FIRST LOOK:

Devi Lockwood spent 5 years traveling 20 countries on 6 continents to document 1,001 stories on the personal impacts of the climate crisis. Her book 1,001 Voices on Climate Change will be released August 24 and is available for pre-order now! 

St. James Parish Activists Win 'Important Victory For Environmental Justice': A massive and controversial petrochemical plant in St. James Parish, Louisiana, must complete a rigorous environmental impact statement if it is to obtain a key permit, the Army Corps of Engineers announced Wednesday. The Formosa Plastics plant had been on hold since the fall of last year when the Army Corps suspended an earlier permit in response to a lawsuit brought by local activists. The EIS could take years to complete and its requirement is a major win for activists fighting to protect their community from the major polluter. “I had to touch myself to see if I’m real,” Sharon Lavigne, who founded the group Rise St. James to fight the plant and was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for her efforts, told the AP. "Nobody took it upon themselves to speak for St. James Parish until we started working to stop Formosa Plastics," Lavigne said in a statement. "Now the world is watching this important victory for environmental justice." (E&E $, AP, The Advocate, WWNO, DeSmog, The Independent)

Extreme Heat Killed 356,000 In 2019, Will Only Get More Deadly With Climate Change: More than 356,000 people died from extreme-heat related causes in just nine countries in 2019 and the body count is expected to rise as human-caused climate change continues to heat the planet, a pair of studies published Thursday in The Lancet shows. Heat-related deaths increased 74% from 1980 to 2016. The 356,000 people who died in 2019 lived in nine countries encompassing 95% of the inhabited global temperature range, but account for just 29% of the global population. "What is most problematic about heat is that this is a sneaky climate issue, because it kills many people, but it is not impressive like a hurricane or something. It's just happening all the time, so it is sneaky," UCSD Environmental epidemiologist Tarik Benmarhnia, who was not involved in the research, told CNN (CNN, Axios, Indian Express, The Times, Express UK; Climate Signals background: Extreme heat and heatwaves)

Unpermitted Flaring Rampant In 'Lawless' Texas Oil Fields: As much as 84% of gas flaring performed by oil and gas drillers in the Permian Basin was done without permits, a new analysis from Earthworks reveals. "The oil and gas fields in Texas are just lawless," Earthworks Senior Field Advocate and one of the report's authors, Sharon Wilson succinctly told Reuters. The report, based on data from EDF flyovers and public data from the Texas Railroad Commission, found not just small producers, but oil majors including Exxon and Shell conducted multiple unpermitted flares. “The gas is not what they’re after,” Wilson, a former oil company marketer herself, told Earther, adding that most companies are seeking more profitable oil. “It’s not worth their time and money because it costs more to transport the gas to market unless the price of gas is very high.” (Report: Reuters, Earther, Politico Pro $, Houston Chronicle, Seeking Alpha, OilPrice, Grist; The Methane Hunters: Bloomberg $)

Pressure Mounts On Biden Over Line 3 Tar Sands Pipeline: Pressure is mounting on the Biden administration to revoke federal permits for Line 3 tar sands oil pipeline, HuffPost reports. The controversial pipeline, currently under construction by Canadian firm Enbridge, would traverse wetlands vital to Native culture and food sources in what is now Minnesota and Indigenous-led protests have fought to oppose the pipeline. Local communities have also reported a rise in sexual violence linked to the pipeline. A letter signed by eight Democratic senators and nearly two dozen House members criticized the administration for failing to suspend permits granted by the Trump administration in pursuit of its "energy dominance" agenda without consulting local tribes and “almost no independent evaluation of the risk of oil spills" along the proposed Line 3 route. The Biden administration has defended the legality of the permits. Medical professionals across the country echoed the congressional letter Tuesday in a day of solidarity against the project. “The health of Minnesotans is at risk,” Teddie Potter, director of planetary health at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, told a crowd in St. Paul. “Tar sands oil threatens the health and wellness of future generations; we must stop the line.” (Letter: HuffPost; Medical workers: Grist)

ENVIRONMENTAL (IN)JUSTICE: In the early 1990s, heat waves battered Philadelphia’s most vulnerable communities. The lessons learned are helping today. (Washington Post $)

