FIRST LOOK:

A new survey finds that nearly two-thirds of North Carolinians hold a positive view of electric cars and support transitioning toward clean energy sources. Learn more in the North Carolina Drives Electric 2022 report from Generation180.

Air Pollution Worsens As Poland Burns More, Dirtier Coal: Increased coal combustion — especially of poor quality, heavily polluting coals — in Poland is setting off a public health emergency as families try to keep warm amidst the global energy crisis set off by the Russian war in Ukraine. Illegal backyard coal mining has made a comeback in Ukraine, and recent moves by regional governments to allow residential burning of brown, or lignite, coal is having severe impacts on public health. In some places, like Olpiny where the Tkaczuk family lives with their asthmatic five year-old son, as many as 40% of households burn coal in old furnaces known as "smokers" for their noxious fumes. "I feel completely helpless and abandoned by the state," Julia Tkaczuk, told Reuters of her son. "Every sneeze is a warning sign for me." Lignite has extremely high sulfur and mercury content that makes burning it especially dangerous, and it contains less energy than black coal so more must be burned for the same amount of heat. Piotr Kleczkowski, a professor at Krakow's AGH University specializing in environmental protection, told Reuters the pollution from the suspended pollution ban could cause as many as 1,500 premature deaths just in the Tkaczuk's province this winter alone. "It gets worse: with more sulfur in the air, mercury finds it easier to get into our lungs," Kleczkowski said. (Reuters)

Keystone Pipeline Dumps Oil Into Kansas Creek: The Keystone Pipeline dumped at least 14,000 barrels (588,000 gallons) of oil into a creek in Washington County, Kansas, forcing the shutdown of the pipeline. The full impact of the spill is still unknown, and cleanup efforts will likely be complicated by the fact that the spill impacted a waterway and because the sludgy tar sands transported by the pipeline is both extremely toxic and heavier than water, causing it to sink. The Keystone pipeline has previously leaked in North and South Dakota. The danger of leaks was a major factor in the termination of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. News of the shutdown of the 600,000 bpd Keystone pipeline briefly increased oil prices. (AP, KCUR, CNN, Nebraska Public Media, KSNT, Politico Pro $, Al Jazeera, Reuters, The Hill, Bloomberg $, OilPrice, Bloomberg $)

Americans Not Accounting For Climate Risks When Moving: Americans are moving away from some areas hit hardest by hurricanes and extreme heat, and are moving to regions most prone to extreme wildfires and drought — as well as hurricane-prone Florida — a study published Thursday in Frontiers in Human Dynamics finds. The University of Vermont researchers found people are increasingly moving away from flood-prone areas along the Mississippi River, as well as New York State and West Virginia. They're moving to places with immediate and tangible benefits, like the scenic beauty of the West, or the retiree amenities of Florida, and setting aside wildfire and hurricane risks. That so many Americans are "flocking to fire" as the study's authors put it, indicates “the public has not fully acknowledged the climate emergency,” Brown University population studies professor Elizabeth Fussell, who was not involved in the study, told Inside Climate News. The socioeconomic costs will still rise, however, Jennifer Marlon of the Yale School of Environment told CNN. “Moving more folks into high-risk areas is going to prove exceedingly costly,” said Marlon, who was not involved in the study. “The question just becomes a matter of who is going to pay for the damages.” (Inside Climate News, CNN, The Hill)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Does antisemitism exist in the climate movement? (Atmos), After 294 days as Russia’s prisoner — Brittney Griner is finally free (Black Wall Street Times, The Root, Essence, Ebony, The Root, NewsOne, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, AP, Washington Post $, Politico, CBS, LA Times $, CNN, CNBC, Buzzfeed, The Cut, USA Today, ABC, Reuters, Axios, BBC, Texas Tribune, Al Jazeera, FT $, Wall Street Journal $, NPR, NBC, People), ‘We can’t take this for granted': Black LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary leaders celebrate Brittney Griner’s release (The 19th* News), Basketball world, politicians react to Brittney Griner's release (The Root), Brittney Griner's wife Cherelle speaks out amid debate about Paul Whelan’s release (NewsOne), Don’t let critics of Brittney Griner's release ruin our joy for her return (The Root)

WILL THIS SATISFY // A PERSON SATISFIED TO BEAR A CHILD?: Climate crisis and pregnancy (ABC), Rising temperatures causing distress to foetuses, study reveals (The Guardian)

MINERALS: Over half the world's energy transition minerals are on Indigenous lands (Gizmodo)

EMISSIONS: Scientists thought carbon emissions had peaked. They’ve never been higher. (Washington Post $) 

(CLIMATE) DIPLOMACY: Mexico to present clean energy projects at North American Leaders' Summit, foreign minister says (Reuters)

