FIRST LOOK:

Are you a reporter or meteorologist who knows climate change is supercharging storms like Hurricane Ida but are unsure how to include climate change in your reporting? Covering Climate Now has got you covered with responses to common concerns and a downloadable guide for including climate in your coverage you can share with your newsroom. 

Hurricane Ida Slams Louisiana: Hurricane Ida made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, just before noon local time on Sunday as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, 7 mph short of being just the fifth Category 5 storm to ever hit the U.S. The storm, which made landfall on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall, then ground across the "toe" of the state's "boot" for about the next 16 hours, causing massive damage. The storm knocked out all eight transmission lines that deliver power, plummeting all of New Orleans into darkness. More than 1.1 million customers were without power in Louisiana and Mississippi as of 7:00 a.m. Monday. Heavy rain, combined with storm surge, caused catastrophic impacts along the southeast coast of Louisiana with life-threatening flash flooding, according to the National Weather Service. Ida rapidly intensified from a Category 1 to a Category 4 Major Hurricane in less than 24 hours, supercharged by exceptionally warm waters in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico — phenomena driven and made more common by climate change caused by human extraction and combustion of fossil fuels. The rapid intensification limited forewarning and prevented large-scale evacuation efforts, especially for those who are disabled or those unable to afford to evacuate — a crisis compounded by looming evictions in the region. Flooding was especially severe in LaPlace, leaving many residents stranded. So far, only one death has been officially reported, a number sadly, almost certain to rise. The impact of the climate-supercharged storm will be made far worse by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, itself made worse by the widespread denial and rejection of science. As of 4:00 a.m. local time, now-Tropical Storm Ida had passed into southwest Mississippi, bringing heavy rainfall, and more flooding. (AP, Washington Post $, ABC; LaPlace Flooding: Washington Post $; Outages: NOLA.com, WAFB9, AP, AP; COVID: Reuters, Axios, AP; Current path: NOLA.com, Washington Post $)

'Our Bank Account Is Empty – We Can’t Afford To Leave': Systemic inequities are being compounded by Hurricane Ida, as those without the ability to evacuate are forced to ride out the monstrous storm with little more than prayer. “Our bank account is empty – we can’t afford to leave,” Robert Owens of Baton Rouge told the AP. “The people who have funds to lean on are able to get out of here, but there’s a big chunk of people that are lower-income that don’t have a savings account to fall on,” he continued. “We’re left behind.” Emergency responders have received numerous 911 calls from people across the state trapped in their attics trying to flee the storm (until 911 service went down). One of those calls came from Tiffany Miller of LaPlace, Louisiana. Miller, along with her family and their dog did not have time to evacuate before as much as 5 feet of water inundated their neighborhood. "When we got in the attic, the water was right below my knees," Miller told WDSU. "For the water to get that high in my house, the water outside needs to be at least waist deep." (AP, NOLA.com, WDSU, Washington Post $)

Ida Intensified Rapidly, Supercharged By Warm Ocean Temps: While the total loss and damage caused by Hurricane Ida will not be known for some time, the storm's impact will be greater than the sum of its ferocity because of the speed with which it became such a massive storm. In addition to the storm's overall intensity, rainfall, and storm surge — all of which are major parts in what makes hurricanes so destructive — warmer ocean temperatures due to fossil-fueled climate change are contributing to hurricanes' rapid intensification. Supercharged by exceptionally warm ocean waters running as much as 8°F hotter than average, Hurricane Ida intensified from a Tropical Storm on Friday with sustained winds of about 65 mph to nearly a Category 4 monster with winds twice as strong by early Sunday morning. It blew through the official threshold for rapid intensification in just 6 hours. "Rapid intensification is the new normal intensification," longtime South Florida meteorologist John Morales tweeted. Rapid intensification in general, and Ida's in particular, make storms more dangerous because it limits officials' ability to warn residents and call for, or mandate, evacuations, which take more time to do safely than a storm that quickly strengthens will allow. Ida's storm surge was also so great it reversed the flow of the Mississippi River. (New York Times $, Washington Post $; Timeline: Weather Underground; Mississippi flow: Bloomberg $; Mandatory evacuation timing: Black Wall Street Times; Climate Signals background: Hurricanes, Storm surge, Extreme precipitation, Atlantic hurricane intensity)

