FIRST LOOK

Storm Ana Kills Scores In Southern Africa: Tropical Storm Ana has killed at least 88 people across three southern African nations. At least 48 are dead in Madagascar after landslides triggered by torrential rain destroyed buildings or simply washed them away. Another 20 people have been officially reported dead in both Mozambique and Malawi. "I lost my fishing boat, it was swept away by the strong wind," Abdul Ibrahim, a fisherman in Mozambique's Nampula province, told AFP (per BBC). "I have never seen anything like this before. It will be difficult for me to recover." Storms have repeatedly hammered the region in recent months and, "this latest storm...is a blunt reminder that the climate crisis is very much a reality," Maria Luisa Fornara, a UNICEF Representative in Mozambique, told reporters. Another storm is threatening to build in the Indian Ocean in the coming days. (Reuters, BBC, Washington Post $, Democracy Now, The Guardian, CNN, Al Jazeera, ABC; Climate Signals background: Cyclonic storms)

Coal Mine Fires Get Renewed Attention: An underground coal fire burning since the Chester A. Arthur administration could be linked to the Marshall Fire in Boulder County, Colorado, late last December, bringing renewed attention to the dangers posed by coal burning underground, the AP reports. At least 259 underground coal mine fires were burning in the U.S. as of last September according to federal data, with possibly thousands more undocumented fires in unmined coal seams. The subterranean fires can be ignited in multiple ways and are often impossible to extinguish because they feed on the oxygen naturally present in coal itself. Burning coal seams emit toxic fumes and are becoming a greater potential danger as climate change, caused primarily by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels, turns the vegetation above them into veritable tinder. The Marshall Fire — the urban firestorm that incinerated more than 1,000 homes and buildings and killed at least one person in late-December 2021 — may have been started by an "impossible to extinguish" mine fire ignited in 1883. (AP; Climate Signals background: Marshall Fire)

Wicked Bomb Cyclone Hammahs New England, Thousands Without Powah: A powerful nor’easter hammered New England over the weekend with record snowfall and hurricane-force winds that left more than 100,000 electricity customers without power. The storm rapidly intensified off the coast of New Jersey into a "bomb cyclone" and dumped nearly two feet of snow on Boston, making Saturday its snowiest January day on record (and tied for its biggest one-day snow total ever). The storm also caused ocean surge that flooded shoreline communities in eastern Massachusetts. Nor'easters feed off of jet stream energy and the difference between cold air and warm ocean waters. Climate change, caused primarily by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels, is heating ocean temperatures, altering polar vortex dynamics that can bring frigid Arctic air to lower latitudes, increasing the amount of moisture the atmosphere can hold (and then dump as snow or rain), and driving sea level rise, which increases coastal flooding risk. None of this, of course, could prevent Bostonians from seeking out some Dunkin'. (Storm: Washington Post $, AP, AP, Boston Globe $, Washington Post $, Bloomberg $; Snow totals: Boston Globe $; Outages: Boston Globe $, Axios, Washington Post $; Climate connections: Bloomberg $, Boston Globe $, Washington Post $, Earther, MarketWatch; Dunkin': WCVB; Photos: Axios; Climate Signals background: Winter storm risk increase)

INTERSECTIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: The young activist fighting to ‘change the faces of power’ (Earther), transition to electric transportation must elevate equity beyond EVs, advocates say (Energy News Network)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: West accused of ‘climate hypocrisy’ as emissions dwarf those of poor countries (The Guardian), climate meeting of ministers discusses national plans to cut methane emissions (FT $), US floats ideas on methane and clean power (Axios), US urges countries to adopt individual methane goals (E&E $), Italian minister: Climate talks include fund governance (AP)

ENERGY GEOPOLITICS: What if Russia turns off the gas? Europe assesses its options as fears mount over ukraine crisis (CNBC), before Ukraine standoff, US pitched its ‘freedom gas’ to Europe and found few takers (Wall Street Journal $), how climate and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline undergirds the Ukraine-Russia standoff (InsideClimate News), US, Europe working to avoid Ukraine-related energy 'supply shock' (The Hill)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: Alaska court rules against youths in climate change lawsuit (AP)

DENIAL: Joe Rogan’s podcast puts scientists on edge with climate misinformation (Bloomberg $)

AND NOW, BACK TO YOU…: As storms intensify, the job of TV weather person gets more serious (New York Times $)

