FIRST LOOK: 

Amid the global push to make a rapid switch from dirty energy to renewables to avoid a worst-case climate scenario, Canary Media is focusing on renewables recycling this week. Find out more here.

Yup'ik People Defend Homes From Climate-Fueled Fires In Yukon Delta: The Yup'ik people are fighting to protect their communities on the Yukon River from the second largest Alaska tundra wildfire in 40 years. The East Fork Fire, one of more than 20 fires burning around the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta, has already incinerated more than 120,000 acres and is just 3.5 miles from the town of St. Mary's. The fires, ignited by lightning, have been supercharged by climate change, UA-Fairbanks climate specialist Rick Thoman told KYUK. Residents of the community — and nearby Pitkas Point, Mountain Village, and Pilot Station — along with firefighters from Alaska and the lower 48 states, are contributing to the efforts to contain the fires. One 17-year-old helping clear trees to stop the fire's spread told NPR seeing the community come together to assist in the fire prevention "was fun, but it is kinda scary. But we're being cautious and we at least did a little something for our community." His mother Pamela Tai, meanwhile, was cooking for the firefighters, telling NPR, "I make it with love, honey, with love. So when they eat, they fill themselves up with lots of love." Indigenous groups in what is now the United States, in addition to surviving centuries of ethnic cleansing, are disproportionately harmed by extractive industries and the impacts of climate change, which is mainly caused by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels. (NPR, KYUK, Alaska Public Media, AP; Climate Signals: Wildfires, Arctic Amplification)

DOE Proposes New Furnace Efficiency Standards: The Biden administration on Monday proposed stronger efficiency standards for home furnaces, which account for up to 15% of U.S. home energy use. DOE estimates the rule would prevent more than 370 million metric tons of CO2 pollution and more than 5 million tons of methane pollution over the next 30 years, saving US consumers more than $30 billion. If implemented, the standards would be the first update to furnace standards since the 1990s and would effectively phase out inefficient "non-condensing" furnaces by requiring 95% fuel utilization, a level met by just 40% of furnaces shipped today. "Americans have been forced to rely on antiquated and wasteful furnaces for long enough," Joe Vukovich of NRDC said in a statement. "Since about half of the homes in the U.S. depend on fossil fuels for space heating, this standard will significantly lower energy bills each year and slash dangerous climate-warming emissions across the nation." (CNN, Politico Pro $, The Hill, Wall Street Journal $, Washington Examiner)

House Dems Mad At Mad Men Over Big Oil's Disinfo: House Democrats are investigating work done by major public relations firms and a trade group to spread disinformation for the fossil fuel industry. Reported first by the Washington Post, Natural Resources Committee and its Oversight subcommittee, chaired by Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Katie Porter (D-Calif.) respectively, have requested documents from Blue Advertising, DDC Public Affairs, FTI Consulting, Singer Associates and Story Partners, as well as the American Petroleum Institute. In a press statement, Rep. Porter said “fossil fuel companies have been lying to the public for decades to cover up the damage they’re doing to the planet and our long-term economic wellbeing. The American people deserve the truth—and Big Oil needs to be held accountable. Chair Grijalva and I want answers.” The only response thus far has been from the American Petroleum Institute which, in response to the query about misleading the public about the climate risks of petroleum products, provided a quote from a spokesperson who doubled down on the misleading claim that fossil fuels are "reducing US emissions." (Washington Post $, The Hill, E&E $)

'Unprecedented' Rain Closes Yellowstone, Collapses Roads And Bridges: Extreme rainfall washed out roads and bridges in and around Yellowstone National Park on Monday, forcing the closure of every entrance to the park and the evacuation of visitors cutoff within it. June is the busiest month for Yellowstone National Park and it is unknown how long the park will be closed. The Yellowstone River crested at 13.88 feet on Monday, two feet higher than the previous record set in 1918. The increasing frequency and severity of extreme precipitation events is a clear signal of climate change, mainly caused by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels. The flooding, also fed by snowpack melted by the "unprecedented" rain, may get even worse as it moves downstream toward more developed areas. One visitor told the AP, "we started seeing entire trees floating down the river, debris. Saw one crazy single kayaker coming down through, which was kind of insane.” (AP, Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Axios, Washington Post $, CNN, NBC, The Hill, NBC, Newsweek; Climate Signals background: Extreme precipitation increase)

