FIRST LOOK(s):

The River Network's updated 'Clean Water Act Owner's Manual' drops tomorrow. Get pumped!

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EPA Confirms 'Cancer Alley' Residents At Higher Risk Of Cancer: What residents and advocates have known for a long time is now EPA-official: People who live in Louisiana's "Cancer Alley" suffer increased cancer risks because of exposure to pollution from nearby chemical plants. “They see what we are going through and they see that this is environmental racism,” Sharon Lavigne, founder of Rise St. James, which has successfully fought multi-billion dollar plants in the region, told the AP. In a 56-page letter to state officials, the first of its kind, EPA outlined findings of racist discrimination by at least two Louisiana regulatory departments in their failure to regulate pollution in the industrial corridor between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The EPA has “significant evidence suggesting that the Departments’ actions or inactions” have harmed and are harming Black residents of St. John the Baptist Parish, St. James Parish. (AP, E&E $)

Low Mississippi River Levels Slow Shipping While Region Recovers From Summer Floods: The effects of increased weather whiplash are being up and down the Mississippi River basin. Communities are still working to recover from the deadly and destructive floods this summer, even as the region's worsening drought pushed Mississippi River water levels so low barges carrying crucial exports from America's Breadbasket can no longer navigate the river. Last week there was a 1,700-barge traffic jam as crews had to dredge the river to keep them from running aground in Mississippi, while the drying river allows salt water to encroach from the ocean, endangering drinking water in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Climate change, mainly caused by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels, is making droughts worse and more frequent; it also contributes to the conditions necessary for extreme precipitation events. “The future will be characterized by more extreme events, simply because our source of water vapor will be hotter,” NC State professor and a lead scientist behind the National Climate Assessment Ken Kunkel told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “The system will have more fuel to work with.” Even as river levels are at their lowest in a decade, the official death toll of the torrential rain and flooding inundated Missouri and Kentucky this summer rose late last week to a total of 43 people, in addition to the two killed in St. Louis. (Mississippi River basin flooding: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel; Drought: Washington Post $, Gizmodo, CNN; Kent. death toll: CNN; Climate Signals background: Extreme precipitation increase, Drought)

Chicago Could Eliminate Fossil Fuel Hookups For New Construction: Chicago is considering a proposal that would require all new construction to be fossil fuel-free while also helping low-income residents swap methane gas-burning heating and hot-water appliances for electric ones. A suggestion to require new residential and commercial construction to be built without methane gas- or other fossil fuel-burning equipment (or face a "fossil fuel mitigation fee") is included in a list of more than two-dozen recommendations released by Mayor Lori Lightfoot in consultation with outside groups. "The burning of fossil fuels is no longer a viable option," Angela Tovar, the city’s chief sustainability officer, told the Sun-Times, noting that two-thirds of the city's greenhouse gas pollution comes from buildings, and adding “this can’t be a situation where we leave anyone behind.” (Chicago Sun-Times)

FOSSIL FUELED ENERGY CRISIS: France’s TotalEnergies accused of ‘complicity in war crimes’ by Ukrainian groups (Politico Pro $), Europe is still quietly importing Russian nuclear energy (CNBC), French strike may presage a winter of discontent for Europe (New York Times $), Germany got rich on exports and cheap Russian gas. Now it’s in trouble. (Washington Post $), How Putin has maimed Gazprom (Politico EU), US, allies negotiating price level for Russian oil cap (Wall Street Journal $), UK stocks up on generators, gloves, and flashlights to prepare for winter blackouts (Washington Examiner), Winter’s approach raises stakes in European energy crisis (Wall Street Journal $), Tens of thousands march in Paris to protest rising living costs (New York Times $)

HOME HEATING BILLS: Higher heating bills poised to hit US households this winter (Wall Street Journal $), Higher heating bills expected this winter amid energy market turmoil: Report (ABC), New England risks winter Blackouts as gas supplies tighten (Wall Street Journal $)

COP27: Poor nations to demand climate justice, finance at UN summit (AP), ‘A moral responsibility’: Scotland calls for climate reparations ahead of COP27 (Grist), Qatar's energy minister foreshadows COP27 fight (Axios)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: German envoy says global financial institutions need to face climate change (Reuters), Malpass survives climate gaffe, but the World Bank’s fossil fuel policy may not (Politico), UK joins calls for World Bank reform to focus funding on climate crisis (The Guardian)

• DEBT: 20 nations at high risk from global warming might halt debt payments (New York Times $), 

BIG BANKS, THEY'RE JUST LIKE US!: Banks try quiet quitting on net zero (Bloomberg $)

DENIAL: How Koch Industries, fake scientists, and Rush Limbaugh invented climate denial (Vice)

GOP-WASHING: This Republican wants to outcompete China on climate change (Washington Post $)

