Extreme Heat Across US: More than 100 million people across the U.S. were under heat alerts over the weekend as extreme heat roasted huge swaths of the contiguous 48 states with record-breaking temperatures. "It's an absolute crisis," Juan Declet-Barreto of the Union of Concerned Scientists told Grist. Climate change, mainly caused by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels, is making extreme heat and heatwaves worse and more frequent — often with disproportionate impacts on communities historically and intentionally harmed by racist policy decisions. In such heat, public cooling centers are literal lifelines for many, but many of the same people who need them most — like the elderly, people with disabilities, and those unable to afford transportation — also face the greatest hurdles to actually getting to one. The extreme heat is also especially dangerous for people who work outside — people for whom there are essentially no legal safeguards against the potentially lethal dangers of extreme heat. It's also especially punishing for first responders increasingly forced to respond to calls related to heat exhaustion (especially firefighters wearing heavily insulated fire-protective clothing). In addition to fueling actual wildfires, the extreme heat is also straining electrical grids, posing a raft of life-threatening problems, and also impacting cultural mainstays, for example forcing summer camp staff to rethink outdoor activities. The extreme heat is expected to continue this week. (Extreme heat: Washington Post $, The Guardian, NPR, CNN, Axios, AP, Wall Street Journal $, Reuters, Axios, Gizmodo; 'Crisis': Grist; Racism: The Root; Cooling centers: Washington Post $; Workers: Washington Post $, The Hill, Wall Street Journal $; First responders: New York Times $; Wildfires: The Guardian, AP, CNN; Power grids: Wall Street Journal $; Summer camps: NPR; Forecast: The Guardian; Climate Signals background: Extreme heat and heatwaves)

States Struggle To Clean Up Orphan Wells: States are struggling to take advantage of federal funding to cap and remediate orphaned wells, E&E News reports. There may be as many as 800,000 abandoned oil and gas across the country releasing toxic, cattle-killing pollution into soil and groundwater and heat-trapping methane into the atmosphere. With $660 million of federal funds now available, states now have incentives to seek out and inventory orphaned wells (thereby increasing the official tally), but higher-than-expected labor costs and confusion over well remediation prioritization, methane monitoring, and other requirements attendant to the funding are also slowing the process of cleaning up the toxic mess left behind by over a century of polluting fossil fuel companies. “It’s a constant game of catch-up,” Jason Simmerman, the Ohio DNR's orphan well program manager, told E&E News. “We find new wells every week in the state of Ohio.” (E&E News)

In Climate Crisis, Insurance Industry Abandons Americans But Protects Fossil Fuels: Last week, two insurance firms, Farmers and AAA, said they would no longer sell homeowners insurance in Florida, leaving middle class homeowners no longer be able to afford to rebuild or insure the homes they've occupied for decades on the Florida coast. As climate change pushes the U.S. further into its uninsurable era, insurance companies are abandoning homeowners with payouts below market values in many coastal areas, or by fleeing risky markets altogether. But that doesn't mean the area will be deserted. “I hate to say it,” Fort Myers real estate agent Isabel Arias Squires told Politico. “Only very, very, extremely wealthy people will be able to rebuild.” Yet insurance companies themselves continue to insure and invest in the fossil fuel extraction industry mainly causing climate change as Republican-controlled states push firms to prop up fossil fuel operations. The Senate Budget Committee, on the other hand, is investigating the role of seven major insurance firms in contributing to climate change through their underwriting and investments. Because it's not just beach properties. Less than 1% of Vermont homes and less than 2% of New York housing units are covered for flood insurance, leaving those hit by recent flooding with potentially extreme financial consequences. “The bottom line is, it just sucks,” Samantha Medlock, senior counsel on the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis prior to its disbanding by Republicans in January, told Politico. “Some areas are no longer safe to occupy because they are breathtakingly risky to life, property and first responders.” (Insurance industry: Wall Street Journal $, New York Times $; Senate: E&E $; AAA: The Hill, CBS; Florida homeowner impacts: Politico, The Guardian; Vermont & New York: Politico, Farmers: The Guardian, Gizmodo, The Hill, CBS, AP)