FOSSIL FUELED WAR: Russia’s oil revenue soars despite sanctions, study finds (New York Times $), Kyiv suspends exports of Ukrainian gas, coal and fuel oil (Reuters), Some European factories, long dependent on cheap Russian energy, are shutting down (Wall Street Journal $), European gas prices rise as fluctuating flows stoke supply fears (Bloomberg $), First war, then fire: The global LNG outlook is volatile (E&E News)

BIG PICTURE: Why an energy crisis and $5 gas aren’t spurring a green revolution (Washington Post $), On climate change’s front lines, hard lives grow even harder (New York Times $)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: UN climate chief warns of consequences of a second Trump term (Politico Pro $)

DENIAL AND DISINFO: Marc Thiessen is using The Washington Post’s opinion page to advance his Big Polluter agenda (Media Matters), Sky News Australia is a global hub for climate misinformation, report says (The Guardian), 

• AND GREENWASHING: 2,000 firms judged ‘alarmingly weak’ on climate plans (Forbes), Most corporate net-zero targets are weak and vague, report says (Bloomberg $), Renewable energy certificates risk undermining corporate climate targets: study (Washington Examiner)

RECORD PROFITS: $5 at the pump: US gasoline crosses historic mark (E&E News), Expect prices of oil and other commodities to stay higher for longer, analysts say (Houston Chronicle), Record gasoline prices drive energy, climate agenda (E&E News), Why gas prices are so high (New York Times $)

HEAT: Record-breaking heat wave envelops nearly 130 million in US (Axios, HuffPost, Grist, Washington Post $, CNN, USA Today), Naming heatwaves may help warn of the risks associated with them (NPR), US cities test naming heat waves as a warning system, similar to hurricanes (NBC)

• HEALTH IMPACTS: ‘Heat ages people’: as temperatures rise, scientists study how humans react (New York Times $), ‘Vomiting. the loss of strength’: southwest heat drives health fears (Washington Post $), What extreme heat does to the human body (TIME), Summer has transformed into ‘danger season,’ scientists warn (Grist), How extreme heat kills, sickens, strains and ages US (New York Times $)
• STAYING COOL SAFE: Heat wave, inflation crank up air-conditioner bills (Wall Street Journal $)
• EUROPE: Spain and southern France hit by second extreme heat event of year (The Guardian)

ABLEISM: The world’s climate plans overlook people with disabilities (Grist)

DOM PHILLIPS AND BRUNO PEREIRA: Authorities find belongings of missing journalist and expert in Amazon (New York Times $), Family says bodies found in search for journalist and colleague (Washington Post $, The Independent), Police deny bodies found in Amazon search (BBC), Bolsonaro says ‘something wicked’ done to Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira (The Guardian), Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira: Missing pair in remote Amazon were likely victims of 'malice,' says Brazil's president (CNN)

SCOTUS: Supreme Court climate case might end regulation (E&E News)

AGENCIES: Biden admin: Stop flood insurance for new, risky homes (E&E News), BLM OKs construction of large Calif. solar projects (E&E News)

EPA: EPA permit rule raises climate legal questions (E&E News)

DOI: Interior offers proposals for storing CO2 on public lands (E&E $)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: SEC Democrats worry climate reporting plan falls short on audits (Bloomberg Law)

