FIRST LOOK: 

Deadly Heat Fuels Wildfires, Breaks Records, Across Europe: Extreme heat has already killed hundreds of people across Spain and Portugal with temperatures expected to remain high and even rise across Europe today. The heatwave is just one of three baking various regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Temperatures could reach 113°F in Texas and Oklahoma today and another heatwave is growing in central Asia. Extreme heat and heatwaves — like those pushing temperatures to 36°F above normal in the UK — are made worse and more frequent by climate change, mainly caused by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels. Vignettes of the extreme heat are brutal and numerous: the heat is altering cows' hormonal balance, lowering milk supplies and likely hampering fertility; English farmers are essentially giving their chickens Gatorade to help replenish electrolytes; flights were halted in the UK after runways melted in multiple locations; more than 30,000 people have been forced to flee their homes as wildfires rage across the continent (see Guardian map); temperatures in the London Underground were hotter than what is deemed safe for the transportation of cattle; Spaniands panicked as their train stopped on the tracks and wildfires encroached on both sides; and hospitals in the U.S. are being stretched to the breaking point. The heat — a vision of what was the future and is now the present — is not isolated temporally or geographically — so far this year 188 all-time heat records have been broken worldwide compared to just 18 low-temperature records. “We’re not reaching out and touching global heating," Jean-Luc Gleyze, head of the local fire service in La Teste-de-Buch, told The Guardian. "It’s hitting us full in the face.” (Washington Post $, USA Today, Reuters, The Hill, CNN, AP, Axios, Washington Post $, FT $; US: NBC, Bloomberg $, ABC; Asia: Reuters; European Wildfires: The Guardian, CBS, Washington Post $; Cows and chickens: Bloomberg $; Runways: The Guardian, Gizmodo; London Underground: Bloomberg $; Spanish train: AP; Hospitals: Washington Post $; Temperature records: CNN; Vision of the future: E&E News; Climate Signals background: Extreme heat and heatwaves; Wildfires) (Additional coverage is below.)

SCOTUS Will Target Regs Mentioning Climate, Lawyers Warn: Any federal regulation that could address the climate crisis will likely receive heightened scrutiny from the Supreme Court's right-wing supermajority, environmental lawyers warn. They point to references by Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Gorsuch to statements by then-EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and President Obama in 2014 that reveal the supermajority’s long-standing eagerness to use its new "major questions" doctrine to strike down any regulation it views as being crafted to reduce climate pollution, even if reducing climate pollution is an incidental or ancillary benefit. “I think it’s a mark of how … aggressive this Supreme Court seems,” Lisa Heinzerling, a Georgetown law professor who crafted the winning arguments in the Supreme Court's 2007 Massachusetts v. EPA ruling, recognizing federal authority to regulate greenhouse gas pollution under the Clean Air Act, told E&E News. “How — to me — untrustworthy it seems and how worried we should be in the aftermath [of West Virginia v. EPA] that just talking about climate might get [EPA] into trouble.” (E&E News, InsideEPA)

Manchin Directed Taxpayer Funds To Preserve Area Around Mountain Retreat: The United States is far from the necessary climate pollution reductions to meet its pledge to cut emissions by 50–52% below 2005 levels by the end of 2030 — a yawning gap that will only grow after Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) joined every Senate Republican in opposing action on climate change. A condo purchased by the coal millionaire and his wife in 2011 is also far … away from the mountaintop removal coal mining that has wrought untold environmental and public health destruction upon his state. Manchin and his wife, The Intercept reports, have funneled millions of federal taxpayer dollars to protect the area around their retreat, nestled between Dolly Sods Wilderness, the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, and Blackwater Falls State Park. (Emissions reduction targets: Washington Post $; Manchins: The Intercept)

UK HEAT: Heat deaths could triple by 2050 (BBC), Johnson's decision to skip emergency heat wave meetings draws blowback (Axios), EU to buy forest firefighting planes as climate crises intensify (Reuters), ‘It’s not really safe’: climate anxiety casts a shadow in sunny Scarborough (The Guardian), How high will temperatures go? A record is close to falling in Britain. (New York Times $), The UK’s blistering heatwave is just the beginning (The Verge), UK is no longer a cold country and must adapt to heat, say climate scientists (The Guardian), Heatwave in UK prompts national emergency (ABC), UK sees hottest day on record — with temperatures set to rise further (Washington Post $), UK breaks its record for highest temperature as heat builds (AP)

• LACK OF A/C: Why don’t homes in Britain have air conditioning? (New York Times $), Why is the UK so unprepared for extreme heat and what can be done? (The Guardian)