EXTREME HEATWAVES: Extreme heat is taking over parts of the United States and Europe (NPR), There’s no escaping climate change as extreme weather events abound (Washington Post $)

• SOUTHWEST US: Phoenix could break its record for longest hot spell as extreme heat persists (NPR, AP, Reuters, Axios), Texas heat wave means life revolves around air conditioning (Washington Post $), Vegas could break heat record as tens of millions across US endure scorching temperatures (AP), Mesa, Arizona, Mayor John Giles on city's preparation during historic heat wave (CBS)
• EUROPE: Extreme heat rips through Europe, bringing health risks for millions (Bloomberg $, Washington Post $, CNN, Bloomberg $, New York Times $, CNBC, AP, BBC), Countering overheating in Europe’s major cities amid a heat wave (CNN), Acropolis closes to protect tourists as Greece faces unprecedented heatwave (The Guardian), ‘I’ve never seen heat this bad. It’s not normal’: Italy struggles as temperature tops 40C (The Guardian), Heat wave lashes southern Europe, leaving some tourists in the lurch (LA Times $, The Guardian), New heat wave descends on Europe, as it struggles to adapt (New York Times $), Why this summer has been so hot (BBC)

COP28: Climate ministers raise pressure on COP28 summit host (FT $), Countries warn against over-reliance on carbon capture tech (Reuters)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: Oil companies ask court to sideline Hoboken climate lawsuit (E&E $), Warren Buffett’s Pacificorp sued by Oregon wineries over fire damage (Bloomberg $), Young people deserve better': Dems back Juliana climate case (E&E $)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: ‘Under no circumstances’: John Kerry rules out US paying climate reparations to low-income countries (CNBC, Climate Home, The Hill), G20 to discuss international debt architecture, more loans to developing nations (Reuters), G20 finance chiefs meeting in India address global challenges like climate change and rising debt (AP)

VIOLENT DENIAL: ‘Your heart races a bit’: US weather man threatened with death for mentioning climate crisis (The Guardian)

WHALE WARS: A whale tale: Inside the fight against offshore wind (E&E $)

PALATE CLEANSER: Book club: Essays of hope and action inspire readers (Yale Climate Connections)

PHILANTHROPY: This woman-led philanthropy is cutting billionaires out of climate funding decisions (The 19th* News)

FINANCE: An ambitious climate fund aims to break the mold (Axios, Bloomberg $), Azolla Ventures hopes its new $239M climate fund will help founders take bigger risks (Tech Crunch, ImpactAlpha)

FOSSIL VOLATILITY: Russia’s crude price exceeds G7 price cap as market braces for supply crunch (CNBC), Energy sector left behind as Wall Street exits bear market (AP)

INFLATION REDUCTION ACT: Report maps how climate law will cut CO2, boost renewables (E&E $)

SCOTUS: Mountain Valley asks US Supreme Court to vacate stays halting pipeline (Reuters, Politico Pro $)

AGENCIES: FEMA set to run out of money before peak hurricane season (Axios), GAO: Less than 25% of federal office space used (E&E News), US to reopen review of Nevada geothermal plant near endangered toad while legal battle is on hold (AP)

EPA: A reckoning in north Birmingham as EPA studies the ‘cumulative impacts’ of pollution and racism (Inside Climate News), Justice company could face Clean Water Act lawsuit (West Virginia Public Radio), Biden rejects oil refineries seeking biofuel-blending exemptions (Bloomberg $), US EPA denies nearly all biofuel blending exemption petitions (Reuters), Lawmakers question EPA water chief about WOTUS redo (E&E $)

• GREEN BANK: EPA unveils $20 billion to finance the fight against climate change (Washington Post $, AP, E&E $, The Hill, Wall Street Journal $, Bloomberg Law, Reuters, Washington Examiner)

DOE: DOE offers $5.1M in prizes for wind turbine recycling innovations (Utility Dive), The Secretary of Energy is on a road trip to promote its clean energy by 2050 goal (NPR)

DOI: Interior Secretary defends oil project that divides Alaska Natives (Washington Post $)

DOT: Transportation electrification toolkit for cities published by DOT (Utility Dive)

