FIRST LOOK: 

Concerns About Whales 'Just A Cynical Disinformation Campaign' By Offshore Wind Opponents: Offshore wind opponents along the Eastern Seaboard are weaponizing disinformation about whale strandings in service of their long-held political positions against offshore wind energy. Raising issues around the environmental impacts of clean energy is a common tactic of clean energy opponents, and the anti-wind claims come as social media companies (beyond just Twitter) are cutting the resources dedicated to combating misinformation on their platforms. “They’re taking those legitimate environmental concerns and trying to manipulate the conversation by using topics that matter to the environmental movement,” UCSB professor Leah Stokes told USA Today. Marine scientists looking into the recent spate of whale strandings have found no connection between those incidents and offshore wind. What's more, prior actions by offshore wind opponents, including racist and misogynist Fox News personalities, bely their concerns for the charismatic megafauna. “We’ve been 100% against this [offshore wind] project from Day One. … I don’t care how far out they put them," Joe Mancini, mayor of Long Beach Township, said of the several wind farms in the proposal and research stage off the New Jersey shore. “It’s just a cynical disinformation campaign,” said Greenpeace’s oceans director John Hocevar. “It doesn’t seem to worry them that it’s not based in any kind of evidence.” Climate change, mainly caused by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels, is one of the greatest threats to whale populations. “While the climate deniers and the right-wing pundits are tilting at windmills," Hocevar added, "most of us are focused on the real threats to whales ­– climate change, entanglement with fishing gear, ship strikes and plastic pollution.” (USA Today, Energy Monitor, TIME; Social media cutbacks: New York Times $)

Gabrielle Hits New Zealand: Cyclone Gabrielle is hammering northern New Zealand just weeks after deadly storms dumped record-breaking amounts of rain on the region. The new prime minister described the storm as "probably the biggest we've seen in recent times," and the government has declared its third-ever national state of emergency. No deaths have been officially recorded, but with searches for residents and lost rescuers halted by the dangerous conditions that is likely to change. This is climate change,” James Shaw, the government's climate change minister, told Parliament. “We cannot put our heads in the sand when the beach is flooding. We must act now.” (Washington Post $, The Guardian, Axios, Wall Street Journal $, The Guardian, BBC; Climate Signals background: Hurricanes, Typhoons and Cyclones)

California Precipitation A 'Double-Edged Sword' For Fire: The parade of atmospheric rivers that pummeled California last month left behind widespread devastation — and the potential for a more dangerous 2023 fire season, The Guardian reports. Climate change, mainly caused by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels, is warming the atmosphere, allowing it to hold (and then dump) more moisture and precipitation in the form of catastrophic storms. Beyond the more than 22 people left dead in their wake, the storms also toppled trees, leaving high-quality ignition opportunities littered up and down mountainsides. The heavy precipitation interrupted or prevented planned burns, which are a proven tactic to reduce wildfire severity and improve forest health. But the most dangerous fire impact of the storms could actually be the moisture. As happened in the record-incinerating 2020, extra moisture from the rain and snowpack can increase plant growth, while dry conditions later in the summer could turn all that extra vegetation into tinder-dry fuel. “When that rain comes – and it came last month – that results in significant fuel load increases,” Isaac Sanchez, a CalFire battalion chief, told The Guardian. “That is now the reality of the environment in the state that we live in,” Sanchez, added. “We are constantly facing a double-edged sword.” (The Guardian; Climate signals background: 2020 Western Wildfire Season)

COP28: OPEC chief asks climate negotiators to look at 'big picture' (E&E $), UAE’s COP28 leader: ‘Fight climate change, not each other’ (AP)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Europe sets rules for producing green hydrogen (Wall Street Journal $, Reuters), Countries warn EU against 'crisis mode' overhaul of energy market (Reuters)

9:37 🚂 TO THE PETROCHEMICAL DYSTOPIA: Health concerns grow in East Palestine, Ohio, after train derailment (NPR), Environmental expert on Ohio train derailment: We continue to create sacrifice zones across America (MSNBC), Water safety tops concerns near Ohio train derailment site (NBC), Lawsuit seeks medical testing after toxic train derailment (AP), What we know about the train derailment in Ohio (New York Times $)

