🗣️🗣️🗣️ JOURNALISTS 🗣️🗣️🗣️

Register now for embargoed materials & interviews with scientists of the next IPCC report, Mitigation of Climate Change Now. Deadline is March 30. Please contact Climate Nexus with any questions.

Heatwaves At Poles; Drought, Floods, Hurricanes Everywhere In Between: Simultaneous heatwaves in the Arctic, with temperatures 50°F warmer than average, and the Antarctic, 70°F warmer than average, are the polar bookends around a planet of wild, warming weather. Preliminary aerial surveys of the Great Barrier Reef find some reefs not yet recovered from a severe bleaching in 2016, and the Australian UNESCO World Heritage site is again undergoing a bleaching event, one that also appears quite widespread. While such events don’t always fully kill corals, it takes time for them to recover, and “there is no historical record of such stress events happening so frequently,” reef researcher Dr. Britta Schaffelke told the Guardian. Meanwhile, in Mozambique, the death toll of last week’s Tropical Cyclone Gombe has increased to 53, with 80 injured and 400,000 impacted by the flooding and destruction. In Madagascar, four years of drought, coupled with deforestation, are turning formerly farm-friendly land into a dust bowl, with more than a million people in southern Madagascar seeking assistance from the World Food Program. Meanwhile Kenyans are dealing with the opposite problem: lakes are expanding rapidly, encroaching on schools and other facilities, with hippos now swimming where teachers lived before their houses were subsumed by the water. Across the planet in California, however, officials on Friday announced that State Water Project allocations will need to be cut by 5% to 15% as the state enters its third year of drought. “We are experiencing climate change whiplash in real time with extreme swings between wet and dry conditions,” Department of Water Resources Director Karla Nemeth said in a statement about the conditions in California, which is clearly true well beyond the state’s borders. (Polar temps: The Guardian, AP, Washington Post $, USA Today, Washington Post $, The Hill, ABC; Great Barrier Reef: The Guardian, AP, Reuters, Wall Street Journal $, Bloomberg $, Weather Channel, Newsweek; Tropical Cyclone Gombe: Reuters, Al Jazeera; Madagascar: Reuters, The New Humanitarian; Kenya: The Guardian; California: LA Times $, The Hill, CNBC; Climate Signals background: Polar amplification, Coral bleaching increase, Cyclonic storms, Drought, Flooding, Extreme precipitation increase)

Oil & Gas Leasing To Resume After Social Cost Calculations Reinstated: The Biden administration said on Friday it would resume oil and gas leasing on federal lands following a court ruling reinstating the social cost of greenhouse gas calculations issued by the administration last year. The administration reinstated values used by the Obama administration while it developed its own calculations. The announcement follows the DOE decision to allow two liquified methane gas export terminals previously barred from exporting to Europe to do so – further entrenching European dependence on methane gas despite the urgent need for methane pollution reduction. (Leasing: Reuters, The Hill, Bloomberg $; LNG exports: E&E $)

IEA Asks Individual People To Drive Less, Work From Home To Lessen Global Energy Crunch: The International Energy Agency released a 10-point list of "emergency measures" to curtail oil demand and mitigate the "biggest oil supply shock in decades" on Friday. The list targets transportation, which accounts for a majority of oil demand, and is a mix of calls for individual action and policy changes, like working from home to cut down on commutes, but also policies supporting EVs and public transit. Like the tobacco industry, fossil fuel companies have worked to shift blame for the harms caused by their products onto individual consumers. The IEA says if all aspects of its plan were adopted global oil demand would fall by 2.7 million barrels per day, about equal to the oil demand of all cars in China. (CNN, The Guardian, Forbes, Reuters, Business Insider, The Verge, New York Times $, CNBC, NPR)

ENVIRONMENTAL (IN)JUSTICE: Gender equality, climate and environmental issues take center stage at the United Nations (The 19th* News), Hundreds of schools, organizations to host teach-in on climate and justice (Yale Climate Connections), Writing music about climate change, Oakland artist reclaims feminine power (KQED)

