Melting Ice Has Global Impacts: Rapidly melting ice at the Earth's poles and atop its mountain ranges has drastic local and far-flung impacts — all exacerbated by climate change — an interactive NPR series illustrates. Feedback loops set off by climate change, mainly caused by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels, are accelerating the melting of polar and glacial ice, raising sea levels at disparate rates, endangering those living below mountain glaciers, and even making wildfires worse in the Western U.S. As the Arctic Ocean warms, sea ice melts, further accelerating ocean warming to the point it can disrupt the Jet Stream across North America, leading to hotter, dryer weather across the American West during the fall — the exact conditions required to supercharge wildfires. As the West Antarctic ice sheet melts, the massive influx of fresh water can disrupt Atlantic Ocean currents, pushing sea levels in Texas disproportionately higher than elsewhere around the globe. As the Greenland ice sheet melts, it too dumps fresh water into the North Atlantic Ocean, slowing ocean currents, disproportionately heating the Gulf of Maine, and significantly disrupting plankton populations — a key food source for right whales — there. This forces right whales to swim hundreds of miles north into unfamiliar waters where more than 20 have been killed by ships or fishing gear. Not all dangers caused by melting ice are so distant or complicated. People living below mountain glaciers, like those in Nepal's Rolwaling Valley, are vulnerable to catastrophic floods unleashed by rapidly growing glacier-melt lakes held back by precarious natural dams of rock and ice. When these lakes burst, the deadly flash floods can sweep away bridges, farmland, and even whole towns. Disappearing glaciers, like the Quelccaya glacier in the Peruvian Andes, can also deprive those living nearby of long-depended-upon water sources. (NPR; Wildfires: NPR; Texas sea levels: NPR; Whales: NPR, NPR; Glacial lake risk: NPR; Andean glacier water: The Guardian; Ocean currents: Yale Environment 360; Climate signals background: Glacier and ice sheet melt)

Texas Insurance Crisis Grows: Property insurers in Texas are increasingly at risk of insolvency and some are pulling out of the market altogether, potentially forcing property owners across the state to pay for damages if another major storm hits the region, E&E News reports. The insurance industry's ongoing retreat from the Gulf region is setting off unprecedented reliance on state-backed insurance programs, potentially overwhelming its ability to pay claims after a major storm. The crisis reflects similar viciously-cyclical, and climate-fueled dilemmas across the insurance industry more broadly and specifically in Florida and Louisiana, as well as California and elsewhere. (E&E News)

Texas County Gives Away $2 Million Per Job To Petrochem, Other Industries: Brazoria County, Texas, has given away an average of $2 million in tax breaks for every job created by the businesses those incentives attracted, a report from AutoCase Economic Advisory, commissioned by Better Brazoria, shows. Brazoria County, is home to the Freeport LNG terminal that exploded last June and a host of other chemical and petrochemical facilities. “They’ve effectively taken money out of the pockets of taxpayers and given it to wealthy corporations in exchange for pollution that puts our health at risk,” Melanie Oldham, a Freeport resident and founder of Better Brazoria, said in a statement. Not only do the abatements reduce tax revenue, but the extant infrastructure in the region means many, if not all, of the companies that received tax breaks would have built there anyway, Nathan Jensen, a government professor at UT-Austin, said. “If these companies are coming anyway, you’re giving away tax revenues,” Jensen said. “It’s just a net loss in tax revenues. The state would be better off doing nothing.” (Houston Chronicle)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: In Sweden, a proposed iron mine threatens a world heritage site, and the culture that made it (Grist and Indian Country Today), Chilling new report shows white supremacy spreading in the US (Black Wall Street Times), Derek Chauvin still a murderer after appeals court rejects his bid to toss conviction (NewsOne)

• TENNESSEE THREE: Rep. Jones brings infant-sized casket into Tennessee Capitol (AP), Tennessee Republicans heard in leaked audio crying about being called ‘racist’ (NewsOne), The Tennessee expulsions reveal the core divide in US politics. Here’s why. (CNN)

COP28: Germany sees 'a chance' COP28 can reach fossil fuel phase-out deal similar to G7 - official (Reuters)

