FIRST LOOK

California Solar Canals Pilot Announced: Solar panels are coming to two California canals. The "Project Nexus" follows research from the University of California-Merced finding substantial benefits for water quality and delivery, in addition to the benefits of renewable power generation. This first-of-its-kind pilot project will install solar arrays over two canals (one 25-feet wide and one 110-foot-wide) in the Turlock Irrigation District, allowing operators to monitor and evaluate the arrays' impacts on water quality and evaporation and learn more about the potential maintenance and logistical issues involved with installing and operating solar panels over the canals. "In today's world and how we are operating our system, saving every possible drop of water for future beneficial use is something that we are really trying to focus on. And so, any potential water savings is a water benefit to our ratepayers and to our growers," Josh Weimer of the TID said. [Climate Nexus is not connected to the project.] (Modesto Bee, ABC-10, PV Magazine; Climate Signals background: Drought)

Unhoused People Killed By Cold In Texas: While the state of Texas overall did not experience widespread blackouts last weekend, the extreme cold still killed at least three unhoused people in Houston sleeping on the streets. The science of how climate change may be making extreme cold events more frequent — even as climate change overall leads to fewer cold days — is complex. However, the deaths of two unnamed men and Benita Perez, a 41-year old mother of four, illustrate the heightened vulnerability of unhoused people to extreme weather and the impacts of climate change. (Men: Houston Chronicle; Benita Perez: Houston Chronicle; Climate Signals background: Winter storm risk increase, February 2021 polar vortex breakdown)

EPA Undercounts Climate Impact Of Methane Pollution - Study: The U.S. EPA dramatically underestimates the planet-heating impact of methane pollution, a study published Wednesday in Environmental Research Letters, finds. The agency's current method for evaluating methane's heat-trapping impact fails to account for its near-term impact, the research report says, by using an "arbitrary and unjustified" 100-year timeline despite the fact that methane only stays in the atmosphere for about 12 years. The 100-year time frame was used because Kyoto Protocol negotiators settled on it as a compromise between 20- and 500-year time frames and has massive implications for assessing the climate impact of methane pollution. As a heat-trapping gas in the atmosphere, methane is 81 times more potent than CO2 over a 20-year period, but just 28 times more potent over a 100-year period. “It’s a huge swing in how much we value methane, and therefore how many of our resources go towards mitigating it,” Sam Abernethy, a Stanford doctoral student and the lead author of the study, said. (Inside Climate News, Phys.org)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: White Republican congressman apologizes for poking Rep. Joyce Beatty and telling her “kiss my ass” (The Root)

(POST-DISASTER) HOUSING INJUSTICE: Historic flooding and a housing crisis left evicted Nooksack members with nowhere to go (Grist), Disasters can wipe out affordable housing forever unless communities plan ahead – that loss hurts the economy (The Conversation)

HOMELAND SECURITY: Colombia's Amazon Indigenous groups train youth to defend rainforest (Thomson Reuters Foundation), Wet’suwet’en land defenders call on united nations to visit proposed pipeline (Grist)

BANG FOR THE BUCK: Clean energy tax credits a cheap way to cut CO2 — research (E&E $, Axios)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: EU has failed to create gold standard for green finance, Spain says (Reuters), Germany’s diplomacy pivots toward fighting climate change (AP), Germany hails Greenpeace's Morgan as 'dream' climate envoy (Reuters, The Guardian, New York Times $), Under pressure over energy plan, Mexico president suggests pausing relations with Spain (Reuters), World to China: Time to step up on climate (Politico)

ENERGY GEOPOLITICS: Explaining why natural gas plays such a big role in the Russia-Ukraine crisis (NPR), Japan to divert LNG to Europe amid Russia-Ukraine tension (Reuters), Oil will hit $120 a barrel if Russia invades ukraine, strategist predicts (CNBC)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: A busy stretch in climate litigation (Axios), Oil firms suffer major setback in Colo. climate lawsuit (E&E News)

OLYMPICS: Cooling towers and fake snow: What the Beijing Winter Olympics says about climate change (Climate Home), The environmentally unfriendly secret of the Beijing Olympics (New York Times $), What artificial snow at the 2022 olympics means for the future of winter games (TIME)

CORP. CLIMATE GOALS: Big Tech’s climate goals are weaker than they seem, report finds (The Verge)

BET YOU CAN'T STOP AFTER THE FIRST GRAF: Dams alter river temperatures and endanger fish, yet 3,700 more will be built (Washington Post $)

POST-DISASTER HOUSING: Disasters can wipe out affordable housing forever unless communities plan ahead – that loss hurts the economy (The Conversation)

PUBLIC OPINION: Most aren't impressed by their leaders' climate choices, poll finds (Politico), The country that’s worried most about climate change (E&E News)

TERF WARS: The environmental movement isn’t ready for transphobia (Gizmodo)

ARMY GREEN: The US Army has a new dystopian plan to deal with climate catastrophe (Gizmodo, Washington Post $)

YOUR KITCHEN: Are gas stoves hazardous to your health? (AARP)

