FIRST LOOK(S):

Join Peril & Promise and Nexus Media TOMORROW EVENING for the digital premiere of the film “The Power of Us,” followed by a live conversation on intergenerational climate action. 6:00-7:30 p.m.

New modeling from Energy Innovation shows reaching net zero U.S. emissions by 2050 will be nearly three quarters more expensive if we wait until 2030 to enact climate policy solutions than if the clean energy transition begins in 2021.

US Cities Underestimate Carbon Pollution: American cities are undercounting their carbon pollution by an average of 18%, a significant gap with major implications for U.S. climate action, according to a study published Tuesday in Nature Communications. Researchers measured 48 cities' self-reported carbon pollution estimates against the Vulcan Project, their national and highly-precise emissions database reliant on multiple overlapping datasets and cross-checked against atmospheric CO2 levels. They found cities often failed to include all sources of pollution, and were inconsistent in measuring transportation emissions. With an ever-growing number of cities across the country setting goals to reduce their carbon pollution, the discrepancies highlight the need for a systematic approach for carbon pollution calculation, the scientists say, in order to accurately measure baselines and progress against those goals. Accurate measurements can also accelerate carbon reduction efforts by providing cities with insight into which measures are most cost-effective. (New York Times $, Bloomberg $, Reuters, The Hill, E&E $)

Wooroloo Fire Rages Outside Perth, Australia: The Wooroloo fire, raging out of control outside Perth, Western Australia, has destroyed at least 71 homes and was expected to continue to grow. Authorities warn the fire, already fueled by hot and unusually dry conditions, is being made dangerously erratic by winds gusting at over 45 mph and blowing embers as much as three miles ahead of the firefront. Smoke from the blaze turned skies over the city on Australia's western coast a hazy orange, raining ash on suburban homes, and dangerously degraded air quality. Climate change makes wildfires more extreme as increased temperatures dry out brush and soil, exacerbating fire conditions. Officials emphasized that evacuation orders caused by the fire overrode the snap lockdown triggered by a COVID-19 infection earlier in the week. (BBC, Sydney Morning Herald, 9News, CNN, New York Times $, AP, The Independent; Photos: Al Jazeera; Climate Signals background: Wildfires)

US Could Reach Net-Zero By 2050 With More Benefits Than Costs — Report: The United States could achieve net-zero carbon pollution by 2050, address societal inequities, and reap benefits far greater than the costs, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Academies of Sciences. The report recommends  five main reforms, to be funded in part by a rising $40/ton carbon tax: improving building efficiency; electrifying transportation and building heating; getting 75% of electricity from clean sources by 2030; increasing transmission capacity; and tripling government investment in clean energy research. At an annual cost of about $300 billion over status quo spending levels, the report found the reforms would more than pay for themselves in public health benefits alone. With the correct policies in place, the reforms would have dramatic benefits for working class communities and communities of color disproportionately harmed for fossil fuel extraction and consumption, as well as communities historically dependent on fossil fuels. "You should want to do this even if you didn't care about climate," Stephen Pacala, a Princeton University professor who chaired the 17-member committee that produced the report, told E&E. (Politico Pro $, E&E $, Forbes)

CORONAVIRUS: Rockefeller Foundation president: COVID-19 pandemic an 'accelerant' of global wealth inequality (Axios), study: pandemic’s cleaner air added heat to warming planet (AP)

21st CENTURY QUESTIONS: After hurricane’s devastation, a dilemma in Nicaragua: rebuild or relocate? (New York Times $, Video: New York Times $)

DOUBLE STANDARDS: Twitter's Big Oil ad loophole (Heated)

AGENCIES: How Biden may get oil companies to pay more to drill (Washington Post $), the latest Trump EPA rule to get tossed? The ‘secret science’ ban. (Grist), Treasury names 'forcefully addressing the threat of climate change' a top priority (CBS)

CAFE LAWSUITS: Biden administration asks court to halt litigation on California emissions waiver, methane rollback (The Hill, E&E $), automakers drop efforts to derail California climate rules (New York Times $, E&E $, The Hill, Bloomberg $)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: Biden faces 'staggering' loss of government scientists (E&E $), how to ensure the federal government doesn't try to muzzle science again (Earther)

THE HILL: Democrats issue updated EPW, Energy committee rosters (Politico Pro $), Democrats plow ahead with budget reconciliation (E&E $), Rep. Andy Levin pledges involvement for fossil fuel workers in green energy shift (Politico), Sherrod Brown's rise may spur flood insurance deal (E&E $), Democrats relaunch push for national green bank (Politico Pro $)