GAS STOVES: The next frontier for climate action is the great indoors (Vox), The dangers of using your gas range or oven for heat (Consumer Reports), Some US cities banning new gas appliances in effort to combat climate change (CBS)

[INSERT YOUR OWN 'DEADLIEST CATCH' REFERENCE HERE]: Billions of snow crabs have disappeared from the waters around Alaska. Scientists say overfishing is not the cause (CNN), Alaska cancels snow crab season for first time after population collapses (Washington Post $, Alaska Public Media, The Guardian, NBC, CBS, Gizmodo, Business Insider, HuffPost, CBS)

SOUP'S ON!: Fossil fuel protesters charged after tomato soup thrown on Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers' in London gallery (CNN, AP, Axios, ABC, People, The Hill, New York Times $, AFP, Al Jazeera, Fortune, CNBC, Washington Post $, Reuters), Throwing tomato soup on Van Gogh: Why climate protests are getting weirder (Washington Post $), Who is Just Stop Oil, the group that threw soup on Van Gogh's painting? (NPR)

INFLATION REDUCTION ACT: Poll: Voters see Inflation Reduction Act solely as climate law (E&E $), Climate law faces state litmus test (E&E $), State PUCs should re-examine planning, procurement costs in wake of Inflation Reduction Act: report (Utility Dive)

SCOTUS: Highway carbon rule an early test of SCOTUS climate ruling (E&E News), Juliana bid for climate trial taps SOTUS rulings on EPA, guns (E&E $)

EPA: EPA flags concerns about Line 5 pipeline project (E&E $), Greens press EPA to take 600 'forever chemicals' off market (E&E $), NGOs sue EPA to force it to act on Texas’s plan exempting 8 coal-fired plants from particulate matter limits (Utility Dive)

CCC: Civilian Climate Corps programs take off in states across the country (Washington Post $)

LAWSUITS: Judges may punt NEPA fight over nuclear fuel development (E&E News)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden’s ‘made in America’ policies anger key allies (New York Times $)

THE HILL: GOP cites Supreme Court ruling against emissions plan (E&E $), Congress eyes cutting off foreign markets from US strategic reserve oil (Washington Examiner)

HOUSE: House Science Republicans jump in to scrutinize DOE loans (E&E $)

SENATE: Climate change exposes lack of US preparedness in defending Arctic Ocean interests, US senator says (CNN)

ELECTIONS: GOP-aligned clean energy group tops $1M in boost to Murkowski (E&E News), Senate race in Ohio is ground zero for hopes of more manufacturing jobs (Washington Post $), 'Voting is too dumb': Roe is gone, student debt is piling up and young people are mad. But will they vote? (USA Today)

TRIBES: Tribes split over new Colorado national monument (E&E News), Ute tribes divided after national monument announcement (The Hill)

CITIES AND STATES: Community and climate risk in a New England village (Inside Climate News), How does your state rank on fostering community-led clean energy? (Canary Media), Maryland and Baltimore agree to continue state supervision of the deeply troubled back river wastewater treatment plant (Inside Climate News), N.M. enacted a climate law 3 years ago. Then things got hard. (E&E News), New York financial regulator wants to lead on crypto, climate change (Wall Street Journal $)

• CALIFORNIA: California approves desalination plant as historic drought hits water supplies (CNBC), California's incentive programs for low-income EV buyers must expand to meet low emissions goals (Jalopnik), The mystery lurking in California’s $8 gas prices (Washington Post $)

FERC: FERC chair on his nomination, renewables, Fox News (E&E $), FERC to take up controversial Rio Grande LNG project next week (Politico Pro $)

IMPACTS: Oklahoma, NOAA researchers: Climate change will cause extreme flooding to become more widespread, frequent, unpredictable (NPR), Amsterdam’s development boom runs up against rising seas (Bloomberg $), New project builds disaster-ready affordable housing (Axios), September 2022: Earth’s 5th-warmest September on record (Yale Climate Connections), UN: The world needs early warning systems for climate-change-related disasters (Yahoo), Yellowstone National Park has reopened an entrance devastated by June floods (NPR)

• NIGERIA FLOODING: Flooding in Nigeria kills 500, displaces 1.4 million, government says (Washington Post $)
• AUSTRALIA FLOODING: Extreme floods lead to deaths and evacuations in Australia (Axios), Rising waters again force evacuations and spread misery in Australia (New York Times $)

WAS YOUR MONDAY MORNING TOO CHEERY?: When cemeteries are flooded, where do you bury the dead? (New York Times $)

WILDFIRES: When wildfires rage, some unauthorized immigrants can’t evacuate (Yale Climate Connections), Smoky air again affecting PNW amid fires, red flag warnings (AP)

HURRICANES: Tropical Storm Karl is downgraded off Mexico’s Gulf coast (AP, Washington Post $)

