FIRST LOOK:

The submission deadline for the first annual Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards is Tuesday, June 1. Learn more, and submit nominations of exemplary climate journalism published in 2020 in multiple categories, HERE.

Actual Texas Freeze Death Toll Quadruple Official Count: Approximately 700 people were killed by the winter storm, and subsequent collapse of the Texas grid and gas system, in February, a BuzzFeed News investigation reveals. The estimate, calculated by analyzing death counts during and after the storm compared to normal death rates in other years, is four to five times higher than official state estimates and exposes the failure of state and grid officials to prepare for the extreme weather despite warnings a decade ahead and days immediately before the freeze. The resulting, catastrophic blackouts left millions without electricity and water, with a disproportionate toll borne by low-income Texans, people of color, and people with disabilities, and the grid came within minutes of complete collapse. The estimate relies on established methodology used to calculate the full death toll of other disasters, including Hurricane Maria. It includes the deaths of people like 68-year-old Shirley Napier, who collapsed in her Galvaston home that had lost power overnight. She was admitted to the hospital with a body temperature below the threshold for hypothermia, but her death certificate makes no mention of hypothermia or the storm. To quote The Verge: "go read this investigation into the real death toll from the Texas freeze." (Buzzfeed; Minutes from collapse: Wall Street Journal $; Climate Signals background: February 2021 Polar vortex breakdown and Central US winter storms)

Racism Within Academic Community Isolates Scientists, Causes Suboptimal Outcomes: The dearth of Black researchers in the geosciences, which includes climatology, not only creates an exclusionary environment that isolates Black people within the field, but leads to inferior outcomes, Bloomberg reports. The self-perpetuating cycle of racial and socioeconomic exclusivity means those at the top of climate science academia have limited interactions with Black and other people of color. This not only “concentrates a culture, it concentrates a view, and it amplifies a segregated community of climate scientists,” Vernon Morris, a founding director of NOAA’s Center for Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology and a founding director of the atmospheric sciences program at Howard University, told Bloomberg. This segregation limits the perspective of individual scientists and of the field as a whole, and is part of why critical research has largely failed to address concerns of the larger population, and thus leaves millions of people — like those unable to evacuate ahead of a hurricane — out of policy considerations based on that science. “It’s that level of subtlety that we don’t want to call racism, but it’s the same,” Morris said. “It’s the same substance that decisions are made on that exclude people of color.” (Bloomberg $)

NYC Electrification Bill Introduced: New York City legislators are seeking to further the city's climate goals by essentially ending gas use in new buildings and major renovations, S&P Global reports. The legislation, introduced Thursday, would prohibit new and renovated buildings from burning fossil fuels through updates to the city's building code. If adopted, the legislation would speed New York's effort to join Seattle and dozens of California municipalities in requiring electrified, or otherwise renewably-powered, heating. "We're talking about cost savings. We're talking about health. We're talking about making sure that we are protecting the everyday New Yorker and focusing on our future," City Council member Alicka Ampry-Samuel said during a May 18 online rally. "We have been systematically left out of conversations about climate change in communities that I represent." (S&P Global Market Intelligence)

ARE SHAREHOLDER RESOLUTIONS IMPORTANT?: Time's up: Dems forgo quick end to Trump shareholder rule (E&E $)

CONSOLIDATION: Fracking Companies Continue Consolidation as Cabot, Cimarex Form $14 Billion Firm (Wall Street Journal $) 

NPR-A: Biden administration backs Alaska oil project approved under Trump (Politico, AP, E&E $), Biden's support for Arctic project shakes conservationists (E&E $, The Guardian)

CA$H FLOW: GOP to Wall Street: keep cash flowing to fossil companies (E&E $), Banks promise to keep cash flowing to fossil companies (E&E $), Dems offer climate risk bill as banks stand by fossil fuels (E&E $)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Who gets a park? (Grist), as anti-Asian attacks continue, what kind of bystander are you? (Vanity Fair), UNC board to reexamine tenure for Nikole Hannah-Jones (The 19th* News)

CORONAVIRUS: How the pandemic changed America’s ideas about infrastructure (Politico)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: Why are climate campaigners turning to the courts? (Thomson Reuters Foundation), Shell’s court rebuke marks the start of a new war against big oil (Bloomberg $), Australian court finds government has duty to protect young people from climate crisis (The Guardian), will judges have the last word on climate change? (Bloomberg Law)

