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Fossil Fuels Kill Nearly 9 Million Annually, More Than Twice Previous Estimate: Burning fossil fuels kills nearly 9 million people world-wide and an estimated 350,000 in the U.S. every year, according to a new study by scientists from Harvard and three British Universities. The staggering death toll is more than double the WHO's 2017 estimate of deaths caused by air pollution. “There’s a perception in the United States that we have this under control, but that’s a mistake,” Joel Schwartz, a Harvard professor and one of the study's authors, told the Boston Globe. Based on data from 2018, the scientists found nearly one-in-five deaths that year — and nearly a third of deaths in eastern Asia — were caused by burning fossil fuels. The horrific toll of air pollution surprised even the scientists themselves. “We were initially very hesitant when we obtained the results because they are astounding, but we are discovering more and more about the impact of this pollution,” Eloise Marais, a geographer at University College London and a study co-author, told The Guardian. “It’s pervasive.” (Boston Globe $, The Guardian, Reuters, Bloomberg $, DeSmog; Commentary: Thomson Reuters Foundation, Dr Arvind Kumar & Gary Cohen op-ed)

Climate Change Makes Pollen Allergy Season Bigger And Badder: Burning fossil fuels is making the North American spring pollen allergy season come earlier, linger longer, and be all-around more miserable, according to a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday. "This is a crystal clear example that climate change is here and it’s in every breath we take," lead author Bill Anderegg told the AP. The pollen allergy season has begun starting 20 days earlier, researchers found, with 21% more pollen in the air — a trend increasingly caused by global warming, and the higher atmospheric CO2 levels that cause it. Worsened pollen allergies are a significant public health concern because higher pollen loads can set off or exacerbate other respiratory diseases like asthma, which already costs us $80 billion annually in lost productivity and cost of treatment. Asthma and other respiratory diseases are also linked to the combustion of fossil fuels, including from gas stoves in homes, and are a main physical symptom of environmental racism. The worst pollen impacts, the study found, were felt in Texas, and the American Midwest and Southeast. (AP, New York Times $, Earther, The Guardian, UPI, The Independent, USA Today)

New Business Lobby, Same As The Old Business Lobby: Despite the recent drumbeat of high-profile corporate sustainability pledges since President Joe Biden's election, corporate interest groups and influential leaders in the financial sector are scared about the potential for public policy that might hold them accountable, Politico reports. From groups historically opposed to climate action like the Chamber of Commerce to those like BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, who has publicly called for action to fight climate change, the message is the same: everything should be voluntary, so companies can choose to do as little as possible. A patchwork of voluntary disclosure measures, however, would deprive investors of consistent metrics on which to evaluate businesses', and thus their own, exposure to risks posed by climate change. Under the Biden administration, Democrats plan to push the SEC to implement climate risk disclosure rules requiring businesses to divulge more and standardized data to their investors. The Federal Reserve is already beginning the process of weaving systemic climate risk into its oversight of the financial system, because as economist Glenn Rudebusch of the San Francisco Fed wrote in a recent Economic Letter, “The effects of climate change are inescapable.” (Business pushback: Politico; Federal Reserve: Reuters)

HIMALAYAN GLACIER DISASTER: Deadly floods in India traced to a crack high in the Himalayas (Forbes), rescue workers looking for 171 people feared dead in Uttarakhand after glacier burst (CNN, CBS, The Guardian), mountains, ice and climate change: a recipe for disasters (New York Times $), was climate change to blame for India’s glacier flood disaster? (South China Morning Post), before Himalayan flood, India ignored warnings of development risks (New York Times $)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: This land is our land: a new initiative seeks to improve outdoor access for underrepresented youth. (Grist)

COP 26: UN chief urges leaders to start Cop26 climate negotiations online (The Guardian), UN chief: polluters must join ‘net zero’ club for climate (AP), countries must ramp up climate pledges by 80 percent to hit key Paris target, study finds (Washington Post $)

NOMENCLATURE: What's in a phrase? Activists weigh front line vs. fence line (E&E $)

NAVAJO COAL: How a coal mine in Montana could screw the Navajo Nation (Earther), Biden's promise for justice tested in tribal coal fields (E&E $)