• COP15: Global nature pact in doubt as COP15 talks seek breakthrough (Context), Animating the carbon cycle: Earth’s animals vital allies in CO2 storage (Mongabay), What is the “30 by 30” goal – and can it save global biodiversity? (Texas Climate News), Can the world agree on how to save its last wild animals? (Washington Post$)  

FOSSIL FUELED ENERGY CRISIS: Windfall tax mechanisms on energy companies across Europe (Reuters Factbox), Europe’s energy grids face first major winter stress test as Arctic blast takes hold (CNBC), European gas prices fall as LNG surge battles arctic blast (Bloomberg $), Turkey is stopping oil not under Russian sanctions, raising global energy market supply concerns (CNBC), Qatar extends its natural gas dominance at Russia’s expense (New York Times $)

• GERMAN LNG: Germany warned by regulator that it must save more gas (Bloomberg $), Germany’s floating LNG terminal delayed (OilPrice), The five-year engineering feat Germany pulled off in months (Wall Street Journal $)
• UK COAL: ‘Deeply damaging mistake’: UK’s decision to approve a new coal mine criticized as misguided (CNBC), Labour says it would stop Cumbria coalmine from opening (The Guardian), Could Cumbria coalmine be stopped despite government green light? (The Guardian), New Cumbria coalmine ‘like opening a Betamax factory’, says Tim Farron (The Guardian), UK coal mine approval sparks global fury and hypocrisy claims (Climate Home), UK condemned by its own climate advisers for greenlighting first new coal mine in three decades (CNN)
• US GASOLINE: Gasoline is cheaper now than a year ago — and could fall below $3 (CNBC, The Hill)

AFRICAN OIL: NGOs sue in French court over oil project in AfricaDW's Top Story (Deutsche Welle), African countries are tapping their fossil fuel wealth. Why aren’t they getting rich? (Grist)

GOP vs. ESG: Texas subpoenas BlackRock over ESG (E&E $)

MEDIA: NC newspaper continues coverage in the dark after substation attack (Washington Post $)

INFLATION REDUCTION ACT: America’s allies are furious over trade rules. Democrats don’t care. (Politico Pro $), Biden threatens Europe’s car battery production (Politico Pro $), Tai: US taking Europe's IRA concerns 'very seriously' (Politico Pro $)

• SIDE DEALS: Manchin gave ground on permitting. Republicans still blocked it. (Politico Pro $), Manchin: GOP's permitting rejection 'payback' for Inflation Reduction Act support (Politico Pro $)

EPA: Greens sue EPA to lower new natural gas plants’ emissions (Politico Pro $, E&E $), EPA union calls on Regan to push for fair pay, promotions (E&E $), EPA watchdog: Avoid past mistakes with infrastructure funds (E&E $), Ex-EPA official joins Environmental Law Institute board (E&E $)

DOE: Biden gas ban: A national model or ‘executive fiat’? (E&E News), Five ways the Biden DOE is spending big on nuclear energy (The Hill), New bipartisan clean hydrogen bill would advance DOE’s research and development (Utility Dive)

DOI: Interior to pause Calif. [oil & gas] lease sales after NEPA court ruling (E&E $), Interior secretary: `Unacceptable’ to mine near famed swamp (AP, E&E $)

• FLOATING OSW LEASE SALE: 1st US floating offshore wind auction nets $757M in bids (AP, KQED), European energy firms dominate landmark California offshore wind auction (Reuters), How do floating wind turbines work? With 5 companies winning the first US leases to build wind farms off California’s coast, let’s take a look (The Conversation)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: SEC officials face off on climate rule (E&E $), US floats new steel, aluminum tariffs based on carbon emissions (Reuters)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden wants industry to fix the climate mess it helped create (E&E News), 5th Circuit may back Biden social cost of carbon (E&E News), Flanked by union allies, Biden touts $36 billion pension bailout (Bloomberg $), Kerry expects ‘very tricky’ year for climate fundraising (Washington Post $), Kerry: 'Craven' people exploiting Ukraine war for fossil fuels (Politico Pro $)

THE HILL: Energy, environment winners and losers in the defense bill (E&E $), Republicans question DOE grant to battery company (E&E $)

HOUSE: House approves defense, water projects bill (E&E News), House Democrats press Elon Musk on his plans to combat hate speech on Twitter (Bloomberg $), Conservative climate groups to wield power in GOP House (E&E News), January 6 committee to release final report on December 21 (Black Wall Street Times), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee (Business Insider, The Guardian, The Root), First Gen Z congressman-elect says he was denied DC apartment, noting ‘really bad’ credit (The Hill, Washington Post $)

SENATE: Senate Democrats elect leaders, add Schatz to roster (E&E $), Senators hope to end corporate greenwashing at climate talks (E&E $), New powers, flexibility await Senate Democrats next year (E&E News)