HURRICANE IDA: Hurricane Ida tracker: Map and projected path (Washington Post $), photos: The scene as Hurricane Ida slams the Gulf Coast (Washington Post $), Ida’s landfall imminent, disaster expert General Russel Honoré says time to declare climate emergency (DeSmog), meteorologists ahead of Hurricane Ida arrival: "we can't bear to see this on satellite" (Axios)

• DAMAGE: Catastrophic damage' reported, New Orleans without power as Hurricane Ida slams Louisiana (NBC), giant portion of New Orleans French Quarter building gets blown off in Hurricane Ida (The Advocate), Hurricane ida, a powerful category 4 storm, batters louisiana (New York Times $), Hurricane Ida knocks 22 barges loose on Mississippi River near Chalmette (The Advocate), all of New Orleans without power after Hurricane Ida leaves 'catastrophic transmission damage' (The Advocate), Kerner Swing Bridge in Lafitte struck by barge, Jefferson Parish says (The Advocate), Hurricane Ida destroys roofs of New Orleans' municipal, traffic courts (The Advocate), Hurricane Ida's impacts: New Orleans out of power, roofs ripped off, rising waters (The Advocate), Hurricane Ida's winds blow roof off Arabi building into nearby home (The Advocate), Ida leaves more than 1 million people without power (Washington Post $), seniors flee Metairie Towers condo as Hurricane Ida removes part of building's roof (The Advocate), exclamation point on record onslaught of U.S. landfalls (AP)
• ADAPTATION: We’re hitting the limits of hurricane preparedness (The Atlantic), is New Orleans protected from a hurricane? (AP, explainer) 
• COVID: New Orleans homeless shelters scramble to bring in residents, facing storm and Covid surge (Reuters), New Orleans hospitals brace for Hurricane Ida amid Covid-19 surge (NBC), New Orleans hospitals prepare for Hurricane Ida while near capacity with COVID-19 cases (Axios), packed with virus patients, Louisiana hospitals hit by Ida (AP), generator failure during Hurricane Ida at Thibodaux hospital prompts scramble to move ICU patients (Times-Picayune), Ida slams Louisiana hospitals brimming with virus patients (AP), Ochsner to evacuate 66 patients from two hospitals after Hurricane Ida damages roof, shatters windows (The Advocate)
• LEVEES: Hurricane Ida hits Louisiana, toughest test of levees in years (Reuters), Louisiana governor: levees should hold against Hurricane Ida (Politico), Hurricane Ida water tops Plaquemines Parish levee; Braithwaite residents warned to flee (Times-Picayune), Hurricane Ida lashes Louisiana, testing post-Katrina levee system (Reuters), at least 200 residents in southeastern Louisiana in ‘imminent danger’ after levee overflows (Washington Post $), levee fails in Alliance, forcing evacuations (Washington Post $), power outage leaves little room for error for New Orleans S&WB pumps during Hurricane Ida (Times-Picayune)
• OIL & POLLUTION: Retired Lt. General Russel Honore speaks on dangers of gas terminals in hurricane-prone areas, calls for increased federal aid for Lake Charles (WGNO), Almost 600 Louisiana sites with toxic chemicals lie in Hurricane Ida's path (The Advocate), Hurricane Ida shuts down 95% of Gulf of Mexico's oil production (CNN), Hurricane Ida slams critical U.S. oil port as it makes landfall (Reuters), intensifying Hurricane Ida a significant threat to key infrastructure (Yale Climate Connections), (Houston Chronicle, S&P Global, Houston Chronicle), economists foresee only modest damage to US economy (AP), Colonial Pipeline shuts down part of its fuel network as Hurricane Ida makes landfall (Houston Chronicle, Reuters)
• COMPARING STORMS: The strongest hurricanes to hit Louisiana were Ida, Laura and this 1856 storm (The Advocate), Ida similar to Katrina, but stronger, smaller (AP, explainer)

