Renewables Keep Heat From Messing With Texas Grid: More than 40 million people across the Southern U.S. were under a heat alert over the weekend and wind and solar energy have kept the lights on — and the air conditioners running — so far. “For the first time, the peak demand for power this summer will exceed the amount we can generate from dispatchable power, and we will be relying on renewables to keep the lights on,” Peter Lake, chairman of the Public Utility Commission, told regulators in May. The record heat — that's forecast to worsen this week — is so intense, and deadly, that meteorologists are apologizing, while climate change, mainly caused by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels, made the extreme heatwave 5°F hotter, and five times more likely to occur, according to an analysis by Climate Central. “This kind of heat dome and long-lasting extreme heat conditions are not anything we have seen before in Texas, and yet they are happening more and more often," Texas-based energy consultant Alison Silverstein told E&E. "Climate change isn’t messing around." Texas refuses to integrate its electrical grid with the rest of the country, meaning that it cannot import more power to cope with soaring demand. That's especially problematic in light of a report released last week on the growing body of evidence that coal and gas-fired power plants are increasingly vulnerable to — and thus more likely to fail during — extreme temperatures. Fortunately, the state doubled the solar energy generated since last year and will double it again by next year, as wind and solar make up 38% of Texas's electricity generated this year. Unfortunately, Texas Gov. Abbot recently signed a law revoking water breaks for outdoor workers who are already dying from the extreme heat. (Heatwave: Inside Climate News, USA Today, The Guardian, NPR, New York Times $, Washington Post $, Fox Weather, Axios, The Hill; Apologies: Washington Post $; Solar: E&E $, New York Times $; Climate stress on power grids: New York Times $, Washington Post $, Reuters; Fossil failures: Politico Pro $, Utility Dive; Abbot: Guardian; Climate Signals background: Extreme heat and heatwaves)

Portlandia v. Big Oil: Oregon's most populous county is suing numerous oil and gas companies for damages caused by the deadly 2021 heatwave that would have been "virtually impossible" without climate change. Portland's Multnomah County seeks $50 million for damages caused by the heatwave that killed 800 people, and $50 billion for climate adaptation. The lawsuit names Shell, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Koch Industries, ExxonMobil and others profiting off causing the climate crisis. “At the core, this lawsuit is about fairness and accountability for these giant oil companies who have record profits, who have known about the damage that their products do to our environment and who have been using pseudoscience, disinformation and outright lies for decades,” Multnomah County chair Jessica Vega Pederson told The Oregonian/OregonLive. “They have prevented us from making the changes needed to protect our climate and protect our community.” (The Oregonian/OregonLive, AP, Axios, NPR, The Hill, Quartz; Climate Signals background: Extreme heat and heatwaves)

CCS And LNG Perpetuate EJ Abuses: Environmental justice advocates and communities who (will) bear the brunt of the resulting risk are raising the alarm over a Biden administration support for carbon capture and sequestration, which they see as merely a ploy to give fossil fuel industries a license to continue polluting their communities and heating the climate. “In the real world, this is an experiment,” Beverly Wright, head of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice and member of the White House EJ Advisory Council, told the Washington Post. “And this experiment is going to be conducted on the same communities that have suffered from the oil and gas industry.” These concerns are most acute in the Gulf Coast and in Louisiana's "Cancer Alley" where the petrochemical industry has heavily polluted Black communities — and where the methane gas industry is looking to export even more gas overseas with developers set to approve a record amount of new LNG capacity. In Port St. Joe, Florida, residents worry about their safety with Miami-based LNG company Nopetro trying to build a new LNG facility there. “[LNG] is inherently unstable and dangerous, and it is polluted,” PublicCitizen Director of Energy Program Tyson Slocum told MyPanhandle. “One year ago this month in Freeport, Texas, [Freeport LNG] suffered a catastrophic failure and suffered a huge explosion that resulted in a fireball 300 feet high,” Slocum added. “Earlier this month in Cameron Louisiana, a large LNG tank that was feeding a natural gas power plant suffered a catastrophic failure and forced the evacuation of all residents within a mile of that facility.” So "we’re not opposing progress," local resident Chester Davis said. "We’re not opposing prosperity for the community, but we are opposing anything that will bring danger to that community.” (CCS: Washington Post $; Record LNG approvals: Reuters; Port St. Joe: MyPanhandle)

