FIRST LOOK:

The Institute for Carbon Removal Law & Policy is launching its annual conference on Exploring Ocean-Based CDR Approaches. The online conference will convene on September 21, 2021 and the submission deadline for panels and individual presentations is June 18.

Biden Suspends ANWR Leases: The Biden administration suspended oil drilling leases in ANWR. The formal order from DOI Secretary Deb Haaland, if unsurprising, starts what will likely be a lengthy process to undo one of the Trump administration's biggest (anti-)environmental actions. The sale of ANWR leases, described as "absolutely bonkers" by climate advocates at the time it was announced last year, culminated in a hurried and ultimately underwhelming lease sale just days before Trump left office. Those existing ANWR leases could be canceled if the administration determines they were granted illegally by the Trump administration; the Biden administration has defended the legal process by which the Trump administration issues leases elsewhere. Last month, the notoriously pro-oil IEA said all new exploration for oil and gas must end immediately if the world is to limit global warming and avoid the worst and most destructive impacts of climate change. (Washington Post $, New York Times $, Axios, AP, Alaska Public Media, Anchorage Daily News, BBC, Reuters, NPR, Rolling Stone, UPI, Wall Street Journal $, Al Jazeera, The Verge, NBC, Politico, CNN)

Drought Fuels Conflict In Klamath Basin: The massive drought parching the American West has reached a (dry) boil in the Klamath Basin along the California-Oregon border as climate change drives conflict between Native American tribes, farmers, regulators, and conservationists. Earlier this year, federal officials shut irrigation outflow gates from Klamath Lake, Oregon's largest, in order to slow catastrophic salmon die-offs. Those salmon are protected by federal law and the federal government guaranteed Klamath Tribes they would be able to fish for them and other native species. Shutting the outflow gates has infuriated farmers, whose crops require irrigation from the Klamath. Twenty years ago, during a similar drought-induced water shortage, three men were charged after going on a racist shooting spree through the town where Klamath Tribes' offices are located. This year, notorious anti-government militant Ammon Bundy has threatened violence against law enforcement if the gates are not opened for farmers. “These are not things that are going to get better if climate change continues to give us more uncertainty and less reliable supplies of water,” William Jaeger, an economics professor at Oregon State University who specializes in environmental, resource and agricultural policy issues, told the New York Times. (New York Times $; Previous reporting: Jefferson Public Radio, Sacramento Bee; Climate Signals background: Drought)

'Daunting And Complex' Process A Barrier To Disaster Relief: The system through which localities must apply for relief funding after a disaster like a hurricane or flooding often stands in the way of low-income communities and communities of color from receiving the aid they deserve and need, E&E reports. "It's a really daunting and complex program," Amelia Muccio, director of mitigation at Hagerty Consulting Inc., an emergency management firm, told E&E. "There is a barrier to entry." The Biden administration said it would double funding for climate pre-mitigation and relief, but the barrier to receiving those funds still poses a real problem for communities that lack the staff and expertise, or money to hire a consultant, needed to navigate the competitive post-disaster application system. "There are a lot of areas that are communities of color or low-income communities that are very much threatened by climate change," Adam Gordon, executive director of Fair Share Housing Center in New Jersey, told E&E. "Many are neighborhoods in cities or suburban areas or larger rural communities." (E&E $)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: From pollution to policing, this Asian-American group is expanding environmental justice in the Bay Area (Grist)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: Climate lawsuits snowball as South Americans seek a healthy environment (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

COP26: Paris [Agreement] rules must be wrapped up this year, says UN climate chief (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

ELECTRIFICATION: Newly revealed emails show utilities are desperate to avoid gas bans (Gizmodo)

METHANE: There’s a ticking climate time bomb in West Texas (Vox)

AGENCIES: ARPA-E’s new focus: bridging the valleys of death for clean tech R&D (Canary Media), Biden pitches plan to help poor buy flood insurance (E&E $)

EPA: Biden proposes EPA assistant administrator for equity (E&E $)

DOE: DOE announces projects to reduce CCS seismic, 'leakage' risks (E&E $), Granholm on pipelines: 'We want to build more' (E&E $)

DOI: The promise and pressures of Deb Haaland, the first Native American cabinet secretary (New York Times $)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: Biden plan boosts Army Corps' climate, justice missions (E&E $)

THE HILL: 'Death by a thousand cuts': how Congress continues to whittle away at a critical environmental policy (Grist), Republicans press EIA to model Biden's emissions reduction goals (Politico Pro $)

HOUSE: Democrat Melanie Stansbury wins US House race in New Mexico (AP, New Mexico Political Report)

