FIRST LOOK: 

Watch this space for opportunities to support community and mutual aid groups in both Puerto Rico and Alaska. 

In the meantime, test your knowledge of fossil fuel misinformation with this quiz, by New York Renews!

Puerto Rico Hammered By Fiona, Entire Grid Down: Hurricane Fiona dumped catastrophic flooding on Puerto Rico over the weekend, knocking out the entire island's electrical grid and dropping as much as 30 inches of rain. Electricity was out across the island by 2pm ET Sunday, even before Fiona made official landfall at about 3:20 pm ET near Punta Tocon. Understanding the scope of the devastation will take days, if not weeks, as rivers ripped bridges from their moorings. Fiona hit Puerto Rico just two days before the five-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria, the deadliest disaster in the U.S. in the last century, due in part to the previous administration’s racist malfeasance. This is the second time in less than six months the entire colonial territory has been without electricity. Puerto Rico’s grid reliability has been shaky for years and last Thursday a senior VP of LUMA — the private utility that provides power to Puerto Ricans — could not provide Congress with an estimate of when it would be able to stabilize the grid and provide reliable electricity. Puerto Rico does not have voting representatives in Congress and does not have electoral votes for president. The Category 1 storm, which is still dumping rain on Puerto Rico, slammed into the Dominican Republic near Boca de Yuma early this morning and is forecast to dump up to 12 inches of rain on the eastern and northern parts of the country. (Washington Post $, Axios, AP, Yale Climate Connections, NBC Miami, Axios, NPR, CNN, Bloomberg $, Axios, USA Today, El Nuevo Dia (es), El Nuevo Dia (es), EFE (es), El Nuevo Dia (es), El Nuevo Dia (es), Bloomberg $, NBC, AccuWeather, Gizmodo, Weather Channel, ABC, The Hill; Maria Anniversary: Axios, AP, E&E $; LUMA: San Juan Daily Star; Dominican Republic: CNN, AP, Prensa Latina; Photos: Washington Post $; Projected path: Washington Post $; Climate Signals background: Hurricanes)

Newsome Signs Climate Bills Into Law: California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a wide-ranging package of bills, including 40 climate-related measures, into law on Friday. The legislation includes a mandate that the state achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 as well as a 3,200-foot setback requirement between new oil wells and homes, schools, and other locations. Other provisions include expedited solar permitting, record-keeping requirements for EV charging station reliability, and a ban on enhanced oil recovery using carbon sequestration. (E&E News, AP, Sacramento Bee $, San Francisco Chronicle, ABC-7 KGO News, KCRA Sacramento, Axios, Utility Dive, The Hill)

'Meteorologically Perfect Storm' Slams Alaska: A massive cyclone hammered northwestern Alaska over the weekend, sweeping north through the Bering Strait and flooding coastal communities following the worst storm in at least 50 years. The "meteorologically perfect storm," per the Washington Post, was a "worst-case scenario," NWS climatologist Brian Brettschneider told Alaska Public Media. Ocean levels in Nome were more than 9 feet above normal early Saturday with the sea pushed onshore by winds gusting over 70 mph for 11 hours. Water levels in nearby Golovin were expected to hit as much as 13 feet above high tide. Thousands were without electricity, and the flooding forced evacuation of several coastal communities. “It’s just a lake everywhere," Job Hale of Napakiak, told APM. Extratropical storms hitting "early" in the season are especially dangerous compared to those that occur later in the year because there is not yet any coastal sea ice to buffer coastal communities.  (Washington Post $, Alaska Public Media, Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Public Media, AP, The Conversation, AP, USA Today, CBS, New York Times $, Insider, CNN, New York Times $, Today Show, Alaska Public Media, Washington Post $, New York Times $, ABC; Climate Signals background: Storm surge, Cyclonic storms)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: EJ leader wants more 'truth-telling' from the media (E&E $)

• JACKSON WATER CRISIS: Privatization isn’t the answer to Jackson’s water crisis (HuffPost), Racism seen as root of water crisis in Mississippi capital (AP)
• CANCER ALLEY: The win for activists in two halted chemical plants — by the numbers (Washington Post $), ‘Goliath is wobbling’: Louisiana court strikes blow to Formosa’s giant plastics plant (Grist)

PAKISTAN:  Pakistan braces for more floods as death toll crosses 1,500 (Bloomberg $), Experts slam ‘pittance’ in aid to Pakistan as they find climate crisis played a role in floods (CNN), Pakistan urges SCO to tackle climate change threat (Prensa Latina) 

