FIRST LOOK: 

Cops Kill 'Cop City' Protester Outside Atlanta: Police shot and killed a protester during a sweep to clear a wooded area outside Atlanta to make way for "Cop City" , a new $90 million training facility on Wednesday. Protesters have been defending the area — in the ancestral homeland of the Muscogee Creek people and later a plantation worked by enslaved people before the Civil War and incarcerated people during the Jim Crow era through 1990 — against the expansion and entrenchment of militarized law enforcement. “No one can bring our friend back to us,” activists said in a statement. “An innocent life has been taken and the machines continue.” Georgia officials claim an officer was shot "without warning" — a claim for which they have produced no evidence and which activists with Defend the Atlanta Forest dispute. Activists plan to pursue "a vigorous legal strategy" to determine the facts around the killing. "We are concerned a police coverup could be underway," Atlanta Solidarity Fund, which is providing legal support, posted on Twitter. "We are preparing a legal team to investigate and pursue a wrongful death suit." Cops in the U.S. shot and killed at least 1,176 people in 2022, the most since data began being collected in 2013. (New York Times $, Georgia Public Broadcasting, Unicorn Riot, WABE, The Independent, Daily Beast, Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Police killings: The Guardian, Washington Post $, Bloomberg $, Vice, Truthout)

Scientist Criticizes Gas Industry Use Of His Past Research On Asthma: The author of a 2013 study being touted by the methane gas industry and its allies during the recent uproar over the suggested possibility of gas stoves regulation says his research is being misused. “That’s not a good use of our study," Dutch environmental epidemiology professor Bert Brunekreef told E&E News. CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr.'s comments, along with the publication of research finding 12.7% of childhood asthma cases in the U.S. “is attributable to gas stove use.” That research, ironically enough, was actually based on separate research Brunekreef also co-authored in 2013. “You can always find a study that doesn’t find an effect, but you have to look at the combined effect of all of the studies to reach a conclusion,” he said. (E&E News)

Greenland Warmest Since Before Norman Invasion Of England: The coldest and highest parts of the Greenland ice sheet are warmer than any time in the last 1,000 years. The ice core analysis published Wednesday in Nature reveal temperatures already 1.5°C (2.7F) warmer than preindustrial averages. Researchers also observed a sharp increase between 1995 and 2011 — an ominous sign given the accelerating increase of global temperatures in the last decade. The findings are especially significant because increased melting can accelerate a feedback loop of ice sheet melt, thus further accelerating sea level rise worldwide. While research "adds momentum to the seriousness of the situation," Isabella Velicogna, a UC-Irvine glaciologist not involved in the research, told the Washington Post. "This is bad, bad news for Greenland and for all of us.” (Washington Post $, AP, Inside Climate News, CNN; Climate Signals background: Glacier and sea ice melt, Arctic amplification, Sea level rise)

COP28: Denmark backs UAE leadership of COP28 climate talks (Reuters)

EACOP: 'They want to silence us': Uganda cracks down on anti-oil protests (Context)

CALIFORNIA STORMS: Final atmospheric river storm will slam the Bay Area today. Here are the biggest impacts (San Francisco Chronicle, AP), California’s storms are almost over. its reckoning with flood insurance is about to begin. (Grist)

• WATER WATER EVERYWHERE: Calif. snowpack at 'epic levels' after atmospheric river (E&E $), Despite rain storms, California is still in drought (New York Times $), California faces catastrophic flood dangers — and a need to invest billions in protection (LA Times $), How torrential downpours make it harder for California to save up water (Vox), California storms feed systems set up to capture rainwater (AP)

OOPS: Midwest power plants 'ran out of gas' in winter storm — MISO (E&E $)

GUTERRES AT DAVOS: ‘Big Oil peddled the big lie’: UN chief slams energy giants for ignoring their own climate science (CNBC), UN head accuses fossil fuel firms of business models ‘inconsistent with human survival’ (The Guardian, Axios, CNN, E&E $, The Hill)

FOSSIL FUELED ENERGY CRISIS: IEA chief expects Russia to lose the energy battle, sees major difficulties for Moscow’s exports (CNBC)