POLITICS: Burned by carbon pricing, Dems chart new course on climate (E&E $), Democrats’ window to pass new legislation is already closing (Grist)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: EU goes soft on China in hopes of a climate 'partnership' while the U.S. plays hardball (Politico Pro $)

PUBLIC OPINION: Most US voters want Biden to work with China on climate change (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: USDA Secretary of Agriculture nominee Tom Vilsack clears first hurdle, says he will focus on climate change (Washington Post $, E&E $, Politico Pro $, AP), Agriculture nominee Vilsack vows to end USDA race inequities (Bloomberg $), Buttigieg confirmed as transportation secretary, making LGBT history (Bloomberg $, E&E $)

REAGAN HEARING: North Carolina DEQ Sec. Michael Regan, Biden's pick for EPA, faces con­fir­mation hearing Wednesday (Spectrum), Michael Regan steps into a crowded climate spotlight (E&E $), young Michael Regan: 'determined to do something important' (E&E $), 'he can talk to anybody': how Regan works with Republicans (E&E $)

AGENDA: Biden needs to undo Trump’s most disastrous climate decisions — fast (Vox), how Biden is reversing Trump's assault on the environment (The Guardian), how fast will Biden need to move on climate? Really, really fast (NPR), Environmental justice to get a boost in the Biden administration more from bloomberg law (Bloomberg Law)

TRANSITION, PERSONNEL: Biden picks leading civil rights attorney for EPA (E&E $), Biden names Lefton BOEM chief (Politico Pro $), Biden puts weight behind climate pledge with [OIRA] pick (Bloomberg Law)

FERC: FERC's Clements argues power markets must 'respect' state policy choices (S&P Global $), Glick names senior [FERC] staff (E&E $)

EMISSIONS: Biggest economies’ climate policies fall short of Paris goals (Bloomberg $), US has multiple, affordable paths to net zero emissions by 2050, California study concludes (Utility Dive, E&E $)

IMPACTS: Sea levels are rising faster than most pessimistic forecasts (Bloomberg $, The Guardian), a surge from an atmospheric river drove California’s latest climate extremes (InsideClimate News), Biden administration set to give Puerto Rico $1.3 billion in aid Trump held hostage (Earther), Puerto Rico to get billions for storm aid, reconstruction (AP)

WILDLIFE: Indigenous methods are best for biodiversity, study suggests (E&E $)

CARBON CAPTURE: The only carbon capture plant in the US just closed (Earther)

RENEWABLES: Biden wants millions of clean-energy related jobs. Can it happen? (CNN), residents of wealthy Hamptons enclave sue town over offshore wind project easements (Politico Pro $)

STRANDED ASSETS: “The industry is just seen as trying to kill everybody”: inside the greenwashing of big oil (Vanity Fair), after a bruising year, the oil industry confronts a diminished future (New York Times $), hit by pandemic, oil giants Exxon, BP post huge 2020 losses (AP), pandemic pushes Exxon to historic annual loss, $20 billion cut in shale value (Reuters, Axios), Exxon investors, unhappy after results, push clean energy (Reuters), Exxon forms low-CO2 division, invests $3B in emission cuts (E&E $), BP reports a $5.7 billion annual loss, its first in a decade. (New York Times $, Reuters)

ELECTRIFICATION: Gas ban backlash spreads across the US (E&E $)

HYDROGEN: Shell targets power trading and hydrogen in climate drive (Reuters)

PLASTICS: Recycling bills to return. So will the fight over plastics (E&E $), State bills put plastic producers on the hook for trash (E&E $)

PIPELINES: Appeals court refuses to stop construction of [Line 3] oil pipeline (AP)

COAL: Dumping coal can be good for insurance company stock (Bloomberg $), US coal's 'road to extinction' may take well over a decade without policy push (S&P Global $)

UTILITIES: 'This is just the beginning': Southwest Power Pool begins operating Western imbalance market (Utility Dive), PG&E plans utility-owned ‘remote grids’ for isolated communities (Greentech Media)

(ALLEGED) UTILITY CORRUPTION: FirstEnergy agrees not to seek subsidy in agreement with AG (AP)

EVs: Electric buses to be on Albuquerque streets (KOB-4), BP says its electric car chargers aren’t profitable yet (Bloomberg $)

REAL VALUE: 'Nature is our home': economists call for green approach to valuing wealth (Thomson Reuters Foundation), nature doesn’t get a paycheck. Now, there’s a movement to change that. (New York Times $), UK report urges need for nature to be at heart of economics (AP)