COP26: UK's Queen Elizabeth will attend climate conference -palace (Reuters)

DENIAL: As denying climate change becomes impossible, fossil-fuel interests pivot to 'carbon shaming' (Business Insider), these skeptics believe in climate change. Why is it so hard to convince them catastrophe is coming? (Houston Chronicle)

GRIM MILESTONES: Greenhouse gas levels are the highest ever seen — and that's going back 800,000 years (NPR)

MEDIA: New Orleans homeless shelters scramble to bring in residents, facing storm and Covid surge (Reuters)

EPA: EPA faces mounting calls for stronger tailpipe rule (E&E $), Trump EPA ignored scientists’ warnings on Mississippi [Yazoo Pumps] project: Docs (E&E News)

DOE: Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm sees future for oil and gas, just not the one you might want (Houston Chronicle)

DOI: Judge’s order forces Interior department to revive drilling lease sales on federal lands and waters (InsideClimate News)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: EVs are 'unfeasible,' Postal Service says (E&E $), federal fleet electrification faces delays (E&E News)

LAWSUITS: Court tosses industry challenge to Obama-era wood heater audit process (Politico Pro $)

HOUSE: House Dems seek hardrock mining reform in reconciliation (E&E $)

SENATE: How West Virginia stands to gain from Biden’s climate agenda (Canary Media)

POLITICS: Exxon Mobil's Erik Oswald looks to prove credibility on carbon tax support after 'gutting' lobbyist sting video (Washington Examiner)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: The planet depends on the next Federal Reserve chair (American Prospect), Durbin pushes ally for appointment over EPA chief's pick, sources say (Politico Pro $)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Kerry heads to China with coal on the agenda (Axios), after decades of waiting, Indigenous peoples are finally getting a say in global conservation policy (Grist), tribes launch bid to protect Amazon forest at global conservation forum (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

CITIES AND STATES: Campaign to shut down New York City's peaker plants gains congressional ally (Utility Dive), Michigan utility offsets CO2 with 'Big Wild' forest credits (E&E $)

TEXAS: Top Texas regulator: Reform the grid so ‘people don’t die’ (E&E News), Houston votes to electrify all its buses (E&E $), 

CALIFORNIA: Appeals court rejects part of California smog cleanup plan (E&E $), California’s plan to make new buildings greener will also raise costs (New York Times $)

FERC: EPA urges FERC to use social cost of carbon in gas project reviews (Utility Dive)

PUBLIC LANDS: Environmental group outbids rancher for Idaho grazing lease (AP)

IMPACTS: The unbearable summer (The Atlantic), creeping landslide causing road in Denali National Park to sink 10 inches a day (Gizmodo), flood risks rise in booming northeast Florida county (E&E $), Louisiana woman’s home floods twice in seven months (Yale Climate Connections), The West’s impossibly extreme weather (The Atlantic), Western Europe can expect more heavy rainfall and fatal floods as the climate warms (NPR)

GREENLAND: Greenland expedition discover 'world's northernmost island' (Reuters), how Greenland’s arctic landscape is at the heart of the climate crisis (Good Morning America)

HEAT: The Arctic Circle saw record-high temperatures in 2020, NOAA report finds (CBS)

DROUGHT: 40 million people rely on the Colorado river. It's drying up fast. (New York Times $), 12 million in Iraq and Syria at risk from drought fueled by climate crisis (Democracy Now), Brazil water survey heightens alarm over extreme drought (AP), water funds attract $35 billion as drought drains reservoirs. A new report asks if they are worth it (MarketWatch), wells are running dry after farms and homes in Oregon compete for water (NPR)

