FIRST LOOK:

The Global Warming Mitigation Project is now accepting applications for the 2022 Keeling Curve Prize. Projects with a proven track record of reducing, avoiding, or eliminating greenhouse gases could win $25,000. Learn more here.

No Power, No House, But They've Got Utility Bills: More than three and a half months after Hurricane Ida slammed southeastern Louisiana, many residents still have no electricity, or even a house, but they've still got power bills, the Courier reports. Entergy may have had all eight of its New Orleans transmission lines and its nearly brand-new gas-fired power plant rendered inoperable by the storm, but its billing department was apparently left unscathed. Robin Hunter and her husband Jamie Theriothave lived in a trailer, powered by a generator, on their property in Chauvin since the storm. They've received more than $1,000 in bills from Entergy since the storm rendered their house unlivable. In Pointe-aux Chenes, Brenda Billiot told the Courier she's received two bills totalling $600 since Ida despite the fact that the only thing left standing on her property is the front porch. “They said I have until the 14th to pay before my power gets cut off," she said, "but I don’t have any power anyways.” (The Courier, AP; Climate Signals background: 2021 Atlantic hurricane season)

Arctic Report Card Says We Are Failing The Arctic: The Siberian town of Verkhoyansk hit temperatures above 100°F on June 20, 2020, breaking the record for the highest Arctic temperature on record the World Meteorological Organization has confirmed. The announcement comes as NOAA's  16th-annual Arctic Report Card warned, as the NOAA administrator told reporters, heating "trends are consistent, alarming and undeniable." Some of the bad news is relatively expected, if still terrifying: the region's oldest ice is melting and Greenland is losing an average of about 280 billion metric tons of ice every year. Some of the news is more surprising: beavers are moving into melting tundra, and their ponds are accelerating permafrost thaw. Climate change, primarily caused by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels, is heating the planet, but the effects are even more extreme in polar regions. The high temperatures are also fueling wildfires, which in turn pump massive amounts of planet-heating CO2 into the atmosphere while thawing soils release even more potent planet-heating methane. Melting Arctic ice also means increased maritime travel, leading to more trash in previously frozen-over waters. (Heat record: AP, Washington Post $, Bloomberg $, USA Today, E&E News, The Hill; Report card: Washington Post $, AP, The Conversation, Politico Pro $, CNN, The Globe and Mail; Trash: Reuters, Gizmodo; Commentary: The Hill, Gabrielle Dreyfus, Rafe Pomerance, and Daniel Bodansky op-ed; Climate Signals background: Sea ice decline, Glacier and Ice sheet melt, Polar amplification, Extreme heat and heatwaves, Wildfires)

Permian Oil And Gas Operations (Still) Leaking Methane: More than 40% of 900 Permian Basin oil and gas operations sites had major methane plumes, an aerial survey found. The survey, the eighth of its kind, was conducted by EDF in early November. One-third of smaller wells had significant emissions that lasted for days and 14% of the methane plumes came from malfunctioning flares. Methane is a highly-potent heat-trapping gas and dramatically and quickly reducing methane pollution is widely seen as the best way to limit global warming in the near term. Oil majors have sought to offload their Permian Basin operations, in part to get methane pollution off their books, which could lead to even more methane pollution. The Biden administration has pledged to cut methane pollution by 30% by 2030, the main target of its highly-touted Global Methane Pledge. (Reuters)

MEMORIAM: 800,000 Americans have now died from COVID. It didn’t have to be this way. (Buzzfeed, The Atlantic, CBS, Washington Post $, National Geographic, AP, Politico, Axios, Wall Street Journal $, Yahoo, USA Today, NPR, ABC, Politico Pro $, The Hill, USA Today, ABC, BBC, The Guardian, Al Jazeera)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: In Chicago, a test case for Biden’s EPA (Washington Post $; context: Hot News, 5/10/21)