• ATTRIBUTION: Scientists have already attributed Pakistan's extreme 2022 monsoon to climate change (Gizmodo), Scientists say Pakistan’s extreme rains were intensified by global warming (Inside Climate News), Is climate change to blame for the Pakistan floods? Here’s what we know. (Grist)

FOSSIL FUELED ENERGY CRISIS: 

• WINTER IS COMING: Electric bills soar across the country as winter looms (Wall Street Journal $), Coal stoves and wood thieves: Europe braces for winter without Russian gas (Washington Post $)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Five burning climate issues for the 2022 UN general assembly (Climate Home)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: Pacific Islands students target UN court as key weapon to fight climate change (Reuters), Virginia judge dismisses youth climate change lawsuit (AP)

DENIAL & DISINFO: Criticism intensifies after big oil admits ‘gaslighting’ public over green aims (The Guardian), Governments urged to act after oil giants accused of misleading public (The Guardian)

VANESSA: Nakate: Leaders are missing the human face of climate change (AP)

GOP vs. ESG: Pensions push back at ‘ridiculous’ DeSantis-led attacks on ESG (Bloomberg $)

INFLATION REDUCTION ACT: After climate bill passage, WVa natural gas plant unveiled (AP)

• DIRTY SIDE DEALS: W.Va. vs. Va.: Permitting overhaul a backyard brawl (E&E News), IRA, permitting reform seen possibly boosting natural gas infrastructure (Natural Gas Intel), Ron Klain quietly courts disgruntled progressives on Manchin permitting deal: report (Washington Examiner), Markey opposes Manchin push to include permitting reform in stopgap funding bill (The Hill)

A FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE: People don’t really talk about climate change. Here’s how to start. (Washington Post $)

AGENCIES: USDA more than triples funding for ‘climate smart’ agriculture (Ohio Capital Journal)

EPA: EPA sets smog standard downgrades for 4 major metro areas (E&E $), Permanent capture: What a decades-old scandal at the EPA tell us about power in Washington today (WBUR), Poison in the water: When the Reagan administration’s EPA met resistance from its own staff (WBUR)

DOE: DOE sees 'disparities' as it looks to boost EJ funding (E&E $)

DOI: New federal guidance aims to strengthen Indigenous land management (Grist)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: DoD’s new climate drill: Kill the lights, see what happens (E&E News)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden announces S.Africa-US investment task force and energy transition funding (Reuters), Biden talks up electric vehicle revolution – but is America ready to give up gas? (The Guardian), CEQ's Mallory talks Biden agenda, climate law, permitting (E&E $), Gina McCarthy receives pen, accolades as she exits (E&E $), US climate envoy Kerry calls on African nations to help curb emissions (Reuters), US climate envoy Kerry cautions against long-term gas projects in Africa (Reuters)

HOUSE: Democrats shame Big Oil in hourslong hearing (E&E News), GOP lawmaker calls witness ‘boo’ at hearing, prompts Ocasio-Cortez apology (Washington Post $), House Dems neuter GOP bid for Interior, USDA documents (E&E $), House OKs bill to shield bureaucrats from political attacks (E&E $)

SENATE: Senate Democrats set action on Kigali climate treaty (E&E News), US Senate passes bill to maximize EV battery recycling for federal fleet vehicles (Utility Dive)

POLITICS: As farmers split from the GOP on climate change, they're getting billions to fight it (NPR)

ELECTIONS: Colorado River drought cuts through key Western midterm races (ABC), Groups unveil climate law ad push ahead of midterms (Axios), Vulnerable Dems want Biden to continue oil reserve sales (E&E $), Grid nightmare haunts Texas governor’s race (E&E News)

CITIES AND STATES: A fight over Nantucket’s bluff pits neighbor against neighbor (New York Times $), Biden administration launches floating offshore wind initiative with 15 GW target by 2035 (Utility Dive), Denver passed a sales tax for climate. Is it working? (E&E News), Minnesota governor rolls out plan to fight climate change (AP), New York launches review of $10B in clean energy programs, focusing on energy efficiency and electrification (Utility Dive), What Mainers on the coast are doing about climate change (Bangor Daily News)

• CALIFORNIA: SF supervisors unhappy with city's lack of action to protect Bayview-Hunters Point residents from toxic sea level rise (KQED)

IMPACTS:  As climate 'tipping points' near, scientists plan for the unthinkable (Thomson Reuters Foundation), At least 10 dead in flooding after Italy is hit by unprecedented rains (Washington Post $, Axios, New York Times $), Earth just experienced one of its warmest summers on record (Washington Post $), Missing woman found dead after Southern California mudslides (AP)

HUNGER: Extreme hunger on the rise in the world’s worst climate hot spots (Washington Post $), The number of hungry people has doubled in 10 countries. A new report explains why (NPR)