GAS STOVES: Gas stoves are a threat to health and have larger climate impact than previously known, study shows (CNN), gas stoves pose a big risk to the planet and your health, study says (Washington Post $)

VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE: How a record-breaking heat wave fueled climate anxiety (E&E News)

TERF WARS: How an ‘anti-trans’ group split the fight against a lithium mine (E&E News)

FIRST AND WORST: Snowstorms trap displaced Syrians between frost and dangerous fires (Washington Post $)

THE MOST IMPORTANT NUMBER YOU KNOW ABOUT BECAUSE YOU READ HOT NEWS: The social cost of carbon is about to get an update (Axios)

POP CULTURE: Why Meryl Streep looks at the world differently after 'Don't Look Up' (CNN)

SCOTUS: Biden’s Supreme Court nomination ‘an opportunity’ to have a Black justice who gets it on civil rights (NewsOne), Black women are taking control of the narrative': The road ahead as Biden commits to historic Supreme Court nomination (CNN), climate ‘champion’ sought to replace Breyer (E&E News), Clyburn, architect of Biden’s court pledge, pushes his pick (Black Wall Street Times), environmental groups aren't pushing supreme court picks. Here's why. (Washington Post $), next justice unlikely to make a difference in climate law (E&E News), the end of affirmative action will impact Black and latino students at high levels (The Root), inside Stephen Breyer’s Clean Water Act legacy (E&E News)

EPA: EPA rejects Texas’ more lenient standard for highly toxic air pollutant (Texas Tribune and ProPublica)

DOE: DOE restarts coal advisory committee with new focus (Politico Pro $)

GULF LEASE SALE: ‘Huge victory’ as judge blocks Biden’s oil lease sale in Gulf of Mexico (The Real News, Reuters, E&E News, AP, Grist), Chevron reviews court decision that blocked Gulf of Mexico lease sale (Reuters), court ruling gives Biden chance for reset on climate policy (AP), judges increasingly demand climate analysis in drilling decisions (New York Times $)

THE HILL: Congress invests in climate resilience (MSNBC)

HOUSE: Climate legislation strains House Ag cooperation ahead of farm bill (Politico Pro $), Congresswoman Cori Bush’s car shot up in St. Louis, Blue Lives Matter spokesman has ‘vile’ response: ‘we need the lawmakers to be victims’ (Atlanta Black Star), Hill progressives seek end to DOD sustainability exemption (E&E News)

SENATE: Manchin not negotiating as progressives seek climate bill (E&E $), Democrats put Build Back Better in Joe Manchin’s court (Wall Street Journal $)

WHITE HOUSE: Collapsed bridge -- and US' crumbling infrastructure -- becomes a central focus of Biden's Pittsburgh trip (CNN, AP), White House acting regulations director to depart (E&E News)

POLITICS: A Biden ally [Mary Barra] takes over [Business Roundtable] one of Build Back Better’s main opponents (Politico), left says they're not to blame for Biden's problems (The Hill)

ELECTIONS: In Senate race, leading Pennsylvania Democrat spurns a fracking ban (Washington Post $)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: US Chamber issues rare warning on Fed nominee Raskin, citing oil, gas views (Reuters), this Fed pick is a climate hero. It might sink her nomination (E&E News), Sen. [Sherrod] Brown says 'no question' Biden's Fed nominees qualified (Reuters)

TRIBES: Ruling stands, McGirt not to be overturned (Indian Country Today), recent abortion bans highlight the continued barriers to reproductive justice for Indigenous people (Prism Reports)

CITIES AND STATES: Climate and consumer advocates call for early end to Connecticut gas program (Energy News Network), Jersey city agrees to $1 billion plan to improve drinking water, combined sewer system (NJ.com), Chicago’s LED streetlight upgrade will save millions, reduce carbon emissions (NBC), How cities like Phoenix are updating infrastructure to combat extreme weather (NBC), laws restricting abortion may also limit options for people who miscarry (The 19th* News)

CALIFORNIA: California rooftop solar plan would cut market in half — report (E&E $), questions about lack of diversity and racial bias roil major California water supplier (LA Times $), California is leveraging the pandemic into its own peace corps (New York Times $), Los Angeles is making good on its promise to ban oil and gas wells (Earther)

