MEDIA BRIEFING:

Join the Water Hub TODAY at 10:00 am PST (1 pm ET) for an expert panel on multi-solving with nature in the Colorado River Basin. Discussion and Q&A with speakers from Stanford Water in the West, Sixth World Solutions, National Forest Federation, Audubon California, Watershed Management Group, and @WesternWaterGirl.

High Fossil Fuel Costs Leaving Families In The Cold (And Possibly Dark): As winter comes for the global energy system, increased fossil fuel prices are stretching U.S. families' finances to, and past, the breaking point. In Connecticut, the sharp increase in the number of people seeking heating bill assistance is "just unbelievable," Joanne Balaschak, director of energy programs at New Opportunities, in Waterbury, told the Connecticut Post. “We’re seeing people that are working, sometimes two jobs, they can’t make it. It’s just tough. Everybody is so afraid because the price of oil has skyrocketed. Now they’re hearing that Eversource and [United Illuminating] will be increasing their rates. It’s a scary time,” she added. New York expects electricity prices to jump as much as 30% due to higher methane gas prices, driven up in part by LNG exports. The Austin, Texas, utilities department is encouraging people and businesses to pay other customers' bills as residents struggle to pay their electricity bills. Whether the lights will stay on there, however, is another matter. ERCOT, the Texas grid operator, admitted Tuesday it would not be able to keep the state's lights on if demand reached the level of 2021's so-called "Winter Storm Uri," or if methane gas and coal plants fail, as they did in 2021 when the failure of the state's gas system led to blackouts and contributed to the deaths of about 700 people, a disproportionate toll borne by low-income Texans, people of color, and people with disabilities. (CT: Connecticut Post; NY: Bloomberg $, Utility Dive; Austin: Bloomberg $; ERCOT: Houston Chronicle)

War On Christmas Expands With Drought: The War On Christmas is being waged across an even broader front this year, forcing Christmas tree farms across the U.S. to close or limit sales and raising prices for customers due to drought, a Gizmodo compilation of local reports warns. Extreme heatwaves and drought, both made worse and more frequent by climate change, slow the growth of, and can even kill Christmas trees, with the Pacific Northwest already seeing heavy losses last year. The damage spreads from Texas to Kansas to Massachusetts with some Christmas tree farms forced to import pre-cut trees from other parts of the country. The Evergreen Offensive — combined with inflation driven in part by skyrocketed fossil fuel costs as oil and gas companies have reaped windfalls from Russia's war in Ukraine — will hike Christmas tree prices as much as 20% this year and the damage could last even longer. Christmas trees take about six to eight years to mature and NOAA predicts the drought will likely worsen and spread this winter. (Gizmodo)

Puerto Rico Municipalities File RICO Lawsuit v. Big Oil (& Coal): A group of 16 Puerto Rican municipalities have filed a RICO lawsuit alleging numerous major oil and coal companies engaged in a coordinated "fraudulent marketing scheme" denying the science of climate change. The municipalities argue the companies — including ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Anadarko, Arch Coal/Resources, Peabody Energy, and others — violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act by colluding to convince customers their products did not alter the climate despite knowing that burning fossil fuels causes climate change. Climate change, among other things, increases the severity of major hurricanes like Hurricane Maria which killed nearly 3,000 people in 2017, and extreme precipitation like the 30 inches of rain dumped by Hurricane Fiona in September. The Puerto Rican municipalities join a drumbeat of at least 22 other American political entities suing to hold major fossil fuel companies accountable for the damage wrought by climate change they knew their products caused. (Reuters; Climate Signals background: Hurricanes, Hurricane Maria)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Discrimination seeps into every aspect of home buying for Black Americans (New York Times $)

CLICK FOR *FASCINATING* UK BUILDING HEAT RETENTION STRATEGIES: In a land of cold, the architecture is tested by heat (Washington Post $)

ETYMOLOGY: The fossil fuel origins of ‘gaslighting’ (Grist)