TORNADOES: Tornadoes death toll rises to 88, including 74 killed in Kentucky (Axios), more than 120 unaccounted for after deadly tornadoes (CBS, ABC), communities across Kentucky come together to lend a helping hand after devastating tornadoes (NewsOne), deadly US tornadoes to cost insurers up to $5 bln (Reuters), eight killed by tornado at Kentucky factory whose workers were ordered to remain on site (Democracy Now), how companies can stop letting tornadoes kill their workers (Gizmodo)

• CLIMATE: 'We can expect more': did climate change play a role in the deadly weekend tornadoes? (USA Today), global warming can set the stage for deadly tornadoes (InsideClimate News), "historic" tornadoes devastated multiple states in a single night. Climate change could make future tornado disasters even deadlier. (CBS), tornadoes and climate change: What a warming world means for deadly twisters and the type of storms that spawn them (The Conversation), climate change and tornadoes in Tennessee (Axios), the link between climate change and tornadoes is unclear. Here’s what we know so far (PBS NewsHour), was the deadly Kentucky tornado due to climate change? It’s ‘complicated.’ (MarketWatch), what fuels severe weather like the devastating tornado outbreak (NBC), why tornadoes are the hardest disasters to link to climate change (Grist)
• INFOWARS: Give me control of the weather weapons, you cowards (Gizmodo)

BIG (APPLE) NEWS: NYC set to enact gas ban with national implications (E&E News, AP), NYC’s gas ban takes fight against climate change to the kitchen (New York Times $)

LINE 5: Biden asks tribes to weigh in on high-stakes pipeline talks (E&E News)

FOSSIL DANGER: 62 dead, dozens injured in fuel tanker explosion in northern Haiti (Washington Post $, Wall Street Journal $, Al Jazeera, CNN, AP, New York Times $, Ebony, Reuters, Miami Herald, CBS)

YEAR IN REVIEW: 2021 was a remarkable year for earth’s climate (Yale Climate Connections), COP26, global emissions gaps, and extreme weather disasters: these are the top climate change stories of 2021. (Washington Post $), climate change, weather crises and what next (AP)

VOTER SUPPRESSION: Georgia is ground zero for the fight over voting in 2022, and women of color are on the front lines (The 19th* News)

CARS: Walking America’s car-centric hellscape (Grist). vehicle emission declines decreased deaths, study finds (AP)

SMART PEOPLE: ‘Colossal waste’: Nobel laureates call for 2% cut to military spending worldwide (The Guardian)

WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?: Climate impacts on workers a 'global blind spot' (E&E $), global warming of 3°C could cost $1.6 trillion a year in lost labour (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

AGENCIES: Energy and Transportation departments team up to help states develop electric vehicle charging infrastructure (CNN)

EPA: EPA launches civil rights revamp (E&E News), coal interests press Supreme Court to limit EPA reach (E&E News), EPA’s watchdog plans climate, environmental justice probes (E&E News), this Chalmette plant has been spewing sulfur dioxide for years; now EPA is taking action (NOLA.com, AP)

DOE: Granholm calls for US oil industry to hike oil output, invest in clean energy (Politico Pro $), Granholm tells oil executives crude export ban is off the table (Bloomberg $)

DOI: BLM moving half of Grand Junction positions to D.C. (E&E $, The Hill), Interior asks judge to stop Oklahoma oversight of coal mine clean-ups on tribal lands (Politico Pro $)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: US FDIC chair blocks effort to get public feedback on bank merger rules (Reuters)

THE HILL: Progressives want to scrap enhanced oil recovery incentive (E&E $)

BUILD BACK BETTER ACT: More than 450 groups urge Senate to pass Biden package before holidays (The Hill), activists tout climate savings to fight debt fears on Biden plan (Bloomberg $), White House scrambles to salvage $1.75tn Build Back Better bill by Christmas (FT $)

• MANCHIN: Manchin huddle with Biden fails to break impasse (E&E News), Manchin reelection plans loom as Democrats court his critical vote (CNN)

