Biden Creates White House Office Of Environmental Justice: President Biden on Friday signed an executive order creating a new Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) within the White House Council on Environmental Quality. The EO directs federal agencies to work closer and earlier with communities affected by pipelines, highways, chemical plants, and waste sites to address centuries of racist policies that have imposed disproportionate pollution upon Black, Indigenous, and other people of color. "Environmental justice will be the mission of the entire government woven directly into how we work with state, local, tribal and territorial governments,” Biden said. The creation of the White House OEJ marks a major victory for environmental justice advocates. “Today’s executive order is the result of nearly two decades of organizing by the environmental justice movement,” Ozawa Bineshi Albert, co-ED of the Climate Justice Alliance, a national nonprofit representing 89 rural and urban community-based EJ groups and supporting networks, said in a statement. “This win belongs to our communities who have been on the frontlines of the climate crisis, creating solutions, building local power, and engaging lawmakers for decades.” (AP, E&E News, NPR, USA Today, Politico, CNN, The Hill, Fox News, Reuters, NBC, Axios, The Hill, New York Times $, CNBC, The Root, Politico Pro $)

Gas Industry To Flood Eugene, Ore., With $4M To Fight Electrification: Audio recordings obtained by the Washington Post reveal the American Gas Association plans to spend $4 million dollars on a campaign to overturn a Eugene, Oregon, electrification ordinance, in what the industry sees as a potential first salvo in an offensive to undo similar efforts to prevent new methane gas infrastructure across the country. That's about $22.84 for each one of the 175,000 residents of Eugene, one of a growing drumbeat of municipalities across the country to adopt electrification ordinances in order to reduce health threats and cut climate pollution. The AGA campaign on behalf of local gas utility NW Natural will pit the industry against the coalition of city leaders, high school activists, and environmentalists who won passage of the ordinance earlier this year. City-wide candidates in Eugene typically raise between $100,000 to $150,000, and the prospect of $4 million being dropped on the city is daunting. “It’s really going to be an uphill, muddy battle. It’s the giant versus the little people,” Eugene City Council member Emily Semple, who voted for the ordinance, told the Washington Post. “I don’t know how we’re going to stand up to that.” (Washington Post $)

EPA Preparing New Rules Limiting Power Plant Pollution: The EPA is preparing to announce new rules requiring the elimination or capture of greenhouse gas pollution from coal- and gas-fired power plants. Power plants are the source of about one-quarter of US climate pollution — the second-biggest source behind transportation — and the yet-to-be-proposed regulation, once instituted, would be the first federal regulation limiting CO2 pollution power plants. The rule, which will immediately face lawsuits from fossil fuel industries and their GOP funding recipients, was drafted in response to (and in consideration of) the Supreme Court's sweeping and controversial ruling in West Virginia v. EPA. The expected rule is not yet finalized and is currently under review by the White House Office of Management and Budget. (New York Times $, Washington Post $, Bloomberg $, Reuters, CNN, Wall Street Journal $, The Hill, Politico)

ENVIRONMENTAL (IN)JUSTICE: Centering Indigenous knowledge in environmental justice (Indian Country Today), Redlining and hotter neighborhoods: how racist housing policies created urban heat islands (Teen Vogue), Overlooked no more: Elizabeth Wagner Reed, who resurrected legacies of women in science (New York Times $), Panamanian tribe to be relocated from coastal island due to climate change: 'There's no other option' (CBS), Sustainability power player: the earth stewardess, Doria Brown, is bridging the gap between environmentalism and social justice (Ebony)

EARTH DAY: 7 inspiring reads for Earth Day (New York Times $), 7 ways we’ve made the Earth better since the last Earth Day (Vox), As Eid and Earth Day coincide, young Muslims are driving the modern climate movement (NBC), How African Americans are raised to protect the planet (The Root), Johan Rockström's quest for a healthy planet (TIME), Earth Day celebrations around the Bay Area mix hope with realism (CBS), Earth Day was almost called something else entirely (The Hill), How to talk to your parents about climate change (BBC), Spring cleanup crew beautifies Baltimore on Earth Day (CBS), Why you should consider going green with your gadgets this Earth Day and every day (Mashable), For Earth Day 2023, how to put your best travel foot forward (CNN), Roll the dice, save Gotham from climate catastrophe! (New York Times $), The case for making Earth Day a religious holiday (TIME), Activists mark Earth Day as scientists warn of more extreme weather (Reuters)