WHITE HOUSE: These activists want Biden world to ‘squirm in their seats’ (E&E News)

• SINO-AMERICAN DIPLOMACY: Climate envoy John Kerry is in China for talks the U.S. hopes will raise relations from historic low (AP), John Kerry goes to China. Here are 5 things to watch. (E&E News), Kerry says U.S. and China must set aside politics to tackle climate change (New York Times $, Politico, BBC, CNN, FT $, New York Times $, Reuters, Bloomberg $), China should be pressured on climate issues, Jake Sullivan says (Politico)

THE HILL: Remember the Climate Solutions Caucus? It’s back. (E&E News)

HOUSE: House OKs defense bill blocking Biden climate action (E&E News), House Republicans propose deep cuts for Interior, EPA (E&E News), The House just passed a defense bill with controversial abortion, LGBTQ measures. It doesn’t stand a chance in the Senate. (Politico)

SENATE: Cruz, Manchin add gas stove rider to Dem spending bill (E&E $), Senate adds language blocking gas stove ban to appropriations bill (The Hill, Axios), Cooking with a gas stove may be as bad as breathing secondhand cigarette smoke, study finds (LA Times $), Arizona senator leans on astronaut past to call for climate crisis action amid blistering heat wave (CNN)

TRIBES: How water rights impact heat wave relief on Navajo Nation(NPR),  The fight for the sacred Black Hills of South Dakota takes center stage in the documentary ‘Lakota Nation vs. United States’ (CNN)

CITIES AND STATES: Youngkin completes review of new regs to pull Virginia out of carbon market by year’s end (Virginia Mercury), Costly Deep Tunnel flooding project can’t handle Chicago area’s severe storms fueled by climate change (Chicago Tribune), DeSantis promised in 2018 that if elected governor, he would clean up Florida’s toxic algae. The algae are still blooming (Inside Climate News), Nevada departs state climate alliance (E&E $), Ohio commission considers state park drilling requests under expedited timeline (Energy News Network), California wants to share energy with Western states despite setbacks (Politico Pro $)

FERC: D.C. Circuit boots divisive Southeast market proposal back to FERC (Politico Pro $), FERC reverses course, rejects SPP regional transmission cost allocation pathway for wind-heavy zones (Utility Dive)

IMPACTS: For farmworkers recovering from Central Valley flooding, the safety net is thin (NPR), Heat, flooding and smoke: The US is in the midst of a summer of extremes (NBC), Days of torrential rain in South Korea leave at least 26 dead in landslides and floods (AP, AP), South Korea’s monsoon rains set off deadly landslides and flooding (New York Times $), As Vermont assesses flooding damage, the forecast calls for more rain (Boston Globe $), Pennsylvania flooding leaves 5 dead, 2 missing after cars are washed away (Washington Post $), Climate change fueling increase of lone star tick sightings in Minnesota (CBS), CNN Meteorologist says world must get used to records being broken ‘day after day after day’ (CNN), Earth sizzled to a global heat record in June. And July is getting hotter, experts say (LA Times $), El Niño settles in: Why we may see more extreme temperatures (The Hill), Florida's rising water temperatures raise concerns for health of coral reefs, scientists say (Reuters), The arctic is a freezer that’s losing power (Wired)

INDIA: In photos: Delhi floods as monsoon rains swell river to record levels (Washington Post $),  At least 100 dead in northern India after extreme monsoon flooding (Washington Post $, BBC),

YIKES: Record-breaking heat, flooding, wildfires and monsoons are slamming the world. It's only just begun. (CBS), Underground heat is sinking our cities, study says (Gizmodo), When El Niño exacerbates global warming: Record heat, record flooding, record wildfires (CNBC), Will the rainy weather raise the risk of mosquito-borne illnesses in New England this summer? (Boston Globe $), Extreme weather threatens the best-kept art of the ancient silk road (Washington Post $), Global hunger enters a grim ‘new normal’ (Washington Post $)

