FIRST LOOK:

Spend some time with 193 stories showing the reality of climate change in every country in the world, in the New York Times' Postcards from a world on fire.

Tornadoes Devastate Kentucky, Several Other States: At least 50 tornadoes across eight states destroyed homes and businesses and likely killed more than 100 people Friday night. Tornadoes were reported in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee, as well as Kentucky where the devastation was most severe. "I've got towns that are gone — that are just, I mean, gone," Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear told CNN. "I mean you go door-to-door to check on people ... There are no doors." About 75% of Dawson Springs was wiped out, its mayor said. Gov. Beshear told NBC the high death toll risked overwhelming available space in morgues. There is increasing evidence linking climate change to the severe weather that gives rise to tornadoes and emerging research suggests there may be a link between warming and large tornado outbreaks, particularly in the southeast U.S. in the winter months. “Last night was one of the most shocking weather events in my 40 years as a meteorologist — a violent tornado (in December!) drawing comparisons to the deadliest and longest-tracking tornado in U.S. history,” tweeted Jeff Masters, a meteorologist and extreme weather expert. Additionally, Tornado Alley is shifting east, away from Kansas and Oklahoma toward the states hit Friday night. "This is going to be our new normal," FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told CNN. "The effects we are seeing of climate change are the crisis of our generation." President Biden approved an emergency disaster declaration for Kentucky on Saturday. (Destruction: CNN, Washington Post $, Lexington Herald-Leader, New York Times $, NBC, Black Wall Street Times, Reuters, Axios, Reuters, FT $, Gizmodo, Axios, Politico; Climate links: AP, explainer, Washington Post $, NBC, Yale Climate Connections; Criswell: CNN; Photos: Washington Post $, Axios; TV: NBC, NBC, ABC, ABC, NBC, CBS, NBC, CBS, NBC, ABC; Climate Signals background: Tornado risk increase)

Biden Administration Admits ‘Largest-Ever’ Gulf Oil & Gas Lease Sale Was Voluntary: The Biden administration knew it was not required to hold a record-breaking auction for new oil and gas drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico last month (just four days after COP26) contradicting its public insistence that a court order compelled it to do so, court documents reported by The Guardian reveal. The Justice Department acknowledged in a court filing on August 24, the court order "does not compel" the Interior Department to go ahead with the oil and gas leases, "let alone on the urgent timeline" the states suing the administration had demanded. “Interior had a lot of discretion over whether to hold this lease sale and they chose to do it anyway,” Brettny Hardy, a senior attorney at Earthjustice, told The Guardian. “The administration has been misleading on this, to put it mildly, it’s very disappointing,” Thomas Meyer, national organizing manager of Food and Water Watch, told The Guardian. “They didn’t have to hold this sale and they didn’t have to hold it on this timeline." (The Guardian)

Open Storm Drains Pose Hidden Danger: Flash flooding has sucked dozens people into storm drains in recent years, killing most of them. Nearly half of those reported dead were children, but the total numbers are almost certainly higher because of reporting deficiencies ProPublica reports. As climate change, primarily caused by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels, makes extreme rainfall and flooding more frequent, the dangers posed by open underground storm drains will only grow. “It’s a hidden danger in nearly every community," Ken MacKenzie, head of Denver’s Mile High Flood District, told ProPublica. "And yes, it might cost a couple thousand dollars. But it’s worth it to not kill someone’s child in a culvert.” (ProPublica; Climate Signals background: Extreme precipitation increase, Floods)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Most of Amazon’s pollution-spewing warehouses are built in communities of color (Gizmodo)

FIRST AND WORST: 'Silent financier': How Bangladesh's poor are paying the costs of climate damage (Thomson Reuters Foundation), ‘we faced so many cyclones’: how people in Bangladesh are rebuilding after climate catastrophe (The Guardian)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Biden orders US to stop financing new carbon-intense projects abroad (Reuters, Bloomberg $, The Hill, Politico Pro $), top US diplomat says China needs more ambitious climate goal (AP)

