FIRST LOOK:

Need to brush up on your climate science before Thanksgiving? Climate Signals has everything you need to know about climate change impacts. 

Wu Divests Boston Funds From Fossil Fuels: In her first major policy action, Boston Michelle Wu signed an ordinance on Monday to divest public funds from fossil fuels. The measure prohibits public investment in any financial instrument deriving more than 15% of its revenue from fossil fuels, as well as from tobacco products or jail or prison facilities. “Boston, as a finance hub, is looked to for leadership. By signing this ordinance, Mayor Wu signals that she is serious [and] that Boston is serious” about pursuing climate goals, Mary Cerulli, founder of Climate Finance Action, told the Boston Globe. Boston is increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and is already spending millions of dollars on short-term projects to prevent flooding in its subway system, the oldest in the country. The ordinance does not apply to the city's pension investments, which are governed by state law. The divestment ordinance is the latest in a growing drumbeat of divestment moves, including by New York City and Harvard University earlier this year. (Boston Globe $, AP, WBUR, WCVB, Boston.com, Local10)

Climate Change Altering (Problematic) Status Quo Of American West: Climate change is fundamentally altering the American West, a status quo itself built on the ethnic cleansing of Indigenous peoples and alteration of the natural landscape. In what is now southern Oregon and northern California, the Klamath, Yurok, Karuk, Hoopa Valley, Modoc, and Yahooskin tribes lived in the region known as the Everglades of the West. In 1906, however, the extermination of Indigenous people and a major drainage project fundamentally altered the lands. Now, as climate change caused by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels exacerbates severe drought, there is no water. No water for farmers, no water for the tribes' sacred fish, no water in families' wells, no water for migratory birds. “If we don’t have the Klamath River and we don’t have healthy fish runs, it’s really hard to be a Yurok person,” Barry McCovey, the tribe’s fishery department director, told the Washington Post. “It’s just as important to our people as the air that we breathe.” Climate change is also changing the literal landscape in what is now Utah. Shrunken by climate-fueled drought and water diversions, the Great Salt Lake is now "a puddle of its former self" the Salt Lake Tribune reports, and the Tribune and Accuweather are redrawing maps to more accurately define the lake's boundaries. (Klamath: Washington Post $; Utah: Salt Lake Tribune; Climate Signals background: Drought)

Gerrymandering Carries Climate Implications: Gerrymandering, the process of drawing legislative districts for political gain, has major implications for efforts to combat the climate crisis and transition the U.S. economy away from fossil fuels, Yale Climate Connections reports. The practice has long been used at the congressional, state legislative, and even city council level by white officials to minimize the political power of voters of color. In Ohio, Republicans approved a map this week that will "crack" Black Democratic voters in Hamilton County (Cincinnati) into three congressional districts where their votes will be offset by white rural voters. Gerrymandering at the state legislative level there enabled Republicans in 2014 to disregard public support for clean energy and pass bailouts for coal plants in the now-infamous House Bill 6 that led to federal bribery and corruption charges. In Texas, where most residents support strong climate action, the legislature has done virtually nothing to address climate change because its state legislative maps carve up and dilute liberal voters by combining them with rural and conservative voters. (Yale Climate Connections; New Ohio map: Washington Post $)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Glencore launches public attack on Indigenous pair opposing [New South Wales, Australia] mining project (The Guardian), Indiana Black man charged in his own ‘attempted lynching’ launched a GoFundMe to raise funds. Now a judge is blocking his access to a public defender. (Atlanta Black Star), Indigenous community evicted as land clashes over agribusiness rock Paraguay (The Guardian), Nina Gualinga: ‘Indigenous voices are still not heard’ (Atmos), racial bias in medical devices may have caused Black people to suffer disproportionately from COVID-19 in UK (Blavity), jury to hear closing arguments in Ahmaud Arbery's death (The Root)