THE HILL: CEOs of GM, Ford and other automakers urge Congress to lift electric vehicle tax credit cap (CNBC), House to vote on biofuel build-out, ethanol cap lift (E&E News), Lindsey Graham says climate change is no reason to 'destroy' fossil fuel industry in debate with Bernie Sanders (The Independent)

ELECTIONS: Palin, Begich lead in Alaska House race (E&E $), Trump looms large in S.C. primary; Dems battle in Nev. (E&E News)

CITIES AND STATES: 3 steps communities can take to become more climate-resilient, according to leaders who have made progress in their own cities (Business Insider), How New Orleans neighborhoods are using nature to reduce flooding (Grist), Wall Street firms face W.Va boycott over alleged fossil fuel bias (Politico Pro $), ‘Not backsliding on clean energy’: Officials say California’s proposed 5 GW reserve could be heavy on gas (Utility Dive)

IMPACTS: Allergies in overdrive as extreme weather drives higher pollen count (The Guardian), Melting at 'doomsday glacier' highest in 5,000 years (E&E $), The collapse of a major Atlantic current would cause worldwide disasters (Gizmodo), Virginia could lose 42 percent of its tidal wetlands by 2100 due to sea level rise, study finds (The Hill)

DROUGHT: Dead fish are nearly all that's left of a lake in drought-stricken Chile (Gizmodo), 'We beg God for water': Chilean lake turns to desert, sounding climate change alarm (Reuters), Iraq’s ‘pearl of the south’ Lake Sawa dry amid water crisis (AP)

WILDFIRES: US heatwave fuels massive wildfires across Southwest (NBC), Arizona's 'Pipeline' wildfire forces evacuations (NBC), Hundreds are urged to evacuate due to wildfire near Flagstaff, Arizona, as thousands more are told to prepare to leave (CNN), Western wildfires force evacuations in Arizona, California (AP)

HURRICANES: New look at climate change's impact on hurricanes (Weather Channel)

WATER: Are rising water prices amid the Western megadought inevitable? Yes, but it's complicated, experts say (ABC), As taps run dry, Mexican drought fuels anger over water inequality (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

RENEWABLES: Why we need to recycle clean energy technologies — and how to do it (Canary Media)

BATTERIES: Old electric-vehicle batteries are getting a second life (Wall Street Journal $), Red-hot lithium boom pits Wall Street against the wonks (Bloomberg $)

HOUSING: New climate-friendly housing development in Michigan will be all-electric (Yale Climate Connections), The long emergency of homelessness (New York Times $)

LNG: Liquefied natural gas prices will steam up again (Wall Street Journal $)

OIL & GAS: 60 acres. $6.4 billion. The gas plant plan known by few (Philadelphia Inquirer), BP sells oil sands to Cenovus, snaps up stake in Canadian offshore project (Bloomberg $), BP’s oil sands exit may not be the last as Big Oil revises image (Bloomberg $)

PIPELINES: Across the Midwest, an ‘unlikely alliance’ forms to stop carbon pipelines (Grist)

HYDROGEN: Dutch group targets hydrogen-fuelled commercial flight in 2028 (The Guardian), Federal scientists chart path for cheap, CO2-free hydrogen (E&E $), Global hydrogen uptake to lag net-zero goals by 2050 - report (Reuters), Path to cost-effective hydrogen seems clear, but financing deals remains a challenge, panelists say (Utility Dive)

UTILITIES: Southern CEO on Russia, cyberattacks and pipeline risk (E&E, Tom Fanning interview $)

GRID: MISO faces growing capacity shortfalls in northern, central regions, annual survey finds (Utility Dive)

EVs: ‘A solid floor’: How new rules could remake EV charging (E&E News), Deal-hungry miners return to toronto with EV metals in focus (Bloomberg $), Electric vehicle charger study 'flawed', says Electrify America (Newsweek), EV battery recycling is costly. These five startups could change that (Canary Media), EV startup [ELMS] planning bankruptcy filing (The Hill)

CRYPTO: What Bitcoin’s nosedive means for the environment (The Verge)