FOSSIL DEPENDENCE CRISIS: Europe braces for a potential gas crisis as historic heatwave boosts demand (CNN), Europe fears widespread economic fallout if Russian gas outage drags on (Wall Street Journal $), Europe must slash gas demand now before ‘hard’ winter, iea warns (Bloomberg $), European gas slips with focus on Russia’s Nord Stream link (Bloomberg $), Heat wave is pushing Europe’s energy system to the limit (Bloomberg $), Looming gas crunch poses ‘historic test’ for Europe, IEA says (Wall Street Journal $)

ENVIRONMENTAL (IN)JUSTICE: As police crack down on homelessness, unhoused end up in Mojave desert (The Guardian), When the power goes out, who suffers? Climate epidemiologists are now trying to figure that out (Inside Climate News)

FOSSIL FUELED WAR: Russian gas cuts threaten to shutter Germany industry (FT $), Russian gas supply halt risks 1.5% cut to EU's GDP in worst case scenario (Bloomberg $) IEA chief: Non-Russian gas ‘not enough’ to ensure EU winter supply (Politico Pro $)

• RUSSIAN GAS ALTERNATIVES: EU agrees to double Azeri gas imports in shift from Russia (Bloomberg $, CNBC), Gas supplies from Algeria to Italy to increase in coming years - Draghi (Reuters), Gazprom declares force majeure on gas supplies to Germany’s Uniper (Politico Pro $), Egypt ready to play role in easing Europe gas crisis, president Sisi says (Bloomberg $)
• DOUBLING DOWN ON DIRTY: Poland to boost coal imports, subsidies amid Russia sanctions (Reuters), Energy fears weaken German taboos over nuclear power and speed limits (The Guardian), Gas crisis spurs Germany to mull extending life of nuclear plants (Reuters)

COP27: Egypt accelerates preparations for global climate summit (Prensa Latina), Bill McKibben: Egypt U.N. climate summit must demand freedom for jailed activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah (Democracy Now), Climate summit host cautions nations against ‘zero-sum game’ (AP)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Climate aid, war fallout feature at Berlin climate talks (AP), NATO disappoints with tepid climate action (Energy Monitor), Africa’s wildlife parks managers meet to boost conservation (AP), UN leader warns against climate ‘collective suicide’ as heat wave grips Europe (CNBC)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: Pacific island nations are bringing their climate justice fight to the world's highest court (TIME)

LIBERAL SNOWFLAKES: Three-quarters of Montana farmers, ranchers anxious about climate change, survey finds (Yale Climate Connections)

LOCAL NEWS NEWS: WUSA debuts environmentally friendly live truck (AdWeek)

SCOTUS: There are 1.2M signatures on a petition to impeach Justice Clarence Thomas (The Grio, Newsweek)

EPA: EPA faces suit over Colo. oil and gas hub air permit program (E&E $)

DOI: BIA faulted for neglecting inmates’ health in jail deaths (E&E News), Haaland breaks leg during hike at Shenandoah National Park (E&E $, The Hill, Politico Pro $), How Manchin wobble may hit Biden’s public land oil strategy (E&E News)

FERC: FERC rejects National Grid’s proposal for cost recovery, extra ROE for $1.2B New York power line (Utility Dive)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden could declare climate emergency as soon as this week, sources say (Washington Post $), Middle East trip yields little for Biden on oil, climate (E&E $), What happened to Biden’s gas tax holiday? (E&E News)

THE HILL: Dems grapple with climate defeat, search for path forward (E&E News), 

Democrats’ tax-hike plans are imperiled — with or without Joe Manchin (Bloomberg $)

HOUSE: 4 issues to watch as Energy, EPA bills reach House floor (E&E News), Oversight panel confronts agriculture's GHG emissions (E&E $)

SENATE: ‘We have to take Sen. Manchin at his word’: Markey reacts to Manchin’s climate objection (NBC), Action on climate change stalled after Sen. Manchin blocks legislation (NBC), Cracks form in Biden’s Senate Democratic base (The Hill), Survey shows Senate Democratic staff is more diverse now than ever before (The Grio), Wyden calls for Democrats to keep pushing Manchin for climate deal (Politico Pro $), Don’t trust Joe Manchin to close a deal (MSNBC)

POLITICS: Climate-focused bill collapses as nation is gripped by impacts (E&E News)