FEDERAL RESERVE: Biden renames Powell to lead Fed, risking the left’s wrath (Politico, Bloomberg $, The Hill, CNN, New York Times $, Reuters), Lael Brainard is tapped for vice chair of the federal reserve. (New York Times $, Reuters), who is Lael Brainard, president Biden’s pick for the Fed's vice chair? (New York Times $), Elizabeth Warren will vote against Powell’s second term, but backs Brainard (Bloomberg $, Reuters, The Hill, New York Times $), five challenges Powell could face in his next term as Fed chair (Reuters), progressives frustrated as White House punts on regulation chief (Reuters), whether centrist or progressive, Fed's new regulatory chief has long to-do list (Reuters explainer)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: COP26 finally framed climate change as a public health issue, experts say (Washington Post $), COP27 is in Egypt next year … but will anyone be allowed to protest? (The Guardian), study casts doubt on climate emissions pledge estimates (Axios)

DENIAL & DISTRACTION: Why the oil industry’s pivot to carbon capture and storage – while it keeps on drilling – isn’t a climate change solution (The Conversation)

FOSSIL VOLATILITY: 'Living hand to mouth': Europe's gas crunch shows little sign of easing (Reuters)

BIG (WHITE) GREEN: Can Audubon’s new CEO detoxify its workplace? (E&E News)

NOT GREAT: US listed as a ‘backsliding’ democracy for first time in report by European think tank (Washington Post $, Forbes, The Guardian, Deutsche Welle, The Independent, Al Jazeera, AP)

THANKSGIVING PREP: For Thanksgiving, some uplifting climate news (Yale Climate Connections), this year, schools across the country are reconciling with the real story of Thanksgiving (Prism Reports), tips on talking to your family about climate change over the holIdays (Yale Climate Connections)

POLITICAL IS PERSONAL: Americans support climate change policies, especially those that give them incentives and clean up the energy supply (The Conversation), men’s meat-heavy diets cause 40% more climate emissions than women’s, study finds (The Guardian), the average person’s daily choices can still make a big difference in fighting climate change – and getting governments and utilities to tackle it, too (The Conversation)

WHAT COULD GO WRONG?: Bitcoin miners are flocking to Texas as grid operator warns of future Blackouts (Gizmodo), Texas at risk of more blackouts — report (E&E $)

AGENCIES: 'Fundamentally broken': advocates slam FEMA aid programs (E&E $)

EPA: In reversing Trump smog rule, EPA flunks Colo. petroleum hub (E&E News)

DOI: Interior head: Chaco protections ‘millennia in the making’ (AP)

SENATE: The murky future of Biden's climate agenda in the Senate (Axios), Wyoming governor lobbies Manchin on Dem leasing, royalty plans (E&E $)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden eyes SPR crude oil release in coming days (Politico)

INFRASTRUCTURE BILL(S): Vice president Kamala Harris shares how the bipartisan infrastructure bill centers Black children (Ebony)

POLITICS: Poll shows Sinema's popularity dropping further among Arizona Democrats (The Hill)

CITIES AND STATES: 34 US cities named to 'A List' for climate action (E&E $), Northeast states abandon cap-and-trade plan for cars (E&E News), Newsom names energy adviser as state’s top utility regulator (AP)

FERC: Fight escalates over FERC gas, climate reviews (E&E News), FERC balks at PPL-led utility proposal to profit from PJM network upgrades (Utility Dive)

SCOTUS: The last abortion clinic in Mississippi is at the center of a Supreme Court case that could end Roe v. Wade (The 19th* News)

IMPACTS: Denver still hasn’t seen snow this fall. That's a record. (Washington Post $), Pacific Northwest floods could carry a climate warning — research (Scientific American), Western Canada braces for more torrential rain after deadly mudslides (The Guardian)

WILDFIRES: Floods and wildfires are now normal life in small-town Canada (The Guardian)

HURRICANES: World’s major hurricane activity takes unusual 8-week pause (Washington Post $)