• HISTORY/FUTURE: Black Girl Environmentalist is giving Black girls and non-binary people a seat at the table this Earth Day (Teen Vogue), Earth's warriors, young and old, keep battling and hoping (AP), On Earth Day, scientists tell us what 2050 could be like. Their answers might surprise you. (USA Today), On the first Earth Day, environmentalism wasn’t partisan (New York Magazine), Last Earth Day, Wynn Bruce set himself on fire outside the supreme court. I tried to understand why (Inside Climate News), On the brink (CNN)
• PROTESTS: ‘Appalling’ Earth Day greenwashing must not detract from message, says protest founder (The Guardian), Earth Day activists urge action to avoid 'dystopian' future (Reuters), The civil rights movement fought for environmental justice long before Earth Day (Truthout), Big tent for the Big One: Extinction Rebellion shows softer side in London protest (The Guardian), On London's streets, Extinction Rebellion goes quiet for the climate (Context), Composer to stage climate change protest with melting ice sculpture (The Independent), Climate activists stage slow march through German capital (AP), Chris Packham calls for ‘every last person who cares’ to join XR (The Guardian), Climate change activists protest at Berlin Formula E race (Reuters), The surprising science of climate protests (BBC)
• BUT SERIOUSLY: It's time to kill Earth Day (Gizmodo), Earth Day is the victim of its own success (FiveThirtyEight), 7 bonkers corporate Earth Day campaigns (Gizmodo)

(CLIMATE) DIPLOMACY: Indigenous Maasai ask the United Nations to intervene on human rights abuses (Grist), Indigenous Uyukyuans say it’s time for US military to leave Okinawa (Grist), 5 things to know about Biden’s $1B climate payment (E&E News), China strikes energy deals as its clout grows in Middle East (Wall Street Journal $), EU lawmakers want energy importers to obey tough methane rules (Bloomberg $), UNEP chief on the $1 billion Green Climate Fund pledge and taking critical action on climate (CNBC), European leaders to commit to more wind energy production (AP)

2022 WMO REPORT: ‘Off the charts’: UN report highlights rapid climate breakdown (Al Jazeera, Bloomberg $, CNN, Phys.org, AP, USA Today, CNN, Reuters)

DENIAL: DeSantis dismisses climate action during Heritage speech (E&E News)

GOP vs. ESG: Business fights back as Republican state lawmakers push anti-ESG agenda (Reuters)

INFLATION REDUCTION ACT: GOP targets clean energy laws despite boons back home (E&E News), Small towns chase America’s $3 trillion climate gold rush (Wall Street Journal $), The IRA isn’t good for just US stocks. Here are some emerging markets names that will benefit too (CNBC), The US Inflation Reduction Act can spur a green race to the top (Context), Treasury lets automakers do the math for EV credit eligibility (Bloomberg $), 'Y'all broke the law': Manchin slams Granholm over EV credits (E&E $)

• NEWS YOU CAN USE: Six ways to lower your carbon emissions quickly (BBC)

THIS IS A QUESTION?: Most federal forest is mature and old growth. Now the question is whether to protect it (Inside Climate News)

GUESS WE'LL PACK IT IN, THEN: Stop telling people climate change is here — they already know (Bloomberg $),  A common talking point about climate change gets it all wrong, new study says (Grist)

ANYTHING BUT FIGHTING ENTRENCHED POWER: Tech billionaires bet on fusion as holy grail for business (Wall Street Journal $), The future history of nuclear fusion (Bloomberg $), These geoengineering technologies could help combat the climate crisis, scientists say (ABC), To capture CO2 in the US, climate tech startups partner with oil and gas (The Verge)

WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANY MOW: The ‘no mow’ movement could transform our lawns (Washington Post $)

AGENCIES: Biden push to save older forests bumps into real-world contradictions (E&E $), EPA, DOJ settle with gas processor over methane leaks (E&E $), Feds request more than half a billion dollars for coastal restoration in 30 states (The Hill), NOAA recommends spending on making coasts more resilient to climate change (Michigan Radio)

EPA: EPA renews crackdown on Texas coal-fired power plants (E&E $), How the Clean Air Act lets closed coal plants keep polluting for years (Reuters), NJ town residents must be ready to leave asap as EPA cleans up mystery chemical barrels (NBC New York)