BUSINESS: Global blueprint for climate disclosures by companies due in September (Reuters)

• Biden’s USDA pick can fix his old mistakes — and then some (Bloomberg, Amanda Little column $)
• Localizing the green energy revolution (The Hill, Hannah Wiseman op-ed)
• At long last, a president declares that the era of small government is over (Washington Post, Katrina vanden Heuvel column $)
• Bridging the rural divide (The Hill, Catherine Coleman Flowers op-ed)
• Why call recent disasters ‘natural’ when they really aren’t? (National Geographic, Elizabeth Kolbert commentary)
• Debt is no reason to fear trillions in green spending (Bloomberg, Noah Smith column $)
• New evidence that Big Tech is 'MIA' on climate policy (The Hill, Bill Weihl op-ed)
• COVID-19 vaccine rollout needs a shot of equity (USA Today, Dr. Julie Morita and Dr. Richard E. Besser)
• California needs to spend big now to make its zero-emission-car future a reality (LA Times, Editorial Board $)
• A pause on offshore drilling is a good first step. Let’s make it permanent. (USA Today, Jacqueline Savitz op-ed)
• To encourage COVID-19 vaccinations, better communication is needed (Blavity, Meesha Brown op-ed)
• Why Biden's actions are good news from front lines of the climate change war (USA Today, Michael Mann op-ed)
• The US ignored Louisiana’s ‘cancer alley’ for decades. Will Biden finally take action? (The Guardian, Robert Taylor op-ed)

Ted Cruz Has Had Years To Get Denial Talking Points Down, And He Still Botched Them 

A couple weeks ago, we briefly Found Unity in making fun of Senator Ted Cruz for his tepid resuscitation of Trump’s backfired 2017 comments about Paris and Pittsburgh. Since then his clownery has only continued, for example trying to cash in on the Gamestop shenanigans by clout-chasing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, which she promptly shut down. 

But it wouldn’t be long before Sen. Cruz would provide another opportunity for Twitter to pelt him with avian tomatoes. On Monday Jason Campbell posted a clip from Cruz’s podcast in which the Senator goes from talking about climate policies causing job losses to how “the view of the left is people are a disease” in less than two minutes.

“You should be able to choose your life,” Cruz says, apparently trying to appropriate pro-choice language to jobs extracting climate-warming fossil fuels. But Climate Envoy John Kerry apparently said the word “inevitable” in reference to climate policy, and that was Cruz’s launching point to talk about Avengers: Endgame. Specifically, Cruz trots out the well-worn argument we saw back in 2018, when the movie was still relevant, about how Thanos supposedly represents environmentalists wanting to kill people to save the planet (as opposed to saving people from the consequences of changing the planet).

Cruz then referenced Watchmen, which isn’t actually one of the movies or shows others have pointed to when making Cruz’s point about Hollywood casting environmentalists as villains in a slightly more coherent fashion. That earned him a “literally what the fuck are you talking about” response from the show’s screenwriter, one of many delightful tweets letting the Senator know he’s stupid and his take “doesn’t really make much sense.” If Hollywood writes villains that are motivated by environmentalism, and then the heroes of those movies defeat said villains, wouldn’t that be a rebuke of that point of view? Not an embrace of it? 

So not only is Ted Cruz dredging up old denial talking points about evil Hollywood liberals, he’s not even doing it right! He’s so wrapped up in his persecution complex, his vaunted K-to-JD Princeton/Harvard Law intellect can’t even wrap itself around the fact that his version of the Big Hollywood attack is nonsensical. 

Not that it ever really made much sense. The idea that Hollywood would use villains to brainwash audiences into buying recycled paper towels or whatever was always pretty far-fetched. 

But let’s be honest, the reality is much, much simpler. It’s hard to give villains realistic motivations, and a staple theme of storytelling is that every villain is a hero of their own story. So it doesn’t take a seasoned screenwriter to look at the state of the world today and identify environmentalism as an issue that a lot of people agree with, but could obviously be taken down deadly and high-stakes paths if put through a lens devoid of humanity.

People probably would have been slightly less enthusiastic about Avengers if the movies stuck with Thanos’s original comic motivation: impressing his crush, Lady Death, the silent skeletal yet female physical representation of the Grim Reaper he somehow can’t convince to love him despite all his romantic murdering.

Then again, making an ass of oneself to impress a woman is perhaps something Cruz would identify with, given his tweeting at AOC. Though, if she really wanted him to work with her, maybe she could suggest his dad killed JFK  and say his wife is ugly? 

Worked for Trump, anyway.

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