RENEWABLES: Why putting solar canopies on parking lots is a smart green move (Yale Environment 360), wind giant Orsted buys farm from Ares to power Meta, McDonald’s (Bloomberg $)

HYDROGEN: Giant offshore Irish wind farm planned for green hydrogen (Bloomberg $)

TRANSITION: ‘It is entirely doable, and it is doable fast’: experts on how to navigate the energy transition (CNBC)

METHANE: EU drafts plan to cut methane emissions from oil and gas industry (Reuters)

PIPELINES: Concerns linger over a secretive Texas company that owns the largest share of the trans-Alaska pipeline (InsideClimate News), Spire pipeline flap in Missouri reveals deeper questions about natural gas (Energy News Network)

COAL: Large insurers are hatching a plan to take down coal (New York Times $), coal-fired power plants to close after new wastewater rule (AP), ex-Unilever CEO takes swipe at Australia, says it would be ‘stupid’ not to phase out coal (CNBC), Portugal's power production goes coal-free long before deadline (Reuters)

UTILITIES: Rhode Island utility sale could be complicated by state climate law (Energy News Network)

GRID: Northeast grid rules could make or break clean energy (E&E News)

CARS: Fuel efficiency progress 'is stalling' because of growth of SUVs (Axios), top automakers trail in fuel economy (E&E $), US fuel economy hits record high but falls short of policymakers' hopes (Axios)

EVs: Electric car chargers to be required in new homes in England (The Hill, CNBC), tax breaks kick Pakistan's electric car shift into higher gear (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

ACTIVISM: [Seattle] airport debate example of united activists (AP/InvestigateWest)

AGRICULTURE: The latest farm product: carbon credits (New York Times $), little-known nut helps Indonesian farmers build sustainable forest economy (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

BUSINESS: The sustainable industrial revolution is just getting started (New York Times $), Amazon to cut down plastic packaging in Germany (AP)

CARBON PRICING: Carbon markets may soon free billions for investment. But where? (Bloomberg $)

CARBON REMOVAL: EU steps up push to remove carbon from the atmosphere (Bloomberg $)

NUKE LEFTOVERS: A tiny town was the Soviet Union’s uranium hub. Now, it’s racing to avoid disaster (Gizmodo)

FINANCE: Eurozone banks told to do more to tackle climate change risks (FT $)

WILDLIFE: Monarch butterflies may be thriving after years of decline. Is it a comeback? (The Guardian)

INTERNATIONAL: Delhi lifts ban on construction as air quality improves marginally (Reuters), Israel, Jordan to partner in water-for-energy deal (Reuters), Nigeria commits to annual carbon budgets to reach net zero under climate law (Climate Home)

• COP26 prepared the world to beat climate change (Wall Street Journal, John Kerry op-ed $)
• Joe Biden channels his inner Obama by picking Jerome Powell for the Fed (CNN, Paul R. La Monica commentary)
• A better future for heating your home (Boston Globe, Cynthia Stone Creem and Lori Ehrlich op-ed $)
• Cutting industry emissions — another reason Senate must pass Build Back Better Act (The Hill, Angela Anderson and Dan Lashof op-ed)
• Biden plays it safe with continuity at the Fed (FT, Editorial Board $)
• Free e-bikes for everyone! (New York Times, Jay Caspian Kang op-ed $)
• Democrats must stand firm on funding the civilian climate corps (The Nation, Matthew Miles Goodrich op-ed)
• I drank dying glacier water, and all i got was a deeper feeling of dread (Gizmodo, Brian Kahn commentary)
• Spending as if the future matters (New York Times, Paul Krugman column $)
• Why I am calling on EU lawmakers to put climate at the heart of agricultural policy (Climate Home, Robin Ehl op-ed)
• Charlottesville trial will have bigger implications on White violence than Rittenhouse and McMichael/Bryan (The Grio, Touré op-ed)

The Denier Roundup will return after Thanksgiving. 

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