LEAST RESPONSIBLE, MOST IMPACTED: UNICEF warns high risk for children ahead of climate crisis (Prensa Latina), Why women are especially vulnerable during India's deadly heat waves (TIME), How a small Caribbean nation is resisting climate change and rising sea levels (NPR)

FOSSIL FUELED … WHATEVER THAT WAS: Risk premium tied to Russia coup attempt may take hold when oil markets reopen (Houston Chronicle), Russian insurrection ends but attempted coup damages OPEC+ producer (S&P Global), Why chaos in Russia could spell trouble for the global economy (CNN), Global investors calm in face of Russia mutiny: markets wrap (Bloomberg $)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: DOJ urges court to kill Juliana climate lawsuit (E&E $)

• MONTANA CLIMATE TRIAL: A decision will soon be made in the nation's first youth-led climate lawsuit (NPR), Kids just brought Montana to court over climate change. The case could make waves beyond the state (TIME), Meet the youth suing Montana for not protecting them from climate change (Fast Company) [See the Denier Roundup for more. — Ed.]

PFAS'D AND FURIOUS: 3M strikes $10.3B ‘forever chemicals’ deal (E&E News, The Hill, Gizmodo), You probably have “forever chemicals” in your body. Here’s what that means. (Vox)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Citi executive backs pause clauses for emerging-market debt (Bloomberg $), Miles apart: US and Europe diverge on Chinese EVs (E&E News, Politico)

PARIS CLIMATE FINANCE SUMMIT: Paris climate summit gives fresh impetus to development bank reform (Reuters, Context, Politico Pro $, Reuters, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal $), Development banks can boost lending by $200 billion, Paris summit statement says (Reuters), Five takeaways from the Paris summit to fix global climate finance (Bloomberg $), France’s Macron champions global taxation for poverty, climate (Bloomberg $)

• DEBT: Paris finance reforms could untie poor countries’ hands in climate crisis (The Guardian), Paris climate finance summit fails to deliver debt forgiveness plan (The Guardian)
• SHIPPING: Shipping emissions tax plan backed by some 20 countries at Paris summit (Reuters), Paris climate summit ends without a deal on global tax on shipping (AP, Reuters, Al Jazeera)

HISTORICALLY EARLY STORMS: Tropical Storm Cindy forms behind Bret in an early and aggressive start to Atlantic hurricane season (AP, Washington Post $, Axios, Yale Climate Connections, USA Today)

DELUSION & VIOLENT DENIAL: Iowa meteorologist resigns after death threats over climate crisis coverage (The Guardian, NBC, The Hill, CNN), Right-wing media use a five-year-old tweet from Greta Thunberg to instigate climate change denial (Media Matters)

SHRAPNEL ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD: Metal recycling plant faces felony charges for contaminating Los Angeles high school grounds (Teen Vogue)

GOP vs. ESG: House Republicans release interim ESG report (E&E $)

THOSE HUGE TRUCKS SURE ARE COOL THOUGH: Last year was the most dangerous for pedestrians since 1981 (Bloomberg $)

TRAIN WRECKS: Freight train carrying hot asphalt, molten sulfur plunges into Yellowstone River as bridge fails (AP, The Hill), A federal hearing on the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio revealed new details (NPR), NTSB probes controlled burn at East Palestine train wreck (E&E $)

AGENCIES: Hot hogs beat the heat with new USDA app (Axios), NOAA rainfall projections 'decades out of date,' report says (E&E $), Study shows federal weather model underplays flooding, putting infrastructure spending at risk (Politico Pro $), To improve multifamily housing energy efficiency and resiliency, HUD offers $4.8B for retrofits (Utility Dive)