WHITE HOUSE: The Biden administration said its drilling-lease spree in the gulf was court-ordered. it wasn’t. (Grist), want to influence Joe Biden? Run ads in a 100-year-old newspaper. (Politico Pro $), White House unveils EV charging action plan, prepares network rollout guidance for cities, states (Utility Dive), it’ll take more than Biden’s economic plan to meet climate goal (Bloomberg $)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: John Kerry hints at plans for post-COP26 summit (Axios), Russia blocks UN move to treat climate change as a global Security threat (Washington Post $)

ELECTIONS: 3 House races to watch after redistricting (E&E News)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: Where is Biden’s pick for mine reclamation chief? (E&E News, The Hill), Lucy Koh becomes first Korean-American woman on U.S. appeals court (Dong-A Ilbo, E&E $, HuffPost, NBC)

CITIES AND STATES: Ohio cities settle civil claims related to power plant bailout (Energy News Network), Gov. Jay Inslee outlines plan to 'move faster' on climate (E&E $)

FERC: FERC to issue grid, cybersecurity, hydro rules (E&E $)

IMPACTS: Three loud climate warning signals (Axios), winters get warmer with climate change. So what explains Texas’ cold snap in February? (Texas Tribune), Central US braces for dangerous blast of winds amid record warmth (Washington Post $), November 2021: earth’s 4th-warmest November on record (Yale Climate Connections), 

IMPACT$: US storms make 2021 one of most costly years for insurers - Swiss Re (Reuters)

ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS: 8 feet of snow possible in mountains as powerful storm lashes California with rain, wind, snow (USA Today), powerful storm drenches Southern California with heavy rain (AP, ABC)

DROUGHT: Six dead giraffes: Kenya drought horror captured in single picture (The Guardian)

WILDFIRES: 5 homes, 14 barns destroyed in Oklahoma wildfire near Lawton (AP)

FLOODING: US businesses could face $13.5 billion from flood damage next year (Bloomberg $, Axios), floods a growing risk to commercial real estate, study finds (The Hill), Spanish city braces for flooding from swollen Ebro River (AP)

VICIOUS CYCLES: Peat bogs will release more heat-trapping gases as global warming continues, researchers find (Yale Climate Connections)

WATER: Report: Upper Colo. River basin states overusing water (E&E $), water utility groups oppose PFAS regulations, urge state to wait for federal action (The Cap Times)

RENEWABLES: California net-metering proposal would decimate rooftop solar market, industry says (Canary Media, Utility Dive, E&E $), Energy giant Shell to acquire US-based Savion in solar power push (Reuters), US solar industry will grow 25% less than expected during 2022 thanks to supply chain issues and rising costs, new report says (CNBC, E&E $)

"RENEWABLES": Biogas from America’s favorite meat: pollution solution or a prop for poultry? (Food and Environment Reporting Network), tax credit plan fuels fight for fats (Politico Pro $)

BATTERIES: Battery giant LG Energy strikes supply deal with recycling firm (Bloomberg $), Battery maker Northvolt and Galp Energia form JV to build lithium plant (Reuters), UK plans giant battery to manage surge in offshore wind (Bloomberg $)

BUILDINGS: Heating your home is expensive and carbon heavy. Will heat pumps help? (Wall Street Journal $)

OIL & GAS: Another pipeline leak reported by company responsible for North Dakota's largest oil field spill (Bismarck Tribune, AP), Equinor seeks $1 bln from North Sea oilfield stake sale, sources say (Reuters), Omicron won't reverse oil demand recovery, IEA says (Axios)

PIPELINES: A Missouri gas company figured out how to keep its illegal pipeline running (Grist)

COAL: German villages in path of coal mine turn into ghost towns (E&E News), HSBC says clients must have plan to exit coal by end-2023 (Reuters)

EVs: Toyota to plow $35 billion into accelerating electric car shift (Bloomberg $, AP)

E-POTATO E-POTATO E-POTATO: Harley-Davidson to spin off electric motorcycle division (FT $)

