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EPA Approved Exxon’s ‘Forever Chemical’ PFAS For Fracking In 2011: The EPA approved dangerous chemicals that break down into PFAS for use in fracking in 2011, according to records obtained by Physicians for Social Responsibility and reported by the New York Times. Despite EPA scientists having identified preliminary evidence the carcinogenic, and birth-defect-linked substances could degrade into those 'forever chemicals' and persist in the environment where it will “be toxic to people, wild mammals, and birds,” the agency approved their use in fracking. Records show Chemours (née Dupont) filed to use the chemical, though by 2015 Dupont had acknowledged the dangers and agreed to phase out certain PFAS chemicals. While there is no record of where exactly the chemicals have been used, another database of fracking chemicals set up by the industry, FracFocus, indicates at least 120 companies used the chemicals in more than 1,000 wells over the last decade. ExxonMobil told the New York Times, “We do not manufacture PFAS,” but the company’s lobbyist was recently caught on tape admitting that not only does the company manufacture the forever chemicals that “stay in the environment forever,” making “probably a few hundred million [dollars]” off of it, but they also covertly lobbied to keep it legal through front groups because once “it becomes ‘the ExxonMobil chemical’” then people will talk about how “‘ExxonMobil is poisoning our waterways,’” and at that point, he said, “the debate’s pretty much over.” (New York Times $)

PNW Heatwave Like ‘One Of Those Post-Apocalyptic Movies’: Less than two weeks after an extreme and deadly heatwave in the Pacific Northwest, the a heat dome broiled the West again this weekend as climate change caused by the combustion and extraction of fossil fuels continues to kill people, especially those who labor in fields and warehouses. The late-June heatwave, which killed nearly 200 people, would have been "virtually impossible" without climate change, according to an analysis from the World Weather Attribution group. Both Oregon and Washington passed new safety laws last week to protect workers especially vulnerable to heat. Not to be outdone, Death Valley hit 130°F on Friday, tying last year's record as the hottest temperature reliably recorded on planet Earth. Meanwhile, well over 1 billion tidal sea creatures have been cooked to death along the Pacific Coast in scenes University of British Columbia marine biologist Christopher Harley told the New York Times was "like one of those postapocalyptic movies." (Western heat dome: New York Times $, Washington Post $, Washington Post $, Bloomberg $, Reuters, Washington Post $, Bloomberg $; Vulnerable workers: InsideClimate News, The Guardian; Worker protection rules: The Oregonian, AP; Attribution study: AP, Buzzfeed, Washington Post $, Quartz, CNN, Reuters, CBS, Thomson Reuters Foundation, New York Times $, AP, The Hill; Death Valley: Earther, New York Times $, NBC, The Hill, Washington Post $, Mother Jones; Tidal deaths: New York Times $, National Observer, Modern Farmer, CNN, NPR; Climate Signals background: Extreme heat and heatwaves)

Deadly Western Wildfires Create Their Own Lightning As Officials Arrest Non-Evacuants: Wildfires fueled by extreme heat and drought continue to rage across the West Coast. Climate change exacerbates drought and heatwaves that set the stage for massive conflagrations, like the Sugar Fire in Northern California which doubled in size from Friday to Saturday and produced so much smoke and ash that, combined with the dry heat, created its own lightning storm. The Sugar Fire has since merged with other fires to create what is now known as the Beckwourth Complex Fire. In Oregon, the Bootleg Fire has burned through more than 143,000 acres of southwest Oregon, doubling every day for three consecutive days, with "fire behavior … among the most extreme you can find and firefighters are seeing conditions they have never seen before,” according to an incident commander there. The fire's extreme behavior threatened transmission lines delivering electricity to California and prompted officials to take the rare step of arresting people trying to enter or remain in the evacuation zone. In Arizona, two firefighters were killed in a plane crash while responding to a fire northeast of Wikieup Saturday afternoon. (Beckwourth Complex: LA Times $, Sacramento Bee $; Bootleg: Washington Post $, The Oregonian, New York Times $, Bloomberg $, AP; Arrests: Statesman Journal; Plane crash: NBC, CBS, AZ Central, Arizona Family, New York Times $, The Hill; Climate Signals background: Wildfires)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: ‘Patterns of discrimination’: how redlining fueled the heat wave (Atmos), ‘the real damage’: why FEMA is denying disaster aid to Black families that have lived for generations in the Deep South. (Washington Post $), an Indigenous group’s objection to geoengineering spurs a debate about social justice in climate science (InsideClimate News), car culture disproportionately kills Black Americans. The pandemic made things worse. (Grist), city heat is worse if you’re not rich or white. The world’s first heat officer wants to change that (TIME)