BIG OIL'S BIGLY BAD DAY: ‘Change is coming.’ Activists just scored big wins against Exxonmobil, Chevron and Shell (TIME, The Guardian, Canary Media, NPR, Houston Chronicle, Axios, Wall Street Journal $), activists crashed Exxon’s board, but forcing change will be hard (New York Times $, Wall Street Journal $), Exxon and Chevron got their teeth kicked in, but shareholders won’t finish the job (Gizmodo, Wall Street Journal $), the little engine that could, and the oil giant that couldn’t (Reuters, Marketplace), what Exxon, Chevron climate shake-ups mean for oil (E&E $, Gizmodo, Vox), hedge fund that beat ExxonMobil says it will have to cut oil output (FT $, Bloomberg $), why climate rage hit Exxon, Chevron, and Shell on the same day (Grist), full results at ExxonMobil board may take until next week (Reuters)

TOTAL AGM: France's Total to face climate plan pressure at investor meeting (Reuters)

SEEMS LIKE A GROWTH INDUSTRY: Business booms at climate risk start-up [Jupiter Intelligence] as threat from extreme weather grows (Washington Post $)

SCIENTIFIC ACTIVISM: Fearing their kids will inherit dead coral reefs, scientists are urging bold action (NPR)

COLONIAL PIPELINE (AFTERMATH): Granholm: Energy Department not informed of Colonial ransom payment (Politico Pro $), TSA formally directs pipeline companies to report cybersecurity incidents in wake of Colonial attack (The Hill, Axios, Politico Pro $, E&E $), U.S. may fine pipeline operators for unreported cyberattacks (Bloomberg $)

AGENCIES: Biden administration wants to give more power back to states to block pipelines (Washington Post $, AP, Reuters, The Hill, Politico Pro $, New York Times $, E&E $), EPA tosses Trump-era ozone attainment rulings in 7 states (E&E $), Granholm divests from electric vehicle manufacturer (The Hill, E&E $, Politico)

THE HILL: Why Republicans won't fund EVs (E&E $)

HOUSE: Committee approves orphaned well, coal mine cleanup bills (E&E $)

SENATE: Senate Finance Committee advances energy tax credit overhaul bill amid partisan deadlock (Utility Dive, E&E $), Senate approves creating energy security foundation (E&E $), another Democrat [Cortez Masto] calls for New Deal-type climate corps (E&E $), bill aims to better detect lead paint in HUD housing (E&E $)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden’s fossil fuel moves clash with pledges on climate change (New York Times $), White House commits to U.S. producing clean tech metals (E&E $)

BUDGET: Conservation, the grid, EVs: What to watch in Biden [budget] pitch (E&E $)

AMERICAN JOBS PLAN: Biden to GOP: ‘Don’t get in the way’ of infrastructure plan (AP), Senate GOP tenders new infrastructure offer that's mostly existing spending (Politico Pro $, Washington Post $, E&E $, New York Times $), Warren says GOP infrastructure proposal not 'a serious counteroffer' (The Hill, MSNBC), White House keeps negotiations live after Republican counteroffer (Politico Pro $), Biden threatens to close down talks after GOP EV offer (E&E $)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: Senate ENR committee approves 3 Interior nominations (Politico Pro $)

CITIES AND STATES: Car-free San Francisco streets: Residents debate reopening (AP), Virginia is rethinking its road and rail networks in planning for the long term (Washington Post $)

TEXAS: How the Texas Legislature could change the state's power grid this session (Texas Tribune), Texas Senate didn’t pass critical bill needed to keep key state agency alive, potentially forcing a special session (Texas Tribune)

PUBLIC LANDS: Data on park equity problems may yield legislative fix (E&E $)

IMPACTS: Miami’s chief heat officer calls for action on ‘silent killer’ in climate crisis (The Guardian), mountaintops are burning because of climate change (E&E $), experts say warmer climate will become new 'normal' (WBUR), rapid heating of Indian Ocean worsening cyclones, say scientists (The Guardian)