• GERMAN COAL MINE: Thousands of protestors fought the expansion of a German coal mine – in vain (Grist), Greta Thunberg released after being detained by police at coal protest (Gizmodo)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: Environmental lawyers to watch in 2023 (E&E News)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Environmental justice targets needed to cut global inequality, say researchers (The Guardian), How each country’s emissions and climate pledges compare (FT $)

GOP vs. ESG: BlackRock boss: 'Ugly' campaign against ESG will fail (E&E $), Republican state officials question proxy advisers ISS, Glass Lewis over ESG (Reuters, FT $)

CLIMATE COMMUNICATIONS: The right words are crucial to solving climate change (Scientific American)

OFFSETS: Revealed: More than 90% of rainforest carbon offsets by biggest provider are worthless, analysis shows (The Guardian), Greenwashing or a net zero necessity? Climate scientists on carbon offsetting (The Guardian)

INFLATION REDUCTION ACT: EU makes green pitch to rival US subsidy splurge (FT $), Can EU anger at Biden’s ‘protectionist’ green deal translate into effective action? (The Guardian), German economic institute: US green subsidy law ain’t that bad (Politico Pro $)

AGENCIES: Delays plague Biden’s push for rapid action on climate change (Washington Post $, Washington Post $)

EPA: EPA watchdog lines up audits for infrastructure funds (E&E $), [Alabama]: EPA will help extinguish ongoing landfill fire (AP)

DOE: Energy secretary says Republican oil bill would weaken energy security tool, result in higher gas prices (The Hill), US energy head warns Republicans oil bill would lift pump prices (Reuters), Community-solar industry shoots for 30 GW by 2030 (Canary Media, Politico Pro $)

TREASURY: Treasury climate lead heads for the exit (E&E $)

FEDERAL RESERVE: Fake hurricanes and oil protests: How the Fed will test banks (E&E News, CNN)

WHITE HOUSE: CEQ hires new drought expert (E&E $), John Kerry says Europe could do more to match US on green spending (FT $), John Kerry says thawing US-China tensions could make a huge difference to climate fight (CNBC)

HOUSE: Gosar returns to Natural Resources Committee (E&E News)

POLITICS: 'Solyndra' search impacts GOP districts (Axios)

CITIES AND STATES: In Maryland, Wes Moore is sworn in as America’s only Black governor (NewsOne), ‘It’s time to start suing’: States tee up next WOTUS war (E&E News, Politico Pro $), Connecticut homeowner associations can no longer block solar installations (Energy News Network), Democrats in Minnesota move to require 100% clean electricity by 2040 (Washington Post $), Va. Senate Democrats kill effort to repeal electric car rule (AP), These are the best and worst states for water efficiency (The Hill)

• CALIFORNIA: Bay Area regulators look to impose sweeping ban on new natural gas water heaters, furnaces (San Francisco Chronicle), 24/7 carbon-free energy is about to become a reality in California (Canary Media), California oil and gas supervisor abruptly resigns (Politico Pro $), How the gas-stove debate has played out in California (New York Times $)
• FLORIDA: DeSantis inauguration sponsored by companies he loves to bash (Washington Post $), DeSantis awards $100M for hurricane erosion recovery efforts (AP)

FERC: New FERC chair pledges transmission push in line with Biden climate goals (Politico Pro $, Reuters), Court: FERC delays costing consumers 'hundreds of millions' (Politico Pro $)

IMPACTS: Report: Climate change fueling conflict in Lake Chad Basin (AP), Atmospheric dust may have hidden true extent of global heating (The Guardian), Climate change trauma has real impacts on cognition and the brain, wildfire survivors study shows (The Conversation), Could the return of El Niño in 2023 take us above 1.5C of warming? – podcast (The Guardian), Flood forecasts in real-time with block-by-block data could save lives – a new machine learning method makes it possible (The Conversation), Spate of natural disasters takes a toll on Australians’ mental health, survey finds (The Guardian)

DROUGHT: How can drought-parched Somalia break out of endless crisis? (Context), Tunisian cave village empties out in face of drought and modernity’s draw (New York Times $)

WATER: Desalination could give the Middle East water without damaging marine life – but it must be managed carefully (The Conversation)

TREES: ‘Mature’ forests storing carbon can actually be pretty young, study says (E&E $), Researchers study how to help forests thrive in a warmer climate (Yale Climate Connections), How New York City’s trees and shrubs help clear its air (New York Times $)