HEAT: Bleak records keep coming: heat waves are smothering the planet (Mother Jones), Meteorologists say Earth sizzled to a global heat record in June and July has been getting hotter (AP), Extreme heat can snarl flights even without a cloud in the sky (USA Today, CNN), Five non-climate reasons why danger of extreme heat is rising (The Hill), Heat waves now last longer, spurring an air-conditioning boom (Wall Street Journal $), Hot trends, hotter temperatures (New York Times $), In New Mexico, temperatures are too high for birds to use their usual coping methods (NPR), Love the A/C during the heat wave? What if you were paid to cut back? (Houston Chronicle), Nearly 62,000 people died from record-breaking heat in Europe last summer. It’s a lesson for the US, too (CNN), Why a power outage amid this Phoenix heat wave would be so deadly (Washington Post $), Heat wave bakes southern Europe, sparking warnings to stay inside, drink water and limit exercise (AP)

• FLORIDA, MAN: Florida ocean temperatures peak to almost 100 degrees amid heatwave: 'You really can't cool off' (CBS), Ocean heat around Florida is ‘unprecedented,’ and scientists are warning of major impacts (CNN)

WILDFIRES: Canadian wildfires burn a record 25 million acres with no end in sight (Bloomberg $), California's unusual bout of rain and snow is helping stave off fire season (NPR), Minnesota and Wisconsin issue air quality alerts amid a new round of Canada smoke (NPR), Smoke from Canadian wildfires creates unhealthy conditions from Montana to Ohio (AP) 

HURRICANES: Hurricane Calvin weakens to a tropical storm as it heads toward hawaii (New York Times $), Subtropical Storm Don forms in the remote Atlantic  (Yale Climate Connections, AP)

DROUGHT: America’s most crucial waterway is drying out (Bloomberg $)

WATER: New York has $1.1 billion to fight flooding. Will it be enough? (New York Times $), Only 10% of national TV news segments about the catastrophic flooding in the Northeast mentioned climate change (Media Matters), Storms raise flood risk for New York, halt airport operations (Bloomberg $), Vermont starts long road to recovery from historic floods, helped by army of volunteers (AP), Why Arizona keeps growing alfalfa in the desert even as water concerns grow (Bloomberg $)

SEA THE CHANGE: The ocean is turning green. Yes, it’s climate change. (Grist), Climate Change is shifting the color of Earth’s oceans (Smithsonian Magazine), Study: Oceans are changing color, and climate change is likely to blame (Axios)

BOOZE: Climate of change brings a new generation of British wine (Reuters)

RENEWABLES: ‘Giant methane factories’: Hydropower has long been touted as clean energy. But is it? (Inside Climate News), American boat patrols waters around new offshore wind farms to protect jobs (AP), European power prices fall below zero with green power boom (Bloomberg $), Toshiba, General Electric to build offshore wind equipment supply chain in Japan, Nikkei reports (Reuters)

BUILDINGS: As climate shocks multiply, designers seek holy grail: Disaster-proof homes (New York Times $), Can extremely reflective white paint save the planet? (New York Magazine), Little-known but efficient, a different way to heat and cool your house (AP)

LNG: Chart: The US is now exporting more LNG than ever before (Canary Media), Company confirms it has found new funding to build a massive gas terminal at the Port of Brownsville (Texas Tribune), Shell to supply Morocco with LNG in 12-year deal (Reuters)

OIL & GAS: Natural gas can rival coal's climate-warming potential when leaks are counted (NPR), How geopolitics have reshaped natural gas markets (Forbes), Record-setting LNG project FID heads a slate of key releases (Forbes)

PLASTICS: Lake Tahoe has higher concentration of microplastics than ocean trash heap (LA Times $), Q&A: the truth about those plastic recycling labels (Inside Climate News)

PIPELINES: Exxon buys pipeline operator, making big bet on carbon (Wall Street Journal $, E&E $), Federal court rules Iowa county can't regulate CO2 pipeline (E&E $)

GRID: Grid rewiring: An answer for Biden’s climate goals? (E&E News), New York grid operator identifies electricity shortfall for 2025 (E&E $), US grid congestion costs jumped 56% to $20.8B in 2022: report (Utility Dive)

EVs: A new job for electric vehicles: powering homes during Blackouts (New York Times $), Electric big rigs hit the streets, but chargers are scarce (Wall Street Journal $)

