FIRST LOOK: 

The BlackOak Collective is amplifying, highlighting, and celebrating Black scientists, academics, activists, and advocates. Check out #BlackInEnvironWeek and #BlackEnvironRollCall on Twitter for more. 

WhIte House Reinstates NEPA Rules: The White House announced the reinstatement of three key NEPA provisions on Tuesday, reinstating more rigorous environmental review of major infrastructure projects. The finalized rule restores provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, the nation's bedrock environmental law, requiring review of the climate impacts of proposed projects and the potential impacts on nearby communities. “Communities of color, especially, have relied on NEPA to make sure their voices are heard in decisions that have a profound impact on their health and their well-being,” Rosalie Winn, a senior attorney at EDF, said in a statement. Mustafa Santiago Ali, VP of environmental justice, climate, and community revitalization at NWF, agreed. Adding, "the Biden administration still has work to do to ensure federal decision makers prioritize the input of front-line and historically marginalized communities and fully restore" NEPA. White House CEQ Director Brenda Mallory said the rule will speed up projects' completion by heading off legal challenges. The rule's finalization comes as the Biden administration is resuming oil and gas leasing on federal lands, releasing unprecedented amounts of oil from the SPR, and seeking to increase exports of liquified methane gas — while scientists warn continued extraction and combustion of fossil fuels will result in “an unlivable world.” (NEPA: AP, Axios, Washington Post $, E&E News, Reuters, Wall Street Journal $, Politico, New York Times $, The Hill, HuffPost, Washington Examiner; Pro-fossil actions: Axios, E&E News, Washington Post $)

Black Girl Magic On Bikes: Cycling has struggled to rid itself of the racism and sexism that makes it a tragically exclusive mode of transportation, but Black Girls Do Bike is riding to change that one pedal stroke at a time. Founded nearly a decade ago in Pittsburgh, Black Girls Do Bike has grown to over 100 chapters across the U.S. by connecting women, and Black women in particular, interested in biking as a form of transportation, recreation, and competition. "As I was biking, I realized that no one really looked like me in those groups I was going out biking with; there were not very many women, there were not many women of color," Chyri McLain-Jackson, founder of the BGDB Indianapolis Chapter told the Indy Star. Myriad levels of systemic racism have combined to put Black people at increased risk for numerous health conditions, and cyclists of color face additional barriers, including racist urban planning threats from the police. BGDB, however, is creating an inclusive space where no cyclist is (literally) left behind. "We’re here, we are Black Girls Do Bike, we are Black girl magic," Jackie Elliott told the Indianapolis group. (Indianapolis Star, NewsOne)

Texas Utility CEO Got A 3x Raise While Customers Shivered In The Dark: While Texas utility customers burned their furniture for warmth and froze to death, CenterPoint, a major utility in the state, sought to raise rates and its CEO pulled down a major raise, according to a report released by the Energy and Policy Institute. The report, based on SEC filings, found David Lesar's compensation more than tripled from less than $12 million in 2020 to $37.8 million in 2021. That increase, which was tied largely to stock awards, was "well beyond his peers," the report said. CenterPoint, which supplies power and gas to almost every home and business in and around Houston, has asked state regulators to allow it to hike methane gas prices by about 7%, and it also raised its fee for delivering electricity last year. (Houston Chronicle)

DOING THE WORK: 10 Black environmentalists addressing climate injustice (Ebony)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: ‘A contact shot’: Patrick Lyoya autopsy reveals Grand Rapids cop ‘pressed’ gun into back of the head while firing, pathologist says (NewsOne, AP, The Root, News Channel 3, CNN, MLive, Detroit Free Press, Reuters, New York Times $), Far-right campaigns targeting anti-racist education aren’t as grassroots as they appear (Prism Reports), Mining for clean energy could undermine Biden’s environmental justice goals (Scientific American), People of color disproportionately lost power during 2021 Texas freeze (Yale Climate Connections), People of color more likely to be harmed by pesticides, study finds (The Guardian)

• FOSSIL FUELS, IMPERIALISM, REDUNDANCY: Climate and heritage experts call on British Museum to end BP sponsorship (The Guardian)

FOSSIL FUELED WAR: Who’s winning the Ukraine War? Big Oil! (WORT 89.9), How Lithuania cut its ties to ‘toxic’ Russian gas (Politico EU), The plan to rebuild a green Ukraine (Politico Pro $), European Commission says Kremlin demand to pay for gas in rubles breaches EU sanctions (Politico Pro $), France’s Le Maire urges EU to prioritize banning Russian oil over gas (Politico Pro $), Russia will press on with its climate agenda, Kremlin envoy says (Reuters), War in Ukraine poses environmental risk now and in the future, advocates say (Washington Post $)

• LNG: Should EPA back-off pollution controls to help LNG exports replace Russian gas in Germany? (Inside Climate News), Ukraine war gives US LNG chance to shed fracked-gas stigma (Bloomberg $)

EACOP: Uganda oil project casts shadow over Total’s eco-friendly image (The Guardian)