EPA: New EPA rules pressure biofuel producers (Wall Street Journal $), The EPA is putting together a youth council (The Verge)

DOE: DOE deals blow to major La. gas export project (E&E $)

DOT: The US government is awarding $1.7 billion to buy electric and low-emission buses (AP), Biden admin can't keep pace with demand for clean bus grants (E&E $)

TREASURY: Yellen says global shipping tax push ‘very constructive’ (Bloomberg $)

WHITE HOUSE: The politics of Biden's battery support (Axios)

HOUSE: Grijalva: 'Egregious' ruling upends Colorado River oversight (E&E $)

POLITICS: How Republicans are trying to redefine the EJ movement (E&E $)

• JOES: Manchin says Biden broke climate deal. Others say ‘there was no such agreement’ (Politico), Inside Manchin’s war with Biden on electric vehicles (E&E News)

TRIBES: Navajo Nation struggles with water access. The Supreme Court just dealt it a blow on water rights. (The Hill), Supreme court leaves Navajo Nation high and dry (Grist), Supreme Court ruling complicates Navajo Nation’s fight for more water (AP)

CITIES AND STATES: As fuel taxes plummet, states weigh charging by the mile instead of the tank (AP), North Carolina governor vetoes annual farm bill and state government ESG prohibitions (AP), Tampa has a Climate Action and Equity Plan now. What’s in it? (Tampa Bay Times), Mama mia! NYC rules crack down on coal, wood-fired pizzerias — must cut carbon emissions up to 75% (New York Post)

• VIRGINIA: As Youngkin tries to pull Virginia out of RGGI, experts warn of looming consequences for low-income residents and threatened communities (Inside Climate News), Anti-utility donor boosted Va. progressives. Now it's eyeing Republicans. (E&E $)
• MASSACHUSETTS: As legislators renew push for plastic bag ban, much of Massachusetts already covered (Boston Globe $), New organization and conference is intended to bring climate change solutions to Massachusetts (Boston Globe $)
• CONVENIENT: Texas Supreme Court rules state power grid has ‘sovereign immunity’ in winter storm lawsuit (Politico Pro $), ERCOT can’t be sued over power grid failures during 2021 winter storm, Texas Supreme Court rules (Texas Tribune)(E&E News), Texas high court saves state grid manager from liability in avalanche of litigation (Courthouse News)

FERC: Gas-fired capacity surges this year, solar poised to boom: FERC report (Utility Dive)

IMPACTS: Chile official warns of 'worst front in a decade' after floods, evacuations (Reuters), If you're ordering from a delivery app during extreme weather, you're likely not tipping enough (HuffPost)

HEAT: Beijing heat wave clouds long weekend and sets multi-day temperature record (AP), Texas governor signs bill rescinding water breaks as deadly heat grips state (The Guardian)

• NEWS YOU CAN USE: Here are 4 better ways to use your air conditioner for energy and cost (Washington Post $)

WILDFIRES: Can a $20-million liability fund encourage more ‘good fire’ in California? (LA Times $), With record heat and drought-stricken woods, Spain’s Catalonia faces perfect wildfire conditions (AP)

• CANADA: It’s Canada’s worst fire season in modern history, as smoke fills skies (Washington Post $), As Canada's wildfires intensify, recruiting firefighters is tougher (Reuters), Canada’s wildfires threaten its farmers from all sides (Modern Farmer), 

SMELLS FISHY: Thousands of dead fish have washed up on a Thai beach. Experts say climate change may be to blame (CNN)

WATER: Putting salt in tap water and drilling wells in parks: One city’s desperate quest to avoid running dry (CNN), Here’s a look at the water crises that might be coming to you soon (New York Times $)

DEFORESTATION: Caught short: Lack of recycled toilet paper in UK ‘fuelling deforestation’ (The Guardian)

AIR POLLUTION: Are legally acceptable levels of pollution harming children’s brain development? (Inside Climate News)

TORNADO: Tornado rips through massive Wyoming coal mining site, injures 8 people (The Hill)