FOSSIL FUELED WAR: After Ukraine, how will the world replace Russia’s oil products? (The Guardian), Australia bans alumina exports to Russia, sources coal for Ukraine (Reuters), Could Russia’s invasion of Ukraine revive US uranium mining? (E&E News), Could Ukraine war help end West’s reliance on hydrocarbons? (The Guardian), Cutting off Russia risks recession for Austrians hooked on gas (Bloomberg $), Oilfield services company suspends new investments in Russia amid invasion (The Hill), Russia claims sanctions will stop it meeting climate targets (Climate Home), Russia crisis spurs push to cut oil use (Axios), China LNG imports from Russia doubled in February as demand fell (Bloomberg $), Europe’s phase-out of Russian energy over the Ukraine crisis could mean opportunity for African countries (Washington Post $)

• GERMANY: Germany agrees gas deal with Qatar to help end dependency on Russia (The Guardian, Bloomberg $), Germany backs E.U. phaseout of new combustion engines by 2035 (E&E $), Germany could replace half its imported Russian gas this year, industry group says (Reuters)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: UN Secretary General says global climate target ‘is on life support’ (Washington Post $, AP)

DENIAL: Mapped: how the net zero backlash is tied to climate denial – and Brexit (DeSmog), Toxic belief: What goes on in the mind of climate crisis deniers? (The Independent)

(DECADES OF) WORDS & THEIR MEANINGS: There’s a messaging battle right now over America’s energy future (New York Times $), America’s energy security is falling apart (The Atlantic)

NET ZERO FEATURE: Climate Truths: Race to net zero (Axios), The race to net zero emissions (Axios), A rise in science-based climate pledges (Axios), Why companies are rushing to set net zero targets (Axios), Video: How companies' net zero pledges really work (Axios), Companies face a new world of climate disclosure (Axios), One hot industry: Corporate climate shepherds (Axios), How jobs will change with a warming world (Axios)

IPCC: Behind the curtain of the UN's climate panel (Axios), Scientists preparing next installment of U.N. climate report (E&E $)

SCOTUS: Biden Supreme Court nominee faces big climate questions (E&E News)

AGENCIES: Extend life of key climate sensor that maps world’s forests, NASA told (The Guardian)

SEC: How will climate change impact American companies? The SEC thinks you have a right to know (USA Today, NPR, Quartz, Houston Chronicle), SEC sets up climate clash with rule on indirect emissions (Bloomberg $), The SEC is proposing climate-change disclosures. What to know. (Barron's)

EPA: EPA chemical review tool sparks environmental justice worries (E&E News), EPA helms White House indoor air plan to help fight Covid-19 (E&E News), EPA union urges agency to scrap Trump-era plan to relocate Houston lab (HuffPost)

DOI: BLM staffers want more action on climate change, survey says (E&E 

News)

WHITE HOUSE: The US, a major oil producer, woos other countries to produce more oil (NPR), Limitless clean power? White House makes risky bet on fusion (E&E News), White House considered sending Americans gas cards (Axios)

THE HILL: Democrats gird for hearings with oil executives (E&E News), Capitol Hill progressives propose climate executive orders (E&E $)

HOUSE: House Dems to keep pointing finger at oil companies in gas price blame game (Politico Pro $)

SENATE: Granholm meets with Manchin in W.Va. to tout lithium push (E&E $), Schumer sets up debate on innovation, competition bill (E&E $), What Manchin’s fossil fuel kick means for climate legislation (E&E News)

POLITICS: Progressives torn over pushing green agenda in shadow of Ukraine war (NBC), Biden’s chance to tackle climate change is fading amid global energy upheaval (Washington Post $), ‘Groundhog Day’: Biden, GOP revive decades-old energy fight (E&E News), War in Ukraine appears to bridge political gap in US on oil and gas production (S&P Global), Former Bernie Sanders press secretary: US should 'more holistically' fight climate change (The Hill), High gas prices present a big dilemma for Democrats (Washington Post $)

