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Army Corps To Review One Enbridge Pipeline As Arrests Continue Over Another: The Biden administration said it will review Enbridge's controversial Line 5 pipeline, as arrests of Indigenous water protectors fighting to stop the company's construction of it's Line 3 tar sands oil pipeline continue. The Army Corps of Engineers said Wednesday it would mount an extensive review of the Line 5 pipeline, which lies on the floor of the environmentally ultra-sensitive Straits of Mackinac, a move welcomed by Native groups and environmental advocates. In what is now Minnesota, police arrested multiple water protectors at a prayer lodge built on lands guaranteed for use by Ojibwe people for hunting, fishing and gathering under the 1855 Treaty. Other water protectors locked themselves to drilling equipment on Wednesday after Enbridge began drilling operations near Red Lake River without a tribal monitor present on Monday. “I come from stolen Monacan and Tutelo land where the Mountain Valley Pipeline is being constructed. I believe that from the hills to the headwaters we need to act in solidarity with all people resisting extraction in their communities,” one of those water protectors said in a statement. (Line 5: AP, Politico Pro $, Reuters, The Hill, Detroit Free Press, Michigan Radio, Detroit News, E&E $, Washington Examiner; Line 3: Indian Country Today, Truthout)

Wildfires Destruction Threatens Drinking Water Supplies: Wildfire damage is threatening drinking water supplies across the West long after the blazes are put out, the New York Times reports. Increasingly vicious wildfires, fueled by climate change, are exposing huge swaths of hill- and mountainside to increased erosion which in turn can obstruct and foul drinking water supplies for years. At best, this raises costs for municipalities forced to maintain pipes clogged with debris and at worst makes the water untreatable, forcing localities to seek alternative water sources in the midst of an epic megadrought. The lengthened fire season is only exacerbating the problem. “We’ve got a month to two months to do as much work as we possibly can in advance of those big monsoon rains,” Jennifer Kovecses, former executive director of the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed near Fort Collins, CO, told the Times. “But at the end of the summer we’re probably still going to have some black water coming down the river.” (New York Times $; Climate Signals background: Wildfires, Drought)

Climate Change Threatens Yellowstone National Park Snow And Geysers: Climate change is driving up temperatures and reducing snowfall at Yellowstone National Park, USGS and university scientists say. The report paints a bleak assessment of the nation's oldest national park with temperatures rising as much as 10°F (5.6°C) by the end of the century, on top of the 2°F (1.1°C) of warming already experienced since 1950. The report also finds the park, which has already seen annual snowfall drop by nearly 2 feet since 1950, will see even less snow in the future. Drought, including reduced snowpack, could also cause the park's iconic geysers, including Old Faithful, to erupt less frequently. Yellowstone's vulnerability to climate change is not merely a future concern, however. Park officials say fire danger in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks are 'high' and 'very high' respectively, with more hot and dry weather coming in the weeks ahead. (AP, E&E $, The Conversation, Yale Environment 360; Fire risk: AP; Climate Signals background: Drought, Wildfires)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: How homeowners of color are threatened by climate change — and climate policy (Grist), from ‘political correctness’ to critical race theory: how the right manufactures its boogeymen (The Real News), Native Americans decry unmarked graves, untold history of boarding schools (Reuters), when record-breaking summer heat hits, the effects of warming are far from equal (Santa Barbara Independent)

COP26: Britain will not demand climate talks delegates be vaccinated against COVID-19 (Reuters)

GREENWASHING: Fossil fuel firms face new challenge over 'greenwashing' ads (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: Exxon must face Massachusetts lawsuit alleging climate change deceit (Reuters, E&E $, Seeking Alpha), Biden admin fires back at red states in Juliana (E&E $)

DENIAL: Tucker Carlson thinks climate change is a conspiracy to shrink your kids (Earther)

COLONIAL PIPELINE: Colonial hit with class-action lawsuit over ransomware hack (E&E $, Bloomberg $)

ILLUSTRATIVE METAPHORS: Five people injured when pedestrian bridge collapses onto D.C. highway (Washington Post $, KALB, USA Today, CNN), pedestrian bridge had been given ‘poor' rating before collapsing onto DC-295; 5 hospitalized (NBC Washington)