DOE: DOE awards loan for massive ‘virtual power plant’ project (E&E News), DOE offers Sunnova $3B partial loan guarantee for low-income solar, storage (Utility Dive)

DOI: Haaland defends Willow, says US won’t end oil drilling (AP), BLM chief: Staff shortages are the biggest hurdle to speedy energy project permitting (Politico Pro $), Interior releases $140M for Western water conservation and efficiency (Politico Pro $)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH:  More oversight of carbon credits needed, CFTC chief says (E&E $)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden approves disaster relief for 13 Texas counties with damage from winter ice storms (Texas Tribune), In Florida, Harris announces $562M for climate resilience (AP), John Kerry on the climate crisis: ‘I believe we’re in a transformational moment’ (MSNBC), President Biden pledges $500M to the ‘Amazon Fund’ (CNN), Kerry says US must work with China to reach global climate goals: ‘No way that any one country can solve this crisis’ (The Hill)

V(I)P: US vice president to visit Miami, announce $562 million climate investment (Reuters)

THE HILL: Democrats say climate farm programs are struggling (E&E $)

HOUSE: Grijalva cheers Biden EJ order after landmark bill stalls (E&E $), AOC admits 'massive' scale of Green New Deal, says climate change will be even worse (Fox News), House Republicans question EPA's focus on electric buses (E&E $)

SENATE: Hearing picks apart 'climate-smart' farming (E&E $)

POLITICS: Why the debt ceiling debate is also a climate fight (Inside Climate News, New York Times $), One reason the debt fight is getting awkward for Republicans (Politico), Climate change needs to be addressed...and soon, most Americans say — CBS News poll (CBS, Prensa Latina), Electric vehicle policies inflame Manchin-Biden tensions (The Hill), Left looks to generate new momentum for Green New Deal (E&E $)

TRIBES: How an Arctic snow school aims to respond to climate crisis with Inuit help (The Guardian), Tribes seek invitation to Rio Grande water commission (AP)

CITIES AND STATES: Here are most and least environmentally friendly states (The Hill), A new bill in Oregon could target environmental protesters as terrorists (Grist), Activists rally at Illinois capitol, urging lawmakers to pass 9 climate and environmental bills (Inside Climate News), Historic investment in urban trees underway across the US (AP), Leonardo’s ferry left high and dry by global warming and red tape (New York Times $), Maine court greenlights embattled $1B transmission line (E&E $, Utility Dive, Boston Globe $), North Carolina eases transition from fixed to variable net metering rates for some Duke Energy customers (Utility Dive), Did SoCalGas back the case against Berkeley’s gas ban? (Sacramento Bee $)

FERC: D.C. Circuit leans toward FERC in environmental justice fight (E&E $), FERC backs 2 major gas projects (E&E $), FERC approves CAISO, NYISO, utility plans for ambient line ratings to boost transmission capacity (Utility Dive)

IMPACTS: Extreme weather is nearly universal experience: AP-NORC poll (AP, The Hill), Majority in poll say climate change needs to be addressed ‘right now’ (The Hill), ‘Mind blowing’: CNN climate reporter reacts to ‘dead’ lake coming back to life (CNN), 'Ghost forests' along US coasts are a haunting indicator of climate change (CBS), Glimpses of a changing Earth, as seen from above (AP, PHOTOS), Climate is changing too quickly for the Sierra Nevada's 'zombie forests' (NPR), COVID-19 is just the beginning: Climate change is bringing a lot more diseases with it (Salon), Climate change taking toll on Lake Erie (CBS), 'Do people have to die?' Why these Californians fear catastrophic floods (Washington Post $), Climate change threatens to relocate residents of Panamanian Island (CBS), World’s glaciers melting at record levels due to climate change (NBC)

SNOW: Record western snow leaves trail of collapsed buildings (Wall Street Journal $), California’s cool forecast could limit dangerous snowmelt flooding (LA Times $), Europe’s glaciers melted at record rate after double whammy (Wall Street Journal $), NPR's climate reporters on how climate change is causing ice caps to disappear (NPR)

HEAT: Heat wave in Thailand prompts warning to stay indoors (AP)