FOSSIL FUELED ENERGY CRISIS: The convoluted voyages of Russian crude (Bloomberg $), G7 to maintain Russian oil price cap at $60 (OilPrice), Gazprom: Europe will find it “very difficult” to fill storage for next winter (OilPrice)

9:37 🚂 TO THE PETROCHEMICAL DYSTOPIA: Rail CEO repeats derailment apologies before Ohio Senate (AP)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: World’s first carbon import tax approved by EU lawmakers (Wall Street Journal $, AP, Reuters), Campaigners sue EU for labelling gas and nuclear investments as green (Reuters, The Guardian, Bloomberg $, Climate Home), The farmers challenging the EU’s green agenda (FT $)

DENIAL & GREENWASHING: Greenwashing week is here (Heatmap $)

MEDIA: Fox News settles with Dominion at the last second, pays more than $787 million to avert defamation trial over its 2020 election lies (CNN, Rolling Stone, Washington Post $, NPR, Politico, Wall Street Journal $, The Guardian, AP, The Verge, Deadline, NBC, Buzzfeed, The Atlantic, Al Jazeera, Reuters, Variety, CNBC), All the texts Fox News didn’t want you to read (New York Magazine), The multibillion-dollar defamation lawsuits against Fox News, explained (Vox), It was a game of chicken, and Fox blinked (Above the Law), 4 takeaways from the Dominion v. Fox settlement (Washington Post $)

PUT THE FUN BETWEEN YOUR LEGS: How an engagement bike changed one couple’s life (Washington Post $)

ENDANGERED RIVERS: Conservation group names Eel River among 10 most endangered rivers in America (The Press Democrat), Lehigh River listed as one of ‘most endangered’ rivers in US due to rampant warehouse developments (Philadelphia Inquirer), Pearl River listed as one of the most endangered rivers in the US, report says (NOLA.com)

• COLORADO RIVER: Colorado River snaking through Grand Canyon most endangered US waterway – report (The Guardian, Arizona Republic, Texas Public Radio, E&E $), You — yes, you — are going to pay for the century-old mistake that’s draining the Colorado River (Vox), The worst-case scenario for drought on the Colorado River (Vox)

BUILDINGS: US cities see 'urban mining' potential in building deconstruction (Context)

INFLATION REDUCTION ACT: Renewable energy PPA prices continue to rise despite Inflation Reduction Act relief: LevelTen (Utility Dive)

SCOTUS: Complaints about Justice Thomas’s disclosures sent to Judicial Committee (Washington Post $)

EPA: The EPA’s new ‘technical assistance centers’ are a big deal for environmental justice. here’s why (Inside Climate News), EPA quietly signals to California it can set stricter train emissions rules (Washington Post $), Deal could spur stricter oil and gas pollution regs (E&E $)

DOE: Facing brutal climate math, US bets billions on direct air capture (Reuters, Climate Home)

TREASURY: Yellen to lay out US economic priorities on China in Thursday speech (Reuters)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: Pentagon sounds alarm over Biden plan for offshore wind sites (Bloomberg $)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden costs EV makers some customers until the US builds more batteries (Bloomberg $), Biden’s EV bet is a gamble on critical minerals (E&E News)

HOUSE: Republicans rip SEC chief for crypto lawsuits, climate rules (The Hill), McCarthy muscles toward vote on debt plan that 'doesn't even exist' (Politico Pro $), Westerman emerges as pivotal player in permitting talks (E&E News), House GOP fail to stop Biden's new water rule – but the courts might (Washington Post $)

SENATE: Manchin to reintroduce permitting bill as Senate committees tee up hearings (Politico Pro $), GOP uses Feinstein drama to delay Biden nominees (E&E $)

POLITICS: For progressive Democrats, new momentum clashes with old debates (New York Times $)

ELECTIONS: Democrats seek to oust GOP climate skeptics, moderates (E&E $), Think Manchin has coal connections? Meet his potential rival. (E&E News)