• HURRICANE IAN: Most Floridians got power back quickly after Ian. But for some the wait has just begun. (Washington Post $), Solar power stayed on as Hurricane Ian knocked lights out across Florida (Wall Street Journal $), After Hurricane Ian, Florida citrus and agriculture struggle (AP), Hurricane Ian destroyed retirees' life savings (E&E $), Lessons from Hurricane Michael being applied to Ian recovery (AP), Two beloved bald eagles are rebuilding their nest after hurricane ian (Washington Post $)

DROUGHT: Drought threatens England’s fruit and vegetable crop next year, says report (The Guardian), England could be in drought beyond spring 2023, say ministers (The Guardian), More than 80 percent of the US is facing troubling dry conditions (Washington Post $)

WATER: Shasta lake helped water California; now its dryness is a threat to the state (Wall Street Journal $)

RESILIENCE: Building resilient communities: Soulardarity’s plan for energy democracy (Canary Media)

RENEWABLES: First West Coast wind farms face possible blowback (Wall Street Journal $), Floating wind farms are planned for the Gulf of Maine to tap huge amounts of potential wind power far off shore (Boston Globe $)

BATTERIES: Inside the only lithium producer in the US, which provides the critical mineral used in batteries by Tesla, EV makers (CNBC), 'Water batteries' could store solar and wind power for when it's needed (NPR)

LNG: Canada would back 'economically viable' new LNG terminals (Reuters), China halts LNG sales to foreign buyers to ensure own supply (Bloomberg $)

OIL & GAS: Exxon bets on ex-auto executive for climate-friendly profits (Wall Street Journal $), Middle Eastern countries are sitting on an ocean of natural gas (Economist), New study fingerprints methane emission sources in the San Juan Basin (New Mexico Political Report), Saudis say US sought 1-month delay of OPEC+ production cuts (E&E $), Shell ties up with renewables firm for Australia battery storage project (Reuters), Why OPEC’s cuts shouldn’t have been a surprise — and may not hurt as much as you might think (Vox), Why the oil trade may have more juice despite a losing week (CNBC), With price spike looming, more natural gas going into storage (Houston Chronicle), Xi vows to prioritize environment, protect nature and promote green lifestyles (Reuters)

PLASTICS: Environmentalists fear a massive new plastics plant near Pittsburgh will worsen pollution and stimulate fracking (Inside Climate News)

PIPELINES: Court upholds wetland permit for Minn. [Line 3] pipeline (E&E $)

COAL: As Ohio regulators sit on coal plant subsidy cases, costs could rack up for ratepayers (Energy News Network)

MINERALS: How much mining is needed to save the planet? (E&E News)

HYDROGEN: The great hydrogen gamble: Hot air or net zero’s holy grail? (The Guardian)

UTILITIES: Ameren Missouri expects $1.3B in Inflation Reduction Act tax credits will help offset customer rates by 4.5% (Utility Dive), Sempra Energy hydrogen pipeline, blending proposals face opposition at the California PUC (Utility Dive), Utility begins loading fuel at new Georgia nuclear plant (AP)

GRID: Open source to open door: Software emerges as risk to the grid (E&E News)

EVs: As electric car production falls short, flippers step up (Bloomberg $), China's EV startups defy funding slump with $6 billion of deals (Bloomberg $), Electric car investment envy spawns a ‘tax break industrial complex’ (Bloomberg $), Founder of electric truck maker [Nikola] is convicted of fraud (New York Times $), The ‘bummer’ of the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit: Its full value may be hard to get (CNBC), Tax the rich for more EVs? California Democrats split (AP)

MEDIA: How Not to Save a Planet: Cancel a podcast about climate solutions (Canary Media)

FOOD: Beyond Meat plans to chew out 19% of workforce as it sees revenue drops (Gizmodo), Cattle industry sees red over Google flagging beef emissions (E&E News), The ‘both siderism’ that once dominated climate coverage has now become a staple of stories about eating less meat (Inside Climate News)

THE SHERO WE SHOULDN'T NEED: This 33-year-old made more than 1,000 Wikipedia bios for unknown women scientists (NBC)

AGRICULTURE: In Colombia, a seed bank unlocks genetic secrets in climate fight (Context), In a warming world, who wins: goats or sheep? (Washington Post $)

CARBON PRICING: Gabon carbon credits seen fetching as much as $35 a ton (Bloomberg $)

FPAS: Report shows toxic PFAS pollution is likely at more than 57,000 US locations (Truthout)

FINANCE: Development banks pass climate goal, urged to help poor more (AP, Reuters)

TREES: Loggers can now restore cut-down forests for FSC green branding (Climate Home)

WILDLIFE: Animal populations shrank an average of 69% over the last half-century, a report says (NPR, CBS), Half of all coral reefs could face permanent effects of climate change (Hawaii Public Radio), Many wildlife populations have seen significant decline since 1970: analysis (The Hill), Recent whale strandings highlight the mystery that still baffles marine scientists (NPR)