AGRICULTURE: Five thirsty foods―and how Australia can keep growing them (National Geographic)

BOOKS: Author Chen Qiufan thinks science fiction is the best genre to discuss climate (Bloomberg $), 12 books for climate-aware summertime R&R (reflection and reinvigoration) (Yale Climate Connections)

CARBON CAPTURE: Can carbon capture be part of the climate solution? (New York Times $)

TECH: Climate careers platform raises money, launches app (Axios)

FINANCE: Accounting firms and financial powerhouses are spending billions to hire and even train sustainability experts (Business Insider), The problem with shareholder democracy (Axios)

RICH BOYS' TOYS: FAA wants dozens of environmental changes at SpaceX launch site (Politico Pro $, New York Times $), William Shatner says he couldn't stop crying after flying to space with Blue Origin because he was thinking about how Earth was getting destroyed (Business Insider)

IN MEMORIAM: Rep. Sean Casten’s 17-year-old daughter dies (Chicago Sun-Times)

WILDLIFE: From spring to fall, New York harbor is a feeding ground for bottlenose dolphins, a new study reveals (Inside Climate News)

INTERNATIONAL: Deteriorating South Africa energy outlook laid bare in new study (Bloomberg $), Electricity consumers in Queensland cut use to avoid blackouts as NSW and Victoria face shortages (The Guardian, The Guardian), Plan to scrap Natural England will disrupt net zero targets, experts say (The Guardian), South Korea truckers union considers blockade of coal shipments to power plants (Reuters, Reuters), South African tycoon Motsepe plans to boost clean power generation seven fold (Bloomberg $), UK close to deal with EDF to keep coal-fired power station open (The Guardian)

• Addressing climate change is safeguarding human rights (Newsweek, Republic of Vanuatu Prime Minister Bob Loughman Weibur)
• Nature restoration and carbon removal are not the same. Here’s why it matters (Climate Home, Robert Höglund, Zeke Hausfather, Karen Holl, Cyril Brunner, Natalya Yakusheva Jarlebring, and Alexander Koch op-ed)
• Nurturing the next generation (Atmos, Ashia Ajani Essay)
• What would Winston Churchill have to say about fighting climate change? (NOLA.com, Bob Marshall Column)
• Newsom’s $400 vehicle rebate idea is unfair and unwise. He should drop it already (LA Times, Editorial Board $)
• Are we making real progress towards 'net zero' emissions? (Thomson Reuters Foundation, explainer)
• Blue is the new green: How business can protect the ocean (Boston Globe, Jane Steinmetz op-ed $)
• The planet is burning. Are billionaires the answer? (New York Times, John Doerr interview $)
• What a dying lake says about the future (New York Times, Paul Krugman column $)
• Energy security must be top priority for all Western democracies (Houston Chronicle, Leslie Beyer op-ed)
• The west’s energy war against Russia demands sacrifice (Bloomberg, Liam Denning op-ed $)
• We could be in for many months of high gas prices (Bloomberg, Mark Gongloff op-ed $)
• Why worry about water? (Boston Globe, Tara D. Sonenshine op-ed $)
• Climate-change censorship: phase two (Wall Street Journal, Editorial Board $)

White Centrists Take Note: Racists Have Drafted Climate Into Their 'Culture War' Against The Full Scope Of Humanity. You Can Fight Against Them, Or Be Silent And Join Them. 

In case you missed it, lately we've been going through "Deny, Deceive, Delay," the new report on digital climate disinformation illustrating the extent of the problem and suggesting some steps towards solutions in the digital space.

Today we're stepping back from the report's topline finding to discuss the implication that the opponents to climate action are increasingly comfortable being explicitly hateful, and physically and metaphorically attacking LGBTQ+ people, Black people, people who don't want to catch Covid, and people who want reproductive control over their body.