• …MAYBE: Sinema switches to independent, shaking up the Senate (Politico)

CITIES AND STATES: Many questions on $52B storm protection plan in NY, NJ (AP), A city in Washington wants to give orcas their own version of human rights (Gizmodo), Regulators limit fracking waste in Delaware River watershed (AP), Slate of New Mexico regulatory candidates sparks concern (AP), Virginia air pollution board votes to leave regional carbon-credit program (The Hill), Virginia’s exit from regional emissions trading group advances as air board opens public comment (Utility Dive)

• CALIFORNIA: One week until California decides the fate of rooftop solar (LA Times $)

IMPACTS: New abnormal: Climate disaster damage ‘down’ to $268 billion (AP), Sri Lanka shuts schools as extreme weather brings pollution (AP), Mid-December tornado threat ramps up (Yale Climate Connections), Portugal: Woman dead after overnight rains flood Lisbon (AP), Powerful "Greenland Block" may yield extreme weather through December (Axios), Virtual reality games offer visceral taste of a climate-changed future (Context), Weird weather hit cattle ranchers and citrus growers in 2022. why it likely will get worse. (USA Today), What extreme weather events are doing to global insurance markets (Bloomberg $), Why knowing your neighbors could save you in the next climate disaster (The Guardian)

WILDFIRES: A deadly wildfire traumatized their town. Can nature help them heal? (Washington Post $)

WATER: Household water wells are drying up in record numbers as California drought worsens (LA Times $)

DEFORESTATION: Brazil risks losing control of the Amazon to organized crime, judge warns (Reuters), EU palm oil use and imports seen plummeting by 2032 (Reuters)

TEMPORARY COOLING: Mauna Loa is erupting in Hawaii. Here are 7 things to know about volcanoes. (Vox)

FOOD WASTE: Fuel made from ramen, dishes from coffee grinds: japan rethinks food waste (Washington Post $), Fight to curb food waste increasingly turns to science (AP)

RENEWABLES: A 100MW solar farm in Texas will mount panels directly on the ground (Canary Media), Finally, some good climate news: The biggest wins in clean energy in 2022 (Inside Climate News), Hydropower could provide electricity to more people in sub-Saharan Africa (Yale Climate Connections)

BATTERIES: Korean firms plan $4 billion-plus battery plant in Georgia (AP), Lithium-ion batteries see first-ever price increase (E&E $), US utilities to triple battery storage capacity by 2025 -EIA (Reuters)

LNG: Australia rakes in record LNG revenues (OilPrice)

OIL & GAS: Exxon plans to raise spending in 2023, boost share buybacks (Reuters), Offshore deepwater oil production poised for global boom (E&E $), Oman’s energy minister says oil producers are uneasy over Russia cap (Bloomberg $), Shell injects $1.5 bln into UK retail power business to help it weather volatility (Reuters), TotalEnergies may buy green power from Fortescue in Papua New Guinea -regulator (Reuters)

GRID (& GUNS): Investigators scouring online conspiracy theories for motive in N.C. substation attack (CNBC), Gunfire at South Carolina hydropower plant stokes grid concerns (Bloomberg $)

EVs: Ohio workers at electric-vehicle battery plant hold vote on unionizing (Washington Post $), BP to expand EV charging network at M&S stores (Reuters), EV charging infrastructure requires local government collaboration to get federal funding: report (Utility Dive)

• FAIL WHALE COMETH?: Tesla to shorten Shanghai factory shifts, delay new hires (Bloomberg $), Tesla's troubles are piling up while Elon Musk is distracted with Twitter (Bloomberg $),  Elon Musk’s bankers consider Tesla margin loans to cut risky Twitter debt (Bloomberg $), 

CRYPTO: New York is the first state to partially ban cryptocurrency mining. Here's what it means for the industry. (Politico Pro $), Quebec shuns bitcoin mining in bid to conserve power (Wall Street Journal $)

DIRECT ACTION: Climate activists block Champs Elysees to demand better insulation of buildings (Reuters)

AVIATION: Jetblue moves away from carbon credits to focus on greener fuel (Bloomberg $)

BOOKS: Three graphic novels that creatively confront the climate crisis (The Conversation)

CARBON REMOVAL: Big oil is once again throwing money at sucking carbon from the sky (Gizmodo), Former US Energy Secretary [Ernest Moniz] proposes agency to pay for carbon removal (Bloomberg $)

CARBON CAPTURE: Carbon capture for New York high-rise apartments is a real thing now (Canary Media)