CLIMATE CHANGE IS HERE: Stay or go? Climate-disaster victims face wrenching decision (E&E News)

MERCED GAS EXPLOSION: Merced County Jail kitchen inoperable after gas leak leading to explosion (Danbury News Times)

INFRASTRUCTURE GANG AGREEMENT: 'We are very close': Biden to meet with bipartisan group (E&E $), bipartisan group of senators to brief Biden on infrastructure ‘framework’ after potential breakthrough in talks (Washington Post $, Politico Pro $, Wall Street Journal $), senators say a deal with the White House is in hand on infrastructure (Politico Pro $)

PNW HEATWAVE: A 'record-breaking and dangerous' heat wave is about to hit the West Coast (Earther, Reuters, Axios, Washington Post $)

AGENCIES: DOT expands investigation into Texas highway project (Politico Pro $), FEMA pressed on historically high rejection rates for disaster survivors (Washington Post $), SEC chair provides more detail on new disclosure rules, Treasury market reform (Reuters, Politico Pro $)

DOI: Interior Sec. says no plan 'right now' to ban new oil, gas leasing (Reuters), Haaland suggests support for drought funding boost (E&E $), Deb Haaland announces 'painful' investigation into boarding schools set up to assimilate Native Americans (People, Arizona Public Media, Alaska Public Media, E&E $, The Guardian), vacant positions frustrate as BLM HQ decision looms (E&E $)

THE HILL: How Dems still might get a clean electricity standard (E&E $), Pelosi and Schumer pilot turbulent Biden agenda behind the scenes (Politico Pro $)

HOUSE: Bipartisan duo tries again on clean electricity standard (E&E $, Washington Examiner), House Democrats approve bill to expand big bank disclosures (Politico Pro $), House Republicans form Conservative Climate Caucus (Axios, AP), House Republicans aim to use private sector to tackle climate change (Reuters)

SENATE: Bennet introduces drilling reform, orphaned well bills (E&E $), ag climate bill to get Senate vote on Thursday (Politico Pro $)

WHITE HOUSE: The US bans imports of some chinese solar panel materials tied to forced labor (New York Times $, Bloomberg $, Politico Pro $), Biden climate adviser McCarthy warns of Western water scarcity (Politico Pro $)

INFRASTRUCTURE BILL(S): Democrats stuck in dual traffic jams on their ‘two-track’ infrastructure strategy (Politico Pro $)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: Biden taps ex-prosecutor [David Uhlmann] to lead EPA enforcement (E&E $), Republican opposition to BLM nominee [Tracy Stone-Manning] grows (E&E $), Murkowski opposes Stone-Manning for BLM (E&E $), Senate confirms pick for DOE congressional liaison (E&E $)

CITIES AND STATES: Bringing back trees to 'Forest City's' redlined areas helps residents and the climate (NPR), cities need cash to play leading climate role, OECD says (Reuters), first-time candidate India Walton set to become buffalo’s first female mayor after upset (The Root)

CALIFORNIA: Newsom misled public about progress of wildfire prevention efforts, report finds (Axios), why are Californians being asked to turn up the heat? (New York Times $)

OREGON: Bill aimed at electricity emissions would ban new gas plants (E&E $), Oregon bill targets 100% clean power by 2040, with labor and environmental justice on board (Canary Media)

FERC: 'An unprecedented mess': DC Circuit rejects FERC approval of existing Spire gas pipeline (Utility Dive), FERC complaint: Grid operator causing transmission delays (E&E $)

IMPACTS: Clinic aims to prevent health issues brought on by extreme weather disasters (NPR), Arctic heat roasts Finland and Russia, melts sea ice (Axios), new climate research from a year-long arctic expedition raises an ozone alarm in the High North (InsideClimate News), cotton industry unprepared for climate change threat to crop and farmers (Thomson Reuters Foundation), Great Barrier Reef row piles pressure on Australia for climate action (Thomson Reuters Foundation), watermills grind to a halt as erratic weather hits Kashmir grains (Thomson Reuters Foundation), IPCC steps up warning on climate tipping points in leaked draft report (The Guardian, France24), glaciers all over the world are shrinking fast—see for yourself (Bloomberg $), melting arctic ice pits Russia against US and China for control of new shipping route (Wall Street Journal $)

