FIRST LOOK: 

Reducing Car-Centricity Of US Transportation Could Dramatically Cut Lithium Demand: The U.S. could zero out climate pollution from the transportation while also reducing lithium demand by reducing the car-centricity of its transportation system, a new report from the Climate and Community Project finds. “We can either electrify the status quo to reach zero emissions, or the energy transition can be used as an opportunity to rethink our cities and the transportation sector so that it’s more environmentally and socially just, both in the U.S. and globally,” Thea Riofrancos, a political scientist at Providence College who worked on the report, told The Guardian. Mining for lithium, the least-replaceable metal in EV batteries, is water-intensive and poses permanent risks to nearby land and brings serious environmental justice problems. About 75% of known lithium deposits in what is now the United States are located on or near tribal lands, and projecting current EV demand forward to 2050, U.S. EV lithium demand would be three times the current global lithium market. However, by shifting U.S. transportation policy to prioritize public and active transit, decreasing the size of electric vehicle batteries, and maximizing lithium recycling, could reduce lithium demand by as much as 66%. The report's authors stressed they are not proposing a utopian, car-free America. “There are political challenges around getting Americans out of cars," Riofrancos acknowledged to Gizmodo, while also stressing the authors, "tri[ed] to keep this within the bounds of what could actually happen over the next 25 years.” Even if not all of the changes assessed in the report are adopted, Riofrancos told E&E News, "Any of those changes would be a net positive, all of them would be transformative." (The Guardian, Gizmodo, E&E $, Grist, The Hill, EcoWatch)

PFAS Found In Cancer Alley Water: Water quality testing in and around Lourisiana's infamous "Cancer Alley'' revealed levels of PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals," as high as 268 times the EPA's interim limit for safe levels in drinking water. “We are not a sacrifice zone, but continually we are the ones that are sacrificed,” Jo Banner, a resident of St. James Paris and co-founder of The Descendants Project, told reporters. The survey, conducted by the Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans, tested water from 31 sites along the Mississippi River — a key source of drinking water for many local communities — from Pointe Coupee Parish (just upriver from Baton Rouge) to St. James Parish in the heart of Cancer Alley, which is generally defined as between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The results come just weeks before the EPA is expected to propose the first-ever enforceable standards on safe per- and polyfluorinated substances, more commonly known as PFAS. (Louisiana Illuminator, Local Today, The Lens, NOLA.com)

Reinstatement Of Tongass Protections Finalized: The Biden administration on Wednesday restored protections against roads and logging across more than half of Alaska's Tongass National Forest. Known for its bountiful salmon and breathtaking fjords, the massive trees of the largely pristine forest absorb at least 8% of all the carbon stored by the contiguous 48 states. “The old-growth timber is a carbon sink, one of the best in the world,” Joel Jackson, president of the Organized Village of Kake, said in a statement. “It’s important to OUR WAY OF LIFE — the streams, salmon, deer, and all the forest animals and plants.” The announcement finalizes an administration proposal from June of 2021 and reverses actions taken by the previous administration to open the national forest to roads and logging in 2020. (Washington Post $, AP, New York Times $, E&E News, Anchorage Daily News, KSTK, Alaska Beacon, KTOO, CNBC, The Hill, Courthouse News, HuffPost)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Ben crump to announce lawsuit against ron DeSantis for rejecting African American studies course (The Root, Black Wall Street Times)

COP CITY: The environmental movement’s silence on Cop City police killing (Atmos)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: US, Europe tussle over frenzy of clean-energy subsidies (Wall Street Journal $), Clean energy race sparks more ambitious climate policies, says report (Reuters), Vestager: EU subsidy war with US threatens internal market (Politico Pro $)

GOP vs. ESG: Meet J.D. Vance, the Senate's new anti-ESG warrior (E&E $)

GAS STOVES: Are gas stoves dangerous to your health? Here’s what science says (Wall Street Journal $), Stuck with a gas stove? Here’s how to protect your health (Canary Media), The electric kitchen has always been inevitable (dwell), Meet the man who unwittingly triggered the war over gas stoves (Washington Post $)

FLAT CIRCLES: What does our perception of time have to do with climate change? A lot. (NPR)

ORPHANED WELLS: What happens if the largest owner of oil and gas wells in the US goes bankrupt? (Environmental Health News)

CLIMATE COMMUNICATIONS: Americans see 'carbon pollution' as worse than 'emissions' (E&E $)

AGENCIES: The Trump rules still vexing Biden (E&E News)

EPA: EPA rejects applications to keep unlined coal ash ponds open (Politico Pro $), EPA's watchdog says agency falling short on vehicle anti-tampering enforcement efforts (Politico Pro $, E&E $), Texas environmentalists push the EPA to crack down on methane emissions, saying state agencies have 'failed us' (Texas Tribune), White House, EPA summit aims to fast-track lead pipe removal (E&E $)

DOE: DOE researchers aim for better — and cheaper — batteries (E&E $)