CITIES AND STATES: Berkeley’s landmark gas ban overturned, ripple effects may be limited (Canary Media, AP), Texas Senate seeks increased penalties on polluters as it renews state’s environmental agency (Texas Tribune), Bullet train devours $1.3B of Calif. cap-and-trade revenue (E&E $), Calif. wants cleaner trucks and trains. Is it going too fast? (E&E $), Are 'sponge cities' enough to curb climate-fuelled floods? (Context), New restrictions in Missouri would make gender-affirming care nearly impossible (The 19th* News), Wisconsin Assembly votes to outlaw local bans on gas engines (AP)

• NEW JERSEY: New Jersey regulators finalize environmental justice rules protecting large swaths from pollution (Politico Pro $, AP, WHYY), Projects that expose communities of color in N.J. to more pollution must be axed under new rules (NJ.com), New Jersey halts electric vehicle rebates, demand too high (AP)

IMPACTS: How cascading crises may have chased Viking settlers from North America (The Hill), Minnesota braces for flooding on Mississippi, other rivers (AP)

HEAT: Sprawling heat wave envelops large swath of Asia (Axios), Soaring temperatures bring school closures in parts of India (Reuters), Coping with extreme heat (New York Times $)

WILDFIRES: Report finds that heat, drought and fires worsen air in the west (Washington Post $)

DROUGHT: Spain’s Barcelona faces drought ‘emergency’ in September (AP), In grim drought, Tunisians ration water in state-ordered ban (AP)

WATER: The 100-year-old mistake that’s reshaping the American West (Vox), Despite storms, many Californians are still coping with dry wells and awaiting fixes (LA Times $)

TREES: World’s at-risk kelp forests provide billions of dollars in benefits, study shows (The Guardian), How an American logging giant bills itself as a climate hero (Gizmodo), Red and blue states are seeing green in forestry offsets (Politico Pro $)

SOLUTIONS AND BARRIERS: In ‘No Miracles Needed,’ the technical solutions to climate change are clear. The political ones? Not so much. (Yale Climate Connections)

RENEWABLES: A firsthand look at a California solar farm with ​‘earth-mounted’ panels (Canary Media), Solar-powered factory produces food for malnourished Haitian kids (Yale Climate Connections)

"RENEWABLES": How New Yorkers’ food scraps get ‘digested’ to provide gas for homes (New York Times $)

STORAGE: NYSEG, RG&E outline revised energy storage bidding process as New York works toward 6 GW goal (Utility Dive), Utilities, independent power producers differ over path to New York’s 6 GW of storage by 2030 goal (Utility Dive)

CLOUD COSTS: The new generation of digital hoarders are harming the planet (Atmos)

OIL & GAS: Environmental advocates contend ‘green’ natural gas efforts fail to contain damaging leaks (The Hill), New Jersey climate activists hold peaceful protest against fracked gas project (Democracy Now), Permian’s slow burn to Iran-sized growth underlines OPEC’s grip (Bloomberg $), US gas flaring plunges, report says (E&E $)

NUKES: Germany has shut down its last three nuclear power plants, and some climate scientists are aghast (CNBC)

GRID: A huge new clean energy transmission line gets the green light (Canary Media)

UTILITIES: Cooperative utility leaders urge Congress, federal agencies to bolster grid reliability (Utility Dive), Ransomware is a major threat to smaller utilities, manufacturers and health care providers: report (Utility Dive), With looming EV load spikes, PG&E, Duke, other utilities adopt new rate design and cost recovery strategies (Utility Dive)

EVs: EV subsidy changes a win for US carmakers (E&E $), Shanghai show latest: EV face-off as automakers tout features (Bloomberg $), The number of EV charging points in Germany surged by 35% last year (OilPrice), Volkswagen has ambitious plans to capture European EV market share (OilPrice), Want a tax break on an electric car? You'll need to buy American (Axios)

AVIATION: Airlines in line for green fuel funding boost under EU climate law (Reuters)

BOOKS: Upton Sinclair's 'Oil!' resurrected to dig into fossil fuel past (E&E $)

BUSINESSES: Balmain collaborates with Evian on an eco-friendly collection (Ebony)