WILDFIRES: ‘Zone captains’ help people get help after wildfires (Yale Climate Connections), Unhealthy air alerts in eastern North Carolina as fire rages (AP), Wildfires are bigger. Arctic ice is melting. Now, scientists say they're linked (NPR), Wildfires are ravaging the American West. Can a contest help solve the problem? (LA Times $), Xprize launches $11-million contest to transform how world fights wildfires (Axios)

DROUGHT: Charted: Droughts across America (Axios), Drought expands across DC area after helping fuel several recent fires (Washington Post $), Lack of snow condemns Italy's Po to a desperately dry summer (AP)

WATER: Biden administration to invest $140M in Western water projects (The Hill), California to provide 100% of water allocations for the first time since 2006 (Washington Examiner), Lake Mead and Lake Powell are swelling. Here’s what that means for the water supply (The Hill), Running and cycling to raise awareness of global water issues (LA Times $), The 100-year-old mistake that’s reshaping the American West (Vox), Top cleaning products waste water. Will concentrated versions help? (Bloomberg $), These 8 species depend on the Colorado River. What happens as it dries up? (Vox)

OCEANS: California researchers attempt ocean climate solution (AP)

KILLER CARS: Cars are decimating the Florida panther. A new film shows what can save it. (Washington Post $)

RENEWABLES: Solarcycle CEO, fresh off $31.5M in public and private funding, discusses solar recycling’s future (Utility Dive), Switching to wind and solar energy will require a lot of land (Washington Post $)

"RENEWABLES": How a California dairy methane project threatens residents’ air and water (Capital and Main)

BATTERIES: Canada lands Volkswagen battery plant with billions in subsidies (New York Times $)

OIL & GAS: Keystone oil pipeline spill was caused by a fatigue crack, TC Energy says (Bloomberg $), Suncor faces new pressure as birds found dead in oil sands pond (Bloomberg $), Natural gas plans on Texas coast anger locals, green groups (The Hill)

• WILLOW: An Alaska gas export project, with Biden administration's backing, turns a corner (Politico Pro $), Fallout from Willow Oil project lands hard on Harvard climate expert (Washington Post $)

PLASTICS: In the Philippines, a nation swallowed by plastic waste (Washington Post $), Recycling plastic can be a little confusing. Here’s what the numbers inside the recycling symbol mean (CNBC), Single-use plastic is wreaking havoc on the planet. Here’s what you can do to minimize your impact (CNN)

NUKES: ‘There’s a lot of posturing’: Europe’s nuclear divide grows as one plant opens and three close (The Guardian)

EVs: Are gas-powered or electric vehicles a better deal? EVs may win out in long run, experts say (CNBC), California clean car sales hit 1.5M target early (E&E $), China’s EV love affair spells doom for gasoline (Bloomberg $), Rise of EVs drives mining deals to decade high (Wall Street Journal $), The future of the auto industry is electric. Will mechanics be out of work? (CBS), The US would need to rapidly increase EV battery production to meet climate goals (NPR), NYPD test launches electric cars (CBS)

AGRICULTURE: Illinois climate shifts bring longer growing season, but with risks (Journal Courier), This year’s winter storms devastated agricultural workers (Gizmodo)

TREES: The giving forest (New York Times $), Why a tree census brings climate tensions (Axios)

BUSINESSES: Berkshire Hathaway’s utility company is about to hit a major renewable energy milestone (CNBC)

INDIVIDUAL ACTION: A Canadian businessman spent $1 million to offset his carbon footprint (Bloomberg $)

GEOENGINEERING: To mitigate impacts of climate change, some turn to controverial 'geoengineering' (CBS)

FINANCE: New ETF makes a big bet on cleaning up the environment (CNBC), The real climate job of the future: carbon accountant (Bloomberg $)

SHIPPING: This common chemical could help shipping giants start to decarbonize (Canary Media)

WILDLIFE: Animals can save us—if we let them (TIME), These tiny creatures are losing their battle to survive. Here’s what we can do to save them (CNN)

INTERNATIONAL: North Sea countries to pledge massive ramp up of wind energy - draft (Reuters), Polish grid limits renewable power generation due to oversupply (Bloomberg $), Australia plans green bond in 2024 in climate finance reversal (Bloomberg $)

• GERMANY: As Germany falls back on fossil fuels, activists demand adherence to its ambitious climate goals (Inside Climate News), Germany eyes baltic LNG terminal in spring 2024 amid protests (Bloomberg $), Germany fights to green production of most important commodity (Bloomberg $), Germany improving efforts to meet 2030 hydrogen goals, says E.ON (Reuters)