GREENWASHING: Global corporations’ climate pledges are ‘misleading,’ not credible (Grist),  Can we trust corporate climate pledges or is it greenwashing? (Context, explainer)

…BUT MAKE IT FASHION: A sustainable fashion week. Too good to be true? (The Guardian), Can fashion week’s trash problem be solved? (New York Times $), Why Stella Jean and WAMI are boycotting Milan Fashion Week (VOGUE Business)

MEDIA: Reporter's dismissal exposes political pressures on West Virginia Public Broadcasting (NPR)

OH. COOL.: Russian-linked malware was close to putting U.S. electric, gas facilities ‘offline’ last year (Politico Pro $)

EPA: Biden allies press admin for stronger soot proposal (E&E $), EPA employees: ‘Staffing crisis’ may hurt climate goals (E&E $), EPA's draft methane rules draw hundreds of public comments (E&E $), EPA announces new 'forever chemicals' water aid (E&E $), EPA shutters public records portal (E&E $)

DOE: DOE proposes new energy efficiency standards for refrigerators, clothes washers to save consumers billions (Utility Dive, E&E $), Energy Department offers Redwood $2B loan to expand materials production for EV batteries (Utility Dive), Tesla co-founder’s startup gets $2 billion to boost EV battery production (Grist)

DOI: Interior releases funds to Colorado River conservation program (E&E $), NPS urged to look for contamination at [Ft. Totten] park (E&E $)

TREASURY: New $10 billion program for energy subsidies set for rollout by Treasury Department (Wall Street Journal $, Politico Pro $, Reuters)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: NRC issues first update of 2010 regulatory guide to strengthen cybersecurity at nuclear plants (Utility Dive), NRC's Wright: US approaching 'real' nuclear energy renaissance (Politico Pro $)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden promises to 'work with Congress' to fund Amazon protection (Climate Home), White House preparing report on climate geoengineering (E&E $), 

Biden picks Lael Brainard, top fed official, to run economic team (Washington Post $, Reuters, Bloomberg $, MarketWatch, FT $, Wall Street Journal $, Seeking Alpha), Who is Lael Brainard? (Washington Post $)

THE HILL: Don't force defense contractors to reveal GHGs, GOP says (E&E $), GOP's newest attack on Biden’s climate law: China (Politico Pro $)

HOUSE: House Ag Committee heads to Calif. for farm bill session (E&E $), House GOP takes Texas, N.M. road trip to highlight energy (E&E $)

SENATE: Cruz tells Biden deepwater oil and gas terminals taking too long to permit (Houston Chronicle $), Maine blueberries vs. fly: US senator files bill to help (AP), Manchin sets hearing on Ukraine war's energy fallout (E&E $), Senate poised to revive probe of Big Oil climate claims (E&E News), Senate panel to consider national clean fuel standard (E&E $), Whitehouse builds case for climate action from new perch (E&E News)

POLITICS: Big Oil’s trade group allies outspent clean energy groups by a whopping 27x, with billions in ads and lobbying to keep fossil fuels flowing (The Conversation)

ELECTIONS: The ‘CEO of Anti-Woke Inc.’ has his eye on the presidency (Politico)

TRIBES: Yurok Tribe announces offshore wind workforce training initiative with CR, Cal Poly Humboldt (Lost Coast Outpost)

CITIES AND STATES: In Dimock, a Pennsylvania town riven by fracking, concerns about ties between a judge and a gas driller (Inside Climate News)

FERC: FERC approves Western Resource Adequacy Program for regional capacity sharing (Utility Dive)

IMPACTS: Myth-buster: Why two degrees of global warming is worse than it sounds (Yale Climate Connections), Santa Cruz's waterfront promenade reaches an inflection point (New York Times $), Slippery slope? Alpine tourism in the face of climate crisis – photo essay (The Guardian), Mikaela Shiffrin leads push for winter sports sustainability amid climate crisis (AFP)

DROUGHT: Kenya seeks divine help to end crippling, ongoing drought (AP)

DEFORESTATION: Invisible destruction: 38% of remaining Amazon forest already degraded (Mongabay)

RENEWABLES: How a wind industry giant plans to solve its plastic waste problem (The Verge), Utilities may use their pipes for geothermal heat instead of gas (Canary Media), How to make money helping fund your neighbors’ solar panels (Washington Post $)