CARBON CAPTURE: What is direct air capture and how can it fight climate change? (Reuters explainer)

FINANCE: Are we about to see a surge in sovereign sustainability-linked bonds? (Energy Monitor)

PARENTING: Campaigners urge action over carbon footprint of disposable nappies (The Guardian)

VIDEO GAMES: Two new games tackle environmental destruction without preaching (FT $)

WILDLIFE: El Niño is coming, and ocean temps are already at record highs – that can spell disaster for fish and corals (The Conversation), Scientists discover pristine deep-sea Galápagos reef ‘teeming with life’ (The Guardian)

INTERNATIONAL: Horticulturists turn to ‘desert gardens’ at UK flower shows amid climate crisis (The Guardian), Power firm SSE says backing renewables can help get Britain closer to energy self-reliance (CNBC)

• Climate action is being held back by 'hidden handbrakes' (Context, Tom Mitchell op-ed)
• Texas consumers pay up while lawmakers reward natural gas industry and largest electricity users (Houston Chronicle, Chris Tomlinson column)
• The experts working on 'scoring' bills for carbon (E&E, Kevin Rennert and Aaron Berman interview $)
• EVs didn't kill the radio star as Hannity fears. You did (Bloomberg, Liam Denning column $)
• Ted Cruz wants you to believe that the 'real' racism is holding powerful multimillionaires entrusted to enforce and obey the law accountable (Above the Law, Chris Williams commentary)

Now That Tucker Carlson Ate Some Insects, Could Disinfluencers Please Shut Up About 'Ze Bugs'?

Last year we flagged the ongoing right-wing campaign of "Big Strong Fierce Manly Men Who Aren't Scared Of Anything" being whiny little babies when it comes to the suggestion that insect protein could be incorporated into diets for health, savings, and climate benefits. 

For some reason, our mockery failed to make them stop complaining, however, and now even mainstream outlets are running pieces explaining the conspiracy theory that the nefarious global elites wielding supreme power at the World Economic Forum are going to force you to eat bug burgers. As Jan Dutkiewicz and Gabriel Rosenberg explain in a New Republic op-ed, the right-wing bugout about eating bugs "perfectly encapsulates the insipid but dangerous battlefield that meat now represents in America’s perpetual culture war. From right-wing trolls’ disparaging references to effeminate left-wing 'soy-boys,' to the stomach-churning embrace of hypermasculine [and scurvy-inducing — Ed.] 'carnivore' diets, it’s clear conservatives’ darker fantasies aren’t just about threats to a dietary staple but about threats to the liberty, bodily integrity, and masculinity of American men." 

And as if on cue, enter Tucker Carlson, host of the most racist show on TV and endorser of  "testicle tanning" in his "End of Men" segment on "the 'collapse' of American males' testosterone levels" that was so ridiculous the mockery literally made international news. 

To kick off the third season of Carlson's not-prime-time, Fox Nation subscriber-only show, Carlson reprised his role in this conspiracy and collaborated with an activist from the Netherlands, Eva Vlaardingerbroek, to scare Americans about eating bugs. But Tucker also did something pretty surprising: he ate some bugs himself!

In a clip just under a minute long posted to Fox's YouTube, Carlson tastes chocolate-covered crickets. "That's delicious!" he said, right after asking which part of the cricket he was about to eat and confirming for some weird reason that the cricket's "loins" were included. 

As "reported" by the The Daily Caller, the "news" outlet Carlson founded, Carlson not only ate bugs but also talked to one of the chefs featured in the WEF conspiracy theory, as part of what is clearly the promotional campaign for his show’s new season! 

Carlson said he could "eat chocolate covered crickets all day" and that a cricket-based burger was "not bad at all." 

In fact, Carlson is probably used to eating insects, seeing as his mother was the heiress to the Swanson frozen food fortune, and many frozen foods, like frozen broccoli, already contain bugs and ingredients made from bizarre things like duck feathers. The bug-filled future that Carlson is fearmongering about has actually already been around since his mother’s days, so maybe the reason why he won’t stop talking about bug-eating is because it reminds him of his mom, who abandoned him and wanted to leave him only $1.

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