While the fossil fuel industry has spent decades integrating itself into the Republican party, there has traditionally been some distinction between the "professional" operatives who wear suits and ties and dine with lawmakers at the Capital Grill and/or Tortilla Coast (RIP) with briefcases of campaign contributions, and the John Birch Society turned Q-Anon conspiracy theorists and explicit white supremacists who stoke the outrage necessary to turn turn out voters in support of a platform favoring industry billionaires over policies that would objectively help them. 

Four years of the Trump presidency, culminating in the January 6th attempt to violently overthrow the United States government, should have put to rest any notion that the bulk of the modern Republican party is interested in participating in democracy fairly and in good faith. 

In the two years since the disinformation machine built by fossil fuel funders to spread climate disinformation was used to organize and instigate an attempted fascist takeover of the country in the midst of the global pandemic, then it was used to turn its audience against basic public health measures. But that wasn't enough either, so then they ran a white supremacy campaign to burn books teaching about slavery under the CRT banner, and have turned their sights back to a perennial favorite target of authoritarians: LGBTQ+ rights, specifically Trans people. 

Take one of the highest-profile anti-Trans bigots whose multi-media propaganda is pushed to virality by broken social media algorithms all too often these days: Matt Walsh. He works at Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire, which if you've forgotten, is backed by billionaire fracking Wilks brothers. (Which if you've forgotten, joined with the big oil billionaire-backed Koch network to use the wealth they accrued destroying the climate in order to bend the political system to their greedy, racist, patriarchal desires.)

So while climate change scientists shouldn't be expected to fix systemic racism, and racial justice advocates shouldn't be expected to confront the fossil fuel industry and end the climate crisis, and neither group could alone secure reproductive healthcare rights that abortion activists have secured, and none of those professional advocacy sectors can be solely responsible for keeping Pride safe from violently homophobic, anti-Trans bigots … the reality is that we are not separate groups fighting our own individual fights on multiple different fronts. We are side by side, whether or not everyone acknowledges it, because the opposition certainly does. 

Each of our communities are bound by a vision of a safe, healthy, inclusive future, and we are all united in the unmistakable fact that the venn diagram of the opposition to progress on our issues is in fact a nearly perfect circle. 

This means you, old white climate activist who thinks this pronoun thing is getting a bit much, have been drafted by your opponents in the fossil fuel industry's covert defense team into supporting people's right to be addressed with respect. You don't have to understand it to respect it, but if you ignore it, you can be sure the opposition is filling the void left by your silence with hateful rhetoric to recruit new followers to try and turn back the clock. 

The fossil fuel industry has used its profits to fund a disinformation ecosystem to protect its polluting products from regulation, and billionaires like the Kochs actively recruited bigoted religious extremists and anti-abortion activists into the the Republican party the fossil fuel industry's campaign contributions keep well-resourced. 

As a result, there's an online disinformation ecosystem, fertilized by the fossil fuel industry's ample funding in order to carry their disinformation, but increasingly home to the hungry weeds and poisonous wildflowers popping up around Big Oil's crop of climate denial. Those viral voices are plying the rich vein of hate that's plagued the United States since its founding on a stolen continent, and our options are to improve the social conditions that give their scapegoating appeal, re-ostrasize their regressive and outdated prejudices, or give up and succumb to hate. 

That's not a fun fact. But it's one the climate community must reckon with if it is to secure its ultimate aim of a safe and stable climate and resilient communities. 

Because the failure to do so carries consequences, and the bodies are stacking up. In Christchurch, in El Paso, in Buffalo, mass murderers who bought into a version of climate change that didn't incorporate civil rights and social justice, for want of keeping the issue free from the supposed distractions of white supremacy, were instead enticed by the vicious hatemongering allowed to run rampant on social media. 

Climate messaging that doesn't center the larger social struggle for liberation is being co-opted against it, whether you like it or not. 

So happy Pride, climate friends, and a reminder: Juneteenth is coming! 

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