FIRST LOOK

In Bring Your Own Brigade, British film-maker Lucy Walker explores the California tragedies of 2018 and a crisis that continues to rage on. Read more about the film here and where/how to watch it here. 

Dixie Fire Destroys Greenville California: The Dixie Fire engulfed Greenville, California, Wednesday, reducing much of the Plumas County town to heaps of smoldering rubble. "Downtown Greenville is devastated. There had been speculation, but now there is video to prove it," the Plumas News reports. The fire is the largest currently burning in California, driven by high winds and extremely low humidity. Supercharged by high heat and drought, both fueled by climate change, the Dixie Fire shows no signs of slowing with 35 mph winds and single digit humidity forecast through Thursday. (Plumas News, KCRA, SGATE, San Francisco Chronicle, New York Times $, AP, LA Times $; Climate Signals background: 2021 Western Wildfire Season, Drought, Extreme heat and heatwaves)

Biden Administration Set To Accelerate Car Pollution Cuts: The Biden administration is set to announce strengthened emissions and fuel efficiency standards and call for half of new car sales in 2030 to be either EVs or plug-in hybrids. The EPA and DOE rulemakings on emissions and fuel efficiency represent the Biden administration's biggest regulatory action so far to cut the nation's climate pollution. Labor leaders and auto company executives will join Biden at the White House for the announcement of the new rulemaking and the signing of his executive order on EVs. (Washington Post $, AP, Detroit News, New York Times $, New York Times $, The Hill, Consumer Reports, Bloomberg $)

Court Orders FERC To Reconsider LNG Terminals' EJ Impacts: FERC must reconsider the climate and environmental justice impacts of two proposed LNG terminals, the federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. While the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit did not throw out the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's approval of the terminals — which would both be built in predominantly low-income communities and communities of color near the Port of Brownsville, Texas — the unanimous ruling is a victory for community and environmental groups. The court's decision comes as Democrats on the Hill have sought to increase attention on the currently vacant seat on the commission with their Hot FERC Summer campaign. (Reuters, E&E $, Politico Pro $)

Global Flood Zone Population Growing: Tens of millions of people around the globe are moving into flood zones as climate change increases flood risks worldwide, a new study published Wednesday in Nature finds. Using satellite imagery, the researchers found the alarming migration into flood-prone areas is as much as 10 times larger than previously thought. The trends are most pronounced in the Global South and are worst for those unable to afford safer places to live. (Washington Post $, BBC, CNN, The Verge, MIT Technology Review, The Guardian, Grist; Climate Signals background: Flooding) 

NOAA Increases Hurricane Forecast: The Atlantic Hurricane season is set to accelerate beyond earlier estimates. NOAA now predicts the 2021 season will see 15-21 named storms, including 7-10 hurricanes, 3-5 of which will be Category 3 or higher. Those new predictions increase its May forecast for named storms and hurricanes. The new forecasts, combined with the recent lull in Atlantic Basin activity set the stage for an exceptionally rapid-fire peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. (Washington Post $, Bloomberg $, AP) (Axios, USA Today, New York Times $; Climate Signals background: Hurricanes)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: A Black community in Northeast D.C. is surrounded by industrial pollution. The city plans to add more. (Washington Post $), life on the Houston Fifth Ward’s plume (Environmental Health News), Africa is the continent without climate data (Bloomberg $)

INFRASTRUCTURE BILL(S): As infrastructure bill inches forth, a rocky, slow path awaits in the House (New York Times $), bipartisan $1 trillion Senate infrastructure bill focuses on nuclear, carbon capture, transmission (Utility Dive), the infrastructure deal is not not a climate bill: here are five ways of looking at the Senate's bipartisan proposal (The Atlantic), flood insurance hikes would be capped by infrastructure amendment (Politico Pro $), Infrastructure bill offers FERC a powerful tool in transmission fights (Politico Pro $), slow slog in US Senate for $1 trillion infrastructure bill (Reuters), why mainstream media struggles to explain the infrastructure plan’s climate spending (New Republic), advocates, lawmakers question White House lead pipe assurances (E&E $), Manchin: Energy committee will get $200 billion in reconciliation push (Politico Pro $), Biden's lofty climate goals might be short-changed as details of reconciliation bill emerge (Washington Post $)

HALLOWED GROUND: Developer of Ocean City wind farm plans Sparrows Point steel fabrication hub to serve expansion, larger industry (Baltimore Sun), offshore wind to revive ‘hallowed ground’ for U.S. steel (E&E $)

HISTORY LESSON: How the science linking climate change to extreme weather took off (Climate Home)

GREENWASHING: Exxon, API bought $8M in Facebook green-washing ads — report (E&E $)

OLYMPICS: Tokyo faces stifling heat and then a tropical storm as Olympics near their end (Washington Post $)