CORONAVIRUS: Delivering an inclusive COP26 in the age of Covid-19 requires more than vaccines (Climate Home)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: ‘One more mine does make a difference’: Australian children argue for the climate – and the law agrees (The Guardian), Australian government to appeal ruling that it must protect children from climate harm (The Guardian, Reuters)

DENIAL: Fox’s new channel changes the climate for weather TV (New York Times $, Earther, HuffPost )

CENTRAL BANKS: Europe’s central bank intensifies focus on climate change (AP, E&E $), Fed's Quarles seeks global coordination on climate-related financial risk (Reuters, Bloomberg $)

WHEELING AND DEALING: How big oil keeps a grip on New Mexico – with the help of a major lobbyist (The Guardian and Carlsbad Current Argus)

GREYS FERRY: Two years after a huge refinery fire in Philadelphia, a new day has come for its long-suffering neighbors (InsideClimate News)

AGENCIES: Vacancies remain in key Biden administration positions (Washington Post $), EPA keeps Trump coal ash rules (E&E $), top EPA official visits Ford privately: why he was there (Detroit Free Press), Biden admin halts major Arizona project Trump OK'd (E&E $), Interior poised to nix uranium from 'critical mineral' list (E&E $)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: Yellen: US regulators to assess risk posed by climate change (AP, The Hill, Bloomberg $)

LAWSUITS: North Dakota joins legal war over Biden oil leasing pause (E&E $)

THE HILL: Democrats wrestle over control of the infrastructure throttle (Politico)

HOUSE: House Republicans quietly seek climate earmarks (E&E $), lawmakers float $25.8B rehab plan for crumbling dams (E&E $)

SENATE: Manchin energy bill to get committee vote July 14 (Politico Pro $), Schumer warns August recess in danger as infrastructure work piles up (The Hill)

THAT'S A LOT OF PEOPLE (AND MONEY): Biden’s clean energy plan would cut emissions and save 317,000 lives (The Guardian), Clean electricity standard carries $1.8T upside — study (E&E $)

POLITICS: Groups notch win in fight against utility lobbying (E&E $)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: DOE taps former Steyer, Newsom aide for key policy role (E&E $), left-wing groups criticize Biden Treasury nominee over work for Exxon, Wall Street (The Hill)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Threatened countries say they can't wait for climate funding (E&E $), G20 finance ministers under pressure to deliver climate funding for poor (Thomson Reuters Foundation), developing nations, UN seek clear plan for promised climate finance (Thomson Reuters Foundation), finance ministers meet in Venice to finalize global tax agreement (New York Times $)

CITIES AND STATES: Cities want to ban natural gas in new construction. State lawmakers are blocking them (Canary Media), 4 state trends remaking U.S. electricity (E&E $), Eric Adams has plans for New York, beyond public safety (New York Times $), Gianforte ends Montana’s climate change coalition membership (AP), many cities want to plant trees. Why are some residents reluctant? (Yale Climate Connections), A cool idea for low-income urban areas hard hit by warming climate: More trees (Washington Post $)

CALIFORNIA: California oil regulators deny new fracking permits (AP, Politico Pro $), California scrambles to find electricity this summer as Blackout risks grow (Wall Street Journal $)

TEXAS: Gas sellers reaped $11 billion windfall during Texas freeze (Bloomberg $)