DROUGHT: First-ever Colorado River water shortage is now almost certain, new projections show (CNN), Hoover Dam, symbol of the modern West, faces a new test with an epic water shortage (Arizona Republic), [Southern Nevada Water Authority] warns Congress of a ‘real and urgent’ drought crisis (Nevada Current)

WILDFIRES: ‘Nothing looks good’ preparing for summer wildfire season (AP), record wildfire threats mean California must pick when and where to fight, utilities, analysts, CalFire agree (Utility Dive), scientists warn of bad year for fires in Brazil's Amazon and wetlands (Reuters), wildfire burns some 25 homes, leads to evacuations in Bagdad [Arizona] (AP)

FOLLOW UP: A year after Cyclone Amphan, for some survivors 'there is nothing' (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

RENEWABLES: Solar panel use heats up as installation costs fall (Washington Post $), here’s where wind and solar power need to grow in America (New York Times $), installing solar panels over California’s canals could save 65 billion gallons of water a year (Yale Climate Connections), offshore wind will take time to carry factory jobs to U.S. (Reuters)

BATTERIES: Greens intensify push to block Nev. lithium project (E&E $)

STORAGE: Solar trade group launches storage arm (E&E $)

OIL & GAS: Why confused language around gas will slow the energy transition (Energy Monitor), A ski company built a power plant fueled by methane. It’s a success, but can it be replicated? (Washington Post $)

COAL: No new coal plants in Indonesia in another bid to cut emissions (Bloomberg $)

NUKES: NERC sees potential summer energy shortfalls, says energy transition 'pace' may threaten reliability (Utility Dive)

HYDROGEN: Oman plans to build world’s largest green hydrogen plant (The Guardian)

UTILITIES: Advocates say Maine needs to expand time-of-use rates to hit climate goals (Energy News Network), Southern CEO on coal closures: All plants 'are on the table' (E&E $)

(ALLEGED) UTILITY CORRUPTION: Groups seek watchdog probe of TVA spending on defunct trade group (Politico Pro $)

WATER: ‘Ammon Bundy coming soon.’ Federal water cutoffs igniting rebellion in Northern California (Sacramento Bee), South Carolina pastor helps bring safe drinking water to community in need (CBS)

EVs: How California is keeping electric vehicles out of reach for apartment-dwellers (HuffPost)

JUST LIKE COLLEGE, BUT WITH AN APP: Food waste is heating up the planet. Is dumpster-diving by app a solution? (Grist)

RETURNS ON INVESTMENT: Investing 0.1% of global GDP could avoid breakdown of ecosystems, says UN report (The Guardian)

HELP YOUR MOTHER: Nature can save humanity from climate doom—but not on its own (Wired)

AVIATION: A big climate problem with few easy solutions: planes (New York Times $)

BUSINESS: Why company carbon cuts should include ‘scope’ check (Bloomberg $), Amazon delivers defeat to plastics and lobbying resolutions (E&E $)

KITCHEN TABLE CONVOS: Americans are talking about climate action (Axios)

CARBON CAPTURE: Gas company announces major carbon capture project (E&E $), Stripe injects cash into 6 more carbon removal projects (Grist)

SHIPPING: Shipping’s carbon-cutting fuel tanks so far remain empty (Wall Street Journal $)

BITCOIN: This solar crypto mine plan is stranger than fiction (Gizmodo)

WILDLIFE: New coral reef restoration technology aims to reverse climate change damage (Reuters), en Iraq’s iconic marshlands, a quest for endangered otters (AP)

INTERNATIONAL: Portugal draft proposal allows methane gas pipelines to receive EU funding until 2030 (Climate Home), Norway and Germany open power link boosting EU's green energy supply (Reuters) 

