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In his new Eating The Earth column for Canary Media, Mike Grunwald will explore innovation from farms to labs making the food of the future.

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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.

Southern Louisiana, Still Recovering From Hurricanes, Hit By Tornadoes: New Orleans-area residents — still recovering from Hurricanes Ida, Larua, Zeta, and Katrina — are picking up the pieces after a raft of tornadoes tore through the area Tuesday night, killing at least one person. Tornadoes touched down in the Lower 9th Ward, New Orleans East, Slidell, Lacombe and Gretna, but Arabi was the most impacted, New Orleans Public Radio reported. The United Way of Southeast Louisiana pointed out that a majority of households in the areas affected do not have high enough income to build the savings required to recover from one disaster, let alone repeated disasters. Arabi resident Annete Dugan finished fixing their roof four weeks ago after it was damaged by Hurricane Ida last August. On Tuesday night, a tornado threw a car into their house, destroying a section of their home. The exact science of tornadoes continues to evolve, and there is increasing evidence linking global warming to the type of severe weather that creates tornado conditions. Climate change is also leading to more intense hurricanes through a variety of mechanisms, making areas like southern Louisiana even more vulnerable to other forms of extreme weather, including tornadoes. "We know that we’re also on the front lines of climate change. And this is just another example of that," New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell told reporters Wednesday. (NOLA.com, Washington Post $, AP, ABC, NBC, Reuters, NBC, CBS, The Guardian; Dugan home: New Orleans Public Radio; Cantrell statement: Fox Weather; St. Bernard and Orleans parishes: Weather Channel; Photos: Washington Post $; Climate links: (The Conversation, Yale Climate Connections; Tornadoes at night: AP, explainer; Climate Signals background: Midwestern and Southeastern tornado outbreak December 2021, Hurricanes)

Oil & Gas Profits Not Trickling Down To Workers: Publicly traded oil companies are keeping prices high to keep their shareholders happy, but the workers doing the drilling aren't seeing any benefit from their employers' record profits. In a survey of 141 oil and gas firms by the Dallas Fed, 59% of 132 executives said publicly traded oil and gas companies were not increasing extraction because of "investor pressure to maintain capital discipline." Oil and gas companies and their executives enjoyed substantial windfalls from the Russian invasion of Ukraine one month ago but that cash has not trickled down to workers, according to a survey released by recruiting firms Airswift and Energy Jobline. Less than one-third of oilfield workers have received a raise in the last year and more than one-in-five (21%) have endured pay cuts. More than four-in-five (82%) said they would consider leaving the oil and gas sector with renewable energy being the most popular option. (Shareholder pressure: Wall Street Journal $; Oilfield workers: Bloomberg $)

UN Announces 5 Year Plan For Early Extreme Weather Warning System: The United Nations announced an ambitious plan to establish early warning networks in regions increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather fueled by climate change in five years. As the world's major polluters continue to fail to heed increasingly dire warnings of the need to slash greenhouse gas emissions, establishing and expanding early warning networks can lessen climate-fueled destruction — even a 24 hour warning can reduce damage from storms by about one-third. In wealthy nations, like the U.S. and Europe which together account for a majority of the planet's cumulative greenhouse gas pollution, extreme weather alert systems, though imperfect, save lives and lessen economic damage, blunting the impact of climate-fueled storms. A full third of the world's population, however, does not have early warning systems, a disparity heightened in small island states and Africa where 60% of people lack early warning coverage. “The early warning systems are vital in saving lives, but we must not stop at just preventing deaths,” Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, a Nairobi-based think tank, said. “If people survive a climate disaster but then are left to fend for themselves with their homes and livelihoods destroyed, it’s a meager blessing. … The global community needs to ensure the victims of climate catastrophes are helped to thrive, not just survive.” The UN expects the plan will cost $1.5 billion, a number one senior UN official described to The Guardian as, "a mere rounding error of the $14 trillion mobilised by G20 countries over the last two years to recover their economies from Covid-19.” (AP, Axios, The Guardian, Reuters, The Hill)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: 5 humanitarian crises in Black countries that deserve as much attention as Ukraine (NewsOne), Critics of opera based on Emmett Till's murder don't want the curtain to go up (The Root)