CYCLONIC STORMS: Tropical Storm Henri a threat to the northeastern US; Hurricane Grace hits Mexico (Yale Climate Connections)

• HENRI: 30 years after last hurricane, New England braces for Henri (AP, CBS, Washington Post $, Axios), determining where Henri will make landfall is a considerable challenge. (New York Times $)
• GRACE: Grace made landfall near Tulum, Mexico, as a hurricane, with a strike on the mainland expected Friday night (Washington Post $, AP)
• FRED FLOODING: 2 dead and 20 unaccounted for in North Carolina flooding after the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred slam area (CNN, WSOC, Washington Post $, USA Today, CBS, Wall Street Journal $)

HOT NEWS, BUT PICTURES: Wildfires grow worldwide as climate sizzles (AP)

CALIFORNIA BURNING: As California’s fire season ramps up, 'unprecedented' is getting a lot of use (Grist), California fire season sets records, more damage expected (AP), California wildfires burning hotter, spreading faster than ever, scientist says (CBS), California wildfires destroy homes; winds hamper containment (AP), dozens of homes burn as California wildfire siege continues (AP), national forests closed as California wildfires surge (AP), California’s fires are stretching crews and stranding evacuees. (New York Times $)

• CALDOR FIRE: California's Caldor Fire has grown 20 times bigger: 'It’s devastation' (USA Today), California's fast-moving wildfire scorched an area roughly half the size of Chicago in less than a week as thousands more evacuate (CNN, LA Times $, CBS Sacramento, KCRA Sacramento , Wall Street Journal $), Caldor Fire’s spread slowed by layer of smoke (Mercury News)
• DIXIE FIRE: Competing blazes and a heat wave are complicating efforts to help Dixie Fire evacuees (Washington Post $), the Dixie Fire nears communities in the Sierra Nevada foothills. (New York Times $)

CO-BENEFITS: A 1980s ban on CFCs to heal the ozone layer is also shaving degrees off global warming, study says (CNN)

SEEMS, NOT GREAT: It rained at the summit of Greenland’s ice sheet for the first time ever recorded (Earther, Washington Post $, CNN, USA Today, NBC, Business Insider, CNN)

EVERGREEN GOOD ADVICE: Hurricane prep advice in 2021: Get vaccinated (E&E $)

DUTIES OF CARE: Top law firms taking on more fossil fuel work as planet warms - report (Reuters, E&E $)

SHOCKING: Flood insurance covers the rich, FEMA finds (E&E $)

EPA: EPA chief to tour EJ suburb studded with oil rigs (E&E News), Michael Regan, Lisa Jackson talk racial justice at EPA (E&E $)

DOE: Joe Biden continues his assault on the freedom to buy shitty appliances (Earther), DOE refuels 34-year gas battle with efficiency rule (E&E News)

DOI: Biden administration to review climate impacts of federal coal leases (Reuters, AP, The Hill, Politico Pro $), Interior targets offshore wells at risk of abandonment (E&E $)

JUDICIAL BRANCH: As Biden urges global warming action, courts shape climate policy at home (Washington Post $)

THE HILL: The bill that could truly, actually bring back US manufacturing (The Atlantic)

SENATE: 4 Democrats to watch during budget negotiations (E&E News)

HOUSE: Democratic schism escalates as House eyes return (E&E News), No Labels praises moderate Democrats threatening to derail budget resolution (The Hill)

AT LEAST SHE HASN'T PUSHED TO LOOSEN DRILLING RULES: Oops, Lauren Boebert somehow forgot to disclose her husband’s nearly $1 million in gas consulting contracts (Earther, AP, E&E $, The Hill, The Independent)

OH: Boebert pushed to loosen drilling rules. She failed to disclose her husband’s income from energy consulting. (Washington Post $)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: Biden's EPA noms face sluggish confirmation (E&E $)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Developing nations push to define ‘unacceptably vague’ adaptation goal (Climate Home)

CITIES AND STATES: Residents in a densely-populated Pittsburgh suburb are demanding public hearings on two proposed fracking wells (Environmental Health News), Pennsylvania GOP legislators escalate resistance to state joining RGGI (Politico Pro $), [Ithaca, NY] has raised $100m to climate-proof its buildings (The Guardian)