DOI: States call for NEPA review of massive Gulf lease sale (E&E $)

TREASURY: Yellen focuses on energy transition in South Africa visit (AP)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden gets bipartisan request for more Great Lakes funding (E&E $), Fed's Brainard, Treasury's Adeyemo in running to be Biden's economic czar, sources say (Reuters)

HOUSE: Republicans launch newest fight against Biden's oil drawdowns (Politico), Democrats plot amendment strategy for Republican oil bill (E&E $), House Democrats launch sustainable investing caucus (The Hill), Amid rising emissions, could congressional Republicans help the US reach its climate targets? (Inside Climate News), Republicans to probe Biden's overseas mineral strategy (E&E $)

SENATE: Manchin bill would delay tax credits for electric vehicles (AP, E&E News, Washington Post $, Wall Street Journal $, Bloomberg Law, The Hill, Politico Pro $)

CITIES AND STATES AND DISENFRANCHISED COLONIAL TERRITORIES: Hochul wants to ban new gas hookups and put a price on carbon (NY1), Bill to withdraw Virginia from carbon-trading program dies in state committee (The Hill), In N.H., frustrations and finger-pointing as Dems try again on climate legislation (Energy News Network), Minnesota electric vehicle legislation would allow Xcel Energy to corner charging market, retailers warn (Utility Dive), One company could sink Massachusetts’ climate goals (E&E News), Pennsylvania passes ‘forever chemicals’ drinking water limit (AP), Pittsburgh selects sustainable startups among a new crop of innovative businesses (Inside Climate News), Proposal calls for expansion of Maine’s offshore wind power (AP), We built a fake metropolis to show how extreme cold could wreck cities (Washington Post $), New York to expand composting citywide, targeting trash and rats (New York Times $)

• PUERTO RICO: Puerto Rico selects company to privatize power generation (AP), When people are less important than beaches: Puerto Rican artists at the Whitney (NPR)

IMPACTS: California flooding causes billions in economic losses, estimates show (Axios), Natural disasters caused $313 bln economic loss in 2022 - Aon (Reuters), Net-zero policies could save millions of human life-years (E&E $), The other ‘big one’: How a megaflood could swamp California’s Central Valley (Yale Climate Connections), Tree thinning in dense forests could bolster Western snowpack, researchers suggest (Yale Climate Connections)

DROUGHT: Climatologists: Don't count the snow before it melts (E&E $), Why the snowfall in Colorado Rockies isn’t likely to alleviate the drought (The Hill)

WATER: Clean water for Texas colonias (Axios), The fight over California’s ancient water (The Atlantic)

RENEWABLES: Report urges bold US plan for offshore wind transmission (E&E $), Dead whales and tough economics bedevil Biden’s massive wind energy push (Washington Post $)

BATTERIES: Nevada lithium mining company cited for endangering habitat of 6-inch desert flower (Washington Examiner)

BUILDINGS: Number of grid interactive buildings worldwide expected to grow almost 13% annually: Guidehouse (Utility Dive), How to make your home more energy efficient — and get a tax break too (Washington Post $)

MINERALS: EU urges European banks to step up funding for critical minerals (Reuters)

METHANE: Bill Gates backs new startup aiming to reduce emissions from cow burps (The Guardian), Methane in the net-zero crosshairs for 2023 – Bill Gates’s breakthrough energy ventures (Energy Monitor)

OIL & GAS: Oil drilled in the Amazon rainforest ends up in California (New York Times $), Qatar in talks to join TotalEnergies' $27 bln Iraqi energy project -sources (Reuters), Texas made record-shattering $24.7B off oil and gas last year (Houston Chronicle)

PIPELINES: 4th Circuit may uphold Mountain Valley pipeline water permit (E&E $)

HYDROGEN: Sonatrach, Sasol to produce 'low carbon' hydrogen in Sicily (Reuters)

UTILITIES: 2023 US power sector outlook (Utility Dive), Big Texas utility to end coal use (E&E $, Power), Xcel, other utilities launch dedicated planning teams to streamline energy transition, boost innovation (Utility Dive), NextEra shares tumble as revenue misses, head of key unit leaves (Reuters), Silagy retiring from FPL after nearly 20 years (Politico Pro $)

GRID: A PJM power market auction led to a price surge. Generators want to keep the money. (Politico Pro $)

EVs: Shift to mined vs. man-made graphite raises shortage risk for EVs (Wall Street Journal $), Tesla confirms Nevada expansion to make more electric trucks (AP, E&E News), Tesla’s profit jumped 12% in fourth quarter (New York Times $, Wall Street Journal $, NPR)

AGRICULTURE: Encore: Agricultural research funding is down, impacting fight against climate change (NPR), How ancient seeds from the fertile crescent could help save US from climate change (NPR)

BUSINESSES: Microsoft and Qcells team up in major US solar push (Axios)