ELECTIONS: As a Senate candidate, Mehmet Oz supports fracking. But as a celebrity doctor, he raised significant concerns (Inside Climate News), Jane Fonda’s new climate PAC is taking on fossil fuel-backed politicians (Grist, Green Matters), Republicans set up shop at gas stations to draw new voters (Vanity Fair), Young Republicans might not be marching in the streets, but they are mobilizing': Gen Z Republicans express optimism ahead of midterms (CNN)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: Biden nuclear nominee addresses Russian uranium imports (E&E $)

CITIES AND STATES: Youngkin says RGGI won’t cut emissions. Critics say his own report shows he’s wrong. (Virginia Mercury, Virginia Public Media, Utility Dive), In Florida, DeSantis may end the battle over rooftop solar with a pen stroke (Inside Climate News), ‘Last gasp for coal’ saw Illinois plants crank up emission-spewing production last year (Inside Climate News), EMNRD officials say eminent domain will not be part of 30×30 (New Mexico Political Report), Maryland, Georgia halt state gas taxes (The Hill), $87.50 for 3 minutes: inside the hot market for videos of idling trucks (New York Times $)

CALIFORNIA: [State] lawmakers express 'deep concerns' on Calif. rooftop solar plan (E&E $), California grid operator approves reliability, renewables plan (Reuters, Utility Dive), California governor floats $100M plan for tribes to buy land (AP)

FERC: Senate bill directs FERC to bolster interregional transmission planning, require GHG reporting (Utility Dive), Trade group files first challenge against FERC's 'unlawful' gas policy (Politico Pro $)

FOSSIL VOLATILITY: Why high gas prices fall harder on lower earners (CNBC), High gas prices may not drive Americans away from gas (Axios)

IMPACTS: How warming affects the breakaway African region of Somaliland (E&E $), Images of a wild yet mild winter in the US (Washington Post $), Ski resorts threatened by wildfires prepare to defend and rebuild (Wall Street Journal $), The rise of ‘extreme weather attribution’ (FT $)

HAVE YOUR FUN WHILE YOU CAN: Ice skating at a rink is fun. gliding through a forest? glorious. (New York Times $)

DROUGHT: US drought conditions to persist and expand (Axios, Gizmodo), The West Coast should brace for spring megadrought, NOAA warns (Smithsonian Magazine), Western drought to worsen this year, NOAA says (Washington Post $)

WILDFIRES: Here’s how much it cost to suppress Dixie Fire, other major 2021 wildfires in California (Sacramento Bee $), Texas wildfire kills 1, as officials worry extreme drought could worsen conditions (Washington Post $), Texas declares state of emergency as wildfire forces evacuations (Axios)

🔥 ✖ 🧊: Wildfires are fueling a dangerous feedback loop of arctic warming (Gizmodo), Wildfire smoke linked to Arctic melting (BBC), 

WATER: As Lake Powell hits landmark low, Arizona looks to a $1 billion investment and Mexican seawater to slake its thirst (Inside Climate News), Fifty percent of U.S. waterways impaired by pollution: report (The Hill)

SCIENCE: Liz Thomas: my career drilling ice cores in Antarctica (FT $), Universities must reject fossil fuel cash for climate research, say academics (The Guardian)

OOPS: Why some climate change adaptations just make things worse (Popular Science)

RENEWABLES: How US crackdown on China’s human rights record hits solar (E&E News), Anglo American plans to boost South Africa’s green energy output (Bloomberg $), Hydropower eyes bigger energy role, less environmental harm (AP), In an effort to ease fossil-fuel reliance, an MIT spinoff plans to dig the deepest holes on Earth (Boston Globe $)

BUILDINGS: A more inclusive green energy plan starts with old buildings (Bloomberg $)

OIL & GAS: Saudi Aramco to increase oil production to meet global demand (The Guardian), Saudi Aramco’s full-year profit more than doubles on soaring oil prices (CNBC), Shell is pushing to build offshore wind farms along Brazil’s coast (Bloomberg $), Shell resubmits plan to UK regulator for large North Sea gasfield (FT $)