GEOENGINEERING: Mexico plans to ban solar geoengineering after rogue experiment (Climate Home)

RENEWABLES: Feds: Offshore wind not to blame for East Coast whale deaths (AP), Orsted to take full ownership of first NJ offshore wind farm (AP, Politico Pro $), UKwind farms are producing too much energy (OilPrice), Wind lobby says German onshore capacity rose in 2022 but still far from targets (Reuters)

STORAGE: Noon Energy raises $28M for a whole new kind of long-duration storage (Canary Media)

OIL & GAS: The secretive legal weapon that fossil fuel interests use against climate-conscious countries (Grist), Chesapeake CEO urges slowdown in natural gas output after price plunge (Bloomberg $), Aramco sees oil demand picking up on China, aviation rebound (Bloomberg $), EIA: Soaring production will keep natural gas prices in check (OilPrice), Energy watchdog expects record high oil demand due to China’s COVID reopening (The Hill), Police search for answers at 'vast' Quebec explosion site where three found dead (Moosejaw Today)

PLASTICS: England finally joins Europe in banning single-use plastic foodware (Grist)

HYDROGEN: Hydrogen in pipelines: A 'dangerous experiment?' (E&E $), Germany must speed up hydrogen plans this year - gas pipeline group OGE (Reuters)

NUKES: Nebraska utility reviews sites for small modular nuclear reactors using US pandemic aid (Utility Dive), Small modular reactors could hold key to electrifying heavy transport: Michigan study (Utility Dive)

UTILITIES: New England clean energy goals slam into oil reality (E&E News)

GRID: Gunfire damages third North Carolina power station as FBI investigates (Bloomberg $)

EVs: Electric vehicles near ‘tipping point’ in 2023, but tax credit questions, utility interconnection challenges lie ahead (Utility Dive), US investors tee up $210B for EVs and batteries (E&E $)

CRYPTO: This New York crypto lawsuit aims to settle a key climate law loophole (Grist)

AVIATION: Puddle jumpers point the way to greener aviation (Bloomberg $), Could air someday power your flight? airlines are betting on it. (New York Times $)

AGRICULTURE: Brazilian meat giant under fire for allegedly misleading investors (Washington Post $)

BOOZE: New Belgium's iconic Fat Tire beer gets a carbon-neutral rebrand (Axios)

DAVOS: CIEA’s birol on China oil market, demand, ESG (Bloomberg $), Greta Thunberg to meet IEA chief Birol (Reuters)

CARBON REMOVAL: Global carbon dioxide removal totals 2 billion tonnes per year - report (Reuters), Study: Big gap in carbon removal effort key to climate goals (AP)

MEAT: The big problem with plant-based meat: The ‘meat’ part (Washington Post $)

FINANCE: Banks still investing heavily in fossil fuels despite net zero pledges – study (The Guardian)

WILDLIFE: A polar bear killed a woman and a boy after chasing residents in Alaska town (CNN, AP), Extreme heat could put 40% of land vertebrates in peril by end of century (The Guardian), Bears were mysteriously missing toes. These scientists cracked the case. (Washington Post $)

INTERNATIONAL: Canada sees 'unprecedented' number of people claiming EV rebates (OilPrice), Greener together: Grenoble calls on citizens to set climate goals (FT $), Zambia received 'debt-for-nature' proposal from WWF for restructuring (Reuters)

• I hate to say it, but we should ban gas stoves (Gizmodo, Molly Taft commentary)
• A giant auto market is short of EV buyers (Bloomberg, Anjani Trivedi op-ed $)
• Is peak climate alarmism behind US? (New York Times, David Wallace-Wells column $)
• Greta Thunberg’s run-in with police is good for the planet (Bloomberg, Jessica Karl column $)
• How did gas stoves ignite a culture war in the US? (The Guardian, Jill Filipovic column)
• I bought an induction stove. Then the power went out. (Washington Post, Tove Danovich op-ed $)
• Winter Blackouts highlight need for clean energy (Bloomberg, Michael Bloomberg commentary $)
• Carbon offsets are flawed but we are now in a climate emergency (The Guardian, Fiona Harvey analysis)
• A tighter oil market is coming after an unsteady start (Bloomberg, Julian Lee column $)
• 2022 brought more heat and pollution. We’re still careening toward climate disaster (LA Times Editorial Board $)
• Why Germany's coal mine struggle matters to all of us (Context, Luisa Neubauer op-ed)
• The coming El Niño could be a glimpse of a grim future (Bloomberg, Mark Gongloff op-ed $)
• Where moms hover over starving children (New York Times, Nicholas Kristof column $)
• Why updating particulate matter standards is critical to protecting health (The Hill, Sophia Kianni and Meredith McCormack op-ed)
• California PUC’s delay of microgrids program harms disadvantaged communities (Utility Dive, Stephanie Doyle and Shina Robinson op-ed)
• Runaway SCOTUS (Yes Magazine, Julia Peter op-ed)
• Tennessee cops were fired faster for consensual sex than police who shoot Black people (NewsOne, Zack Linly op-ed)