FERC: FERC proposes internal monitoring requirements for bulk electric facilities to address security 'gap' (Utility Dive), FERC should loosen incumbent transmission owners' grip on planning, R Street panelists say (Utility Dive), pipeline company opposes 'prescriptive' FERC intervention on responsibly sourced gas proposal (Politico Pro $)

SOLUTIONS: What Indigenous people can teach us about fighting climate change (CNBC)

IMPACTS: Increased flooding and droughts linked to climate change have sent crop insurance payouts skyrocketing (InsideClimate News, Grist), global warming effect of methane from US Permian draws fresh scrutiny (FT $), Great Barrier Reef on verge of another mass bleaching after highest temperatures on record (The Guardian), massive iceberg breaks up in Southern Atlantic, with unknown environmental toll (Democracy Now)

OLYMPICS: Olympians worry as 'Winter' disappears from Winter Games (AP)

RENEWABLES: Clean energy surge won't meet net-zero goals (E&E $), CO2-free travel? Companies plan breakthrough solar plant (E&E $), Shell's renewables boss steps down after less than two years (Reuters), UK wind energy hits record, bringing relief to power costs (Bloomberg $, The Guardian)

LNG: Are LNG exports driving natural gas prices higher for US consumers and businesses? (Houston Chronicle)

OIL & GAS: Chevron has its best quarter since 2014, reflecting an oil industry turnaround. (New York Times $), Despite soaring oil price, drilling jobs are slow to return (Houston Chronicle), for the first time, a Harvard study links air pollution from fracking to early deaths among nearby residents (InsideClimate News), global gas rally to kickstart long-stalled US LNG projects (Reuters), the oil industry has a $500 billion bubble problem (Earther), weather, cleanup keep oil slick away from Thai resort island (AP)

PLASTICS: How the fossil fuel industry is pushing plastics on the world (CNBC)

COAL: Activists demand stop to Japan-funded coal plant in climate-vulnerable Bangladesh (Thomson Reuters Foundation), Global coal prices surge as Ukraine tensions worsen supply woes (Reuters)

HYDROGEN: Ambani’s $75 billion plan aims to make India a hydrogen hub (Bloomberg $), Shell says one of the largest hydrogen electrolyzers in the world is now up and running in China (CNBC)

EVs: Connecticut launches 'comprehensive' and 'complex' charging program to support 500,000 EVs by 2030 (Utility Dive), electric trucks could save lives (Yale Climate Connections), electric vehicles drive up demand for ‘green metals’ (Grist), Union Pacific announces plans for battery-electric engines (AP)

CLIMATE COMMUNICATIONS: The way we talk about climate change matters, Bill Nye says (New York Times $)

NET ZERO: The cost to reach net zero by 2050 is actually a bargain (Bloomberg $)

BIG GREEN: Did Sierra Club fail to aid Colorado chapter it might now suspend? (E&E News)

STUNNING ENDORSEMENTS: KFC's beyond fried chicken tastes like KFC's fried chicken (Earther)

AGRICULTURE: Mega-dairy accused of violating Oregon air pollution rules while seeking clean energy credits in California (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

CARBON REMOVAL: Troubled US carbon-sucking startup goes looking for new CEO (Bloomberg $)

FINANCE: Blackstone tees up $11 billion in fresh capital for Asia deals (Bloomberg $), Chart: Investors showered climatetech startups with a record-smashing $40B in 2021 (Canary Media), One ETF is betting on an unconventional group of stocks to battle climate change (CNBC), Wall Street’s green push exposes new conflicts of interest (Wall Street Journal $), Wall Street-dominated green club is told it has rich-world bias (Bloomberg $)

CRYPTO: Crypto bubble: the hype machine behind a $70,000 carbon credit (Climate Home), New York delays a decision on permits for bitcoin miner’s power plant (Bloomberg $)

WILDLIFE: Climate change might be shrinking Amazonian birds (Discover Magazine), 

INTERNATIONAL: Australian regulator finds large-scale emissions misreporting by coalminer Peabody (The Guardian), Australia pledges $700m to protect the Great Barrier Reef (FT $, Reuters), Chile is in for a mining boom. Could a new constitution prevent environmental catastrophe? (Grist), fixing the UK’s broken energy market (Energy Monitor), Green energy measures saving households £1,000 a year – analysis (The Guardian), India plans over $40 billion for food, fertiliser subsidy for 2022/23 - sources (Reuters), India's Ather targets 1 million electric scooters a year as demand soars (Reuters), Peru bans Repsol execs from leaving country after oil spill (AP), rally in Serbia draws attention to country’s air pollution (AP), UK pupils failed by schools’ teaching of climate crisis, experts say (The Guardian)