HEALTH (CARE): 1. The climate-driven health crisis (Axios), 2. The deadly mix of extreme heat and air pollution (Axios), 3. How the Pacific Northwest is combatting heat and smoke (Axios), 4. Feeling anxious about climate change? You're not alone (Axios), 5. Climate change alters battle against infectious diseases (Axios), 6. Cutting health care's carbon footprint (Axios)

HEAT: Hotter temperatures a threat to students in schools with no air conditioning (USA Today), How to get a low-cost A/C unit and other help from LADWP to beat the next heat wave (LA Times $), Record heatwaves drive EU's July excess deaths to 2022 high (Reuters)

DROUGHT: Flaming Gorge falls as drought felt higher up Colorado River (AP)

WILDFIRES: The prescribed burn paradox: Climate change makes them harder to contain, and more necessary (Marketplace), California’s largest 2022 wildfire puts U.C. research to the test (New York Times $), ‘Significant fire season slowing’ rain set to soak northern California (Washington Post $), As wildfire risk grows, campfires fade across an arid West (Washington Post $)

HURRICANES: Typhoon Nanmadol strikes Japan as millions told to evacuate (Washington Post $, AP), Typhoon Nanmadol to slam Japan, may be one of country's most expensive storms (Axios, Yale Climate Connections)

WATER: Drought-wracked California allows oil companies to use high-quality water. But regulators’ error-strewn records make accurate accounting nearly impossible (Inside Climate News), In a year of water quality reckoning, national imperative is impeded (Great Lakes Now), L.A. is conserving water at record levels, but it’s not enough as drought worsens (LA Times $)

REAL ESTATE: Louisiana faces an insurance crisis, leaving people afraid they can’t afford their homes (NBC), 70% of recent home buyers considered disaster risk in deciding where to live (Yale Climate Connections), Oceans rise, houses fall: The California beach dream home is turning into a nightmare (USA Today)

RENEWABLES: How solar donors can cut the power bills of low-income families (Canary Media), The US looks to rival Europe and Asia with massive floating offshore wind plan (CNBC), Clean energy just got a lot more cost-competitive, report says (Washington Post $)

BATTERIES: Lithium smashes new record as supply struggles to feed EV growth (Bloomberg $), Promise and peril at the bottom of the sea (New York Times $)

BUILDINGS: This super-efficient appliance could save you thousands on home energy costs (CNN)

STORAGE: How the climate law may change energy storage (E&E News)

METHANE: Researchers reveal the worst methane super-emitters in the US (TIME)

OIL & GAS: Feds raid oil & gas polluter's offices (Gizmodo), Shell names new CEO as it eyes carbon cuts (E&E $)

PLASTICS: Single-use plastic is wreaking havoc on the planet. Here’s what you can do to minimize your impact (CNN)

COAL (COUNTRY): At old coal mines, the American chestnut tries for a comeback (New York Times $)

UTILITIES: Xcel gets OK to build Minnesota's largest solar plant in Becker (Star Tribune $, Utility Dive)

GRID: Inside the ‘proving ground’ for a clean energy grid (E&E News)

EVs:  Electric big rigs face uphill trip from show floor to highways (Bloomberg $), The affordable electric vehicle is still mostly fantasy (Bloomberg $), The man from Rivian who wants to change how we buy cars (Wall Street Journal $), Electric vehicles took off. Car makers weren’t ready (Wall Street Journal $)

CRYPTO: What the Biden administration might do to keep crypto mining from derailing climate goals (The Verge)

ACTIVISM: The climate philanthropists (New York Times $)

AVIATION: Electric transportation taking the skies: Plug-in planes ordered by air Canada (Washington Examiner)

BUSINESSES: Don't rush to canonize Patagonia (Gizmodo), Microsoft partners with UK nonprofit on software to help coal plants transition to nuclear power (Utility Dive), Tesla aims to cut wildfire smoke exposure for Nevada gigafactory workers, memo explains (CNBC), This CEO wants citizens to speak up (Politico)

CELEBS:  How actor Aidan Gallagher is calling attention to the climate crisis (Bloomberg $), Kourtney Kardashian should call Patagonia’s CEO (The Cut)

FASHION: Big fashion’s sustainability push has a huge hole (Bloomberg $)

FINANCE: Cracking down on a Wall Street trend: ESG makeovers (New York Times $)

AN OK BOOMER: Jane Fonda on nuclear energy, lithium mining, and the future of her climate activism (HuffPost)

INFRASTRUCTURE: Railroads’ strategy thrilled Wall Street, but not customers and workers (New York Times $)