AGENCIES: The mess that Biden’s EPA nominee Michael Regan will inherit, explained (Vox), Florida environmental groups petition EPA on 'radioactive roads' (Politico Pro $), Interior extends comment period for Trump offshore Arctic drilling rule changes (Politico Pro $)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: Biden pushes U.S. — and the world — to help climate migrants (E&E $, Climate Home)

THE HILL: Dems from oil-producing N.M. grapple with Biden moratorium (E&E $), Energy and Commerce to dive back into climate (E&E $), Republican wants to breach dams, reshape Pacific Northwest (E&E $), Senate Democrats are getting ready to push climate proposals (Washington Post $) 

POLITICS: Democrat[ic] disunity on wall, Keystone XL threatens to haunt Biden (Bloomberg $), Pennsylvania Democrat [John Fetterman] announces run for Toomey [Senate] seat (E&E $), Trumka hits Biden over lost Keystone XL jobs (E&E $), US Democrats fear ill wind from Biden’s climate policies in oil states (FT $)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: Barrasso may oppose Haaland over Biden agenda (E&E $), Western Republicans knock Interior pick Haaland (Politico Pro $), EPW Committee sets vote on Michael Regan (E&E $)

AGENDA: Biden’s Civilian Climate Corps comes straight out of the New Deal (Grist), 

TRANSITION, PERSONNEL: EPA draws air attorneys from enviro groups (E&E $), Navajo Nation member tapped for senior agency role (E&E $), Renewable-standard critic joins Biden's climate team (E&E $)

CITIES AND STATES: [California] at risk of missing its climate goals, experts warn (E&E $), Arizona bills threaten ‘showdown’ over 100% clean energy rules (Greentech Media), California governor, regulator team up for wildfire standards (Bloomberg $), California utilities plan $15 billion for fire safety work (Bloomberg $), critics warn bill before [Georgia] General Assembly threatens local embrace of clean energy (Savannah Now), Democratic state lawmakers want to tax flared, vented natural gas. Texas oil industry says no. (Austin-American Statesman), Dominion wants SC solar users to pay more. Opponents say plan is ‘industry killing.’ (Charleston Post and Courier $)

IMPACTS: Small fish, big barriers: A county confronts climate change (Everett Herald), from asthma to premature births: pediatricians seeing impacts of climate change in children (CBS Miami), climate change ravaged the West last year and 2021 could be worse (Casper Star-Tribune), near coasts, rising seas could also push up long-buried toxic contamination (NPR), California sets home hardening standards to lower fire risks (AP)

RENEWABLES: Oil giants win offshore wind leases in Britain (New York Times $, Bloomberg $, FT $), Europe’s offshore wind sector saw a record $31 billion of investment in 2020 (CNBC)

TRASH: Incinerators won renewable energy subsidies despite violations (Politico Pro $)

STORAGE: UK on cusp of battery boom to boost renewable power supply (Bloomberg $), world's biggest battery could boost Appalachian Power, co-owner says (The Roanoke Times)

GEOENGINEERING: Balloon test flight plan under fire over solar geoengineering fears (The Guardian)

OIL & GAS: Big Oil’s huge losses raise prospect of mega mergers (FT $), Chevron may not be an oil-first company in 2040, CEO says (CNN), Exxon board mulls adding climate-conscious hedge fund mogul (Bloomberg $)

PIPELINES: Second court says Enbridge can continue construction of $2.6B pipeline in Minnesota (Star Tribune $, AP, E&E $), residents gather in South Dakota to lament loss of pipeline (AP)

COAL: COVID took a toll on coal, clearing way for a green recovery (NY Mag)

HYDROGEN: Green hydrogen plant in Saudi desert aims to amp up clean power (Wall Street Journal $)

UTILITIES: Competitive suppliers’ attempt to reopen Virginia’s renewable energy market faces tough utility opposition (Virginia Mercury)

(ALLEGED) UTILITY CORRUPTION: Dark-money group admits role in Ohio bribery scandal (E&E $)

EVs: Electric vehicles could be 'imperfect substitutes' for gas-powered cars, new study suggests (Utility Dive), 2021: when electric trucks trickle in (Utility Dive), EV owners drive them much less than gas-powered cars (Axios), let's talk about that Super Bowl ad (Heated), Minnesota startup sees a growing niche market for electric work trucks (Energy News Network)

OLD-FASHIONED CARS: San Francisco traffic drop shows gasoline rebound still elusive (Bloomberg $), court pauses litigation on Trump-California vehicle emissions fight (The Hill, Politico Pro $)