• Heat pump adoption will take teamwork in WA, and we need the state in the game (The Olympian, Amy Bettle op-ed)
• To my son, born in the climate crisis: I see signs of hope (CNN, Bill Weir op-ed)
• Elegy for an altered planet (New York Times, Lydia Millet op-ed $)
• I’m ready to trade in my electric car. Here’s why (LA Times, Mariel Garza commentary $)
• Earth Day is tied to minority health by more than just a month (The Hill, Martha Nolan op-ed)
• Earth Day 2023 and our fatal affinity for fossil fuels (The Hill, Brad Bannon op-ed)
• Gen Z and millennials are changing the rules on voting expectations — and the political landscape  (The Hill, Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez op-ed)
• US biofuel policy must recognize land use tradeoffs (The Hill, Dan Lashof op-ed)
• It’s Earth Day—and the news isn’t good (The New Yorker, Elizabeth Kolbert op-ed $)
• Earth Day in the year of the farm bill (The Hill, Eric A. Davidson op-ed)
• North America wind power sector needs cost cuts and supply-chain revamp (Reuters, Gavin Maguire column)
• Is this really what Earth Day now means? (The Hill, Jason Hayes op-ed)
• Climate change is a growing threat to household financial security — we need to prepare (The Hill, Joanna Smith-Ramani and Greg Gershuny op-ed)
• Are your allergies worse this spring? You can blame climate change. (USA Today, Kari Nadeau and Sarah Fortune op-ed)
• Why the state budget this year is key to Michigan’s transportation future (Energy News Network, Laura Sherman and Samarth Medakkar commentary)
• Fix your diet, save the planet (New York Times, Peter Singer op-ed $)

Heartland Fundraising For Tony Watts' $2,000 Thermometers To Compete With Global Temp Network 

Last week, we got a fundraising email from the Heartland Institute, begging for funds for its newest project. They're not entirely reliant on grifting the public for donations just yet, though, since they seem to have a mysterious deep-pocketed donor offering to match donations. 

Over a decade ago, conspiracy/denial blog runner and former weatherman Anthony Watts was convinced that the whole climate change scare was actually a result of temperature records being wrong because the thermometer stations were being artificially warmed by asphalt and concrete and buildings. He set out to prove it, got some Koch money to prop him up, had a few real scientists with degrees help him, and … confirmed that the consensus data was accurate, and if anything, that the official record was a bit cooler than it should be. Whoops! 

Despite promising to honor the findings, Watts of course denied them, since they debunked his disinformation. 

Twelve years later, Watts could be enjoying life as a "somewhat poorer" (but apparently not that much poorer) retired divorcee [more on that later —Ed.]. Instead, he is still trying to recruit fresh blood to his climate change denial cause, and is still committed to the lie that the thermometers are all wrong. He's now setting up his own thermometer network to once again try and prove that the record warming confirmed by every official meteorological agency in the world is actually an artifact of there being more concrete now, as though climate scientists are unaware of the existence of cities. 

Last year, oil-and-tobacco-backed Heartland Institute was paying Watts for a rerun of the weather station project that he had abandoned in 2012 when it got debunked, but this year, it looks like they're once again back at it, because who needs new ideas when you can just keep running the same failed experiment over and over? 

For the low-low price of just $2,000, you too can sponsor one of Heartland's new "private network of technologically superior temperature stations," and a mystery donor will match as much or as little as you donate. 

While we obviously think that literally any other use of that money would be wiser, the fact that Heartland's making the data live and public means that it's going to be hard for them to cook the books, so it’ll be all the more entertaining when their "Global Open Atmospheric Temperature System," or GOATS, once again confirms the warming trend. 

But since Watts has a rich history of misrepresenting studies, no doubt he'll try to spin his own research as well, or otherwise just deny its validity, like he did a decade ago when he tried this exact same stunt! 

We know it's warming. We know these thermometers are going to confirm it. The only thing we don't know is who's stupid enough to waste their money backing this zombie denial project. 

Oh wait, one more question: Are the $2,000 stations going to be purchased from Anthony Watts' side hustle running a weather monitoring parts store registered to a recently purchased $795,000 home in Nevada?

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