WILDLIFE: China lost its Yangtze River dolphin. Climate change is coming for other species next (CNN), Rare yellow-legged frogs are returned to drought-hammered San Gabriel Mountains (LA Times $)

INTERNATIONAL: South Africa needs $28 billion to end blackouts, Intellidex says (Bloomberg $), Australia should aim for net zero by 2040, new Climate Change Authority member says (The Guardian), Free carbon credits could threaten Australia’s emission reduction targets, Labor’s advisors warn (The Guardian), Iraq's political stalemate pushes climate action to backseat (Thomson Reuters Foundation), South Australia set to become first big grid to run on 100% renewables (Climate Home), Will King Charles be a ‘climate king?’ (Boston Globe $), Environment groups attack EU’s green label for gas, nuclear (AP)

First public global database of fossil fuels launches (AP), To ease the climate crisis, first figure out what works (New York Times $)

• Turn 'NIMBYs' into 'YIMBYs' to fix energy crisis (Bloomberg, Chris Bryant op-ed $)
• Nuclear power still doesn’t make much sense (New York Times, Farhad Manjoo op-ed $)
• Climate change is a big problem. Citizens must demand many small solutions (LA Times, Hal Harvey and Justin Gillis op-ed $)
• As resistance grows to the fossil fuel regime, laws are springing up everywhere to suppress climate activists (The Guardian, Jeff Sparrow op-ed)
• US gas producers struggle to meet demand (Reuters, John Kemp Column)
• The one political issue Charles should keep speaking out on (CNN, Joseph Romm op-ed)
• Copenhagen’s failure to meet 2025 net zero target casts doubt on other pledges (Climate Home, Kirstine Lund Christiansen and Inge-Merete Hougaard column)
• How a triple La Niña year could impact the US (The Hill, Lauren Casey op-ed)
• Even the EPA’s allies question the plan for regulating PFAS (The Hill, Mario H. Lopez op-ed)
• US climate goals are achievable — if we can get the permits (The Hill, Sasha Mackler op-ed)
• A sneaky form of climate obstruction hurts pension funds (New York Times, Tobias Read op-ed $)
• The world’s ice is melting. Humanity must prepare for the consequences. (Washington Post, Washington Post Editorial Board $)
• Businesses no longer see climate action as driving job losses (New York Times, Gina McCarthy op-ed $)
• Charles III and climate change in the UK (The New Yorker, Bill McKibben op-ed $)
• What the martha's Vineyard stunt says about the Trump wannabes (New York Times, Jamelle Bouie columnist $)
• US gas producers struggle to meet demand (Reuters, John Kemp column)

Federalist Just Says It: GOP Should Make Climate Fight A 'Culture War' Issue To Bridge Party Schism 

The Simpsons reference of someone accidentally saying the quiet part out loud went from quote to cliché during the Trump administration, but it's sadly still relevant, so we're using it. 

Because over the summer, one of the headlines covering the Deny, Deceive, Delay report on climate disinformation was that "Facebook, Twitter let climate fall into culture wars." But that passively-phrased headline masks an important finding of the report. Climate didn't "fall into" the so-called "culture wars," it was pushed, by fossil fuel-affiliated pundits and politicians. 

More recently, a NPR piece concluded that "Republicans are trying to score political points ahead of elections," but only at the end of a story with a similarly passive-voiced headline: "How ESG investing got tangled up in America's culture wars." ESG is not an actor! Republicans tangled it up into America's "culture wars!" 

And they're not even shy about it, now owning up to it, and encouraging more! "GOP's unifying midterm strategy," according to Emily Jashinsky's recent Federalist headline, "should treat Democrats' green agenda as culture war." It's apparently a way "to bridge pre-Trump establishment politics with post-Trump populism," as the one thing both the explicit racists of Trumpian politics and the (recently) quiet but just as ill-intentioned bigots of the Mitch McConnell faction have in common is a love for fossil fuels and all its contributions falling into their campaigns. 

But the environmental policies favored by a vast majority of the country should be used as a political weapon by describing them as being for the elite because Jashinsky says the culture war's opposition to everything anti-racist is "'the big tent' — a narrative that when properly framed is more moral and more politically expedient than avoiding the matter altogether." 

By shifting blame for high gas prices off of the companies charging high prices and reaping high profits, and on to Democratic wishes for more renewable energy, and framing electric vehicles as being only for the rich, or solar panel subsidies as going to China (despite the IRA taking pains to avoid that), Republicans can deliver a message welcome to both the Trump and McConnell wings of the GOP, as though there's any real difference between the camps, save for the aforementioned Trumpian approach of saying the quiet (racist) part out loud. 

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 ($)