AGENCIES: FEMA administrator: Phase 2 of flood insurance revamp on track (Politico Pro $), USDA official defends climate action to skeptical GOP (E&E News)

• USPS: US postal service under fire for plan to spend $11.3bn on gas-powered fleet (The Guardian)

DOE: Biden administration plan calls for $5 billion network of electric vehicle chargers along interstates (Washington Post $)

DOI: Biden admin defends approval of more Arctic oil exploration (E&E $), BLM goes on a hiring spree (E&E News)

BUILD BACK BETTER ACT: First lady Jill Biden 'disappointed' free community college proposal stripped from Build Back Better deal (The Root)

BIF: How billions in infrastructure funding could worsen global warming (New York Times $)

THE HILL: Congress strikes broad government funding deal (Politico Pro $), Democratic lawmakers criticize USPS plan to purchase gas-powered trucks (The Hill), Lawmakers urge Pentagon to update climate plans in upcoming strategy to keep US ‘safe’ (HuffPost)

HOUSE: Rep. Cori Bush delivered an eloquent Black History lesson on the House floor: 'we're going to tell the truth today' (Blavity), House Dems, green groups demand national biodiversity strategy from Biden (The Hill)

• BIG OIL DISINFO: Oil companies' climate pledges amount to 'delay tactics,' scientist testifies (Houston Chronicle), Dems slam Big Oil for ’empty promises’ at hearing (E&E News), House hearing puts pressure on American oil companies' climate pledges (Washington Post $), Two House Democrats question PR firms on work with fossil fuel companies (The Hill)

WHITE HOUSE: Revamp of tool for Biden’s environmental justice goal stalls (E&E News), Biden upstages EV event by saying 'Tesla' for first time (E&E $), Biden, utility CEOs tout clean power to revive spending bill (Bloomberg $), Kerry urges cooperation with Mexico on clean energy as power bill rankles (Reuters), US envoy urges Mexico to ensure energy bill does not breach trade pact (Reuters), White House's Deese upbeat about reaching deal with Congress on climate, social spending (Reuters)

ELECTIONS: Vulnerable Democrats call for gas tax suspension amid rising prices (The Hill)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: [DOE] nominees stress grid reliability, dependable energy data (E&E $), Republican opposition to Interior nominee [Laura Daniel-Davis] hardens (E&E $)

CITIES AND STATES: Could community solar see the light of day in Ohio? Supporters see momentum (Energy News Network), New York pension fund to dump half US shale firms from its portfolio (OilPrice, Reuters, MarketWatch), Bellingham OKs measure to curb commercial natural gas use (AP), Oregon bill tackles megaquake ‘nightmare’: Fuel storage site (AP)

CALIFORNIA: California conservationists and farmers unite to protect salmon (Reuters), California lawmaker introduces bill to ban drilling in state waters (Politico Pro $), Is LA heading towards a zero-carbon future? Councilwoman Nithya Raman announces plans to change construction (Hey Social), Tesla sued by California agency for alleged racial discrimination, harassment (Wall Street Journal $)

FERC: Clean energy, environmental groups sue FERC over approval of Southeast energy market (Utility Dive)

RATIONAL DECISION MAKING: Women are deciding to have fewer children, and global warming is to blame (Marie Claire)

THE BIG GAME: Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles could be the hottest on record (Washington Post $)

DROUGHT: Millions in horn of Africa face severe hunger after years of drought (Democracy Now)

WILDFIRES: 'Double hazards' map points to a hidden geography of wildfire risk (The Hill), Official: It’s winter but dryness elevates wildfire threat (AP), Environmental groups alarmed over fires in Colombian Amazon (AP)

FOR PEAT'S SAKE: Scientists are underestimating peatland 'carbon bombs' (E&E $)

RENEWABLES: Why wind and solar companies need to address human rights (Energy Monitor), Solar stills help people obtain clean water using the power of the sun (Yale Climate Connections), Startup wants to store spare renewable electricity to power heavy industry (Wall Street Journal $)

COAL CLEANUP: The Biden administration is spending billions to clean up toxic abandoned coal mines (Grist), US coal communities get historic $11B to clean up abandoned mines (Canary Media)

BATTERIES: How much lithium will the world need? It depends who you ask (Bloomberg $)

OIL & GAS: Texas got double the earthquakes in 2021 (Gizmodo), 3 trends to watch with Big Oil (E&E News), After oil, gas and coal, global fuel shortage spreads to diesel (Reuters), The number of natural gas customers will continue to rise, even as US decarbonizes: AGA report (Utility Dive)

NUKES: European scientists set nuclear fusion energy record (Reuters)(Wall Street Journal $)(CNN), Nuclear fusion heat record a ‘huge step’ in quest for new energy source (The Guardian)

UTILITIES: EIA: Utility emission goals will have minimal impact beyond carbon reductions already taking place (Utility Dive), Xcel plan to shut down all coal, add renewables wins approval (E&E $)

(MICRO)GRID: The country’s first neighborhood microgrid is coming online in Chicago (Canary Media), ISO-NE plan to extend MOPR through 2024 faces uncertain fate at FERC, experts say (Utility Dive)