CARBON CAPTURE: Mitsubishi eyes carbon capture project with Exxon, Nippon Steel (Reuters), Meet the former Tesla director who wants to pull carbon dioxide out of the air (The Verge)

FINANCE: Norway fund's financial clout gives it edge in renewable deals, executive says (Reuters)

IN MEMORIAM: Flags go half-staff to honor late Rep. Annie Brown Kennedy of Winston-Salem (Winston-Salem Journal), North Carolina’s first Black woman legislator passes away at 98 (Black Wall Street Times)

INTERNATIONAL: Africa needs to learn to feed itself, says Senegal president (Reuters), Bangladesh develops green economic zones, but will locals benefit? (Context), Britain’s protected natural areas are failing to stop biodiversity loss (Grist), Celebrities call on UK banks to stop financing new oil, gas and coalfields (The Guardian), Despite killer floods, Nigerian presidential frontrunners dismiss climate change (Climate Home), Guyana: Satellites will spot oil spills, not on-ship experts (AP), India's first green bond issue pulls local bidders, foreigners aloof - traders (Reuters), Lebanese environmental group accused of being Hezbollah arm (AP), Clean-energy push puts abandoned Philippine nuclear plant back in spotlight (Washington Post $)

• We need a strong federal methane rule to protect Latino communities (The Hill, Dharma Santos-Santiago and Irene Burga op-ed)
• Is the era of gas stoves burning out? (New York Times, Spencer Bokat-Lindell commentary $)
• NY Renews coalition’s proposal to fund New York’s landmark climate law could unlock $$ for Ithaca Green New Deal (Tompkins Weekly, Zasu Scott op-ed)
• Breaking down unnecessary barriers to electrification in New York (City Limits (NYC), Michael Hernandez)
• Texas Republicans introduce tax hikes, burdensome regulations in assault on clean energy (Houston Chronicle, Chris Tomlinson column)
• QCells’ head of market strategy on the company’s $2.5B expansion of US solar manufacturing (Utility Dive, Scott Moskowitz interview)
• Power down: Living with South Africa's collapsing energy grid (Context, Kim Harrisberg essay)
• A smart house GOP oil and gas play (Wall Street Journal Editorial Board $)

Delay, Delay, Delay: API Will Say Anything to Obstruct Climate Action

This month, the American Petroleum Institute (API) released its 2023 State of American Energy Report, which includes some of the most blatant fossil fuel industry delay tactics and greenwashing that we have seen in a while.

With the tagline “The Solution is Here,” the report claims to offer a fix for the “global energy crisis” that will also “reduc[e] greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.” What is API’s suggested solution to the fossil-fueled energy crisis? It’s more of the same thing that created climate change and the energy crisis in the first place: fossil fuels!

CEO Mike Sommers’ promotional op-ed in RealClearEnergy makes API’s motive crystal clear: Say and do anything it can to convince the public that the use of fossil fuels is inevitable, so as to delay climate action for as long as possible.

Sommers begins by exploiting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and using the war to advocate for “more natural gas and oil production, not less… now and in the future.” Classy, but not surprising, given the industry's war profiteering.

Next, he tries beating the drum of American nationalism, fueling fears that, “Failing to implement policies that clearly support new natural gas and oil investment and production… could risk returning America to the days of ever-increasing foreign imports. And steadily increasing dependency.”

And why not throw in a little American exceptionalism, too? Sommers sings, “At this defining moment in history, America needs to lead on energy by safely developing its own natural gas and oil resources. Asking other countries to produce more is an abdication of America’s unique ability to lead.” What makes America uniquely able to lead, besides its apparent susceptibility to fossil fuel industry influence and jingoistic platitudes? Unclear!

But the real meat of the op-ed is discourses of delay. API wants you to think that we have to keep using fossil fuels “for decades to come as other energy sources grow and spread,” despite the fact that renewable energy is rapidly gaining momentum.

The op-ed even advocates for investments in carbon capture, utilization, and storage technology, which is yet another one of the fossil fuel industry’s favorite delay tactics. Just last week, a new study showed that the mere presence of a carbon capture and storage policy option decreases Republican support for renewable energy.

Sommers also sprinkles in some classic greenwashing, for flavor: “The challenge before all of us… is meeting the dual challenge of satisfying demand for reliable, affordable energy while also continuing to reduce emissions and protect the environment… We’re already on it. API’s Climate Action Framework is an energy blueprint to help usher in a lower carbon future.”

The fact that API even deigns to mention its supposed desire to achieve a lower (but not low enough) carbon future, is likely the result of the last few years of increased public pressure on the trade organization for its role in disseminating climate disinformation. In October 2021, Mike Sommers himself was hauled in front of Congress to testify about API’s heinous record of spreading climate disinfo.

This year, though, the best Sommers could do to greenwash the oil and methane gas industry’s reputation was an op-ed in RealClear, which is pretty much the bottom of the (oil) barrel of conservative-owned pseudo-media outlets.

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