SENATE: Joe Manchin: deeply disappointed in GOP and prepared to do absolutely nothing (Daily Beast), with GOP circling, Ossoff leans into climate change (Politico)

BUDGET: Biden budget would spend $2.25B on climate satellites (E&E $), Biden administration wants agriculture subsidies to help fight climate change (NPR), Biden would spend big on military energy, climate efforts (E&E $), what Biden's $6T budget plan means for energy (E&E $)

AMERICAN JOBS PLAN: What Joe Biden wants from this week’s critical infrastructure talks (Politico Pro $), Biden agenda meets critical crossroad over infrastructure (The Hill), bipartisan bloc urges green bank's inclusion in infrastructure bill (Politico Pro $)

POLITICS: With Trump gone, old fault lines in the climate movement reopen, complicating Biden’s path forward (InsideClimate News)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: G7 nations committing billions more to fossil fuel than green energy (The Guardian)

CITIES AND STATES AND DISENFRANCHISED TERRITORIES: Can fossil-fuel-dependent Wyoming build a more diverse economy? (Yale Climate Connections), first-ever [Miami, FL] heat chief to tackle warming's health woes (E&E $), House bill to shore up flood-prone NC areas gets panel’s OK (AP), private company takes over Puerto Rico power utility service (AP), report scrutinizes FCC response in Puerto Rico after Maria (AP)

FERC: AGs battle at FERC over social cost of carbon (E&E $)

IMPACTS: Flooding on Pearl Avenue: how residents of one Massachusetts neighborhood navigate climate change (WBUR), scientists link nearly 40% of heat-related deaths to human-induced climate change (Gizmodo, The Verge, Axios), in Brazil’s Amazon, rivers rise to record levels (AP)

HEAT: First day of meteorological summer brings excessive heat, fire concerns in California (Washington Post $), Western states sizzle under triple-digit temperatures (New York Times $)

HURRICANES: Scientists hope to steer robotic surfboards into hurricanes (Washington Post $)

DROUGHT: Best case? Worst case? The Colorado River & the culture of exceptionalism (Clean Technica), 'big risk': California farmers hit by drought change planting plans (Reuters), California faces another drought as lake beds turn to dust – a photo essay (The Guardian, photo essay), California's drought is so bad, farmers are ripping up almond trees (Gizmodo)

RENEWABLES: BP invests $220 million in US solar projects (Reuters), schools go solar as India's West Bengal state reaches for green goals (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

OIL & GAS: Oil CEO pay cuts highlight industry troubles (E&E $), oil and gas companies get enormous welfare, still lay off workers and enrich executives (Center for Media and Democracy), OPEC to increase oil output as global economy recovers (AP), OPEC, Russia seen gaining from climate activist wins (Reuters), Big Oil’s green-spending boost isn’t enough, IEA says (Bloomberg $)

COAL (COUNTRY): Can mining agency keep Biden's promise to coal country? (E&E $) 

UTILITIES: Duke Energy-linked political group reenters North Carolina utility debate (Energy News Network)

EVs: Did Ford's electric F-150 just shake up the home backup power market? (Canary Media)

JUSTICE IN A COURT OF LAW: Greensill burns US coal boss (Reuters)

ICMYI: Key readings on IEA’s ‘Net Zero by 2050’ report (Yale Climate Connections)

ACTIVISM: How artists are using their work to fuel liberation movements (Shondaland)

AGRICULTURE: White House adviser on bucking Biden's CCS push (E&E $)

BUSINESS: Dollar General among companies threatening biodiversity (E&E $)

FINANCE: Exxon-beating activist Engine No. 1 plans ETF to prod boardrooms (Bloomberg $), Bank of England's Bailey unconvinced by carbon capital rules (Reuters), investment firm Engine No. 1 prepares to launch Transform 500 ETF after Exxon win (Reuters)

BITCOIN: Anticipating pushback from finance, enviros move to regulate energy-intensive crypto mining (New York Focus)

INTERNATIONAL: “Australia’s Greta Thunberg” steps up climate change activism (Reuters), eleven EU countries oppose plan to prolong gas project funding (Reuters), Spain approves energy legislation to promote clean energy, curb prices (Reuters), UK funds group calls on G7 to bolster corporate climate disclosures (Reuters), Australian power generator takes Greenpeace to court (AP)