SOUTH AFRICA FLOODING: Catastrophic flooding in South Africa kills nearly 450 (ABC), South Africa’s government shifts to rebuilding after disastrous flooding (New York Times $)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: 9th Circuit says California climate lawsuits belong in state court (Politico Pro $)

(INDOOR) AIR POLLUTION: The debate over gas and induction stoves (CBC News), In South Asia, vehicle exhaust, agricultural burning and in-home cooking produce some of the most toxic air in the world (Inside Climate News)

ENDANGERED RIVERS: Colorado River named most endangered river in the US (ABC-7 Denver, Colorado Public Radio, Gizmodo, Deseret News), Advocacy group asks Southwest to 'amp up the urgency' on protecting Colorado River water (Arizona Republic), Pollution and habitat loss make Mississippi River among nation's most endangered (Des Moines Register, MPR)

POPULAR CULTURE: Hollywood missing the drama in climate change, group says (AP)

BUSINESSES: We analyzed 300 companies’ financial documents to find out how concerned they are about climate change (TIME), Apple says it’s using more recycled materials than ever before (The Verge), Google is doling out climate research grants (Protocol)

NERDY AND IMPORTANT: How a wonky metric became the proxy war on climate change (Politico Pro $)

AGENCIES: Federal effort on NYC bridge helps boost poor neighborhoods (E&E News), Climate change is making jobs deadlier—and OSHA can’t take the heat (Mother Jones)

EPA: EPA gears up to aid Ukraine (E&E $), EPA touts efforts to crack down on climate superpollutant (E&E $), EV battery maker Italvolt's CEO to launch company for building gigafactory (Reuters), EVs require mined minerals. What if Indigenous people say no to more mining? (Greenbiz)

CONFUSED ABOUT THE MAIN CHARACTER OF THE EASTER STORY?: 16 attorneys general urge Biden to reauthorize Keystone XL (E&E $)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden urged to create 6 new national monuments in 5 states (E&E News, HuffPost), Biden administration launches $6 billion nuclear plant bailout (Washington Post $)

HOUSE: Bill would help HUD combat extreme heat (E&E $), Judge rules Georgia voters can proceed with effort to disqualify Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from re-election (NewsOne)

POLITICS: The Business Roundtable's new energy agenda (Axios)

CITIES AND STATES AND DISENFRANCHISED COLONIAL TERRITORIES: Los Angeles, Honolulu leading US cities in solar power generation: report (The Hill), Monthly fee would withhold solar’s financial benefits from Virginia renters (Energy News Network), Proposed California EV regs could be adopted by other states (Utility Dive), Puerto Ricans are protesting to protect their beaches (Gizmodo)

• CALIFORNIA: Insurers invested $536B in fossil fuel interests — analysis (E&E News), Solar farms coming to federal land east of Los Angeles, will power 132K homes (NBC)

IMPACTS: Is climate change causing more severe weather in Pittsburgh? (KDKA Pittsburgh)

WHIPLASH: Northeast winter storm cuts power to more than 300,000 (Washington Post $)

NOT FLOODING DOWN UNDER: Old news report about cloud seeding is unrelated to recent flooding in Australia (Reuters, Fact Check)

THE OTHER CARBON EMISSIONS: Wildfire smoke in Pacific north-west erasing reductions in emissions – study (The Guardian)

HURRICANES: Nearly two years after Hurricane Laura, Louisiana Gulf Coast is still recovering (Yale Climate Connections)

ADAPTATION: $29 billion plan to protect Texas from storms (CBS), California leads effort to let rivers roam, lower flood risk (AP), Climate change will transform how we live, but these tech and policy experts see reason for optimism (The Conversation)

REAL ESTATE: Climate-change risks get the attention of real estate investors (New York Times $)

FOOD: Finance heads urged to boost fight against food insecurity (AP)

RENEWABLES: Renewable energy has been kicking ass in the US this spring (Gizmodo), Automated solar permitting program sees 31 MW approved in first year of operation (Utility Dive), Climate activists put bull's-eye on hydropower dams in Washington (E&E $), Use England’s plentiful brownfield sites for windfarms, urge scientists (The Guardian)

"RENEWABLES": Biofuels are accelerating the food crisis — and the climate crisis, too (Canary Media)

BATTERIES: Energy shift creates opening for ‘world’s largest batteries’ (AP)

OIL & GAS: Train collides with fuel tank truck on 51st Avenue North in Nashville (News Channel 5), North American oil, natural gas equipment ‘almost sold out,’ prices climbing, says Halliburton CEO (Natural Gas Intel), North Sea gas production could increase by 25%, Denmark says (Reuters), US may have hit peak natural gas power generation, report says (Yale Environment 360), Energy transition still means billions in fossil-fuel investment (Bloomberg $), US natural gas is on a path to `crazy prices' with no relief in sight (Bloomberg $)