RENEWABLES: Asia heatwaves put renewable power fleet to the test (Reuters), Group backed by India's Vikram Solar to invest $1.5 billion in new US factories (Reuters), How sheep keep solar farms out of the shade (Bloomberg $), Solar powers ahead with hopes of a renewables record for solstice month (The Guardian), TribCast: The rise of renewable energy in Texas (Texas Tribune)

"RENEWABLES": Corn-based ethanol is not as good for the climate as once thought (Yale Climate Connections)

WIND:  New windfarm could be used to power North Sea oilfield (The Guardian, New York Times $), As wind projects stall off Massachusetts coast, industry wonders: What’s next? (Boston Globe $), Clean energy’s latest problem is creaky wind turbines (Wall Street Journal $)

BATTERIES: NASA opposes lithium mining at tabletop flat Nevada desert site used to calibrate satellites (AP, Gizmodo), Auto union blasts Biden administration $9 billion loan to Ford battery venture (Washington Examiner), Tennessee, Kentucky battery plants for Ford electric vehicles on track for $9.2B federal loan (AP)

BUILDINGS: Chart: Here’s how the US could get heat pumps in every home by 2050 (Canary Media)

LNG: Mitsubishi sees no Sakhalin-2 LNG operational issues after Shell exit (Reuters), Natural gas turns higher, nears 15-week high (Wall Street Journal $)

OIL & GAS: Gas is here to stay for decades, say fossil fuel heavyweights (Bloomberg $), Outlook muted as higher interest rates put lid on demand for oil (Houston Chronicle), West Virginia industrial gas plant will pay $1.9 million for Ohio River pollution (AP)

ORPHANED WELLS: Carbon credit market seizes on a new opportunity: Plugging oil and gas wells (Inside Climate News)

PIPELINES: Mountain Valley Pipeline receives final permits (Politico Pro $, Washington Examiner), They fought a pipeline on their land. Then Congress got involved (Wall Street Journal $)

HYDROGEN: How hydrogen subsidies could cause a 'doom loop' for the climate (Washington Post $), Australia commits to build $34 million renewable hydrogen plant in Victoria (Reuters), West Virginia bets on hydrogen in gamble to save coal plant (E&E News, Politico)

UTILITIES: Elliott just wants NRG to be a boring company (Wall Street Journal $)

ACTIVISM: Vietnam to get billions for climate change while jailing environmentalists (Washington Post $), Environmental activists protest at Dutch Tata Steel plant (Reuters)

AVIATION: Want a climate-friendly flight? It’s going to take a while and cost you more (AP), Will El Niño make airplane turbulence worse? (The Hill)

AGRICULTURE: Wild weather swings have devastated Georgia’s peaches (Washington Post $)

ARCHEOLOGY: These objects tell the story of human-driven climate change (Smithsonian Magazine)

GEOENGINEERING: EU braves climate storms by wading into geo-engineering debate (FT $)

FINANCE:  Wall Street ‘woefully' misaligned with climate goals — report (E&E $), Why Wall Street’s climate efforts are failing (Bloomberg $)

RELIGION: The Church of England has lost faith in oil and gas companies (Quartz), Its promised land drying, Mormon church works to save the Great Salt Lake (Washington Post $)

MONEY, PROBABLY: This fishing gear can help save whales. What will it take for fishermen to use it? (NPR)

WILDLIFE: Tiny bundles of hope: critically endangered turtles hatch in Myanmar (New York Times $), Toxic algae bloom suspected in death of dolphins, sea lions (The Hill) 

INTERNATIONAL: India to cut daytime power tariffs, raise fees for night use (Reuters), The shocking things scientists found about this extremely powerful volcanic eruption (Washington Post $) 

• UK: Halt new roads and developments adding to emissions, advisers to tell UK government (The Guardian), A fight to improve London’s air quality, one vehicle at a time (New York Times $),UK billpayers may pick up tab for green levies as energy price cap ends (The Guardian), Summer’s barely begun and the UK already has a water crisis (Bloomberg $), UK delays biomass plan again with fuel source under scrutiny (Bloomberg $)