• ‘They’re shoving a pipe down our throat’: inside Winona LaDuke’s fight against Line 3 (CBS Local Minnesota)
• Local communities want to lead the fight for clean energy (Utility Dive, Alejandra Mejia Cunningham op-ed)
• The dangers of 'out of sight, out of mind' gas ban policies (Utility Dive, Dave Schryver op-ed)
• The altered destiny (Atmos, Kendriana Washington essay)
• FERC must fix its broken approach to pipelines (Canary Media, Max Sarinsky and Sarah Ladin op-ed)
• The mainstream climate change movement needs to get more creative (Teen Vogue, Mitzi Jonelle Tan op-ed)
• Why Denmark and Guinea are working together to tackle climate loss and damage (Climate Home, Oye Guilavogui, Flemming Møller Mortensen, and Birgitte Qvist-Sørensen op-ed)
• Shell’s historic loss in The Hague is a turning point in the fight against big oil (The Guardian, Tessa Khan op-ed)
• The ‘mean greens’ are forcing Exxon to clean up its act (New York Times, Thomas Friedman op-ed $)

Hackers Hit Big Meat- Expect Climate Disinfo About It, Because Deniers Lie For A Living

When the Green New Deal was first introduced, deniers falsely accused climate activists of wanting to take away Americans’ god-given right to enjoy as many cheeseburgers as we can. When natural gas and coal froze up in February, deniers blamed climate activists for pushing the state to adopt renewables by posting old pictures of frozen turbines. When hackers attacked the Colonial pipeline, the company’s decision to protect its billing capability by shutting down gas deliveries to a wide swath of the southeast, deniers blamed climate activists for convincing President Biden to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline, which would bring tar sands oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico for export. 

Now that hackers have hit JBS SA, the world’s biggest meat producer, no doubt deniers will use it as an excuse to blame climate activists for ever having dared to suggest maybe Americans tone down our per capita 2.4 burger-a-day habit. (It's worth noting this number includes poultry, as well as waste, so the "average American's" actual consumption isn't quite this high. But still...)

Over Memorial Day weekend, five of JBS’s biggest U.S. beef plants were shut down, as were slaughterhouses in Australia (where it’s the county’s biggest meat processor) and Canada. Overall, JBS produces about a quarter of U.S. beef, and a fifth of our pork. The White House has offered JBS assistance and is dealing directly with the Russian government since the company suspects the cyberattack is coming from a Russian criminal organization. One commodity market expert, Matt Dalgleish, told Bloomberg that it’ll just be “a minimal hiccup” if it only lasts a week, but any longer and “we’re going to see disruption to supply chains.” 

Since that sounds all-too-familiar, no doubt deniers will be ready to blame environmentalists. Actually, it’d be a surprise if they even waited for real impacts to be felt before they start casting stones, since that’s their whole deal. 

For example, Steve Milloy, having defended tobacco, fossil fuels, and an unhinged Q-anongresswoman, and fresh off being humiliated by ExxonMobil’s shareholders, is apparently turning his attention to the agricultural industry. He recently took to the notorious bastion-of-intellectual-honesty that is the Washington Times to warn of “Biden’s coming war on farmers.” 

The Biden administration isn’t going to encourage alternatives to meat because it's so expensive, or because eating the apparent American average of 2.4 burgers a day would be terrible for your health, or because the large-scale deforestation of the Amazon into grazing land for JBS cattle (and soy) is not just illegal (and yet also encouraged) and causes terrible biodiversity loss, or because the forest and adjacent land is a natural carbon sink, it’s terrible for the climate. Those issues are all unmentioned by Milloy. 

Instead, he claims that the Biden Administration is targeting farmers simply because they “tend to be strong Trump supporters” who “project disproportionate political power in Congress.” 

That sure sounds like a pretty weakly justified and highly partisan motivation for a famously moderate President, even by right-wing news standards. So what’s the real reason Milloy’s imagining a war? Because this is really just all about PM2.5 pollution, a staple issue of Milloy’s tobacco-to-fossil-fuels-to-farms career. Milloy just really loves these tiny soot particles, which are found in smoke from cigarettes, smog from fossil fuels, and dust and other airborne particles from farm machinery, tilling, fertilizers, burning fields, waste management, etc. 

Biden’s not planning any War on Meat, and in fact, his proposed budget would increase the Department of Agriculture’s budget by 17%, with a particular emphasis on helping farmers and ranchers understand, adapt to, and even profit off a changing climate. 

But the fact that Biden’s trying to help agriculture isn’t not stopping Milloy from doing a little war(on meat)mongering as his latest excuse to claim that the science of epidemiology is fake, and the EPA’s work on air pollution is a big hoax. He’s been saying that for decades on behalf of Big Tobacco and Big Oil as part of his unfortunately very real and well-documented war on air pollution science, so it’s safe to assume he’ll continue doing it until no one listens anymore.

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