CALIFORNIA: California regulatory judge recommends more aggressive 2030 emissions target for power sector (Utility Dive)

FERC: Oklahoma landowners accuse environmental monitor of ‘collusion’ with FERC, Cheniere’s midship natural gas pipeline (Natural Gas Intel)

IMPACTS: When sea levels rise, who should pay? (NPR, Short Wave), economists must grapple with climate tipping points before it's too late (Canary Media)

HEAT: UrbanHeatAtl is mapping Atlanta’s temperatures to help those in danger of the heat (WABE), urban heat even affects small cities. Biddeford is doing something about it (Bangor Daily News and Climate Central), US heatwaves 2021: understanding what’s at play, including climate change (Wall Street Journal $)

• PNW HEATWAVE: Multnomah County[ Oregon] officials investigating a 3rd suspected heat wave death from August (The Oregonian, KOIN)

DROUGHT: Western drought will last into fall or longer (New York Times $), hydropower withers in drought, boosting fossil generators (E&E $), California has been unable to address water problems in a number of towns. Here’s why (Fresno Bee), stung by climate change: drought-weakened bee colonies shrink US honey crop, threaten almonds (Reuters)

WILDFIRES: Northern Cheyenne wildfire gives meaning to new global warming report (Buffalo's Fire), more evacuations issued for fire northwest of Naches[, Washington] (AP), new flames thwart French efforts to fight Riviera wildfire (AP), documenting a wildfire when it’s in your backyard (New York Times $)

• GREECE: Major blaze on the wane, but not controlled (AP)

HURRICANES: Scientists see old hurricane predictions coming true (E&E News)

RENEWABLES: Even at fossil fuel's big [trade] show, renewables are showing their power (Houston Chronicle)

BATTERIES: Battery power capacity in the US grew big time in 2020 (The Verge), battery-swap startup Ample aims to beat out EV charging stations (Canary Media), Tesla, Japanese firms to build energy storage facility in Hokkaido (Reuters)

BUILDINGS: Which state will be the first to ban natural gas in new buildings? (InsideClimate News), why electrification may not be a simple solution to cut carbon emissions (Houston Chronicle)

EFFICIENCY: How water conservation can help save energy, too (Yale Climate Connections)

OIL & GAS: Emerging oil nations reject climate curbs on exploration, pursue rapid development (Reuters), Guyana, offshore giants eager to strike while oil demand is still hot (Houston Chronicle)

STEEL: Sweden's HYBRIT delivers world's first fossil-free steel (Reuters)

UTILITIES: Québec utilities have a plan to curb gas use and cut emissions during winter heating season (Canary Media), will hydrogen usher in a new era of collaboration between gas and electric utilities? (Utility Dive)

EVs: Tennessee Valley Authority launches EV plan (E&E $), Ford F-150 generator saves Farmington Hills wedding reception during power outage (Detroit Free Press), how will Biden change EVs? Studies disagree (E&E $), Musk's 'AI Day' confronts tough questions about Tesla's technology (Reuters)

ACTIVISM: City of London the target as climate campaigners plan two weeks of protest (Reuters)

BUSINESS: Patagonia boycotts Wyoming ski resort over owners’ GOP event (AP)

FINANCE: Activist hedge fund Starboard hires analyst from BlackRock's stewardship team (Reuters), green finance company cinches $2.3B deal to go public (E&E $)

FROM THE FOLKS WHO BROUGHT YOU WARS FOR OIL…: Taliban grabs mineral riches coveted by energy developers (E&E $), the Taliban are sitting on $1 trillion worth of minerals the world desperately needs (CNN)

INTERNATIONAL: China emissions directive chokes iron ore prices (Axios), EU on a ‘tightrope’ as winter gas supply worries increase (Politico Pro $), fifty shades of green: EU sustainable fund rules muddy the waters (Reuters), in northeast India, cement plants disrupt forest and a way of life (Yale Environment 360)

