FIRST LOOK:

Coal Workers Implore Joe Manchin to Support Build Back Better: The United Mine Workers of America rallied in support of the Build Back Better Act, calling on Sen. Joe Manchin, who was named an honorary member of the union last year, to reassess his decision to block the legislation. "We urge Senator Manchin to revisit his opposition to this legislation and work with his colleagues to pass something that will help keep coal miners working, and have a meaningful impact on our members, their families, and their communities,” said Cecil Roberts, the president of the union. Roberts specifically lauded a few policies in the bill, including one that would help workers with black lung and another that creates incentives for companies to build manufacturing facilities at coalfields and employ coal miners who have lost their jobs. (Roberts also urged Manchin to support voting rights legislation.) The UMWA’s call to Manchin to change his position comes from a group of special importance given his deep financial ties to mining and the fossil fuel industry. He has made millions from the coal company his family owns and has received more campaign donations from the fossil fuel industry this election cycle than any other senator. “We’re likely to lose coal jobs whether or not this bill passes,” UMWA’s chief lobbyist Phil Smith told the Washington Post. “If that’s the case, let’s figure out a way to provide as many jobs as possible for those who are going to lose.” Smith added that the bill’s tax incentives provide a “pathway to do that.” (CBS The Hill Business Insider CNN, Huffpost. Opinion: Greg Sargent, Washington Post) 

Build Back Better Act Crucial for US Climate Goals: If the Build Back Better Act does not become law it will be difficult, if not impossible, for the US to meet President Biden’s goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, according to an analysis from the Princeton-led REPEAT Project. If the House version of the BBB bill does pass, the analysis predicted the US would get close to meeting its goal by 2030, meeting it completely in 2035. This follows several other analyses from earlier in the year that reached similar results. The REPEAT Project report also found that the bill would result in wind and solar power expanding at up to four times their current paces, coal plants retiring more quickly, and sales of electric vehicles accelerating. “There’s still a yawning gap between where we are today and where we need to be to hit President Biden’s climate targets. Without either this bill or a climate bill that’s similar in scope, it’s really hard to see how those goals will be met,” said Jesse Jenkins, an energy systems engineer at Princeton University. Democrats are not giving up on BBB or its climate provisions. Yesterday, President Biden reaffirmed he is working with Sen. Joe Manchin to reach a deal on Build Back Better, and Manchin joined Senate Democrats for a special caucus meeting last night about next steps for BBB. (New York Times, CNN, Axios, E&E News, The Hill; Biden: CNN, Politico, Reuters; Caucus Meeting: NBC)   

Two New Solar Projects Get the Green Light: The Department of Interior approved two large new solar farms in Riverside County, California yesterday. The Arica and Victory Pass solar projects are expected to generate up to 465 megawatts of power and provide up to 400 megawatts of battery storage — enough to power 132,000 homes. A third, more controversial project in the same area, the Oberon solar project, is likely to be approved soon. These projects are the first on public lands to move forward under the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan. In 2016, after extensive negotiations between energy companies, tribes, environmentalists, and other groups, the Bureau of Land Management adopted the DRECP to map areas that could be used for renewable projects and those reserved  for wildlife, recreation, and cultural purposes. However, critics still worry about the adverse impacts renewable energy projects can have on the surrounding environment and wildlife. Although the Arica and Victory Pass solar farms would be built in areas designated for clean energy under the DRECP, they will disrupt sand dunes that provide a home to Mojave fringe-toed lizards and other species. The Oberon solar project is more controversial because it would destroy microphyll woodlands, but the company reached a deal with many of the environmental groups opposing the project yesterday. “We’re always trying to balance everything,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. “But, I mean, look: If we don’t move into a clean energy economy, climate change will get worse. More plants and animals will die.” (Los Angeles Times $, Desert Sun New York Times $, Associated Press, Axios, Reuters) 

BBB: Compared with climate inaction, Build Back Better is downright cheap (Boston Globe $), Democrats not yet ready to trim climate ambitions despite Manchin blow (Politico), Decoding Joe Manchin (New York Times $), U.S. climate commitments abroad thrown into confusion (E&E News), Is Biden serious about emissions reductions or not? (New Republic), Sen. Padilla, D-Ca., on the future of Build Back Better (MSNBC), Sen. Bennet: 'Hope' to talk to Manchin to try to 'persuade him to come back to the table' (MSNBC), Manchin negotiated in bad faith to obstruct bill that would help his state Joy Reid says (MSNBC), If Build Back Better dies, what happens to climate legislation? (KCRW)