PIPELINES: For sale: Trudeau’s oil pipeline. Wanted: Indigenous buyers (Bloomberg $)

COAL (COUNTRY): US unveils battery strategy in West Virginia to ease coal loss (Bloomberg $)

HYDROGEN: Colombia's Ecopetrol starts green hydrogen project in Cartagena (Reuters)

GRID: Northeast grid rules hampering renewables, FERC told (E&E $)

EVs: How a global nickel shortage could disrupt the electric vehicle industry (CNBC), Porsche AG sets more ambitious electric vehicle target (Reuters), US schools can subscribe to an electric school bus fleet at prices that beat diesel (Canary Media), Interest in electric vehicles grows as gas prices rise (NBC)

BITCOIN: Margins of up to 90% give energy firms that mine Bitcoin an edge (Bloomberg $)

ACTIVISM: Student climate champions around the world (FT $), Tyre Extinguishers – deflating SUV tyres as a form of climate action (The Guardian)

MUSEUMS: A foundation is helping museums tackle climate change—and drawing a big response (Chronicle of Philanthropy)

AGRICULTURE: These cattle ranchers are raising better beef, spending less — and reducing carbon emissions (CNBC)

CARBON CAPTURE: A growing battle over carbon capture and climate change riles Iowa (NBC), Talos is planting its flag in carbon capture with a series of projects along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast (Houston Chronicle)

FINANCE: ESG pioneer expects shakeout for funds hyped by ‘fairy dust’ (Bloomberg $), Big VC names stake carbon removal startup (Axios), Climate tech investment boom offers hope (FT $), Exxon activist investor calls on US shale industry to produce more (Bloomberg $), Four climate investors explain the new boom — where the money’s going and risks ahead (CNBC), Green startups, flush with cash, face pressure to make climate advances (Wall Street Journal $), Looking to reduce your carbon footprint and make money? This ETF focuses on going green in more ways than one (CNBC), Startups rush to count company carbon emissions (Wall Street Journal $)

WILDLIFE: How wild animals can help control the climate crisis (The Guardian), The adorable red panda in Disney’s ‘Turning Red’ is in danger (Atmos)

INTERNATIONAL: Belgium agrees to extend two nuclear power plants past 2025 (Reuters, Bloomberg $), Europe's southern states call for common EU energy policies (Reuters), South African court orders government to clean up air in coal belt (Reuters), Kuwait, among world’s hottest places, lags on climate action (AP)

• INDIA: India buys 3 million barrels of Russian oil: report (The Hill), The poorest super-emitter needs a different path to net-zero (Bloomberg $)
• UK: A guide to the UK energy security strategy (The Guardian), Balancing Britain's energy security options as prices rise (Reuters), Cameron’s decision to cut ‘green crap’ now costs each household in England £150 a year (The Guardian), UK’s Johnson to meet with nuclear industry in bid to speed building (Bloomberg $)

• How can the White House fix environmental injustice if it won’t take race into account? (LA Times, Alvaro Sanchez and Manuel Pastor op-ed $)
• In a world on fire, stop burning things (The New Yorker, Bill McKibben column $)
• After February’s dire IPCC report, the Green New Deal is more urgent than ever (Truthout, Margaret Kwateng interview)
• The climate fight in the Arctic needs Russia's help (Bloomberg, Adam Minter column $)
• Journalists grapple with the American energy crisis (Columbia Journalism Review, Andrew McCormick column)
• Massachusetts needs to use more electricity, not less (Boston Globe, Ann Berwick op-ed $)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine means green light for green energy in Europe (The Hill, Ann Bluntzer and Manochehr Dorraj op-ed)
• The solar farm that almost destroyed Copake, N.Y. (Bloomberg, Francis Wilkinson op-ed $)
• Climate change demands a new era of agricultural innovation (Thomson Reuters Foundation, Jaime Adams op-ed)
• The SEC’s climate-change overreach (Wall Street Journal, Jay Clayton and Patrick McHenry op-ed $)
• Joe Manchin and Marco Rubio want to roast the planet to stop Putin’s war (Rolling Stone, Jeff Goodell analysis)
• The fight in Washington over the Fed’s climate policy is just heating up (New Republic, Kate Aronoff analysis)
• Why politics limits climate ambitions (FT, Pete Betts op-ed $)
• Big oil could bring US gas prices down but won’t – so hit it with a windfall tax (The Guardian, Robert Reich op-ed)
• Gas leaks in D.C. threaten health, safety and the climate (Washington Post, Rosa Lee and Carla Ellern op-ed $)
• We must pay the cost of carbon if we are to cut it (FT, Tim Harford column $)
• Climate change, Ukraine and pitfalls of international goodwill (The Hill, Wake Smith op-ed)
• The SEC’s climate-change overreach (Wall Street Journal, Jay Clayton and Patrick McHenry $)