EVs: Ford delivers its first all-electric vehicle made in Kansas City and demand is soaring (Kansas City Star), Nissan exec says new European emissions rules will make combustion engine unviable (CNBC), Biden lays out program for $5 billion in EV charging infrastructure (Politico Pro $), EV charging network will target interstate highways (Wall Street Journal $)

AGRICULTURE: Can paying farmers to stop farming save the planet? Experts aren’t so sure (Grist), Fresh Alaska tomatoes? Warming could make it commonplace (E&E $)

BUSINESS: Big green brands have a dirty supplier problem, CDP says (Bloomberg $)

BLOCKCHAIN: WWF-UK ends sale of NFTs after backlash, angering the crypto community (Climate Home)

FINANCE: Climate risk takes insurance sector by storm (FT $), Emissions tracking startups are attracting cash (Axios)

INTERNATIONAL: Chinese funding of sub-Saharan African infrastructure dwarfs that of West, says think tank (Reuters), Germany must focus on current climate goals, protect global position - auto association (Reuters)

• Black people can’t walk outside (Atmos, Adam Mahoney essay)
• Texas' old-timey electric grid is not fixed, and politicians are propping it up (Houston Chronicle, Chris Tomlinson column)
• When it comes to the ‘costs’ of going green, the Tories suddenly care about poverty (The Guardian, George Monbiot op-ed)
• Biden’s biggest idea on climate change is remarkably cheap (The Atlantic, Robinson Meyer commentary)
• Righting the injustice of Africa's water crisis (Project Syndicate, Alex Simalabwi op-ed)
• The war on drugs was a failure. It's not too late for the war on oil (TIME, Rupert Russell op-ed)
• Sarah Bloom Raskin’s revolving door (Wall Street Journal, Editorial Board $)

Front Group Exposed In Colorado, As Deniers Challenge One Thing Facebook Isn’t Lying About

Earlier this week we looked at three examples of obviously bad pseudo-journalism from the Federalist, so today we’re balancing the cosmic scales and showcasing three examples of solid journalism from legitimate sources. 

First up? The latest climate fact check from Politifact, which finds that a Watts Up With That blog post claiming that “Facebook is spamming all climate articles by misleading readers about” climate models is “false.” 

While it’s usually not false that Facebook never Meta lie it didn’t like, the exception is in its climate science information center. Turns out when you reference credible experts and not crackpot YouTubers, it’s not all that hard to get things right! 

Politifact does a great job explaining how the gish-galloping WUWT post is wrong, for example in its reliance on the infamously wrong John Christy graph used to cast doubt on climate science. But one thing left unaddressed is Larry Hamlin's claim that he has “been commenting on many of these articles with the same comment as shown below,” and then shows the lengthy comment he leaves that begins by claiming “Facebook is spamming all climate articles by misleading readers” by using absolute temperature instead of anomalies. 

But Facebook attaching a banner image and link to real science isn’t spam, it’s a relatively unobtrusive link. Spam would be someone posting the same comment on different posts. Which… is exactly what Hamlin admits he's doing. Not only are Hamlin’s attempted factual points clearly false, even his bluster is obvious projection!

Unfortunately, not all climate disinformation comes from bumbling sources, and as Sharon Kelly revealed Monday at DeSmog, some of it is actually quite slick. 

Somehow Kelly got a hold of a 2015 presentation, in which consultancy FTI described its covert public relations work on behalf of the fossil fuel industry to the Tennessee Oil and Gas Association. Key to their presentation “mentioned on more than 20 of its 45 slides,” Kelly writes, “is Energy in Depth,” the oil industry’s anti-environmentalist attack dog. The presentation brags about it’s thousand-plus “rebuttals” and other forms of industry disinformation and propaganda attacking methane research or the science linking fracking and earthquakes. 

And lest you think for even a split second that maybe things have changed in 2015, consider this investigative piece from the Energy and Policy Institute’s Joe Smyth that pulls back the curtain on industry support for a disinfo-spreading pro-gas front group fighting back against grassroots electrification pressure. 

Turns out that there’s a new pop-up coalition, “Coloradans for Energy Access,” who really care about keeping energy cheap, according to their debut op-ed in the Colorado Sun. They claim that’s by using methane gas, but then their op-ed required a correction because they deceptively played up the cost of electric heat pumps in making their progressive-co-opting argument that low-cost gas is a better “equity” option. 

Turns out heat pumps are a lot more efficient than old electric baseboard style heating, so a new one would actually save money compared to paying for erratically and often high-priced methane gas, totally undermining the four-author op-ed’s claim that “this coalition is working for the Coloradans who depend on affordable energy.” 

Who’s it really working for? As Smyth details, the local electric utilities and methane gas industry companies, including Xcel Energy, whose customers are paying higher prices this winter because of higher methane prices, which it’s seeking to raise further with an additional gas rate hike over the next three years. 

Turns out if they really did want affordable energy, they’d be advocating for renewables, not more fossil fuels! 

Whoopsies! 

Ah well, nevertheless. 

(Wouldn’t be a fossil fuel front group op-ed without a little disinfo in there, right?)

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