BATTERIES: Ford invests $3.5 billion in Michigan battery plant with Chinese partner’s technology (Wall Street Journal $, E&E News), The US lags on battery sustainability and supply chain transparency — can a digital ‘passport’ be the answer? (Utility Dive)

MINERALS: For mining EV metals, the Arctic is hot (Wall Street Journal $)

BUILDINGS: Turn your charming old house into an energy-efficient home (Yale Climate Connections), One of the world’s cleanest new skyscrapers collides with the future (New York Times $)

LNG: China's CNPC set to seal mega Qatari LNG deal -sources (Reuters), US natgas fall 3% on milder weather despite Freeport LNG return (Reuters)

OIL & GAS: Exxon gives up on much-hyped algae biofuels (Gizmodo), Exxon is an exile on Wall Street and loving it (Wall Street Journal $), Chevron weighs extending CEO Mike Wirth past mandatory retirement age (Wall Street Journal $), 

PIPELINES: Navigator’s proposed carbon pipeline struggles to gain support in Illinois (Inside Climate News)

COAL: Pakistan plans to quadruple domestic coal-fired power, move away from gas (Reuters), US coal power refuses to die. What that means for climate. (E&E News)

HYDROGEN: Gas-hydrogen blending test for German home heating nears 30% target (Reuters)

NUKES: Bid to keep California reactors running faces time squeeze (AP)

UTILITIES: Dominion stops pursuing ITCs for contracted solar, joining Duke in Q4 renewables impairment charge (Utility Dive)

GRID: Severe storms already batter the grid. What happens in 2032? (E&E News)

EVs: New Toyota chief says he will accelerate shift in EV strategy (Wall Street Journal $), Electric carmakers seek greener batteries (FT $)

EBs: Electric boats are coming. Will Maine have mechanics to service them? (Energy News Network)

MOVIES: 'All That Breathes' director Shaunak Sen 'overwhelmed' with award nods (Reuters), 8 movies that couldn't happen in the US because our trains suck (Gizmodo)

AGRICULTURE: Food for thought: Carbon footprint of salmon and chicken farming mostly stems from feed, study suggests (The Guardian)

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT: ‘I’ll call an Uber or 911’: Why Gen Z doesn’t want to drive (Washington Post $)

BOOKS: Review: Thunberg aims to educate with ‘The Climate Book’ (AP)

CARBON PRICING: Carbon credits could soon help fund distributed clean energy projects (Canary Media)

CARBON CAPTURE: Swiss CO2 removal leader pitches Gulf Coast hub (E&E $)

INTERNATIONAL: Insulate Britain activists found guilty over London roadblock (The Guardian), Indonesia promises move to clean energy, but challenges loom (AP)

🤞 THIS MEANS WE'VE SEEN IT ALL NOW: Wienermobile in a pickle after falling victim to catalytic converter thieves (The Guardian)

• ‘It’s inequality that kills’: Naomi Klein on the future of climate justice (The Guardian, interview)
• Honoring legacy in the environmental movement (Atmos, Jacqueline Patterson interview)
• China’s newest attempt to divide the US and Europe over investment and human rights (The Hill, Jeff Moon op-ed)
• Why Biden's transportation blueprint is focused on feet (E&E, Mallory Baches interview $)
• Renewable energy is Africa’s development answer (Context, Joab Okanda op-ed)
• Bangladesh is a global pioneer in preparing for climate migrants (Context, Patrick Verkooijen and Ban Ki-moon op-ed)

Disinfluencers Love to Hate EVs, and We Love How Creative They're Getting

Today, in honor of Valentine's Day, we're going to talk about love. Specifically, how much some people love to hate on electric vehicles (EVs). Tristan Justice at The Federalist, for example, is so enamored of spreading anti-EV propaganda that he forgot he's supposed to be a journalist! 

Instead, he just listed talking points in "5 Reasons Biden's Electric Vehicles Are A Boondoggle." A better headline could have been "3 Reasons Anti-EV Attacks Rely On Disinformation," though, because reasons 2 and 3 are both basically that EVs aren't cheap (which is also true of new gas cars) and that they're not reliable and are vulnerable to global supply chains (as are gas cars!) 