ACTIVISM: Activist Bill McKibben rallies adults over age 60 to fight for climate action (Yale Climate Connections), Climate activists disrupted Wimbledon, exposed split in movement (Washington Post $), Climate activists target Obama admin alum at Harvard (E&E $), Climate protesters disrupted the congressional softball game. Lawmakers had a dance party (Roll Call), Police arrest five for ‘breach of peace’ after climate protest at Ineos oil refinery (The Independent), Protest at East Hampton airport over private jet use to shut down airport (Teen Vogue), These climate activists are standing up to German police (TIME), Young climate activists turn up the heat on Keir Starmer (BBC)

AVIATION: Carbon-free flights promised 'within two years' (BBC)

AGRICULTURE: At a shuttered Texas coal mine, a 1-acre garden is helping feed 2,000 people per month (Texas Tribune), Farm fields don’t just feed us. They store carbon. But a big question is how much (AP), How a Saudi firm tapped a gusher of water in drought-stricken Arizona (Washington Post $), Scientists are growing seeds in space to help adapt to climate change on Earth (CNN)

CARBON CAPTURE: California shows off new $25 million carbon capture technology project (Bloomberg $), Exxon Mobil buys Denbury, pipeline company with carbon capture expertise, for $5 billion (AP), How Exxon's $4.9B deal to buy Denbury may reshape the emerging carbon capture landscape (Houston Chronicle), Oil companies want to remove carbon from the air — using taxpayer dollars (E&E News), Power company eyes first gas CCS plant in California (E&E $)

CARS: Tesla begins cybertruck production after yearslong wait (Wall Street Journal $), Why hydrogen cars refuse to die (Wall Street Journal $)

BIG GREENS: Audubon employees fume over uneven benefits (E&E $)

DEEP SEA MINING: Why deep sea mining is so 'deeply destructive' (Mother Jones)

PFAS: Risk of tap water exposure to toxic PFAS chemicals higher in Southern California (LA Times $), Senators introduce 2 PFAS-centered bills (E&E $)

WILDLIFE: How climate change and human activity are impacting horseshoe crabs amid annual count (Delaware Public Radio)

INTERNATIONAL: Brazil wants 10-year pause on deep sea mining as UN agency under pressure to draft regulations (AP), Climate-change denial heats up Spain’s election (Bloomberg $), EDP weighing Brazil green hydrogen plant for exports to Germany, CEO says (Reuters), Five Norwegian green industry projects receive $573 million in EU funding (Reuters), NSW delays decision about future of country’s biggest power station until after energy security review (The Guardian), Top UK energy firms to warn Rishi Sunak: ‘Don’t back off green agenda’ (The Guardian), What to know before Japan releases water from Fukushima nuclear plant (Washington Post $), Welsh steelworks at breaking point over the cost of cleaning up its act (The Guardian)

• Call California’s heat dome and other extreme weather events what they are — climate change in action (San Francisco Chronicle, Adam Johnson op-ed)
• America can’t build a green economy without China (New York Times, Robinson Meyer op-ed $)
• Climate change isn't a top issue for Democrats or Republicans. Record heat should change that. (USA Today, Clifford Young op-ed)
• Mountain Valley Pipeline must stop spreading false promises (The Roanoke Times, Russell Chisholm op-ed)
• Climate change is worsening the world’s refugee crisis. Here’s one way leaders can help (Broward Sun-Sentinel, Rwaida Gharib op-ed)
• Maine is the new Florida for climate migrants (Bloomberg, Conor Sen op-ed $)
• Environmental markets should guide federal land use (The Hill, Dominic P. Parker op-ed)
• POV: Carbon offsets are not enough. Leaders need to change the way we work to address climate change (Fast Company, John H. Chuang op-ed)
• As heat records break, the climate movement has the right answers – but the words are all wrong (The Guardian, Jonathan Freedland op-ed)
• Climate change is the next frontier of America’s culture wars. Corporations are still doing the right thing–and hoping no one notices (Fortune, Bill Novelli op-ed)
• The UK isn’t ready for the heat that’s coming (Bloomberg, Lara Williams op-ed $)
• Storms don't have to be this catastrophic (Bloomberg, Mark Gongloff op-ed $)
• The Guardian view on a water crisis: Uruguay points to a wider issue – and to solutions (The Guardian Editorial Board)
• President Biden should address the nation and declare war ... on climate change (Philadelphia Inquirer, Will Bunch op-ed)
• The fallacy of climate change and macroeconomic modeling (The Hill, William F. Shughart II op-ed)
• Paying the price: Let market forces end the fossil fuel era (The Hill, William S. Becker op-ed)
• When it comes to minerals for clean energy, the United States can control much of its own fate (The Hill, Philip Rossetti op-ed)
• My love affair with air-conditioning (Wall Street Journal, Aatish Taseer Essay $)
• A simple fan can fix the hottest day (Wall Street Journal, Mark Naida op-ed $)