FROGS ARE NEXT: Western drought brings another woe: voracious grasshoppers (AP)

HURRICANES: Mobile homes and hurricanes: the true cost of ‘affordable’ housing (Atmos)

DROUGHT: Satellite images show just how bad California’s drought is (The Verge), these parts of California are most vulnerable to drought (San Francisco Chronicle), climate change is threatening the US West's water supply (NPR), WFP says communities on verge of starvation in Madagascar after drought (Reuters)

AGRICULTURE: As some farmers hit climate limits, bolder steps needed to survive (Thomson Reuters Foundation), without ‘transformative adaptation’ climate change may threaten the survival of millions of small scale farmers (InsideClimate News)

RENEWABLES: Most new wind and solar projects will be cheaper than coal, report finds (The Guardian), solar industry’s ties to China’s Xinjiang region raise specter of forced labor (Washington Post $), Illinois solar training program aims to build path for diverse workforce (Energy News Network), US solar developers see opportunity in America's post-industrial lands (Reuters)

EFFICIENCY: ‘Reports of energy efficiency's death are greatly exaggerated.' The cost keeps falling as the resource grows (Utility Dive), what's the best way to help the climate and people, too? home improvement (NPR)

OIL & GAS: The key to the shale boom? 3 federal subsidies (E&E $), Shale’s 400% rise in frack crews not enough to boost output (Bloomberg $), this gas utility has agreed to stop building a contentious Brooklyn pipeline — for now (Grist), Exxon prepares to cull US white-collar ranks by as much as 10% (Bloomberg $)

METHANE: Gas infrastructure across Europe leaking planet-warming methane (Reuters)

PLASTICS: Growth firms see plastic waste as an investment opportunity (Wall Street Journal $), groups urge NPS to ban sales of plastic water bottles (E&E $), Lego makes experimental brick from recycled plastic bottles (AP)

PIPELINES: Dakota Access lawsuit dismissed; future challenges possible (AP)

COAL: Power company to close Illinois coal ash ponds threatening river (E&E $)

MINERALS: Why critical mineral supplies won’t scupper the energy transition (Energy Monitor), a mining startup's rush for underwater metals comes with deep risks (Bloomberg $)

EVs: Electric vehicles seen reaching sales supremacy by 2033, faster than expected (Bloomberg $), electric vehicle chargers will soon go up on street light poles in Kansas City (Yale Climate Connections), Shell and GM unveil partnership on Texas power and car-charging (Axios), Tesla opens solar charging station in Tibet, its first in China (Reuters), Tesla tops American-made list. Can EV rivals catch up? (E&E $)

STEEL: Green steel is picking up steam in Europe (Canary Media)

WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON: The Supreme Court’s latest union-busting decision goes far beyond California farmworkers (Slate, LA Times $, NBC, USA Today, Wall Street Journal $, New York Times $, CNN, E&E $, Washington Post $, NPR)

THEY ALREADY HAVE THIS ON TATOOINE: New device creates water from thin air (Earther)

ACTIVISM: For some evangelical Christians, climate action is a God-given mandate (Grist)

BUSINESS: Corporate demand drives renewables as Amazon becomes world’s largest buyer (Forbes, PV Mag, Washington Examiner), Amazon and other tech giants race to buy up renewable energy (Wall Street Journal $)

CARBON PRICING: Carbon tax ‘risk’ already driving down emissions, San Francisco Fed says (Washington Examiner)

CARBON CAPTURE: Venture Global can build Louisiana carbon capture after getting permits (Reuters)

FINANCE: A major new index fund should unnerve climate-skeptical CEOs (The Atlantic), ESG targets of big mining companies (Reuters f]actbox), global regulators to introduce first oversight of ESG raters (Reuters)

SHIPPING: Can massive cargo ships use wind to go green? (New York Times $)

INTERNATIONAL: Brazil’s environment minister resigns amid criticism, probes (AP), Brazilian fishing communities fight to stay in protected forest (Thomson Reuters Foundation), police tear gas indigenous protest for land rights in Brazil (Reuters), Canada's 2030 climate goals challenging to achieve, says budgetary watchdog (Reuters), Climate watchdog says Britain lacks a strategy to meet its goals (New York Times $, AP, Climate Home), China to use more natural gas in energy mix to 2035 - CNPC (Reuters)