The other reason? Supposedly, "EVs Are a Green Illusion" because manufacturing a battery creates more emissions than making a fossil fueled car. Okay, even if the figures cited were accurate, which is questionable, then what? What happens after a car is manufactured? Does driving an EV produce more or less fossil fuel pollution than fossil-fueled cars? Justice's rose-colored glasses for the object of his affections leads readers to believe that EVs are worse. But the RealClear "investigation" he links to cites research (that it then tries to undercut) which shows EV's "break even" in emissions compared to gas cars after just 13,500 to 20,600 miles, depending on the car and electricity source. So unless you're throwing out your car every time the "change oil" light comes on, it's probably safe to say that EVs are greener! (Plus, no "change oil" light!)  

For a more commendable effort than the essay equivalent of a doodle of a gas station with hearts scribbled around it, we turn from Tristan's Federalist piece based on a RealClearInvestigations post, to a RealClearEnergy post by Jonathan Lesser. Keen minds might recall that Lesser prompted us to wonder in 2018 why we kept finding fossil fuel affiliations behind everyone writing disinformation-filled op-eds criticizing EVs. Well, he's back at it! Lesser says news that EVs could be hooked up to the grid to provide a little extra juice to keep the lights on during extreme events is "another green fantasy."

He claims that "the math doesn't add up," but then he does the math showing that on a hypothetical cold day in 2050, all of New York's then-3.5 million EVs, if fully charged, would be able to meet the state's electricity demand for 10-15 hours. While he paints that as a failure because a storm might last a week, it's actually pretty impressive that EV batteries could cover the state’s power demand for an entire workday as crews get everything back up and running! And it's even more impressive when you account for the fact that the more realistic scenario is that instead of needing to replace the entire grid's power supply, EVs could be used to make sure any unexpected demand can be met, offering a buffer for exceptionally hot or cold days when people have the heat or A/C maxed. 

Lesser's too enraptured by his love for fossil fuels to realize he's showing how EVs can do something gas cars can't, but he's at least coherent about it. 

The same cannot be said for CFACT's Duggan Flanakin's attack on EVs, also in RealClearEnergy, published the same day as Lesser's. Apparently trying to hop on the AI chatbot bandwagon, Flanakin's headline offers a taste of his punch-drunk-love-stricken rambling: "EVs Are Designed For ChatGPT - Not 'Carbon Units.'" Supposedly EVs are bad because when the robot revolution comes, they would be easy for AI to take over. Because… um… computers? 

It's one of the most impressively bizarre pieces of writing we've seen, at least in a pseudo-professional outlet like this one, as opposed to the wild conspiracy theory platforms. We might suspect it was actually written by ChatGPT, as Flanakin certainly displays the pseudo-understanding of source content that you might otherwise only see from intelligence that is artificial. But his clumsy mash-up of Matrix quotes, James Cameron and Ray Kurzweil references, and (for no discernible reason) the hippie-era "Age of Aquarius" shows a creatively, distinctly human sort of unintelligence. It’s the kind only someone deeply in love (with fossil fuels) could create: an expression of obsessive devotion to something that can never love you back. 

Flanakin's nightmare is that due to climate concerns, humanity is reduced to "Carbon Units," while AI chat bots, and their eventually sentient descendants, become known as "Chatters." Usually we try to summarize content so you don't have to read it, but this… this is something that really needs to be experienced, so here's an archived link. And here's a taste: "with all the compute power available today, [EVs] will be deciding where we can go. After all, they are just ChatGPT's mobile cousins. Or will be soon."  

Only a human is creative enough to imagine chat bots taking over cars, though an AI might come close if you fed it Stephen King's cult 'cars-kill-humans' classic Maximum Overdrive, then prompted it to write a cheesy Sci-Fi story where robots use electric cars to take over humanity, in the style of an author who ate so much acid in the 70s that he's still tripping.

It’s easier, at least for now, to leave the EV disinfo to the professionals like Lesser, with his "green fantasy," Tristan Justice, with his puppy-eyed "green illusions," and Duggan Flanakin, who's so head over heels for fossil fuels that he's jealously dreamed up a scenario in which "Chatters" steal away his beloved gasoline-powered automobile.

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