COP27: Climate change summit leaves hope for limiting global warming (Wall Street Journal $)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Al Gore tells EU: Join us, don’t fight us over green subsidies (Politico Pro $), Can BECCS be saved from the net-zero scrapheap? (Energy Monitor), Germany’s Habeck backs ‘Buy European’ response to US trade threat (Politico Pro $), Macron to promote nuclear energy in US, as industry faces crisis in France (Washington Post $), Who should pay for loss and damage? Spoiler: not China (Climate Home), Countries are negotiating a global plastics treaty. it won’t be easy. (Washington Post $)

• DEBT CRISIS: Global poor lose services as developing countries face higher debt payments (Wall Street Journal $)
• MONARCHAL SCIONS: Prince William and Kate are coming back to the US for the first time in 8 years. Here's what to know. (CBS)

FOSSIL FUELED ENERGY CRISIS: Berlin’s push for Nord Stream 2 contributed to Ukraine war, German minister says (Politico Pro $), Big Oil made big bucks. Will the windfall fund green energy? (E&E News), Qatar signs limited natural-gas supply deal with Germany (Wall Street Journal $), US tries to break EU deadlock over Russian oil price cap (Politico Pro $), EU is hooked on Russia LNG and paying billions to keep it coming (Bloomberg $)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: Oil companies urge Supreme Court to review climate case (E&E $)

GOP vs. ESG: Republican states take drastic measure in latest salvo against ESG movement (Fox Business)

WORLD CUP: What is outdoor air conditioning? And how bad is it for the environment? (TIME), “Sportswashing & greenwashing”: Ex-soccer player Jules Boykoff on Qatar hosting World Cup (Democracy Now)

IN MEMORIAM: Joye Braun, the firestorm, dies at 53 (Indian Country Today, AP), 'Climate warrior': Va. House Democrat McEachin dies at 61 (E&E $)

SCOTUS: This question could seal fate of SCOTUS Forest Service fracas (E&E News)

AGENCIES: DOJ files complaint against Jackson, Mississippi over water crisis (NBC, Politico Pro $), US taps interim manager for struggling Jackson water system (AP), NASA cancels greenhouse gas monitoring satellite due to cost (AP)

EPA: EPA adds asthma experts to kids' health advisory panel (E&E $), Expansive EPA smog control plan faces industry pushback (E&E $), White House aides move to EPA (E&E $)

DOE: DOE labs launch thermal energy storage consortium to spur development, market adoption (Utility Dive), DOE girds for House Republican oversight (E&E News)

DOI: Wyoming sues Biden administration over canceled lease sales (Politico Pro $)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: Naval Academy fortifies sea wall as climate threats rise (E&E $)

WHITE HOUSE: Podesta builds 'lean' team to roll out climate law (E&E $)

THE HILL: Spending deal elusive as government shutdown nears (E&E News), Congress prepares intervention in looming rail strike (E&E News, Politico, New York Times $, Axios, Politico Pro $), Looming rail strike threatens biofuel, ag transport (E&E News), What we know about the railroad labor talks (New York Times $), Top [House] Dem urges 'digital battery identifiers' for EV tax credit (E&E $), Manchin eyes omnibus for lands package (E&E $)

POLITICS: Republicans who blasted EVs might be powerless to stop them (E&E $), Tesla hires former Hill staffers as climate bill lobbyists (E&E $), Western voters favor public lands (High Country News)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: Committee deadlocks on EPA air nominee (E&E News, The Hill, Politico Pro $)

CITIES AND STATES: State, local governments increasingly turn to zoning reforms (Yale Climate Connections), NY Dems offer bill for funding climate-resilient transit (E&E $), Teen school board member in Idaho wants to expand climate change curriculum (Yale Climate Connections), Ann Arbor proposes ban on natural gas connections for new buildings (Michigan Live)

• PENNSYLVANIA: Fracking company featured in ‘Gasland’ faces criminal pollution charges in Pennsylvania (Wall Street Journal $), Pennsylvania’s first proposed hazardous waste landfill would be near homes and schools (Environmental Health News)
• MONTGOMERY COUNTY: Strongest new buildings electrification rule passed in Maryland (Bloomberg Law, WYPR, WTOP, DCist, WUSA-9, DC News Now, RTO Insider), East Coast's first countywide gas ban passed in Md. (E&E $)
• CALIFORNIA: Why cultural burning might be an answer to California’s fire season (ABC10), This California city needs housing. But is a new development destined to burn? (Grist)