FERC: [FERC]: Endangered salmon can co-exist with dams on Kennebec [River in Maine] (AP), FERC to launch transmission rulemaking at July meeting (Politico Pro $), largest grid operator advances overhaul of FERC market rule (E&E $)

IMPACTS: Smoke, extreme heat pose harsh test for West Coast vineyards (AP), cities along Great Lakes face rising water and costs (E&E $), starving Florida manatees dying at record-breaking rate (E&E $), thawing permafrost has damaged the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and poses an ongoing threat (InsideClimate News), rising seas threaten mansions yet to be built (The Guardian), 

HEAT: Analysts dissect historic Pacific Northwest ‘heat dome’ (Yale Climate Connections), Why record-breaking overnight temperatures are so concerning (New York Times $), California's Central Valley residents try to stay cool in record heat (NPR), Finland on course for record hot summer as heatwave stifles Nordic region (Reuters, AP), how heatwaves became climate change’s silent killer (FT $), NOAA confirms last month was hottest June ever in US (The Hill), power producer urges conservation as Vegas hits record high (AP), record June heat in North America and Europe linked to climate change (FT $), the science behind heat waves (Earther), the science of heat domes and how drought and climate change make them worse (Washington Post $)

DROUGHT: Reservoirs are drying up as consequences of the Western drought worsen (Washington Post $), ‘Unrecognizable.’ Lake Mead, a lifeline for water in Los Angeles and the West, tips toward crisis (LA Times $), is California ready for brown lawns and shorter showers? Drought requires less water use (LA Times $)

WILDFIRES: Wildfires threaten all of the West — and [Latinos] more than others (Politico), the warming climate is sparking wildfires on the East Coast (NPR), heat wave spread fire that ‘erased’ Canadian town (New York Times $, CBC)

ELSA: Elsa soaks NYC and New England as it races up East Coast (AP, Washington Post $), heavy rains pound New York City, flooding subway stations and roads (New York Times $), Ocasio-Cortez slams infrastructure critics as New York suffers from Elsa-related flooding (The Hill)

INFRASTRUCTURE: Why the New York subway has a water problem (New York Times $)

WE'LL GIVE YOU ONE GUESS: Lake Tahoe's famously clear water is murky - here's what's causing it (San Francisco Chronicle)

SURFSIDE COLLAPSE: Florida, the land of gleaming condos, frets after collapse (New York Times $), Surfside condo collapse could reshape Miami's real estate market (NBC)

RENEWABLES: Corporate solar interest surges as companies exit pandemic and turn focus to ESG issues (Utility Dive), how America's biggest roofer is going solar (E&E $), Maine prohibiting offshore wind projects in state waters (The Hill), top developer submits bid for second phase of offshore wind project in Maryland (Maryland Matters), more power lines or rooftop solar panels: the fight over energy’s future (New York Times $), 'Teflon Elon' faces new courtroom test in Solarcity trial (Bloomberg $, FT $, Reuters), how solar panels on farmland could help California fix its water and power crises (LA Times $), rise in cremations opens unused cemetery space to new solar projects (WBUR)

EFFICIENCY: New York entrepreneur seeks to bring energy efficiency to more communities (Reuters), on Virginia military base, efficiency upgrades produce savings and resilience (Energy News Network), Updated Minnesota conservation program aims to close ‘pre-weatherization’ gap (Energy News Network)

OIL & GAS: American frackers show restraint as oil tops $70 (Wall Street Journal $), behind OPEC deadlock, one petro-state looks to non-oil future (Wall Street Journal $), the Gulf of Mexico was on fire. It might happen again (E&E $), why the OPEC+ crisis has sparked an oil price frenzy (Bloomberg $)

PIPELINES: EPA recommends against granting Mountain Valley Pipeline permits (Politico Pro $)

COAL (COUNTRY): Coal shows its staying power as economies bounce back (Wall Street Journal $, E&E $), no bids for over 70% of Indian coal mines up for auction (Reuters), West Virginia is trading Trump for tech workers (Politico)

WATER: A massive water recycling proposal could help ease drought (Grist), drought-stricken western districts plan new ways to store water (Bloomberg $)