FOSSIL FUELED WAR: Biden and Europeans to announce major plan to redirect gas to Europe (Washington Post $), FBI: US energy sector faces 'reconnaissance, scanning' by Russian hackers; 5 companies targeted (Utility Dive), The energy fallout from Russia's war in Ukraine (Axios), US talks with EU to help European supply of LNG, hydrogen (Bloomberg $), 'Oil fuels war': Greenpeace protests Russian oil tanker (Democracy Now), As sanctions bite Russia, fertilizer shortage imperils world food supply (Reuters), Bosnia to invest about $2 billion in clean energy over next 5 years (Reuters), EnBW boss to Putin's Russia: no new energy deals (Reuters), EU green gas fight flares up over 'amber' label plan (Reuters), Russia’s oil-and-gas industry is starting to feel the bite of sanctions (Wall Street Journal $), Vattenfall says stopped trade with UK arm of Gazprom in September (Reuters), Challenges arise as Russia calls for gas payments in roubles (Reuters, explainer), Russia trade bill stalls in Congress as senators quarrel over sanctions (Washington Post $)

DENIAL & DELUSION: As the Kremlin praises Fox News, Fox personalities desperately try to link environmental groups to Russia (Media Matters)

RULE OF LAW: Trump is guilty of ‘numerous’ felonies, prosecutor who resigned says (New York Times $, Wall Street Journal $, Reuters, AP, CNN, Business Insider, The Week, Salon, Daily Beast)

SCOTUS: Three days of microaggressions (Bloomberg $), Republicans skew Jackson’s record on crime (AP, Factcheck), Day 2: Judge Jackson proves her impartiality by not blowing raspberries at dumb questions (Above the Law), Dems slam Republican ‘race-baiting’ CRT assails against Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson (The Grio), Republican senators disgrace Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation process by repeating disinformation (NewsOne), Jackson questioned on key doctrine in climate litigation (E&E News), Jackson questioned on Supreme Court ‘shadow docket’ (E&E News), Secret agenda? Soft on child porn? Republicans will try anything against Ketanji Brown Jackson (The Root), Jackson faces heated questions, tense exchanges on Day 3 of Supreme Court hearings (NBC), Republicans turn Ketanji Brown Jackson hearing into a political circus (The Guardian), GOP questions for Jackson in her hearings were about midterm messaging — 4 takeaways (NPR)

• TOTALLY ON ACCIDENT: GOP Senator Mike Braun claims he didn’t mean to say states should be able to ban interracial marriage, despite saying it multiple times (Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, The Grio, Slate, The Hill, CNN, Indianapolis Star, New York Post)

AGENCIES: Biden administration unveils plan to tackle racism in home appraisals (The Root), DOE, Pentagon misaligned on military grid defense program — report (E&E News)

EPA: EPA eyes new rule for gas-fired power plants (E&E News), 

• LIMETREE BAY REFINERY: EPA warns of permitting hurdle for troubled refinery (E&E News)

DOE: DOE eyes hydrogen, thermal storage to shrink carbon footprint of fossil fuel plants (Utility Dive)

DOI: Forest Service rejects timber group's challenge on Black Hills (E&E $), Interior puts $100M into 'seismic upgrade' of Calif. dam (E&E $)

SEC: American companies can’t sugarcoat their carbon pollution anymore (The Atlantic), New SEC climate rule leaves progressives wanting more (The Hill), SEC proposes far-reaching climate disclosure rules for companies – here’s where the rules may be vulnerable to legal challenges (The Conversation), US fuelmakers on hook for vehicle emissions in new SEC rule (Reuters), Why the SEC’s new climate rules could divide corporate America (TIME)

