic stockpile for critical green metals (Bloomberg $)

COAL: In a first, coal company agrees to use social cost of carbon (E&E $)

NUKES: Georgia’s big new nuclear reactors could be the last built in the US (Canary Media), In a first, N.Y. nuclear plant produces carbon-free hydrogen (E&E $), NRC safety proposal on advanced nuclear draws pushback (E&E $)

EVs: Volkswagen picks Ontario for first North American gigafactory (Politico Pro $), Volkswagen to build battery plant in Canada to fast-track expansion (Bloomberg $), Catl’s EV battery dominance shouldn’t cause Xi undue worry (Bloomberg $)

FINANCE: Bank of England to study climate-related capital further (Reuters), What Silicon Valley bank’s collapse means for climate tech (Bloomberg $)

PFAS: Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ found in toilet paper around the world (The Guardian)

DISINFO: 'Climate misinformation' can jeopardize climate action (Free Press Journal)

GROCERIES: You can now calculate your grocery list's carbon footprint (TIME), Here’s how many times you need to reuse your reusable grocery bags (CNN)

INTERNATIONAL: Sunak to focus on carbon capture and mini-nuclear reactors in energy policy (The Guardian), Group of EU countries discuss weakening limits on car emissions (Reuters), Vietnam’s energy transition deal is a ‘black box’, partner warns (Climate Home), Germany pushing for near-term deal on combustion-engine talks (Bloomberg $), Europe sees milder spell as Germany set for wind power record (Bloomberg $)

• The rare earths race entails difficult choices (FT, Rana Foroohar column $)
• The real price of wind and solar (Wall Street Journal, The Editorial Board $)
• Boston’s business community must answer climate change call (Boston Business Journal, Matthew Gardner and Zoe Reich op-ed)
• 3 ways America can spend Biden’s clean-energy windfall faster (Washington Post, Gernot Wagner and Julio Friedmann op-ed $)
• Who profits from Southern California's high gas bills? The problem is we don't know (LA Times, Jamie Court op-ed $)
• Biden boosted clean tech. How much will SVB set it back? (Bloomberg, Mark Gongloff op-ed $)
• Red tape is holding up a greener future (Bloomberg, The Editors $)
• Maple-pocalypse? Syrup looks like the latest victim of climate change (FT, Patti Waldmeir column $)

Deregulation Spurred SVB Bank Bust, so the Disinfo Machine Blames ESG

Every crisis is an opportunity for disinformation. As the unexpected (or expected) unfolds, details are sparse, so those who wait to confirm the facts before spreading a claim (like experts and journalists) will always be one step behind those who use moments of uncertainty to strategically push a narrative motivated by politics or profits. It's a fundamental asymmetry that gives disinfo-spreaders an advantage, as their shameless disregard for factual reality means they can set the initial tone, before facts are in. By the time the truth is known and reported, it's essentially in response to the initial disinformation. 

This is why any successful effort to address disinformation needs to take an actor-based approach that doesn't let the same sources repeatedly spread disinformation. 

Case in point: over the weekend, the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) went kaput and as Trump's 2018 regulatory rollbacks are likely partly responsible, the MAGA crowd was quick to shift the blame. 

Breitbart ran two pieces casting SVB as a "woke and now broke" and "ESG evangelist," while The Washington Times and Newsmax quoted Home Depot co-founder, right-wing donor Bernie Marcus, who questioned whether the DOJ "would go after them" and concluded that "they're a woke company, so… they'll probably get away with it." The Wash Times also had columnist Cheryl Chumley claim that SVB’s failure shows "the folly of climate change investments." 

These outlets established to spread right-wing propaganda in the guise of news functioned as designed, while the reality-based community is busy protecting investors and trying to prevent a run on banks. 

For the public this should be a lesson about how unchecked capitalism is self-destructive and an expensive reminder of the importance of regulations to protect consumers from poor corporate governance—the G in ESG! 

Those involved in the coordinated anti-ESG campaign needed to convince their followers of exactly the opposite, arguing that the bank failed because of ESG. 

For those trying to address disinformation this situation shows that attempts to moderate individual pieces of content by relying on fact checks don’t work. Disinformation spreads before  true information is known, making fact checks good for setting the record straight, but not until after the disinformation has already spread. 

On the other hand, repeat-offender-based disinformation mitigation strategies that focus on the organizations and individuals doing the most damage by spreading the most disinformation most regularly could have prevented this, as the outlets and actors in the latest SVB disinformation saga are well-known vectors who have long since proven unworthy of getting the benefit of the doubt. 

Billionaire culty grifters didn’t fund these sources to carry the honest truth; they propped them up to spread propaganda, and these outlets are going to do so every chance they get. 

And that is something you can reliably take to the bank.

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