ELECTIONS: Donna Edwards leans on climate record in tough House bid (E&E News)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: Committee to consider White House science nominee (E&E $), Manchin sets vote on delayed Interior energy post (E&E $), Senate committees to vote on EPA, energy nominees (E&E $)

CITIES AND STATES AND DISENFRANCHISED COLONIAL TERRITORIES: A key US energy efficiency program has a major flaw — and Pennsylvania is trying to fix it (Grist), Puerto Rico’s electricity rates have nearly doubled since 2020: IEEFA (Utility Dive)

• CALIFORNIA: California launches rulemaking to expand electricity demand flexibility, amid threats to grid reliability (Utility Dive), California regulators try to salvage system for allowing ‘extreme’ pollution (Grist)

IMPACTS: Climate change extreme weather costs Germany billions annually (Reuters), Severe weather dealt $121B in property losses over 5 years (E&E $)

• AUSTRALIA: Flood, evacuate, rinse, repeat: a relentless pattern batters Australia (New York Times $), State of the environment: shocking report shows how Australia’s land and wildlife are being gradually destroyed (The Guardian)

HEAT: The health risks of extreme heat (Reuters, explainer), Heat waves are getting hotter and more frequent. Here's how to prepare. (Washington Post $)

DROUGHT: Europe’s big dry (Politico EU)

WATER: Climate change will make Rocky Mountain water resources more volatile: study (The Hill)

POLLUTION: Air pollution levels linked to disease, IQ decline in kids (Fatherly)

MAJOR SCIENTIST FLEX: Live streaming weather data from the roof of the world (CNN)

WORKERS: Unions call for maximum UK workplace temperature as heatwave descends (The Guardian)

RENEWABLES: Smart electric panels in homes could prevent overtaxing the grid (Canary Media), Study: Offshore wind turbines won't change the weather (E&E $), Wind expansion hindered by 'messy' local dynamics (E&E $)

• TRANSMISSION: Pattern Energy buys 3-GW SunZia transmission project to deliver wind energy from New Mexico to Arizona (Utility Dive)

MINERALS: Governments turn against deep-sea mining as EV boom drives demand for metals (LA Times $), Surging demand for cobalt spurs hunt for mineral in Australia’s mine waste (FT $)

OIL & GAS: How much extra oil can Saudi Arabia pump? (Reuters, explainer), Guyana races against the clock to bank its oil bonanza (Reuters)

LNG: China to post record decline in LNG imports as economy slows (Bloomberg $)

PLASTICS: Fish-bot sucks up microplastics from water (Gizmodo)

HYDROGEN: The northeast is poised to become a ‘hydrogen hub’ (Grist)

UTILITIES: No near-term credit quality risks for US public power, cooperative utilities from potential blackouts: Fitch (Utility Dive), Utility executives reveal ‘yawning gap’ in climate action (E&E News), Xcel Energy to test resilience hubs in three Minneapolis neighborhoods (Energy News Network)

STEEL IS REAL: Sweden prefers steel over Bitcoin miners as power gets scarce (E&E $)

HUMAN RIGHTS: Just 3 weeks post-Roe, the stories emerging are worse than anyone imagined (Jezebel)

AVIATION: Rolls-Royce to run engine tests with hydrogen as emissions pressure grows (FT $), Aviation faces hurdles to hit goals for cutting emissions (AP)

AGRICULTURE: Tiny pest deals blow to Southern crops as winters grow milder (E&E $)

GEOENGINEERING: As 1.5C warming limit nears, interest in sun-dimming tech heats up (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

FINANCE: Chief sustainability officers prosper as ESG risks mount (FT $), Energy crisis prompts ESG rethink on oil and gas (FT $)

INTERNATIONAL: In the race to succeed Boris Johnson, climate change does not appear to be a priority. (New York Times $), UK launches review of British electricity market (Reuters)

• CANADA: Canada exploring possibility of moving hydrogen through natural gas pipelines (Politico Pro $), Canada launches consultations on oil and gas emissions cap (Reuters, Bloomberg $)