WILDFIRES: ‘Our future might not look the same’: wildfires threaten way of life in California’s mountain towns (The Guardian), fires in the Amazon are out of control. Again. (Vox), California's wildfire problem could be solved by a few legal changes (TIME), Europe seeks solutions as it grapples with catastrophic wildfires (InsideClimate News), attacking fires by air often does no good, expert says (The Hill)

• CALDOR FIRE: Winds frustrate effort to corral wildfire near Lake Tahoe (AP), fire official says Caldor Fire "has simply outpaced us" as it nears Lake Tahoe (CBS)
• MINNESOTA: Minnesota wildfires level off; air quality alert extended (AP)
• SIBERIA: Massive wildfires rage across Siberia (WBUR), villagers in Siberia, facing wildfires and a warming climate, battle to protect their homes (TIME)

HURRICANES: At least one dead as Tropical Storm Nora lashes Mexico with heavy rain (New York Times $, AP, Reuters), the most intense hurricanes to hit the United States (Reuters, factbox), In the history of hurricane names, ‘I’ stands for infamous (Washington Post $), New Orleans: then and now photos, 16 years after Katrina (Washington Post $), Tropical Storm Julian forms in the Atlantic (New York Times $), what we know about climate change and hurricanes (New York Times $)

RENEWABLES: U.S. blocks Chinese solar panel imports over forced labor concerns (Axios), floating wind turbines could open up vast ocean tracts for renewable power (The Guardian), commission approves €5.7B French solar panel scheme (Politico Pro $), EGEB: world’s largest offshore floating wind farm is now complete (Electrek), indoor solar panels? Feds unveil renewable tech (E&E $), next generation wind turbines in Minnesota could be 60 stories high (Star Tribune $), solar and batteries can be a lifeline for vulnerable islands hooked on diesel (Canary Media), wind and solar soar, but it's not enough for net zero (E&E $)

BATTERIES: As battery storage booms, investors spend big on startups (Utility Dive), the other job for batteries in boosting the electric vehicle market (Axios)

BUILDINGS: DOE lab: This tech could eliminate half of new U.S. gas plants (E&E $), Pew: Americans want bigger houses even if schools, stores are farther away (Axios)

OIL & GAS: Kinder Morgan cuts El Paso pressure after Arizona fire (Yahoo)

PIPELINES: Does rural Illinois really need a new gas pipeline? (Grist)

COAL (COUNTRY): West Virginia creates jobs farming lavender at former coal mines (Wall Street Journal $)

BLANKETS: Blankets help stave off glacier melt on Swiss ski pistes (Reuters)

UTILITIES: Elon Musk's Tesla applies to provide power in Texas (Houston Chronicle), what 4 Sun Belt states reveal about U.S. electricity (E&E News)

GRID: Northeast transmission fight shows Biden’s renewable dilemma (E&E News)

EVs: Amazon-backed EV startup Rivian files to go public (Axios, Wall Street Journal $), electric truck race gets underway to draw attention to climate change in Greenland (ABC)

BOOZE: How wine is adapting to the climate crisis (The Guardian)

XR: Climate activists deface City of London buildings in intensifying campaign (Reuters), Extinction Rebellion activists glued to Science Museum site in Shell protest (The Guardian), Extinction Rebellion targets City of London in ‘blood money’ protest (The Guardian)

AGRICULTURE: A program that pays farmers not to farm isn't saving the planet (Politico), 11,000-year-old solution to modern problem: ancient potato could thrive in changing climate (Yale Climate Connections)

BUSINESS: Dow CEO warns of price tag on clean-energy plans (Wall Street Journal $)

GRETA: 'We need help': Thunberg's movement makes plea to rescue Afghan climate activists (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