DENIAL & DISINFORMATION: These lawmakers' districts are at highest risk of flooding. Here's where they stand on the climate crisis. (CNN), Florida GOP ignores climate in calls for flood resilience cash (E&E $), a PR giant [Edelman] is caught between climate pledges and fossil fuel clients (New York Times $)

DON'T LOOK UP: A comedy nails the media apocalypse (New York Times $), Leo, JLaw are trying to warn us in ‘Don’t Look Up’ (AP review), 'Don't Look Up’ shows how hard it is to satirize the end of the world (Grist), 'Don’t Look Up': a movie about climate change that is actually good (Canary Media)

COST OF WAR: ‘Gushing oil and roaring fires’: 30 years on Kuwait is still scarred by catastrophic pollution (The Guardian)

MORE LIKE CAM-NO: Cambo, an oil project in Britain that energized protesters, is shelved. (New York Times $), controversial North Sea oil project on hold (Axios)

HOLIDAY GIVING: Guardian and Observer charity appeal 2021: support the fight for climate justice (The Guardian)

AGENCIES: FEMA stresses 'climate literacy' in new plan (E&E $), how bank regulators are trying to oust a Trump holdover (New York Times $)

EPA: Toxicologist who belittled PFAS risks resigns from EPA role (E&E News), consultant who downplayed PFAS risks pivots on EPA resignation (E&E $)

DOE: Energy Department sets release of oil under Biden plan to ease prices (Politico Pro $)

DOI: Haaland backs critical minerals mining on public land (Politico Pro $), Haaland to Western governors: ‘we need you’ (E&E $), report: Interior oil program is wasteful, outdated (E&E News, The Hill)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: Janet Yellen walks political tightrope to deliver on Biden’s climate promises (Wall Street Journal $)

LAWSUITS: House Democrats support oil lease lawsuit against Interior (E&E $)

BUILD BACK BETTER ACT: Canada threatens US with retaliatory tariffs in EV tax credit dispute (Politico Pro $)

SENATE: Graham hopes to sway Manchin against Biden plan with new CBO report (The Hill), Wyden unveils revised reconciliation tax plan (Politico Pro $)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden administration gives glimpse of next year's energy and climate focus (Politico Pro $), Biden says he will speak with Manchin next week (The Hill), White House releases fall regulatory update (E&E $)

CITIES AND STATES: NYC poised to ban gas in new buildings, buoying electrification (Bloomberg $), Hawaii is pursuing 100 percent renewable power. Extreme weather shows why it needs to. (Politico Pro $)

NEBRASKA: In a red-state first, Nebraska plans to decarbonize power sec by mid-century (Grist), Nebraska decarbonization vote was years in the making (E&E News)

CALIFORNIA: State tells San Joaquin Valley agencies that groundwater plans are flawed (LA Times $), California to eliminate new gas-powered lawn mowers, leaf blowers by 2024 (Axios), the controversies at the heart of California’s solar net-metering fight (Canary Media)

TEXAS: Texas electricity regulators say most power generation facilities are ready for winter. That alone won't stop a blackout. (Texas Tribune)

IMPACTS: First fires, then floods: climate extremes batter Australia (New York Times $), lower 48 states could have warmest December on record (Axios), golf courses on borrowed time as Earth's weather patterns become wilder (CNN), the west sizzled in a November heat wave and snow drought (InsideClimate News), Denver gets first snowfall after breaking 87-year-old record (AP), Minnesota lake ice shrinking as climate change warms winters (AP)

DROUGHT: Federal money headed to the Klamath Basin (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

WILDFIRES: Arctic fires are melting permafrost that keeps carbon underground (Bloomberg $), grass fire forces evacuations in southwestern Oklahoma (AP)