BUSINESS: Shell enters supply deal with Amazon to provide renewable energy (Reuters)

CARBON CAPTURE: Here’s how Elon Musk’s $100 million Xprize competition for carbon removal will work (TechCrunch, Axios, NPR, The Verge, The Guardian, E&E $, CNBC)

FINANCE: Climate is next race for global supremacy, Bank of America says (Bloomberg $), Scientists warn over misuse of climate models in financial markets (Reuters)

IN MEMORIAM: Statesman, climate activist George Shultz dies (E&E $)

REARVIEW MIRRORS: A disillusioned ExxonMobil engineer quits to take action on climate change and stop ‘making the world worse’ (InsideClimate News)

WILDLIFE: Another problem for the U.S. border wall: wildlife destruction (Bloomberg $)

INTERNATIONAL: A surprise in Africa: air pollution falls as economies rise (New York Times $), EU urged to quit energy treaty as companies sue over climate action (FT $), Experts pile pressure on Boris Johnson over 'shocking' new coalmine (The Guardian)

• Cleaning up the power grid requires a federal-state partnership (Utility Dive, Bentham Paulos and Warren Leon op-ed)
• Climate change is an imminent threat to all species (Chicago Sun-Times, Bridget C. Coughlin op-ed)
• Why we’ll never stop messing with nature (Grist, Elizabeth Kolbert interview)
• Corporations should stop funding climate science deniers in Congress (The Hill, Elliott Negin op-ed)
• The world is moving toward net zero because of a single sentence (Bloomberg, Eric Roston column $)
• At General Assembly’s halftime, consumers hold a narrow lead (Virginia Mercury, Ivy Main op-ed)
• Controversial, yes, but take climate change seriously (Duluth News-Tribune, Jonathan Knutson op-ed)
• Moving climate solutions from the lab to the real world (Energy Monitor, Vanessa Chan interview)

New Study Shows Gamifying Anti-Racism A Good Way To Inoculate Against Disinformation

In a recent feature in the Boston Globe, David Scharfenberg takes readers “inside the race to develop a vaccine for our other pandemic: hate.” Like ads for cigarettes or climate denial, racist extremism relies on disinformation to recruit and spread, and researchers are searching for ways for technology to stop acting as a vector and start being a solution. 

The practice of exposing people to weak versions of extremist ideology or disinformation, and explaining the logical fallacies or tactics of emotional manipulation they use, is known as “inoculation theory.” Inspired by the medical concept, William McGuire and Demetrios Pagageorgis developed the psychological version in the 1960s, and in the decades since it’s been shown effective in things like anti-smoking campaigns. Educating people on how to be critical of potentially dubious claims, and the anatomy of such claims, is particularly effective because “no one,” Scharfenberger writes, “likes to be a sucker.” 

But getting the public to learn about this stuff isn’t always easy — especially for the audiences most vulnerable to being exploited by extremism or denial.

That’s why you have to make it fun! For example, back in 2019 a cool study used a fake news game where players are coached on how to be Rupert Murdoch (a fake news tycoon) and the participants came out less likely to fall for fake news. Now, inspired by the GetBadNews website/game, researchers have created a version of the game to address violent extremism. 

Published in Behavioral Public Policy, the study created an online game they called Radicalise, a version of the fake news game, but this time players learn how extremist groups recruit vulnerable people online, and how to recognize who those vulnerable people are. Players go through the steps of a “simulated recruitment mission,” and having seen it from that side, “the process helps to inoculate them and confers attitudinal resistance against potential real attempts to target them with extremist propaganda.” 

In other words, players became much more capable of recognizing emotionally manipulative messages from hypothetical recruiters, and could spot the signs of someone susceptible to extremism and conspiracy theories. In this case, they played as recruiters for the Anti-Ice Freedom Front (AIFF), which aimed to blow up the North and South Poles with nuclear weapons. By learning how recruiters target lonely, vulnerable people, build their trust, and then finally push them to do something illegal for the cause, players are given an inside perspective on how extremists use the internet to radicalize people. 

And knowing the warning signs means you can help someone, or yourself, from being preyed upon by violent extremists, polluting propagandists, Joe Camel or any number of other deceptive purveyors of disinformation. 

After all, no one likes to be a sucker!

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