The Gas Stove Backlash Is The Product of Nearly A Century of Industry Propaganda

If you bought something and it didn't work, you probably wouldn't buy it again the next year, or the year after, or every year for the foreseeable future. The fossil fuel industry is no different—if it wasn't seeing a return on its annual investment in disinformation, it wouldn't keep spending billions of dollars on climate disinformation campaigns. 

The explosion of support for gas stoves in Republican circles is the latest example of how the fossil fuel industry's near-century of public relations expenditures has created a surround-sound media machine to manufacture backlash against even the barest hint of a pending regulation. 

In a disinfo-free world, Republicans eager to show their support for rural and working-class communities wouldn't be so quick to lend their support to gas stoves because they're primarily used in urban areas, where Democratic voters are concentrated. Furthermore, gas stoves are often promoted by home renovation shows as a luxury good for the fanciest of kitchens. So, since new gas stoves are either a prized feature of lavish, elite kitchens or a common fixture in the poor Black and Hispanic communities that the GOP spends more time attacking than defending, the Republican gaslighting on gas stoves seems to make little sense. 

The fervent worship of gas stoves seems especially nonsensical since Consumer Reports finds that the innovative alternatives to gas stoves are so much better in every conceivable way: “Induction ranges and cooktops in particular often heat the fastest, simmer steadily, and provide quicker temperature changes when you adjust a burner.” (They also won't melt plastic measuring cups when you turn on the wrong burner…)

But this pro-gas hullabaloo begins to make sense when you consider the fact that the fossil fuel industry has been lying about methane gas for nearly a hundred years, as Rebecca Leber explained in Mother Jones. In the 1930s, "the industry embraced the term 'natural gas,' which gave the impression that its product was cleaner than any other fossil fuel" and promoted the now-ubiquitous catchphrase "cooking with gas." 

The methane gas industry has been at it ever since. As recent reporting at the New York Times exposed, the industry is sponsoring TV shows to promote gas stoves, part of the hundreds of millions the industry has spent on disinfo organizations and the billions that it has spent on trade associations and public relations.

So when a federal regulator suggested looking into gas stove regulations, especially given the latest study showing that gas stoves cause as much asthma in children as second-hand smoke, the fossil-funded Republicans snapped into action, and the industry barely even needed to misrepresent past studies and activate its faux-media outlets and propagandists — though it still did. 

The Wall Street Journal's opinion page, the crown jewel of climate disinformation media, was true to form with its "Biden is Coming for Your Gas Stove" editorial, falsely ginning up fears that jackbooted Big Government agents were on their way to your kitchen. Professional PR people like Alex Epstein also sent talking points, but that was little more than an opening of the other barn door after the horses had already run all around the farm. The Daily Caller discovered a so-called 'conflict of interest' and did a story attempting to make the fact that the study was funded by an advocacy group into a controversy, which is an interesting frame for an organization funded to be a conservative advocacy group posing as a media outlet. 

Overall, the Right generated plenty of noise but not much heat, and that's sort of the point. Make enough noise so that regulators, who have been aware of gas stoves' health risks for decades, will be too scared to protect the public from that particular source of pollution. 

Because it's certainly not about the quality of gas stoves. 

Literally the only thing Consumer Reports found that gas stoves did better than electric stoves is that they have a scary flame: "The visual feedback provided by a flame growing and shrinking as you adjust a burner is valuable when gauging heat." (A problem that was literally solved in 2015.)

So if you're so dumb you need to see a flame to know the stove is on, then Republicans have your back, and your stove. Hopefully it's worth the asthma and the climate-killing emissions.

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