RENEWABLES: Chart: the top 10 wind power states might surprise you (Canary Media), rise of solar rooftops to accelerate coal’s exit in Australia (Bloomberg $), why it’s so hard for the solar industry to quit Xinjiang (Bloomberg $)

BATTERIES: Green groups block roads in Serbia to protest Rio Tinto's mining project (Reuters), Serbia roads blocked for 3rd weekend of lithium mine protest (AP)

BUILDINGS: Cutting emissions from buildings is a key part of 'building back better' (Washington Post $)

STORAGE: Fluence expects to bring in more than $1B in revenue in 2022, touts potential of energy storage market (Utility Dive)

LNG: A looming energy milestone for the US (Axios), US LNG record tests Biden’s climate agenda (E&E $)

OIL & GAS: Earthquakes linked to drilling are messing with Texas (E&E News), oil chiefs find safe ground to sound off at World Petroleum Congress (FT $), shareholders of oil giant shell vote in favor of London move (CNBC), activist group targets Exxon with shareholder climate resolution (Reuters), US natgas futures rise to 1-week high on expected colder weather (Reuters)

COAL: Coal powered the industrial revolution. It left behind an ‘absolutely massive’ environmental catastrophe (InsideClimate News)

ALL ABOARD!: Flying without wings: the world's fastest trains (CNN)

EVs: GM plans more than $3 billion for electric-vehicle projects in Michigan (Wall Street Journal $, Reuters, Car and Driver), the challenging road ahead for Rivian’s billionaire CEO (Wall Street Journal $), the race for electric vehicle materials (Axios)

TALK ABOUT COMPENSATING FOR SOMETHING…: Jeff Bezos’ space joyride emitted a lifetime’s worth of carbon pollution (Gizmodo)

AVIATION: Airlines navigate meeting climate change pledges (FT $)

AGRICULTURE: Native Americans’ farming practices may help feed a warming world (Washington Post $)

BOOKS: Gift guide: this year's essential climate change books (Bloomberg $)

BUSINESS: 100% renewable companies still rely heavily on fossil fuels — report (E&E $), hold the beef: McDonald’s avoids the bold step it must take to cut emissions (The Guardian), the corporate climate migration has begun (Axios)

CARBON PRICING: Record EU carbon price boosts clean fuel economics (FT $)

TEACH YOUR CHILDREN: Climate action leadership program helps teens channel concern into action (Yale Climate Connections)

FINANCE: Australia seen facing steeper borrowing costs if slow on climate (Bloomberg $), what to watch in climate finance next year (Bloomberg $)

TREES: Nature’s air sensors are growing on your street (Grist)

ART: Earth is getting a ‘Black box’ to hold humans accountable for climate change (New York Times $)

INTERNATIONAL: Project to increase climate resilience progresses in Cuba (Prensa Latina), Germany’s new finance chief triggers €60 billion budget boost (Bloomberg $), less mange, more frills: Rome’s new mayor bets on his christmas tree (New York Times $), UK universities took £89m from oil firms in last four years (The Guardian), new German government to revamp incentives for electric cars (AP)

• As oil prices swing, producers are in the driver’s seat (Barron's, Clark Williams-Derry op-ed)
• Methane regulations were one victory of the Glasgow climate talks. What comes next? (LA Times, Joseph Otis Minott op-ed $)
• Power on, America: Why the infrastructure bill is a win for the energy sector (The Hill, Joy Ditto op-ed)
• Help us support those on the frontline of the climate emergency (The Guardian, Katharine Viner op-ed)
• Will Europe retaliate for Congress's proposed electric vehicle tax credits? Don't bet against it (The Hill, Marc Busch op-ed)
• The father of environmental justice, on whether we’re all doomed (Vox, Robert Bullard interview)
• The Patagonia CEO's mission: ‘save our home planet’ (New York Times, Ryan Gellert interview $)
• How Big Oil rigs the system to keep winning (Naomi Oreskes and Jeff Nesbit commentary in Gizmodo and Yale Climate Connections)
• We’ve failed our planet. This is an SOS. (New York Times, Kathleen Kingsbury op-ed $)
• The climate crisis is raging, but we are not powerless (New York Times, Margaret Renkl op-ed $)