Climate Disinfo Reaches New Artistic Heights As Fossil Fools Churn Out Propaganda Poems

Anti-climate cretins are unleashing their inner artistic sparks through a new medium: poems. You read that right! Writing climate mis/disinformation in regular old sentences is passé, and fossil fools are now choosing to communicate through bizarrely formatted, unbelievably cringey attempts at poetry.

Jordan Peterson, who is an extreme misogynist, a contractor of the fracker-backed disinformation outlet The Daily Wire, and a documented climate disinformer, has recently converted his entire Twitter page into an eccentric and embarrassing collection of short-form poems. Last Friday, in a reply to Greenpeace’s tweet about the climate emergency, Peterson wrote:

“The

Emergency

Is

The screaming self-righteous hordes

Of Chicken Littles”

On the same day, Peterson replied to climate liar Bernie Spofforth’s tweet attacking net zero policies, remarking:

“Stupid

Polluting

Poor

People

And so many of them

Swarming about

Like beetles”

As funny as these mini-poems are, it doesn’t seem like Peterson’s joking, since all his tweets are now formatted like this. We won’t subject you to any more examples of Peterson’s painfully poor poetry, but suffice to say, he is clearly in his “I’m 14 and this is deep” era and hoping to bring back 2017's plums in the icebox meme.

Peterson isn’t the only climate disinformer practicing his creative writing skills, though. Last Friday, alleged rapist and human trafficker Andrew Tate rekindled his December feud with climate activist Greta Thunberg, sharing a picture of Thunberg with her middle fingers up and writing the following unhinged sentence:

“You are burning in the fiery pits of hell when a small demon crawls out from under a rock to observe your suffering.”

All we can say is that we’re not surprised that Tate doesn’t have a career in the literary arts! Last week, Tate also appeared on the Twitter show of ousted Fox News host and climate change denier Tucker Carlson, where he made nonsensical climate claims.

Small-time anti-climate influencers are also indulging their artistic urges. The UK-based Twitter user known as “Latimer Alder” uses random capitalization and line breaks to spice up his anti-climate tweets, giving us gems like:

“Are Just Stop Oilers really trying to Save the World?

Or just to Boost their Egos?”

and

“It rains nearly everywhere.

Sometimes quite heavy

Get over it.”

Fans of long-form poetry might enjoy poems by Marjorie Steele, a supposedly liberal Fox News guest and self-described “hillbilly gnostic pagan.” Mirroring the rhetoric of Michigan GOP legislators, Steele has argued that the Gotion electric vehicle battery plant “will be an environmental catastrophe.” Back in May, she wrote a typo-ridden 494-word poem describing how her community apparently came together to oppose the plant. Here’s an excerpt:

“After Gotion, religious zealoutry waned

and a true spiritual awakening began

as neighbors awakened to see one another

and the light in each of us.

And the finger pointing,

and the civil rights denying,

and the virtue signalling,

and the cycle of abuse taught to us by the systems

which have abused us–each symptom of trauma

dissipated, and we sang

together

by the river

beneath the trees

upon the rich fields and pasture

of which we are blessed to be stewards.”

Fossil fools writing strange poems to undermine climate action certainly wasn’t on our 2023 bingo cards, but here we are! In any case, garbage climate lies are still trash no matter the writer’s artistic aspirations. To all the climate liars turned wannabe poets out there, we’ve got a haiku for you!

Your bad poetry

Only makes your climate lies

More embarrassing!

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