GRID: PJM Board approves new MOPR plan in effort to placate states, FERC (Utility Dive)

AVIATION: Brussels targets aviation fuel tax in drive to reduce carbon emissions (FT $), want to end flying shame? Meet sustainable jet fuel (Bloomberg $)

CARBON PRICING: Carbon IOUs? A new plan to make companies pay back their climate debt (Grist), critics and backers urge tough rules to revive ailing carbon markets (Thomson Reuters Foundation), G20 recognizes carbon pricing as climate change tool for first time (Reuters), carbon offset trading is taking off before any rules are set (Bloomberg $)

CARBON CAPTURE: Insurer: carbon-removal industry must rival Big Oil in size (E&E $)

FINANCE: Blackrock’s Fink urges World Bank, IMF overhaul for green era (Bloomberg $), BlackRock CEO calls for stronger climate finance plan at G20 meet (Reuters), IMF board backs $650 billion aid plan to help poor countries (New York Times $)

OLIGARCHY: Countdown to billionaire space race raises climate questions (E&E $)

ONLINE SHOPPING: The prime effect: the environmental footprint behind the world's largest online retailer (WBUR)

WILDLIFE: Southern Australian sharks and rays being ‘cornered’ by climate change (Sydney Morning Herald)

INTERNATIONAL: EU to urge 2035 goal to end combustion-engine era in autos (Bloomberg $), Argentina pitches green debt swap, with the Pope’s blessing (Climate Home), deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest rises for fourth straight month (Reuters), France drops plans to enshrine climate fight in constitution (New York Times $)

• Another road is possible (Environmental Health News, Cynthia Palmer op-ed)
• To solve the climate crisis, look to the leaders on the front lines (The Hill, Elizabeth Yeampierre op-ed)
• How the white press wrote off Black America (New York Times, Brent Staples op-ed $)
• Trump gave automakers what they wanted. Biden shouldn’t. (New York Times, Daniel F. Becker and James Gerstenzang op-ed $)
• Why it matters that climate change is shrinking birds (The Hill, Brian Weeks op-ed)
• Texas is a world leader in clean energy, and Gov. Greg Abbott wants to ruin that (Houston Chronicle, Chris Tomlinson column)
• Leaving climate provisions out of infrastructure package is bad policy — and bad politics (The Hill, Marcela Mulholland and Danielle Deiseroth)
• Dear progressives: You can’t fight climate change by going soft on China (Washington Post, Isaac Stone Fish column $)
• Equities are the only sensible foundation for private pensions (FT, Martin Wolf op-ed $)
• For sustainable finance to work, we will need central planning (FT, Max Krahé op-ed $)
• California wakes up from its dream (New York Times, Miriam Pawel $)
• Fossil fuel tax breaks undermine carbon tax progress (Energy Monitor, Nick Ferris column)
• Environmental journalism's replacement cycle (Environmental Health News, Peter Dykstra column)
• In Indigenous knowledge, innovative solutions (New York Times, Rachel Cernansky commentary $)
• Here come the climate protectionists (Wall Street Journal, Editorial Board $)
• To beat climate change in California, rural farming needs to move North (San Francisco Chronicle, Jeremiah Ramirez op-ed)
• Chuck Schumer is ready to break Democrats’ fealty to the “clean gas” lie (New Republic, Kate Aronoff column)
• Biden’s best ally in his push to upgrade infrastructure for climate change? Climate change. (Washington Post, Philip Bump analysis $)
• Farmers like me want to join the fight against climate change. But we need help (CNN, Vanessa Kummer op-ed)
• As extreme weather intensifies, a growing need for private-sector engagement in government (Washington Post, Tim Gallaudet op-ed $)
• Bretton Woods could use a green transition reboot (Reuters, George Hay commentary)
• The Surfside tragedy has raised questions about Florida’s anti-regulatory history (Washington Post, Jason Vuic op-ed $)
• The Cold War is a poor analogy for today’s U.S.-China tensions (Washington Post, Ryan Hass interview $)

The Denier Roundup will return tomorrow.

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