• The practice of anger in a warming world (Kenyon Review, Genevieve Guenther essay)
• Your gas stove is dangerous to your health (CommonWealth Magazine, Wynne Armand op-ed)
• The terrifying truth: Britain’s a hothouse, but one day 40C will seem cool (The Guardian, Bill McGuire op-ed)
• It’s time to root out white supremacists in the military and law enforcement (The Grio, David Love op-ed)
• Jane Fonda calls for the end of fossil fuel industry-funded politicians (The Tonight Show, interview)
• National security starts with keeping the lights on (Ohio Capital Journal, Dennis McGinn op-ed)
• Ending the energy crisis doesn’t mean giving up on climate (Bloomberg, Editorial Board $)
• The Guardian view on climate politics: Net zero must stay as policy (The Guardian, Editorial Board)
• Bob Bullard: Supreme Court’s climate change ruling places ‘uneven burdens on overburdened communities’ (The Guardian, interview)
• Corinne Le Quéré: ‘Could we just adapt to climate change? The answer is no’ (FT, interview $)
• Elegy for a planet on fire: the truth of climate change | opinion (Newsweek, Jason Fields column)
• Europe’s energy crisis will cost you $200 billion — probably more (Bloomberg, Javier Blas column $)
• Climate action is fighting back against big polluters. We don’t need to end Australia’s climate wars – we need to win them (The Guardian, Jeff Sparrow op-ed)
• It is us we are waiting for! Africa needs to shape its own conservation and climate agenda (The Guardian, Kaddu Sebunya op-ed)
• Lack of investment and innovation adds to worries of grid failure and outages (Utility Dive, Landon Stevens op-ed)
• We must resurrect ‘forgotten’ crops in the fight against a food crisis (FT, Sayed Azam-Ali op-ed $)

Fossil Fuel Spokesperson Pat Michaels Died Last Week, Deniers Not Quite Sure When

It's never a good look to go dancing on a grave, so please forgive any subtextual glee you may pick up on here as we report the bad-for-his-family-good-for-everyone-else news that career climate disinformation peddler Dr. Patrick J. Michaels died last week. 

It would be hard to understate how much time and energy Michaels devoted to disinformation over the past thirty years. While his one-time guess, live on CNN, that "40 percent" of his funding came from the fossil fuel industry remains a highlight of everything you need to know, he has some of the lengthiest Sourcewatch and DeSmog entries we've ever seen, with even more primary documents over at ClimateFiles that are put into a fun "30 years of climate denial" slideshow at the Climate Investigations Center. 

From his work as a "member scientist" and "individual supporter" with a Big Tobacco front group in the '90s to his own New Hope Environmental Services consulting company that produced climate disinformation for fossil fuel funders, to his work as the Koch's climatologist at the Cato Institute and then CEI and the CO2 Coalition, Michaels’ career was one of turning polluter paychecks into propaganda. 

Michaels leaves behind a wife, Rachel Schwartz, who only appears online in connection to Pat in his Wiki bio that notes they were married in 2010, and in his 2011 book in which he refers to her as "my dear friend" in a sentence before spending a paragraph dedicating the book to Chip Knappenberger, his collaborator and "general savior for 20 years." 

Michaels closed his acknowledgment in his 2011 book by saying that "when the history of the global warming mess is written [his collaborator, Chip Knappenberger] will come out big," reading now like a suggestion that Chip might carry on the torch. But since Michaels quit and Cato shut down their climate disinfo research center in 2019, it seems Chip couldn't or chose not to get a new job in the field, so Michaels is probably wrong about that, in addition to everything else wrong with the book Climate Coup: Global Warming's Invasion of Our Government and Our Lives.

More recently, Pat Michaels appeared in the 2022 Frontline documentary on Big Oil's disinfo defending his funding, claiming that he "was using them," because “Can you imagine somebody giving you a little bit of money to say, ‘Write whatever you want every two weeks’? We had a blast doing that. We weren’t doing what we were told; we were doing what we wanted.”

Apparently he expected us to believe it was merely coincidence that what he wanted to say was exactly what the industry wanted to hear. (Alex Epstein uses the same excuse for his petro-propaganda, so worry not, the industry's messaging will live on!) 

Pat Michaels also appeared in the 2012 Frontline documentary on Big Oil's production of a "Climate of Doubt," delivering the tired climate disinformation talking point that "the oft-reported mantra in Washington, quote, 'The science is settled,' is not true at all." 

A quote that summarizes his life's work, denying the reality that fossil fuels cause dangerous climate change. 

As of yesterday, Monday the 18th, the CO2 Coalition, where Michaels was a Senior Fellow, made a point of "noting that it is unclear still if Dr. Michaels died on the 15th, 14th, or 13th of July 2022" in their obituary, while Cato just said he died "last week." But a post from the CO2 Coalition published two days earlier, on Saturday, read like he died on the 16th. As of Monday afternoon, Wikipedia listed his death as July 16, 2022 in the intro text, but July 15, 2022 in the sidebar. 

In a fitting fashion to a man whose career was dedicated to casting doubt on reality, even the day of his death is apparently not settled science.

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 ($)