WV IMPACTS: ‘Top of the list’: W.Va. faces surprising climate dangers (E&E News)

INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT: Infrastructure law may spike CO2 — report (E&E News)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Grape pickers crash lavish Sonoma winery banquet demanding better wildfire protections (The Intercept), How Black communities become ‘sacrifice zones’ for industrial air pollution (Mountain State Spotlight)

DENIAL: Revealed: how Facebook, Google platformed climate lies during COP26 and beyond (Forbes), Did 2021 deal a fatal blow to climate-change denial? (Discover Magazine) 

YEAR IN REVIEW: 2021: The Year in calamity cartoons (KQED), Sustainability became a major corporate priority in 2021, but it ends with Biden's climate bill being canned (Business Insider), In 2021, climate ambitions soared and crashed in the U.S. and around the world (NPR)

2021 WILD WEATHER: A visual guide to this year’s heat domes, hurricanes, and wildfires (Grist), From floods and wildfires to inaction and urgency: These are the top climate and weather stories of 2021 (CNN), 10 record-breaking moments that blew our meteorologists' minds in 2021 (Weather Channel), Drought, fires, floods, mudslides and one devastating deep freeze: the images of 2021 (Weather Channel) 

MIGRANTS: As temperatures rise, crossing into the US will become even more deadly (Grist)

SUPPLY CHAIN: Delayed Christmas gifts are just the beginning. The supply chain crisis isn’t going away soon. (Washington Post $)

ALISO CANYON GAS LEAK: Halliburton failed to stop a massive gas leak. Now it claims key evidence was stolen (LA Times $)

AIR QUALITY: Don’t forget indoor air quality this holiday season (Forbes)

WATER: The west’s race to secure water (Bloomberg $), Water worries in west force sports teams to get creative (Washington Post $)

GAS CRUNCH: Natural gas crunch drives buyers to Gulf Coast LNG (Houston Chronicle), European natural gas prices hover near record levels as energy crunch deepens (Marketplace), Europe’s energy crunch continues as gas and power prices soar. (New York Times $)

GAS PRICES: Natural gas prices fall after warm start to winter (Axios), U.S. natgas futures gain on soaring global gas prices (Reuters)

CHRISTMAS TREES: Tree rentals provide eco-friendly alternative to holiday tradition (CBS), The crisis unfolding in America’s Christmas tree capital (The Guardian)

2022: Next year is forecast to be one of the warmest on record (Bloomberg $)

EPA: How EPA’s power plant rule dodged industry ‘fear-spreading’ (E&E News)

JUDICIAL BRANCH: Justices urged by lawmakers, states to limit EPA’s climate power  (Bloomberg Law)

ENBRIDGE: Fossil fuel company Enbridge: climate change means we need to make money now, not later (Jacobin)

WHITE HOUSE: Here’s what Biden can do on climate change without Build Back Better (Fast Company), Biden's clean car rule points to tenuous path ahead for climate change action without congress (Yahoo)

CITIES AND STATES: Legislature allocates $10M to Oregon farmworkers who missed work due to extreme weather (Salem Statesman Journal), Groups urge bigger targets, more equity as RGGI states consider changes (Energy News Network), Millions of gallons of PA drilling waste disposed of on roads since 2018 (Energy News Network)

HOTTEST YEAR: Next year is forecast to be one of the warmest on record (Bloomberg $)

IMPACTS: In their own words, how Americans are experiencing the climate crisis across the US (The Independent), 2021’s climate disasters revealed an east-west weather divide, with one side of the country too wet, the other dangerously dry (The Conversation)

HEAT: Mumbai may need to change its working hours to adapt to climate change, study suggests (Weather Channel)

WINTER WARMTH: Enter winter, the fastest-warming season (Washington Post $), Record warm spell to hit US over Christmas holiday (The Independent), Adapting to a shortening winter, Maine ski areas are increasingly turning to snow making (Maine Public Radio)

TYPHOON RAI: Food running out, Philippine typhoon survivors warn (Reuters), Looting possible by hungry survivors of typhoon Rai, Philippine gov says, pleading for aid (Newsweek), Troops race to deliver aid to Philippine typhoon survivors (France24 / AFP)

TORNADOES: December’s tornadoes show a country desperately in need of disaster reform (Grist), Video Retracing the path of 60 tornadoes that slammed 9 states (ABC)

DROUGHT: Drought-stricken Las Vegas proposes grass ban for new homes (AP), Drought in east Africa means 10 million people need urgent aid (Bloomberg $), Danger in Droughtsville: California’s urban water at risk (CAL Matters)