WHITE HOUSE: Environmental mitigation policies get fresh White House look (E&E News)

USPS: USPS could reduce emissions by 300 percent with all-electric fleet, report finds (Truthout)

THE HILL: US Senator Elizabeth Warren and US Representative Ro Khanna introduce bill to prevent large corporations from profiting off water and water rights (Sierra Sun Times), Earmarks: These lawmakers secured millions for EV projects (E&E News), Manchin ready to engage on reconciliation (E&E News)

ELECTIONS: Scott Pruitt called two fossil fuel billionaires while weighing a Senate run, sources say (Washington Post $)

CITIES AND STATES: Maryland lawmakers set low-income energy savings target in 'crucial' equity, efficiency legislation (Utility Dive), Rhode Island leaders want ‘bold’ commitment to offshore wind (AP), Calif. takes first moves to limit ‘Erin Brockovich’ chemical (E&E News)

IMPACTS: How this month produced a mind-boggling warm-up in eastern Antarctica (and the Arctic) (Yale Climate Connections), after tornadoes tear through South, severe storm threat spreads to East Coast (Washington Post $), Shifts in El Niño may be driving climates extremes in both hemispheres (Inside Climate News), Tree rings from centuries past may help reveal a warming planet’s future (Washington Post $), UN mission must see coral bleaching to get ‘whole picture’ of Great Barrier Reef, experts say (The Guardian), Climate change is causing Michigan dogsledders to shift gears from snow to dry land (Washington Post $)

HEAT: Kids born in 2020 may live through about 7 times as many heat waves as their grandparents (Yale Climate Connections)

FLOODING: Another ‘one-in-500-year’ flood, and [Australian] government not up to the task (New York Times $)

FORESTS: The world’s forests do more than just store carbon, new research finds (The Guardian)

RENEWABLES: Cabinet undecided over onshore wind ahead of UK energy plan (The Guardian), Sub-saharan Africa has yet to realise its renewable potential (Energy Monitor), Virginia church ‘leading by example’ on climate action through solar, efficiency (Energy News Network), ‘Gargantuan task’: Why India’s renewable push will be hard (AP)

LNG: Pa. LNG project suspended following environmental challenge (E&E $)

OIL & GAS: East Coast natural gas plant on hold after legal challenge (AP), Former top GM executive joins Exxon to lead climate unit (Axios), 

• END OF DRILLING: Here’s the ‘energy transition’ needed to stave off climate catastrophe (Grist), Rich nations have 12 years to end all oil and gas extraction, scientists say (Protocol)

PIPELINES: Battle over Michigan oil pipeline takes on new urgency amid rising gas prices (Washington Examiner)

HYDROGEN: A gas giant [Air Liquide] maps out its hydrogen plan (Wall Street Journal $), China sets green hydrogen target for 2025, eyes widespread use (Reuters)

UTILITIES: Duke Energy’s solar plan questioned by North Carolina attorney general (Canary Media)

GRID: FERC lowers PG&E's transmission return on equity to 9.3% in move that could affect national build-out (Utility Dive)

EVs: Electric cars are now three to six times cheaper to drive in the US as gas prices rise (Electrek), Charging an electric car at home isn't easy for many (Axios), Want to buy an electric car? Read this first (New York Times $)

IN MEMORIAM: Madeleine Albright, 1st female US secretary of state, dies (AP, Washington Post $, NPR, Reuters, CNN, New York Times $, Wall Street Journal $, WBUR), Madeleine Albright had a lot to say about Putin — and she didn't mince words (NPR)

AGRICULTURE: Time running out to discover new climate resistant crops (The Hill)

BOOKS: In the future of 'Here Lies,' the mourning can't bury their dead (NPR), 12 books on climate, conflict, and oil (Yale Climate Connections), Ted Cruz’s excellent anti-racist book recommendations (The Root)