INTERNATIONAL: Poll shows big increase in British concern over climate change (Politico Pro $), single-use plastic plates, cutlery, cups may face ban in England, government says (Reuters), Tesla’s German factory pits politicians against environmentalists (Politico EU)

• Big banks are funding climate disaster. Business needs to push back. (Barron's, Paul Polman op-ed)
• Climate action for health and hope (The BMJ, Renee Salas, Katharine Hayhoe commentary)
• Central bankers should embrace the role of guardians of the future (The Hill, Annelise Riles op-ed)
• The race to give nuclear fusion a role in the climate emergency (The Guardian, Arthur Turrell op-ed)
• Congress's once-in-a-generation opportunity to support cleantech innovation (The Hill, Dawn Lippert and Aimee Barnes op-ed)
• Biden’s coming climate commission (Wall Street Journal, Editorial Board $)
• Four years later, has Houston learned anything from Hurricane Harvey? (Houston Chronicle, Editorial Board)
• The ‘hedonistic altruism’ of plant-based meat (New York Times, Ethan Brown intervierw $)
• Climate’s lessons for the water crisis (Reuters, Martijn Wilder op-ed)
• Stop, you’re killing me (Environmental Health News, Peter Dykstra column)
• Big oil coined ‘carbon footprints’ to blame us for their greed. Keep them on the hook. (Gizmodo, Rebecca Solnit commentary)
• Greece’s deadly wildfires were sparked by 30 years of political failure (The Guardian, Yanis Varoufakis op-ed)
• Natural disasters are hitting us hard and fast. Let’s not blame the victims. (New York Times, Margaret Renkle column $)

People Eating, Vaping, Injecting, and Maybe Even Butt-Chugging Horse De-Worming Paste is Why We Need Systemic Solutions To Climate Change

The COVID-19 pandemic is not funny. People are dying, many because they, like many of their elected Republican officials, chose to listen to disinformation instead of real experts. (They're also sacrificing kids to score cheap political points, but that's not really new, even though it is very on point for the metaphor to come.) 

But all that doesn’t mean it isn’t objectively hilarious that there exists a non-negligible population of people drinking, vaping, rubbing, injecting, (thinking about) butt-chugging it, breaking international law with it, and otherwise finding fun (dangerous) ways to consume a veterinary version of a medicine called ivermectin. 

It’s meant to kill parasites in horses, dogs, and sheep, which again, is objectively funny because of how high the odds are that they’ll call you a sheep for getting vaccinated or wearing a mask. As a result of taking horse-strength medication, these people are (surprise!) literally shitting their guts out, (though apparently not always while in the middle of the grocery store) and (falsely) thinking they’re protecting themselves from COVID.   

And why do they choose to do that instead of just getting a safe and effective vaccine? Because someone on Facebook, reddit, TikTok, or a dial-a-quack insurrection-doctor’s website convinced them it was a smarter choice.

What’s this have to do with climate denial? 

It doesn’t, really. Except that you can bet the horse dewormer-eaters are also climate deniers, and more importantly it demonstrates the lengths people will go to in order to remain loyal to their rightwing fantasies, even in the face of overwhelming evidence, and highlights how hopelessly naive it is to expect that it’s just a matter of finding the right messaging framework or political strategy to get everyone on board with even the most basic and obvious requests to change their behavoir to keep themselves and others safe. 

Can you imagine how easy solving climate change would be if the only thing we had to do was convince everyone to wear a mask and get a couple vaccinations?! 

… No, you can’t, because you probably wouldn’t have imagined that the efforts to stop a global pandemic that has killed at least 637,000 Americans and counting would be foiled by people considering putting horse-parasite-paste up their own butt, just to own the libs. 

Which is why the solutions to climate change need to be systemic, so that — to continue beating this metaphor like a dead but de-wormed horse — it’s not up to the people who treat Facebook like the doctor’s office and the livestock feed barn like a pharmacy to make smart decisions for themselves, for others, and the planet. 

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