IMPACTS: How India’s caste system keeps Dalits from accessing disaster relief (The New Humanitarian)

GREAT BARRIER REEF: UN wants great barrier reef labeled ‘in danger.’ Australia says ‘no need.’ (Washington Post $, AP), Great Barrier Reef flagged as ‘in danger’ World Heritage site. What does this mean? (The Guardian, explainer), We all know the Great Barrier Reef is in danger – the UN has just confirmed it. Again (The Conversation)

HEAT: Rare Northwest heat wave gets a new name: 'Gray swan' (E&E $), Working in extreme heat is risky for pregnant workers. Advocates say passing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act could help. (The 19th* News)

HURRICANES: Even weak tropical cyclones have grown more intense worldwide – we tracked 30 years of them using currents (The Conversation)

WATER: California cities brace for water cuts and a fourth year of drought (Gizmodo), Pink snow is a red flag for the West’s water (High Country News)

RENEWABLES: Solar-panel shortage snarls US green-energy plans (Wall Street Journal $), Huge Australian wind farm secures $1.3 bln funding with no power contracts (Reuters), One man’s determined fight for solar power in rural Ohio (Inside Climate News), NY project will use high-tech sensors to get more clean energy onto grid (Canary Media), Tomatoes and solar panels could go well together (Canary Media)

DAPL: Judge orders Enbridge, tribe to form emergency pipeline plan (AP)

OIL & GAS: Deckhand dies near oil platform in Gulf of Mexico (E&E $, Houma Today), Deepwater oil and gas production will grow despite no new major GOM discoveries, report says (Houston Chronicle), Exxon to exit Equatorial Guinea amid wider Africa crude phaseout (Reuters), OPEC+ leans toward maintaining flat production, delegates say (Wall Street Journal $)

NUKES: NuScale’s small modular reactor design draft application has several ‘significant’ issues, NRC staff says (Utility Dive)

PLASTICS: Future global treaty on plastics must cut production to ease pollution, some states say (Reuters)

UTILITIES: Eversource, Avangrid aim to ease soaring Connecticut electricity bills as lawmakers push for hearings (Utility Dive), Georgia Power steadfast as decision nears in $2.9B rate case (AP), High electricity rates impede crucial but costly technology investments to manage rising DER levels: utilities (Utility Dive)

GRID: Maine Supreme Court upholds lease for $1B power line project (AP)

EVs: Competitors chip away at Tesla’s US electric vehicle share (AP), Why America doesn’t have enough EV charging stations (Wall Street Journal $)

AVIATION: World’s first test run of a hydrogen jet engine a success (The Verge)

DIRECT ACTION: Tyre Extinguishers deflate tyres of 900 SUVs in ‘biggest ever action’ (The Guardian)

AGRICULTURE: Cool bananas: Efficient cold chain technology for a clean agriculture boom (Energy Monitor), Restoring nature could depend on how countries help farmers (Reuters)

CARBON "PRICING": Big polluters given almost €100bn in free carbon permits by EU (The Guardian)

CARBON REUSE: Products made with captured greenhouse gas are reaching commercial scale (Wall Street Journal $)

FINANCE: TPG taps Montag for ambitious carbon-credit effort (Wall Street Journal $)

HOLIDAY GIVING: A gift guide for doing good: How to give in support of climate causes (Gizmodo)

LAUNDRY: Why you should almost always wash your clothes on cold (Washington Post $)

WILDLIFE: Here is what scientists are doing to save Florida's coral reef before it's too late (NPR), US bat species devastated by fungus now listed as endangered (AP)

INTERNATIONAL: Netherlands to buy out farmers amid pushback over nitrogen goals (Bloomberg $), Norway to postpone oil and gas licensing round (Reuters), South Africa central bank flags risks of erratic power, high debt (Reuters)

• KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON?: Sunak searches for Tory compromise over onshore windfarms U-turn (The Guardian)

• COP27’s newest headliner: Environmental justice (Ms. Magazine, Beverly Wright op-ed)
• Love, life, and the environment (Bricks, Wigs, and Gay Crimes, Lara Americo column)
• A brief but spectacular take on community resiliency (PBS NewsHour, Elizabeth Yeampierre, commentary)
• As private investment in nuclear fusion rises, what key milestones will bring it from hype to reality? (Utility Dive, Bill Lacivita and Geoff Olynyk op-ed)
• European power firms at risk as US jumps on bioenergy bandwagon: Maguire (Reuters, Gavin Maguire column)
• Our $10 trillion global energy bill dwarfs what’s needed to limit global heating (The Conversation, Stephen Peake analysis)

ClearPath Tricks Another Reporter Into Claiming The GOP's Climate Denial Has Changed

Once upon a time, North Carolina electronics millionaire Jay Faison sold his business and used $165 million to start the ClearPath Foundation. Ever since, there has been a steady stream of stories claiming that Republicans are dropping their (electorally toxic) climate denial, and they all bear the fingerprints of Faison's funding. 

What they don't show, however, is any actual progress in getting Republicans to change their pro-polluter, fossil-fuel-loving policies. Because, as they've admitted for anyone who cares to remember, this is only a change in rhetoric, to mask that they're just trying to "double down" on Trumpian energy policies supporting the fossil fuel industry at the climate's expense. 

The Houston Chronicle's James Osborne is the latest to take the bait, with a piece suggesting Republicans will pursue "a more nuanced approach" to energy policy now that they'll run the House of Representatives, "a shift away from the climate denialism to which many Republicans had long clung." In its place is, per Osborne, "a more moderate strategy that acknowledges mankind is contributing to climate change."

But just like every single sentence that begins with "I'm not a racist, but…" the GOP's supposedly nuanced and moderate strategy also came with a 'but.' The approach accepts climate change is real "but challenges the notion society can shift rapidly away from oil and other fossil fuels without driving up energy prices." 

Oh, okay! Their nuanced new position is exactly the same as their old position, but now they pretend to care that their position is what's known in the scientific literature as wrong.

And what do you know, Osborne quotes Rich Powell, CEO of Jay Faison's ClearPath, saying that "there are still deniers, but they're a smaller and smaller voice every year within the caucus and certainly not in leadership." 

Per the guy whose job it is to make Republicans appear less beholden to the fossil fuel industry to win over climate-concerned suburban women voters, "there's been a huge amount of work across this Congress from leader McCarthy on down to try and get a governing framework (on climate change) together should they win the House." 

Oh word? For real? 

Yes, and, Osborne notes casually as though it doesn't entirely destroy the narrative of the story, "at the center of their strategy is a focus on technologies that allow for the continued use of fossil fuels, such as clean hydrogen fuel and carbon capture." 

Don't worry, everyone! Republicans have totally changed. They're not saying climate change is a hoax to justify further government handouts to the fossil fuel industry (unless you count Donald Trump and his fans as Republicans, of course). NO! They're saying climate change is real, which is what justifies further government handouts to the fossil fuel industry. 

And that's not all they're saying! How moderate does picking "a fight over 'woke capitalism'" sound? Because that's what Republicans have in store: attacking radical extremist liberal pro-LGBTQ+ brands like Walt Disney. (Also, looting.) 

Then there's fighting for the right to lie to the government about permitting issues, because that's on the docket too. Industry/conservative voices are opposing a draft rule proposed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that would require a "duty of candor" in filings to make it official that companies shouldn't omit relevant facts or otherwise attempt to mislead regulators. 

Republicans are promising to continue lying, inciting more violence against marginalized communities and propping up the fossil fuel industry. And as long as they still have Faison's millions to play with, ClearPath is going to keep trying to convince reporters that a foaming-at-the-mouth Republican saying, "I'm not rabid, but…" means the party is on the path to "a more nuanced approach" and "moderate strategy" for their policy platform of banning water and biting children.

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