INTERNATIONAL: Amsterdam’s building boom versus climate change(Bloomberg $), China won’t rush its clean energy transformation, Xi says (Bloomberg $), India’s energy future is looking green, report says (AP), Public ownership of power assets key to smooth shift to renewables, Queensland energy minister says (The Guardian)

• For millions of families, electricity disconnects are a matter of life and death (The Hill, Alicia Race op-ed)
• The Supreme Court is in session – and every case is potentially a climate one (The Guardian, Amy Westervelt analysis)
• ¿Puerto Rico está más cerca de la energía renovable tras huracán Fiona? (Válgame PR Interview with Elizabeth Yeampierre)
• The world cannot fix the global food crisis without rural women (The Hill, Claudia Sadoff op-ed)
• Why we should all be chasing acorns (New York Times, Margaret Renkl column $)
• Here’s how the ocean is being harnessed as a climate solution (TIME, Jennifer Fergesen op-ed)
• What I've learned from a life filled with hurricanes (TIME, Kristen Arnett essay)
• The high price of Biden’s foolish energy policy and Saudi squabble (The Hill, Liz Peek op-ed)
• The feds can curb a foolish California water giveaway (Los Angeles Times Editorial Board $)
• Conserving cultural heritage is vital for climate adaptation (The Hill, Marcy Rockman op-ed)
• Who pays for a hurricane? (Context, Peter Bosshard and Chiara Arena op-ed)
• The contradictions of climate activism (New York Times, Ross Douthat op-ed $)
• Proposed climate rule is bigger, badder deal than Manchin-Schumer climate bill (The Hill, Rupert Darwall op-ed)

Invited Just To Be Debunked, Deniers Manage To Embarrass Conference Before It Even Begins

Tomorrow in London, a four-day investment conference in London kicks off. CC Forum calls itself the "green Davos," and its audience could have heard from the UK's new climate minister Graham Stuart. Instead, as DeSmog reported on Friday, they'll be subjected to the climate disinformation presented by Marc Morano and Christopher Monckton.

Even beyond their rank climate denial, these two are particularly odious figures. On January 6th, 2021, as Trump supporters were violently attempting to overthrow American democracy, Morano called for similarly violent attacks "to storm state Capitols and the CDC to end Covid lockdowns once and for all." 

And Monckton is listed inaccurately as a "Lord" on the CCForum website, despite the fact that The House of Lords sent him a "cease and desist" letter a decade ago to tell him to knock it off. Oh, and in addition to being so wrong about climate science that even other deniers debunk him, Monckton has claimed to have cured AIDS and the common cold, and has a history of threatening to sue his critics to try and intimidate them into shutting up. 

Now, it is definitely possible that the "unforeseen urgent government business" that Stuart's team told organizers caused them to cancel has nothing to do with the fact that DeSmog asked them about the conference hosting Monckton and Morano, but the timing sure makes it look like the noxious deniers were sufficiently toxic to make appearing at the same event as they are a political liability a precarious new government couldn't afford.

Stuart's office had confirmed that week that he would attend, but "when DeSmog made further inquiries," Adam Barnett reported, the office "then appeared to link Stuart’s decision to withdraw to his not knowing who else was booked for the event when he agreed to speak – an apparent reference to Morano and Monckton." 

And Stuart isn't the only one. Dr. Aaron Theirry also announced his withdrawal from the event, as he "cannot in good conscience lend legitimacy to an event that would profile grifters who knowingly shill for fossil fuel polluters, even as millions have their lives & livelihoods destroyed by climate impacts." Which is, if anything, going easy on the two. 

Even the event organizers themselves didn't exactly defend the dud duo. Instead, the CC Forum's Max Studennikoff said they're giving them the stage with the intent of "publicly debunking their arguments in a public debate on stage, as we firmly believe that any attempt to shut down such a debate would constitute an affront to free speech.”

Which is (a) funny, because he's essentially admitting that they invited a couple of dufuses to the conference to point and laugh at and (b) stupid, because they could have just… not given professional propagandists a platform to spread harmful disinformation, and instead given that time to literally anyone saying anything that's actually true.

It's fine to want to understand the opposition to sustainable investment, as the most generous interpretation of the invitation would suggest were their aims. But you absolutely do not need to talk to a liar to understand their lies! And these days, there are plenty of experts on the disinformation industry, who would almost certainly be thrilled to have an opportunity to explain why what people like Monckton and Morano say is irrelevant. 

What matters is that they have built a career out of politicizing science and obstructing policy, and the lies they tell are a tool they use for that aim. 

And as this episode makes clear, there are costs to choosing to platform deniers. Not only is it an embarrassment to the event, but those with integrity or political sensitivities withdraw, leaving the audience exposed to more disinfo and less info. 

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