AGENCIES: The exodus of expertise under Trump (New York Times $), FEMA knows a lot about climate-driven flooding. But it’s not pushing homeowners hard enough to buy insurance (InsideClimate News)

EPA: Letter shows Texas, oil sector split on EPA methane rules (E&E $)

DOE: Biden rolls back more Trump-era DOE efficiency standards (E&E $)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: Treasury's Yellen touts infrastructure bill as reducing economic inequality (Reuters)

LAWSUITS: Court: Interior oil drilling permits don’t violate NEPA (E&E $)

HOUSE: ‘Our movement moved mountains’: How Cori Bush’s protest led to a new eviction moratorium (The 19th* News), Tlaib to introduce $40B bill to cancel household water, electric, broadband debt (Detroit News)

SENATE: Senate Democrats target Big Oil for carbon polluters fund (Reuters), reconciliation could create a new kind of climate job (The Verge), ‘socially vulnerable’ communities targeted for flood aid (E&E $), Senate appropriators surpass House in energy, water spending (Politico Pro $), Senate GOP shifts focus to fight over Biden's $3.5 trillion budget (The Hill), what to expect from Senate Energy-Water bill — with earmarks (E&E $)

WHITE HOUSE: The 'car guy' president wants Americans to go electric (Politico Pro $)

POLITICS: Environment groups plan pro-climate pressure campaign during August recess (CNN), youth organizations call on Biden to ensure 'bold' climate investments (The Hill)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: DOE science nominee to lawmakers: stop worrying about China (E&E $)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Kerry names G20 climate holdouts, slams Trump for destroying U.S. credibility (Axios)

CITIES AND STATES: Meet the New Yorkers who want to map the city's heat islands (E&E $), [New Mexico] seeks to reduce risk of abandoned mines (New Mexico Political Report), Louisiana needs sand to rebuild its coast. Old oil and gas pipelines are blocking the way. (Washington Post $)

TEXA$: Energy industry showers Gov. Greg Abbott, other Texas politicians with campaign cash after they passed power grid bills (Texas Tribune), tribes sue feds to stop Texas oil terminal expansion (E&E $)

FERC: Gas projects reveal FERC’s environmental justice conundrum (E&E $), infrastructure deal targets FERC public outreach (E&E $)

PUBLIC OPINION: Floridians (almost) all agree on stronger environmental protections (Axios)

IMPACTS: Disaster justice (Atmos), brutal heatwave scorches southern Europe as continent’s summer of extreme weather rages on (CNN), Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket face dire climate change impact (AP), the Northeast’s hemlock trees face extinction. A tiny fly could save them. (Grist), why so many dead fish are washing up on Florida’s beaches (Vox)

FROM THE STANDPOINT OF SIZE, HEAT, AND WATER: Future natural disasters: Bigger, hotter, wetter (E&E $)

DROUGHT: Drought-stricken Colorado mulls water measuring for agriculture (Bloomberg Law), farmers race to save their cattle from Canada’s drought (New York Times $), wracked by drought, California will cut water for many farmers. (New York Times $)

WILDFIRES: Burn scars can have lasting impacts on communities for years after wildfire (New Mexico Political Report), hot, gusty weather could mean explosive fire growth in West (AP), US forest fires threaten carbon offsets as company-linked trees burn (FT $), Winds push massive wildfires across western states (ABC)

RIVER FIRE: Thousands evacuate fast-moving California wildfire; homes burn (Reuters)

WILDFIRES, EURASIA: Turkish town evacuated as wildfire reaches power station (The Guardian, Reuters, AP, France 24, Al Jazeera), first the record heat came to Greece, then the deadly wildfires (Axios PHOTOS), record wildfires and heat sweep across Greece, threatening historic sites (Earther), Mediterranean has become a 'wildfire hotspot', EU scientists say (Reuters), Turkey’s burned forests now an environmental battleground (AP), wildfires: 'a new part of our reality' in warming Europe (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

HURRICANES: Researchers want 'zoomies' to replace the standard hurricane forecast cone (CNN)

YES: 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius of additional global warming: Does it make a difference? (Yale Climate Connections)

REAL ESTATE: Redfin will now tell you how at-risk your dream home is to climate change (Earther)

CLEAN ELECTRICITY STANDARD: One policy that could challenge a century of fossil-fuel dominance (Vox)

RENEWABLES: Scientists race to replicate 'the power source of stars' in climate fight (The Hill)

BATTERIES: Enphase wants customers to know exactly how much money they earn with batteries (Canary Media), Tesla ‘big battery’ fire fuels concerns over lithium risks (FT $)

BUILDINGS: Greenhouse gas pact will open door to weatherization for Virginia households (Energy News Network)

STORAGE: Long-duration energy storage is now a reality. How can it make money? (Canary Media)