• How Biden can use the ocean to fight climate change (Politico, Christine Todd Whitman and Leon Panetta op-ed)
• A continuing resolution would sabotage EPA (The Hill, David Coursen op-ed)
• No, really, don’t look up (FT, Janan Ganesh op-ed $)
• Far from dying, the coal industry is actually booming (Bloomberg, Javier Blas column $)
• How to win more global warming lawsuits (Bloomberg, Mark Buchanan column $)
• New bill would end energy poverty in the US and help families adjust to rising temperatures (The Hill, Mark Wolfe op-ed)
• Biden can’t nominate just any old Black woman to the supreme court (Black Wall Street Times, Tanesha Peeples op-ed)
• What’s next for Massachusetts’ climate policy? (Boston Globe, Mindy Lubber op-ed $)

After Years Of Saying Warming Was Natural Variability, Deniers Forget About It When It’s Cold

There was once a very popular excuse for climate denial: the atmosphere isn’t actually warming, it’s just natural variability! The Earth’s climate swings, and it just happens to be on a hot swing at the moment and any day now, it’ll cool again. 

But it’s been a few decades since a colder-than-average year, and even deniers acknowledge while attempting to argue otherwise. 

Retired TV weatherman-turned-crank-blogger Anthony Watts let Larry Hamlin fill in for his paid duties at the industry-backed Heartland Institute's Climate Realism page with a post all about how NOAA is hiding that global temperatures are declining as CO2 rises.

In it, Hamlin posts an image of temperature anomalies, the difference between that year’s temperature and the long term average, and it very clearly shows the upward trend of the last 150 years. He then, in an act of scientific cherry-picking so obvious it’s amazing that he and Watts and Heartland thought it was a good idea, then zooms all the way in on just the last six years to say that since temperatures have yet to surpass 2016, we must be cooling!

Now 2016 was an exceptionally hot year, in part because of the effects of an El Nino, which raise temperatures (while La Niña cycles lower them) and have occurred a few times since 2016, lowering the temperature anomalies in those years. Hamlin even notes the demarcated years, but then goes off on how NOAA is improperly adjusting the temperature record (i.e. correcting it), to try and hide how it’s now a cooling trend, and then concluding by pointing to ever-rising CO2 levels, and claiming that since models predict rising temperatures as a result of steady rising CO2 levels, clearly they’re wrong. 

But that’s not what climate models predict, because it’s not just the immediate warming from each molecule of CO2 in the atmosphere, it’s the cumulative and compound effect of that extra energy that works through the system and triggers other feedback loops that is the big problem with warming. And all during that warming process, all the natural variability aspects deniers used to focus on — and pretend were responsible for all of the heat are still playing out, pushing the temperature up or down a little bit each year — steadily climbs upwards when you look over longer time periods. 

But Hamlin wasn’t the only denier Watts let ignore natural variability. Over at his blog, Watts reposted Roy Spencer’s Thursday thoughts on this weekend’s snow on the east coast. Spencer predicted a flurry of “global warming hysteria” despite the fact that “global warming was going to make snow a thing of the past.” 

Two things though. 

First, even with warming, there will still be snow storms. (In 2014 the New York Times ran an op-ed questioning whether this would be “the end of snow?” and deniers have never forgotten it.) 

And second, yes, there are good scientific reasons to believe that as the atmosphere warms, that may actually make some storms bigger and more dangerous or disastrous. That’s not “hysteria,” to use Spencer’s thinly veiled misogynist dog-whistle term, it’s science, published in a real journal and everything. 

And there are direct climate connections. For example, Nor’Easters are powered by the contrast between warmer ocean waters and cold air temperatures, and the waters off the coast have been abnormally warm. Additionally, warm air can hold more moisture, so as the atmosphere warms, storms are capable of dumping more rain or snow. Finally, in coastal areas, melting polar ice and warming oceans means higher sea levels, heightening storm surges and increasing damages from the floods that result. 

But apparently Watts is keen to post Roy Spencer content, thin as it may be, and despite Spencer’s demonetization by Google for spreading climate disinformation. Maybe Watts is trying to follow suit and fundraise off of a gullible and well-resourced audience after getting “cancelled”... 

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