WILDFIRES: Truckee art exhibit explores history and future of Sierra wildfires (Reno Gazette-Journal)

NO SNOW: A white Christmas in 2021?  Why that’s less likely even where it typically snows (MarketWatch)

ARCTIC: The Arctic’s climate challenge spurs tech innovation (Fortune), Beavers march north into Arctic: 'tundra be dammed' (Newsweek), Rewilding Arctic with mammals ‘will do little’ to slow impact of climate crisis, study suggests (The Independent)

ANTARCTIC: Equilibrium/Sustainability — New life blossoms in Antarctic ice shelf (The Hill)

STORMS: California’s stormy Christmas week could dump up to 10 feet of Sierra snow (Weather Channel), Winter storms could bring extreme weather to the East and West coasts this week (ABC)

RENEWABLES: US can get to 100% clean energy with wind, water, solar and zero nuclear, Stanford professor says (CNBC), Power plants get more expensive but renewables still cheapest (Bloomberg $), Weak winds worsened Europe's power crunch; utilities need better storage (Reuters)

SOLAR: Amazon building large solar projects in Wharton, Matagorda counties (Houston Chronicle)

LNG: Ships carrying natural gas head for Europe as prices surge to new high (FT $)

COAL: Coal power heading toward all-time high this year (The Hill)

HYDROGEN: Can ‘green hydrogen’ clean up natural gas? (Bloomberg $)

ADAPTATION: This coastal town needs federal aid for climate adaptation. Instead it’ll get a military truck. (Grist), The world's cities aren't adapting to climate change quickly enough (Greenbiz)

FINANCE: New ratings industry is emerging to help home buyers assess climate risks (Philadelphia Inquirer)

TECH: Climate tech investment is booming, but not in the right sectors (Quartz), Abu Dhabi’s Adnoc starts $3.6 billion project to cut emissions (Bloomberg $)

SOLUTIONS: Could crushed rocks absorb enough carbon to curb global warming? (National Geographic)

CLIMATE ANXIETY: Tools to combat climate change anxiety; exhibit showcases toxic old-school toys (NPR)

GIFTS: The last-minute gift to fight climate change: donations (Popular Science), 5 tips for how to wrap presents and create less waste (Washington Post $)

TV: Wheel of Time is set thousands of years from now, yet it’s still burdened with today’s climate change (The Conversation)

INTERNATIONAL: UK floats ‘climate compatibility’ test for new oil and gas drilling (Climate Home), Campaigners lose court action over lawfulness of UK climate policies (The Guardian), Brussels sets out new green aid rules, with ‘pragmatic exceptions’ for gas (Climate Home)

• Why Build Back Better wouldn't increase inflation (Charleston Gazette-Mail, Dan Heyman op-ed)

• To protect our planet, and our economy, the Fed must act on climate change (CNBC, Rep. Mondaire Jones and Sen. Ed Markey op-ed)

• By ditching landmark climate legislation, America makes the world unsafe (The Guardian, Kate Aronoff Op-ed)
• Manchin's Build Back Better opposition could badly hurt America's working women (MSNBC, Jessica Levinson op-ed)

• Reviving U.S. heavy industry would build a safer, more sustainable world (MarketWatch, Jeffrey Jeb Nadaner op-ed)

• Why the growth of climate and ESG inside boardrooms gives me hope (Greenbiz Helle Bank Jorgensen op-ed)

• A very vegan Christmas (WBUR, Rich Barlow Commentary)

• Global destruction isn’t funny, but when it comes to the climate crisis, it might have to be (Boston Globe, Michael E. Mann op-ed $)

• The climate disconnect (The Hill, Ben Santer, Ph.D op-ed)

• Help us to help those on the climate frontline (The Guardian, Editorial Board)

• Nuclear power has no business case and could make climate change worse (The Hill, Tim Judson and Linda Pentz Gunter op-ed)

• Want to save the oceans from climate change? Support this bill now. (San Diego Union-Tribune, JP Bruner op-ed)

• The animals are warning us. Will we listen? (WBUR, Barbara Moran Commentary)

• The real climate change challenge (Politico EU, Peter Sutoris op-ed)

• Nuclear energy is the best solution for combatting climate change  (The Commercial Appeal, Natalia M. Best op-ed)

• Biden's Build Back Better can pass with a reset (Fox News, Harold Ford. Jr op-ed) 

   

We're off this week! See you in the new year. 

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