EFFICIENCY: Energy efficiency: The 'unsung hero' gets a quiet boost (Energy Monitor)

OIL & GAS: Big Oil has big problems despite rising profits (Axios), Africa needs to spend $15.7 billion on refineries to curb emissions (Bloomberg $), shale company profits capped by wrong-way bets as oil prices rose (Wall Street Journal $), Exxon considers pledging ‘net-zero’ carbon by 2050 (Wall Street Journal $)

NUKES: Lacking a lifeline, Exelon's Illinois nuclear plants to retire in fall -CEO (Reuters)

UTILITIES: The US power sector is halfway to net zero emissions, but it gets harder now, analysts say (Utility Dive)

WATER: Spanish engineers extract drinking water from thin air (Reuters)

EVs: An e-scooter that drives like a motorcycle for city commuters (Axios), electric vehicles have a rich past – and a richer future (The Guardian), Kansas City streetlight-mounted EV charger pilot aims for equity, accessibility (Utility Dive)

STEEL: Investors call for urgent action by steelmakers on carbon emissions (Reuters)

AGRICULTURE: Net-zero pledges reliant on trees imperil food supply (E&E $)

OCEANS: Deep sea trawling unleashes carbon from the ocean floor (Yale Climate Connections), as oceans warm, Zanzibar's women sea farmers grow sponges to stay afloat (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

INTERNATIONAL: Costa Rica eyes permanent ban on fossil fuel exploration and extraction (Reuters), EU cities: We need help preparing for climate (E&E $), In wake of summer floods, German Greens seek fresh election momentum (FT $), New Zealand’s renewable-energy dreams get a reality check (Wall Street Journal $), spurred by pandemic, Barcelona backs greener, car-free future (Reuters)

• Infrastructure plans will fall short if we don't tackle home-energy use (The Hill, Andy Frank op-ed)
• Make a major dent in the climate crisis by targeting the 'super polluters' (The Hill, Don Grant op-ed)
• What’s good and bad in the infrastructure deal (Bloomberg, Editorial Board $)
• Our leaders look climate change in the eyes, and shrug (The Guardian, Hamilton Nolan op-ed)
• Political inaction is dragging the UK deeper into the climate crisis (FT, Henry Mance op-ed $)

Do You Remember Conservative Disinformation Not Funded By Climate Denial? 

Yesterday we talked about the latest attempt to replicate the now-blasé Drudge dot com, Joseph Curl’s “Off the Press,” and the human garbage therein. 

Today we’re taking a quick look back at what was, until then, the latest attempt to make Drudge great again: “Populist Press.” You may have heard of it back in November, when researchers at Avaaz caught Steve Bannon using it to bypass Facebook’s misinformation filters for false claims about the election.

These days it focuses more heavily on anti-vaxx content, but will occasionally include a link out to climate denial. However, since Bannon’s never been quite as explicitly into the fossil fuel and climate denial side of the fake news ecosystem that Koch and Exxon et al. have created, there’s also the occasional mainstream story that gets it right. 

For example, yesterday it linked out, via a preview page that serves you an additional helping of ads before sending you to a Townhall column making some tired points about COVID and climate science being the same, in that Democratic leaders defer to scientific experts, which… yeah? 

Elsewhere on the (faux) Populist homepage, though, was an AP story on wildfire and drought in Hawaii, which notes both that the usually-rainfall-rich islands don’t usually have big fires, but that “blazes could become more frequent as climate change-related weather patterns intensify,” and “drought that is tied to climate change has made wildfires harder to fight.” 

So it’s somewhat refreshing, honestly, to see what a conservative disinformation machine that isn’t fueled by oil money does differently. For example, the ads are much more. 

Just more. More, everything that a terrible digital ad can be. 

One ad on the page for the Townhall link (click here for screenshot) [Seriously. Click there for the screenshot. -- Ed.] featured none other than Ben Carson, the supposedly brilliant neurosurgeon, who went on to become Trump’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. If you’ve forgotten which of the many once-somewhat-respectable people who embarrassed themselves he is, here’s a reminder. Ben Carson is the one who was also a candidate in the 2016 GOP primary, who apparently forgot his own name when called on stage for one of the debates and stood awkwardly at the side of the stage for over a minute, and who (repeatedly) described enslaved people as immigrants who came in slave ships so their great-grandchildren could achieve the American Dream. But apparently Carson had what Trump was looking for in a campaign surrogate, during which time he once apparently realized he’d forgotten his luggage somewhere during an interview on national television and had to run back to get it. (We assume he blamed his wife for that too.)

Anyway, the ad was a picture of Carson smiling with a microphone, and the caption “Ben Carson: ‘Memory Loss is Finally a Thing of the Past!’” 

What was it advertising? We think maybe it was grain storage containers, but we know for sure we clicked through and were quite impressed. We just can’t seem to remember what the product being advertised was…

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