Actually, You’d Be Better Off Getting Stranded In The Snow With An Electric Car 

You don’t see whether it’s a wind turbine or gas turbine that sends the electrons to your home, you just plug in your appliances. But lots of people have a very personal relationship with the internal combustion engine, in that the car remains a steadfast relic of mid-century (manly) Americana that we just can’t seem to shake. 

This sentiment makes electric vehicles one of the biggest consumer-facing targets for climate disinformation, an issue that brings otherwise esoteric policy discussions home for many, particularly those in prized suburban voting blocks. 

When it comes from professionals, it can look very nuanced and mathematically sound, for example Bjorn Lomborg’s citation of a Nature study to falsely claim electric vehicles are worse than combustion engines. But that’s not what the study actually says, as a fact check pointed out. 

Another example of this sort of paltering, the term for using true facts to construct a false argument, can be found in a recent Financial Times op-ed, where R Street’s Dr. Ashley Nunes did the same sort of thing we spotted him doing in 2020, and attacked the cost of EVs compared to gas cars without ever actually disclosing the lower lifetime cost of not buying gas.  

For a third example, consider this op-ed in The Hill in which Johan Bracht complains that tax credits for electric vehicles being made in America are pointless because companies are already building factories, or something. It’s not particularly sharp in argument or writing, and not clear on much beyond the contention that spending on EVs is bad. 

The thing about this sort of numbers-heavy pseudo-intellectualism is that it’s not the kind of thing that actual people want to read or share- Bracht’s Hill piece has all of 10 shares, for example. 

Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean EV attacks don’t go viral. They do, they’re just really, really stupid. For example, in September, Facebook users were recently sharing a claim that EVs were seven times more expensive than gas cars – except that claim assumed drivers were paying 10 times more for energy than actual prices. 

At the end of October, an image showing a snowy traffic jam, with a caption about how bad it would be to get stuck in a snowstorm and three-hour traffic jam at night with an electric car, because the battery would go dead and you’d have no heat. 

But as Oxford associate professor David Howey told Reuters for a fact check, “electric vehicles use very little power when stationary. The motor doesn’t consume power at zero speed.” 

Oh! Well, waddya know, turns out an EV’s actually better than a gas car, and could probably run all the internal climate controls and electronics for “at least a day, probably many days” if it weren’t going anywhere. All this with the added bonus of not killing you with carbon monoxide if you're stuck in a snowbank!

Howey’s Oxford colleague Dr. Katherine Collet told Reuters that the Nissan Leaf could probably provide around 10 hours of heating – just on half a battery charge!

And then in November, some 10,000+ Facebook users had the opposite idea — what if it were “93 degrees outside” and cars have to idle with the A/C on? “The Brains behind the EV movement don’t have this figured out. These folks will die from heat, while in cold weather states, people will freeze to death. What do you say to that, Greta Thunberg?” 

Well Ms. Thunberg knows well enough to only respond to the biggest trolls, so instead we’ll have to get an answer from Monique Curet, who pointed out in PolitiFact: “While an internal-combustion car’s engine stays on and burns fuel while idling, electric vehicles use little battery power when at a standstill.” 

Curet spoke with Centre for Automotive Industry Research director Peter Wells, who corroborated Dr. Collet's comments to Reuters and explained that an EV battery could power the average house for two days, and that even half-charged, an EV battery could provide 10 to 15 hours of heating. And, of course, don't forget: an electric F-150 can power a wedding!

A gas car, on the other hand, burns gas just sitting around, making it less efficient than an electric vehicle. 

Most efficient, though, and a great way to avoid getting stuck in traffic jams all together, if we were to get really serious, is of course public transit.

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