CARBON REMOVAL: Carbon removal backer hires prominent climate scientist (E&E $), Occidental plans up to $1 bln for facility to capture carbon from air (Reuters)

FINANCE: Asian banks 'falling short' on decarbonisation efforts -study (Reuters), Cash infusion for climate tracking startup (Axios), Dutch bank ING ends financing for new oil and gas projects (Reuters), Exchange operator wants oil prices to reflect emissions performance (Wall Street Journal $)

INTERNATIONAL: China looks to ramp up renewables, green hydrogen in latest five-year plan (Yale Environment 360), Former guerilla fighter running for president of Colombia envisions new Latin American left (Washington Post $), Mexican president once again lashes out at environmentalists (AP)

• Energy windfall taxes are messy, unfair, and vital (Reuters, George Hay op-ed)
• Cielo Sharkus on how engineering can bolster environmental justice (Environmental Health News, interview)
• Rana Abdelhamid thinks we need better Democrats in congress (Teen Vogue interview)
• Nurses urge upstream approach to clean water and health (Environmental Health News, Katie Huffling op-ed)
• How an environmental creative tries to live sustainably: eco-friendly accommodations, rest and appreciating nature (Washington Post, Leah Thomas climate diary $)
• Virtual conferences exclude most African women – how can we be heard? (The Guardian, Memory Kachambwa op-ed)
• The oil and gas industry is using the war in Ukraine to profit and push its interests (DeSmog, Stella Levantesi op-ed)
• We’re in a fossil fuel war. Biden should say so. (New York Times, Farhad Manjoo op-ed $)

Over $50 Million in Funding For Climate Disinfo Organizations Between 2014-2020, Coming From Koch And Similarly Shady Sources

On Monday, Alex Kotch at the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) published the latest count of climate disinfo funding, tallying up over $50 million in “donations” to climate denial groups, straight from industry profits, billionaire ideologues fortunes, and everything in between. 

Between 2014 and 2022, there was $54,298,510 that went to just eight organizations that, per Kotch, “represents key groups primarily focused on energy and the environment that consistently mislead the public about the climate crisis.” 

While bearing in mind that this is just the verifiable drop in an otherwise much larger and murkier bucket of fossil fuel funding for climate disinfo, which when including advertising and PR budgets is likely in the hundreds of millions, not tens of millions, it is still quite a sizable figure, and one that is hardly coming from grassroots supporters. 

In fact, it’s mostly coming from a couple dozen billionaires, conservative dark money pass-throughs, and industry sources. “A dozen of the largest nonprofits donated $47.8 million to the leading climate denial organizations, accounting for 88% of the funds CMD was able to track down using FY 2014-20 federal tax returns.” 

The Koch Foundations of course makes the list at number eight, right behind the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers. Donors Trust/Donors Capitol Fund, the right’s “dark-money ATM,” tops the list, of course, followed by the Searle, Scaife, Mercer, Dunn and Bradley foundations, all more or less just tax write-off vehicles for rightwing billionaires trying to simply buy the reality they want. 

Jennie King of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue told Kotch that “bad actors are using a tried and tested playbook to weaken public mandates and create confusion [about] viable solutions going forward. This includes weaponizing climate response within a broader ‘culture wars’ frame and conflating it with any supposed controversy, from Covid-19 lockdowns and vaccine mandates to critical race theory, trans rights, or geopolitics.”

Similarly, the tobacco-defending climate deniers at Heartland lost over half their donations between 2019 and 2020, and that overall the recipients' totals have dwindled from their 2016 peak. 

This may be an indication that even as the fossil fuel industry begrudgingly begins to co-opt climate change and clean energy, they’ve done so well at integrating it into the Republican party that generally conservative funders could be keeping the charade going, even after it served its purpose of buying the industry a few decades of unchecked, climate-changing profits. 

The little climate disinfo troll is all grown up now, and finding fun new pursuits attacking Trans people, defending racism, and, of course, spreading anti-covid/mask/vaccine propaganda. 

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