MADLIB HEADLINES: Turkish businessman arrested [in Austria] in [biodiesel fraud] scheme with Utah polygamists (AP)

• Helicopter science doesn’t work—environmental justice comes from empowered communities (Environmental Health News, Dana Williamson op-ed)
• The hydrogen molecule's 'moonshot' moment (Utility Dive, Neva Espinoza op-ed)
• Analysis: Greener oil or green industry? Gridlock puts Norway in a bind (Reuters, Nora Buli and Nerijus Adomaitis analysis)
• CO2 removal can boost NM economy, fight climate change (Albuquerque Journal, Robert Balch op-ed)
• Can California start taking droughts seriously, please? (New York Times, Farhad Manjoo column $)

Tucker Carlson Puts New Spin On Old Climate Lockdowns and Human Engineering Myths

Apparently fresh out of GOP operatives to cast as ordinary parents who are very worried about their children learning about racism, or “Critical Race Theory”, Tucker Carlson took some time this week to indulge some other fantasies designed to enrage his already violence-prone and anti-anti-racist audience. 

This time, it was with a monologue-turned-FoxNews-story alleging “scientists want to use human engineering to solve climate change,” before bringing on Marc Morano to rehash his year-old paranoid delusion that Democrats are working on turning the Covid lockdowns into “climate lockdowns.” 

Carlson, who FoxNews admits in court shouldn’t ever be taken seriously, used an old clip of a scientist talking about how we need to figure out the ethics of genetic experimentation, because of its potential for solving big problems like climate change, while Morano described an explicit warning against climate lockdowns as a call to institute them. 

Worth noting that neither of these are new lies. But what is new is the context, in that both scientists were at least tangentially somewhat connected to recurring rightwing scapegoats, the World Health Organization and Google/YouTube.

After a rant that’s only coherent to level 10 or above FoxNews brains about Covid-19 being engineered by China and maybe Google, Carlson jumps to a tape “from a few years ago.” In it,  bioethicist Dr. Matthew Liao talks about the power and peril of genetic engineering and why it’s so important to have “a really robust ethical framework.” Because big problems, like climate change, could potentially be addressed by things like letting people volunteer to be given an allergy to red meat, or shrinking down children so humanity uses fewer resources.  

According to Calrson, Liao “outlined some of his proposals” to solve climate change with human engineering “in a recent paper in the Journal of ‘Ethics, Policy & Environment.’” But apparently Tucker’s meaning of “recent” is just some time barely within the last decade, because Liao’s paper was published back in 2012, and he hasn’t written anything about it since. In fact, it’s been so long since this idea was floated that the movie made about it, starring Matt Damon, is apparently already so forgotten that Carlson felt comfortable pretending it was new, because it was posted on YouTube, and YouTube is owned by Google, and Big Tech is working with WHO and China. Not exactly a smoking gun... 

Marc Morano’s segment was similarly stale, as he’s been trying to pretend that climate advocates want a Covid-style lockdown for over a year now. His paranoid delusion got a boost back in the fall of 2020, when an economics professor at University College London named Mariana Mazzucato published an op-ed in Project Syndicate arguing for climate action now, explicitly to avoid a climate lockdown in the future.  

Why is Carlson inviting Morano on to discuss a months-old online op-ed warning against climate lockdowns as being evidence that Democrats like President Biden are on the verge of instituting one any day now? 

Potentially because Mazzucato has since become the chair of a WHO council, and Morano’s blog cited another crackpot Kit Knightly’s fresh blog asking “is a ‘climate lockdown’ on the horizon?” Knightly cites Bill Gates' and George Soros' funding of Project Syndicate, and Mazzucato’s appointment to a WHO council that was made a month after the post was written, to say “in short: an economist who works for the WHO has written a report concerning ‘climate lockdowns’...” 

Notice how careful Knightly is to leave readers with an impression that the WHO paid Mazzucato to write a report, when the reality is that the lockdown warning was little more than a one-off op-ed by someone who doesn’t focus on climate and then took an unrelated advisory position on a WHO council on global health investments.

But of course all that careful nuance is lost on Morano and Carlson, who package these old misrepresentations as fresh new fearmongering content. 

Because not only is Fox News not really news, it’s not even new!

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