• Big Oil has learnt it needs to listen on climate change (FT, Gillian Tett op-ed $)
• Why Shell’s climate defeat matters (FT, Helen Thomas op-ed $)
• Congress should invest more in public transit (The Hill, Beth Osborne op-ed)
• The proxy coup at Exxon (Wall Street Journal, Editorial Board $)
• Bipartisanship is overrated, especially with these Republicans (Washington Post, Eugene Robinson column $)
• Risk and resilience: Biden tackles the elephant in the climate action room (The Hill, Joel Clement op-ed)
• Big oil shareholders revolt over poor long-run returns: Kemp (Reuters, John Kemp column)
• Exposing the utility playbook: Ratepayers are stuck paying the bill for utility corruption (Utility Dive, Landon Stevens and Mark Pischea)
• Where climate, jobs and health meet: The outdoors (The Hill, Mario Molina op-ed)
• Black climate optimism (Atmos, Rachel Cargle and Leah Thomas interview)
• Black communities must lead the charge to repair harm from freeways (Environmental Health News, Regan Patterson essay)
• Las comunidades negras deben liderar la tarea para reparar los daños causados por las autopistas (Environmental Health News, Regan Patterson ensayo)
• White teachers who refuse to teach [Critical Race Theory] should leave profession (Black Wall Street Times, Vivett Dukes op-ed)
• If we don’t make peace with nature, expect more deadly pandemics (HuffPost, Jane Goodall interview)

Denier Steve Milloy Calls Climate Activism 'A Cancer on Our Society,' Then Complains About Dehumanizing Language

The other day, denier Tony Heller, who believes climate scientists all over the world are secretly acting in an open conspiracy to distort the temperature record, but gets mad when you refer to him as a conspiracy theorist, tweeted that “One of the big problems which many conservatives have is that they are unable or simply refuse to believe how dishonest, corrupt and evil their opposition is.” 

Yes, apparently the problem with some conservatives, who routinely claimed President Obama was the Anti-Christ and who have welcomed into their ranks of reputable policymakers someone who believes Democrats stage school shootings and eat babies in a satanic ritual to achieve immortality, are actually in denial about the evil inherent in their political opponents.

To be more specific, because that could refer to any number of conservative pundits and quite a few elected Republicans, we’re referring to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. In response to Greene’s comparison of a mask mandate in Congress to the Holocaust, columnist Karen Tumulty suggested Dr. Frankenstein would recognize Kevin McCarthy’s situation of having to watch “his party’s own creation careen across the political landscape, leaving wreckage and mayhem at every turn.” Apparently Greene’s antics are causing headaches for the GOP, who would prefer she use the pollster-approved euphemisms about free markets to advance their Anglo-Saxon agenda. 

With a career spent defending fossil fuels and tobacco, Steve Milloy knows a loser when he sees one, and rode to Greene’s aid. He tweeted a screenshot of the headline, “the GOP’s Frankenstein creation” and claimed Tumulty “dehumanizes Republican congresswoman as ‘Frankenstein.’” (Committing the cardinal sin of confusing Dr. Frankenstein and his creation.) 

He then went on to complain about how a December political cartoon of “all the Republican rats” was “Nazi imagery” and ended the tweet with “If you oppose Democrats, you are subhuman.” 

Now this sort of pearl-clutching is only good for rolling your eyes at anyway, but it’s particularly ironic coming from Milloy, because he’s constantly engaging in exactly the behavior at which he’s taking umbrage. 

Just the day before, Milloy, per his telling, “read the riot act to ExxonMobil management over climate at the annual meeting. I called for real (vs. fake) shareholders to fire the climate communist-appeasing CEO and board.” 

But he wasn’t exactly persuasive, and in a follow-up tweet MIlloy conceded defeat, acknowledging “Two climate activists elected to ExxonMobil board,” and — like anyone truly concerned about the dangers of dehumanizing language — declared that “climate activism is a deadly cancer on our society.” 

Because comparing people to a disease that needs to be eradicated from body politic is totally not a Nazi-like dehumanization at all.  

In addition to his absolute obsession with the phrase “climate bedwetter,” Milloy also recently tweeted about Pope Francis’s green initiative, saying “Red Pope bucks God” in one of his frequent tweets with a “climate communists” bent.

Prior to that he referred to Gina McCarthy as “Biden climate fuhrer,” so at least he’s committed to both sides: calling people communists, and calling them Nazis! 

And then there was Monday, when Milloy tweeted a link to “Greta the Climate Puppet” in Reuters saying “if we don’t change we are f*cked.” Millloy told her to “stay in school and class it up, honey!” 

Both patronizing and misogynist, and literally dehumanizing, all at once. That’s why he gets the big bucks!

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up to receive Hot News every morning!

Send updates or feedback to nkauffman@climatenexus.org
Submit events and other items for consideration for a First Look using this form
Some articles require logins or subscriptions ($)