MUSIC: Music industry unites to pledge net-zero emissions by 2050 (The Guardian), combating music’s carbon crisis (Atmos)

MEDIA: Worst choice ever': intense backlash after Elon Musk named Time's 'Person of the Year' (The Hill, The Guardian, E&E $), Elizabeth Warren slams Elon Musk's 'person of the year' title, saying the tax code should be changed so he stops 'freeloading off everyone else' (Business Insider, The Independent)

AVIATION: United Airlines plans to purchase up to 100 hydrogen-electric engines (CNBC)

BUSINESS: Amazon’s use of plastic soared in 2020, environmental group says (Washington Post $), Amazon funds two climate tech firms as third gains ground (Axios)

FINANCE: BlackRock adds diversity target for US boardrooms (Reuters), JPMorgan opens new fund in Europe for hard-core ESG clients (Bloomberg $), World Bank under fire for being ‘missing in action’ on climate change (FT $)

INTERNATIONAL: Environmental protests rock Serbia (Axios), EU urged to ratchet up green energy standards for buildings (The Guardian), MPs call for halt to Britain’s incinerator expansion plans (The Guardian)

• Bold action fueled COP26’s zero-emission vehicles declaration. Even bolder action is needed to deploy clean cars fast enough to save the climate (Forbes, Anand Gopal op-ed)
• Protecting earth: if ‘nature needs half,’ what do people need? (Yale Environment 360, Carl Safina op-ed)
• EV tax credits are good. Protectionism is bad. (Bloomberg, Editorial Board $)
• President Biden’s pen is not enough to fight climate change. Congress must act. (Washington Post, Editorial Board $)
• Climate change is a disaster, whether or not it caused Kentucky’s tornadoes (Washington Post, Eugene Robinson column $)
• It’s time to entertain the possibility that the build back better bill won’t pass (Washington Post, Henry Olsen column $)
• Slow action on climate change risks ever-worsening tornado disasters (The Hill, Jonathan Overpeck op-ed)
• Component shortages hit EVs as Class 8 orders plummet (Utility Dive, Amanda Loudin op-ed)
• California's solar subsidy pullback isn't so bad (Bloomberg, Liam Denning column $)
• Kentucky on my mind (New York Times, Paul Krugman column $)
• It’s past time to electrify everything (Greenbiz, Saul Griffith op-ed)
• Unusual tornadoes, other unstable weather is here to stay with climate change (St Louis Post-Dispatch, Editorial Board)
• Was climate change to blame for the tornadoes, or was it just really bad weather? (New York Times, James Elsner op-ed $)
• Elon Musk is Time's 2021 'Person of the Year.' He doesn't deserve it. (NBC, Paris Marx op-ed)

Disinfo On Tornadoes Continues With 3 Lies in Just 10 Words

Yesterday we pointed out how Climate Depot sent out a misleading email on the tornadoes and climate, and it seems plenty of folks were eager to fact check the science, without being too eager to fact check themselves. HotAir ran a version of the aggregated tweets with the headline Meteorologist: Biden linking tornados to climate change is "utter insanity."

But the only meteorologist quoted is Joe Bastardi, and while he does say “insanity,” (though not “utter”) he’s not even referring to President Biden. Bastardi's comment was in response to FEMA Administrator Deanna Criswell’s quotes in a CNN story. HotAir’s Jazz Shaw then goes on to quote first semester college student Chris Martz, calling him “yet another meteorologist” and embedding a tweet from Martz downplaying the science about tornadoes and climate.

Despite putting “utter insanity” in the headline, the phrase appears nowhere in the story- but Morano did use Martz’s “utter bullshit” tweet in his pitch, and guess what? That was also responding to Criswell’s comments, not Biden’s!

The headline telling readers that a meteorologist called Biden’s climate and tornado statement “utter insanity” relies on a fabricated quote cobbling two different tweets together, one of which is not from a meteorologist, and neither of which were actually responding to Biden’s comments.

...But you can trust ‘em on the science!

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