• Climate change is making the US poorer than it realizes (Bloomberg, Carl Pope column $)
• BHP's petroleum exit shows oil and gas may follow coal's path to toxic status (Reuters, Clyde Russell column)
• The bill that could truly, actually bring back US manufacturing (The Atlantic, Robinson Meyer analysis)
• Australia needs help from the US to defuse the 'gas bomb' (The Hill, David Shearman op-ed)
• Why is life on Earth still taking second place to fossil fuel companies? (The Guardian, George Monbiot op-ed)
• Three years after greta thunberg’s strike, adults are failing children on a global scale (New York Times, Greta Thunberg, Adriana Calderón, Farzana Faruk Jhumu and Eric Njuguna op-ed $)
• Clean energy promises great opportunity for Pennsylvanians | Opinion (PennLive, Justin Davis, Matt Mills and Nicholas Burpoe op-ed)
• 2022 midterms: Democrats will lose if they don’t change their messaging (Teen Vogue, Kaylen Ralph op-ed)
• This year’s extreme fires and floods may change what Americans think about climate change, our research finds (Washington Post, Leanne Giordono, Hilary Boudet and Chad Zanocco analysis $)
• The climate crisis is an accelerating calamity of our own making. So what would it take to turn things around? (The Guardian, Lesley Hughes op-ed)
• If children are to live with the climate crisis, we must green the curriculum (The Guardian, Meryl Batchelder op-ed)
• Environmental racism and climate change — missed diagnoses (New England Journal of Medicine, Renee Salas commentary)

Rightwing Radio Host Todd Barnes Triggered By ‘Ecosexual’ Performance Art

Things are feeling pretty… 2020 at the moment, so we thought you deserved something fun this Friday morning. 

We wouldn’t normally consider chatter from AM radio to be worth bringing to your attention, a recent piece from Todd Starnes is just too good to resist: “‘Ecosexuals’ marry one another -- and Earth.” 

While “it sounds like a joke,” Starnes opens, “the people behind it are not kidding.” He very much wants his audience to get mad because, in 2008, Beth Stephens and Annie Sprinkle had a 300-person marriage ceremony to the Earth, and have since continued encouraging others to follow suit. The horror! 

The accompanying video is titled “Holy Gender Fluidity, Batman! Robin is Bisexual!” in reference to news that Robin comes out as bisexual in a recent installment of the DC Comics anthology, so suffice to say the cishetereonormativity here is bursting out from between the lines.

Starnes quotes professional climate disinformation mainstay Marc Morano, who said it’s “part of a deep-green ecology where they sort of look at the earth as some kind of a spirit-sexual relationship.” Since an IPCC chair once said something about how “protection of the earth was his religion,” Morano says, “it’s only a matter of time before it’s going to come into this weird sexuality that they're calling ecosexuals.” 

Cal Beisner, professional creationist and climate denier said they were “turning their backs on God,” and referred to it as “theater of the absurd.” 

Which is ironic, because according to the recent CNN story Starnes was ranting about, Beth Stephens and Annie Sprinkle would agree. Turns out they’re not scary eco-radicals, they’re doing this as performance art. They incorporated eco-awareness into their LGBTQ+ rights activism, so showing the absurdity of a long-exclusionary and patriarchal wedding mythos is exactly the point they’re making, and they even made it in the CNN story!  

According to Stephens, chair of the Art Department at the E.A.R.T.H. Lab at the University of California Santa Cruz, their nearly two-decade collaboration in art and activism makes deliberate use of “strategies of joy” and also, “absurdity.”

As CNN’s Jacqui Palumbo recaps, the couple “adopted wedding rituals as a vehicle for LGBTQ, sex-positive acts at a time when same-sex couples were not able to marry in the US, and for environmental activism at a time when it was becoming clear how dangerous the climate emergency had become.” 

Over a course of seven years, they performed campy, themed weddings to the sky, moon, snow, Appalachian Mountains, and yes, the Earth, to “mobilize the wedding ceremony… as a means to engage further political conversation, build community, and generate love.” 

Sprinkle told CNN that “everyone knows the narrative of weddings, how there’s the rings, the vows, the kiss. It really is a performance.” 

They’ve even written a book about it, called “Assuming the Ecosexual Position: The Earth as a Lover,” to encourage others to care enough about people and the planet, that we actually take care of them.

As for the future, they’ve gotten a Guggenheim Fellowship to produce a film on wildfires and “social fires,” Stephens said, which could potentially lead to steamy results if viewed in conjunction with their existing documentary film, “Water Makes Us Wet.”

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