FINANCE: Al Gore slams Vanguard after defection from climate group (Bloomberg $), Audacious BlackRock challenge is Bluebell's David vs Goliath playbook (Reuters), Japan to ramp up scrutiny of ESG data providers with new guidelines (Bloomberg $), US fund managers cross Atlantic to buy European oil stocks (FT $), US power and utility M&A value falls 29% to $37.9B so far this year amid macroeconomic pressures: PwC (Utility Dive), World's banks told to apply capital rules to climate risks where possible (Reuters)

WILDLIFE: Disappearing plants jeopardize a green future (Reuters), Puffin nesting sites in western Europe could be lost by end of century (The Guardian), There's a ray of sunshine in latest monarch butterfly count (E&E $)

KLAMATH DAM REMOVAL: Tribal, federal leaders cheer Klamath River dam removals (AP)

INTERNATIONAL: Australian government to underwrite renewable energy capacity (Reuters), China is now remotely controlling cobalt mines in the congo (OilPrice)

• Set them free (Atmos, Ruth Robertson column)
• If Paul Whelan’s brother is happy for Griner, we all should be (Black Wall Street Times, Deon Osborne op-ed)
• Governments need to put their energy papers in order (Bloomberg, David Fickling column $)
• Musk loans put Twitter in Tesla's driving seat (Bloomberg, Liam Denning column $)
• Elon Musk's Twitter debacle is dragging Tesla down too (Bloomberg, Mark Gongloff op-ed $)
• 'Dispatchable' renewables in spotlight after upbeat IEA report (Reuters, Gavin Maguire column)
• A key climate metric gets an overdue update (The Hill, Max Sarinsky and Peter Howard op-ed)
• The pathway to slashing industrial emissions (The Hill, Sasha Stashwick op-ed)
• Climate anxiety isn’t the enemy: Embracing it can speed change (The Hill, Stuart Mackintosh op-ed)

Heartland Survey ‘Explodes’ 97% Climate Consensus, Finds 96% Consensus Instead

On November 1st, we talked about a new study that confirmed that climate messages explaining the scientific consensus on climate change were effective, even on deniers. But the report also showed that disinformation eroded the long-term positive effect, which is why the fossil fuel industry keeps funding so much disinfo. 

And sure enough, a week later the Heartland Institute blasted out a press release to anyone who would listen, wherein H. Sterling Burnett said "this survey, once again, explodes the myth that 97 percent of climate scientists believe humans are causing catastrophic climate change." 

Fortunately, literally no one listened, and not a single legitimate news outlet reported on their findings. TownHall did let Heartland's Chris Talgo publish an op-ed about it, but that's as close as they got to media coverage. On November 14th, Heartland published a YouTube video on the same subject, which has gotten some 43,000 views, but other than that, no one seems to have noticed. 

But then on November 30th, someone unrelated to Heartland covered it! Unfortunately for them, it was Glenn Branch of the National Center for Science Education, who actually bothered to look at the survey and reveal its actual findings in an op-ed at DeSmog. 

While claiming to disprove the 97% consensus, Heartland's poll actually found a 96% consensus that climate change is happening! Whoops! 

Branch explains that not only does Heartland's poll of just 400 "scientists" consist primarily of those who have only gotten a bachelor's degree (76%), but only a scant 11% described themselves as actual researchers. The widely-reinforced 97% consensus statistic that Heartland tried so hard to invalidate, by contrast, refers to thousands of actual published, peer-reviewed climate studies, and 1,189 of the researchers who published them. 

"Comparing the results of the Heartland-commissioned survey with those of the studies establishing the scientific consensus on climate change," Branch wrote, "is like comparing apples with oranges — equating the opinions of people with a modicum of past exposure to the relevant science with those of scientists currently engaged in advancing scientific knowledge about climate change." 

Even still, the very first question of Heartland’s survey found a 96% consensus that warming is happening. The results Heartland chose to highlight, though, made every effort to suggest the opposite. And this can't be accidental. 

It's not like you can ‘forget’ to put the findings of the very first question of your survey into the press release and instead just highlight that "only 59 percent of respondents think global climate change will cause 'significant harm' to the 'living conditions for people alive today.'" 

Yes, their best finding was that "only" about 60 percent (a majority) think climate change will harm people! And another 30% answered that it would cause "slight harm," meaning that 89% of Heartland's respondents thought climate change will hurt people! 

For contrast, only 4% said a slight or significant improvement would result from warming, another 4% said there'd be no change in living conditions, 2% weren't sure, and only % thought there wouldn't be any change in the climate. 

By tallying the "slight harm" responses with the "no change" or "improvement" categories, instead of grouping them with their obvious logical companion of "significant harm," Heartland portrayed a strong consensus as a minority view. 

This doesn't make any sense if you were trying to accurately portray the findings of your survey, but it is exactly what you would do if it were your job to produce disinformation to prevent people from acting on the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change. 

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