Social Media Spreads Disinfo, But Platforms and Ads Can Also Fight Disinfo!

Last week, deniers complained about getting fact checked on Facebook, as per usual, and one complained that LinkedIn had banned him, whereas Google got credit for being the least-misinfo-filled search engine (yes, there are others!). All encouraging signs for the fight against disinfo on social media. They’re even starting to lay out plans for what a conservative policy to tackle Big Tech would look like, and some of the proposals, like breaking up monopolies and forcing more transparency, would actually be just as, if not more useful for limiting disinfo than those spreading it may think.  

While we wait patiently for more social media companies to do more to clean up their platforms, (DeSmog just found that Facebook climate disinfo is thriving in Canada) there’s also the inoculation approach of trying to counter disinfo by educating the public. 

And on that, a new report from a small start-up called Reality Team (not related to Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project) found that simple ads on Instagram appear to be quite effective in undoing some of the damage caused by disinformation. 

While the results aren’t peer reviewed, and the report is explicit about a self-selection bias potentially skewing the findings, it’s still incredibly encouraging. 

By showing a quick video illustrating the climate consensus, which scientists have found to be a key “gateway belief” to embracing climate action, Reality Team’s ads appear to show a 22 to 43 point improvement in Michigan and Pennsylvania user’s knowledge of the consensus. 

This, in turn, appeared to drive a 17 point increase in support for “government investment in climate solutions.”

They also addressed some Covid disinfo, and found similar results, suggesting that the approach is valuable beyond just climate change, and can be replicated in other issues. 

Which is important, because there’s disinfo all around. That’s actually what motivated Debrah Levoy to found the Reality Team. She told us via email that as a digital marketer, during the “foreign-led disinfo explosion” in 2017, she and colleagues “immediately recognized the foreign influence operations as malign applications of digital marketing tools and techniques.”

But what really kicked things into gear was when in the summer of 2020, “when my daughter, a High School junior, asked me if ‘Biden was really a pedophile’ and my son, a college senior, asked if Trump had indeed reinvented the Military.” 

Yikes! But “a bit of research showed that this wasn’t simply bad parenting,” Lavoy joked, “both Pew and Knight Foundation were finding this large block of Americans who weren’t ideological or radicalized, but overly influenced by disinformation nonetheless.” 

And that turned out to be the key to Reality Team’s approach- targeting passive information consumers who spend enough time online to be served disinfo (thanks to social media algorithms) but not be immersed enough in that disinformation to be unreachable. 

Targeting those who are vulnerable to being pushed down the rabbit hole of Youtube or Facebook recommendations means time (and money) aren’t wasted on those who are only going to see the ads as part of the sinister effort to deceive the world. 

By using ads to deliver science-informed inoculation messages, Reality Team was able to inject some reality into disinfo-polluted social media streams.

Sure would be cool if a social media platform that claimed to totally care about climate change and disinformation would offer them some free ads to scale up the effort!

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up to receive Hot News every morning!

Send updates or feedback to nkauffman@climatenexus.org
Submit events and other items for consideration for a First Look using this form
Some articles require logins or subscriptions ($)