• Natural gas, coal and nuclear power are failing the Texas grid, new tech is the future (Houston Chronicle, Chris Tomlinson column)
• Heather McTeer Toney reflects on the ongoing struggle for environmental justice in America (Inside Climate News, interview)
• EPA must prioritize life-cycle emissions in building materials policy (The Hill, Dr. Randolph Kirchain and Dr. Hessam AzariJafari op-ed)
• In scorching Texas, a new law puts workers at risk (Bloomberg, Mark Gongloff op-ed $)
• El niño is about to accelerate the global climate crisis. It’s time for action. (Truthout, Gareth Dale op-ed)
• Republicans serve up red meat for a reason (New York Times, Jamelle Bouie column $)
• California leaders should be slashing fossil fuel subsidies instead of the climate budget (CAL Matters, Laura Deehan Commentary)
• Don’t just give clean energy a pat on the head (The Hill, Rep. Jennifer L. McClellan op-ed)
• The climate emergency demands a ‘woke’ response (The Hill, Robert Taylor op-ed)
• Get ready for another wet, hot American summer, thanks to fossil fuels (The Hill, William S. Becker op-ed)
• Labour must do no more backsliding on commitments to create a green economy (The Guardian, Andrew Rawnsley op-ed)
• Renewable energy plans could be bad news for my heat rash (Washington Examiner, Brendan Clarey op-ed)
• Big ethanol vs. electric vehicles (Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journal Editorial Board $)

A State Of Denial: Montana Paid $30k To Prove There's No Case Against Climate Science

What would you do with thirty thousand dollars? What would you want your state to do? Maybe fix something like 1,300 potholes? Well, if you're in Montana and noticed "pothole season" seems a little worse this year, maybe it's because your state wasted more than $30,000 on climate denial.  

How so? Well, as you may have heard, a group called Our Children's Trust filed a lawsuit against the state over the fact that its (lack of) climate change policy is infringing on their constitutional rights. After a week of testimony from plaintiffs and their experts, Montana had scheduled a similar full five days to present its defense. Instead, it closed in just one day. Instead of calling three witnesses, it called just one: a tobacco-defending economist who billed the state $500 an hour for testimony that he was forced to revise because it was full of errors, which were pointed out by the actual scientists on the other side of the court. Whoops! 

The defendants had lined up a psychologist who admitted no climate expertise, and they didn't call on her to question the stress that the students were clearly suffering, as their testimony portrayed. Dr. Judith Curry, a former scientist and still-active consultant for energy companies, was tapped to present the case against the climate consensus. But between this and the new law requiring the state to deny the reality of climate change, there's still one thing Montana's not denying: as the plaintiffs told the court, the state's never denied a fossil fuel project a permit.

But apparently the climate science lesson from Montana University emeritus prof Steve Running was so compelling that the defense simply chose not to call Curry to testify. After years of advocating for a "red team" to challenge the science, Curry was finally granted the opportunity, and apparently the case was so weak they decided that presenting it would be even worse than letting the plaintiffs go unchallenged, so they let her "off the hook," according to a face-saving blog post Curry made, with a link to her "expert report."

Yes, after seeing the climate case, lawyers decided it was better not to argue the science! 

Montana paid Curry $30,000 and then decided that putting her on the stand to testify under oath wasn't worth it. They called the smoking shill whose testimony required correction from the plaintiffs, but not Curry! 

And to think the court was deprived of hearing the views of someone whose new book garners such praise as a random Twitter user’s remark that Curry "deserves the literary equivalent of the Nobel Prize!"

Alas, we suspect you wouldn't win any sort of prize with the sort of arguments that a state in denial pays $30,000 for and then decides you shouldn’t discuss while sworn under oath in a court of law. 

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up to receive Hot News every morning!

Send updates or feedback to nkauffman@climatenexus.org
Submit events and other items for consideration for a First Look using this form
Some articles require logins or subscriptions ($)