• NOT THE POINT: Companies used carbon credits created in oil extraction projects (FT $)
• CHICKENS, ROOSTING, ETC.: What is climate change doing to the haul road? (Anchorage Daily News)

COAL: China doubles down on coal (New York Times $)

UTILITIES: NY utility’s $1B plan targets offshore wind’s grid problem (E&E News), National Grid announces plan to decarbonize by 2050 (Reuters), National Grid unveils plan to run carbon-free gas through its pipes by 2050 (Boston Globe $)

NUKES: Rolls-Royce expects UK approval for small nuclear reactors by mid-2024 (The Guardian)

EVs: Soaring battery costs fail to cool electric vehicle sales (Reuters), Ginger Zee shares big changes in Detroit while on ultimate road trip (ABC), Report charts path to all-EV federal fleet (E&E $), Startups try to make EV charging easier in cities (Axios)

CRYPTO: How Bitcoin mining devastated this New York town (MIT Technology Review)

ACTIVISM: After two years, Extinction Rebellion returns (NY Mag), Just Stop Oil calls one-week halt to protests in hope of action from No 10 (The Guardian)

WILDLIFE: African wildlife, coasts suffer effects of flooding, drought (AP)

INTERNATIONAL: Canada climate goals set high hurdle for Suncor oil sands mine extension (Reuters), Labour says it will insulate 2m houses in first year to cut bills (The Guardian), Singapore and New Zealand to jointly tackle climate change (AP), Sri Lanka's economic crisis exposes gaps in renewable energy push (Thomson Reuters Foundation), Where Britain’s journey to insulation went wrong (The Guardian)

• Finding hope — and faith — in the climate change debate (Deseret News, Katharine Hayhoe interview)
• Big Oil’s windfall creates a quandary for the industry (Bloomberg, Liam Denning column $)
• Texas companies embrace hydrogen to retain energy crown (Houston Chronicle, Chris Tomlinson column)
• Should we feel joy or despair that we’re on track to keep global heating to 2C? (The Guardian, Christiana Figueres op-ed)
• An opportunity too good to pass up: Time to weigh in on federal funds for electric vehicles (Utility Dive, David Farnsworth and Camille Kadoch op-ed)
• I finally bought an electric vehicle (Canary Media, David Roberts testimonial)
• What the gas industry doesn’t want you to know about your appliances (San Francisco Examiner, Denise Grab and Zack Subin op-ed)
• Climate action, as patriotism (Yale Climate Connections, Dennis Laich, Larry Wilkerson and Erik Edstrom op-ed)
• Climate bill passage is electrifying (Baltimore Sun, Elizabeth Embry op-ed)
• The pandemic isn't over yet, no matter how much we want to believe it (The Root, Murjani Rawls commentary)
• Enough about climate change. air pollution is killing us now. (New York Times, Binyamin Appelbaum column $)

Gab Update: Tony Heller Posts Obama Birther Conspiracy, Then Confused Why Nazis Are In His Comments

Yesterday’s post on the Wall Street Journal’s record-breaking month of disinfo was pretty heavy and took a while, so today we’re relaxing, as we are told that is a holiday tradition on the twentieth of April. We’re not sure what the reason is for the season, but it is the birthday of the guy who killed Hitler, so we’ll just assume that’s what’s up. 

Speaking of Hitler, if you regularly find yourself saying “speaking of Hitler” in conversation, odds are you may be hanging out on one of the supposed free-speech alternatives to conventional social media, where it’s apparently too hard to harass people. Trump’s TruthSocial is having… quite a rough time, to say the least, and Parler and Gettr haven’t done much better. 

Gab, as we’ve discussed before, is chock full o'nuts. As a quick and casual scroll down, its “explore” tab of popular poasts shows its algorithm amplifies all manner of (trigger warning) misogyny, white supremacy, Russian propaganda, transphobia, anti-vaxxers, and homophobic anti-semetic conspiracy theorists. 

These "top posts" net hundreds of likes apiece, instead of the tens of thousands to millions you may see on mainstream platforms. But that small pond means someone like our favorite conspiracy theorist Tony Heller can really stand out. Recently, he’s been posting Russian state propaganda about Ukraine, in addition to his standard anti-renewables content and climate conspiracies. 

Oh, and, for some reason, he’s regressed to posting birther conspiracy theories, because apparently it’s important for Gabbers to know “African newspapers” and “Obama’s literary agents” said the first Black President of the United States was “born in Kenya.” 

He’s also complained about people posting “anti-Semetic messages on [his] timeline,” asking if he should “place a Jewish star" in his Gab icon to get them to stop. 

In response, commenters agreed that “this site is pretty bad for this,” that “there are so many trolls on here that you’ll be blocking morons constantly,” and that enduring such abuse is an “unfortunate artifact of free speech.”

Oh, and one challenged him to “define anti-semitism,” with another posting a link to a video suggesting that “the Star of David is not what you think it is.” 

Wow, what a great platform Gab is! Such a shame so few people are using it, and so many are posting hateful conspiracy theories — too many, even for users who post hateful conspiracy theories!

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