Gaza Suffers From Heat, Lack Of Power: Triple-digit heat in the Gaza Strip is exacerbating electricity shortages and residents' frustrations with both Hamas and Israel, Reuters reports. The more-than 2.3 million people living in the narrow piece of land under a 16-year Israeli blockade endure power outages for as much as 12 hours a day. "Our dreams have shrunk from (achieving) the right of return and liberating the homeland to one extra hour of electricity," local journalist Abdel-Hamid Abdel-Ati told Reuters (parenthetical Reuters'). Some people and businesses are able to afford solar panels or generators to lessen the impacts of the power cuts, but others are forced to use poor substitutes or go without. "We haven't witnessed such heat in years, and we get electricity for around six hours a day, so I can't fan my children, so I am using the plastic tray to fan them because of the severe heat," Yasmin Fojo, a mother of five from Nahrelbared camp in southern Gaza Strip, told Reuters. "I don't have money to buy a fan and if I did they would cut off the power and I end up in the heat, therefore, I am using those plastic trays," added 90-year-old, Um Khattab Dula. (Reuters)

Port St. Joe LNG Export Facility Won't Be Built: A controversial LNG export project in Port St. Joe, Florida, will not be built, marking a huge win for community advocates concerned about the dangers of pollution and potential explosions. The gas facility would have been built on the site of a shuttered paper mill, continuing a legacy of polluting facilities in the predominantly Black neighborhood on the north side of the town's railroad tracks. Longtime Port St Joe Resident Chester Davis explained the “mill … was harmful to this community. And to put another gas plant in here, that we think or based upon the history, will be just as harmful.” “I think it’s a real testament to the incredible organizing by the people of Port Saint Joe,” Energy Program Director for Public Citizen, Tyson Slocum said. “Once they started to learn about what had been negotiated behind closed doors, they rose up in very clear opposition to building an LNG export terminal.” (MyPanhandle, The Star)

Gas Failures Responsible For 70% Of December '22 PJM Outages: Gas-fired power power plants accounted for approximately 70% of unplanned outages during so-called Winter Storm Elliot last December, a report released Monday by the country's biggest grid operator revealed. Nearly one-quarter of PJM Interconnection generating capacity was unexpectedly offline during the storm. “Gas plants and dual-fuel gas plants made up the majority of outages primarily due to mechanical issues likely resulting from the extreme cold,” the report said, along with “a significant level of gas supply issues.” (Utility Dive, E&E $, Politico Pro $)

Arizona Hits 110°F For 19th-Straight Day: Arizona set a new record Tuesday, reaching 110°F or more for the 19th-consecutive day. It's a record unlikely to last long, however, with forecasts predicting high temperatures of at least 115°F for another week or more. The extreme heat is especially dangerous — especially for unhoused people, incarcerated people, and those unable to afford air conditioning — given how little it abates overnight with low temperatures never dropping below 90°F Monday or Tuesday. “Heat makes people sick. Heat makes people die,” Dr. Erik Mattison, director of the emergency department at Dignity Health Chandler Regional Medical Center in Phoenix told the AP. Electricity demand in the state also hit all-time highs multiple times in the last week. The heatwave pummeling the southern U.S. is one of four major heat domes across three continents — the others are over the North Atlantic, North Africa and the Mediterranean, and another in southern Asia where the heat index at Persian Gulf International Airport in Iran reported a heat index of 152°F over the weekend. (Arizona heat: AP, Washington Post $, The Guardian, New York Times $, The Hill, Democracy Now, New York Times $, Axios; Arizona power: Reuters; Arizona Republic; Incarcerated people: AP; Global heat: Bloomberg $, New York Times $, Axios, CNN, Axios PHOTOS; Iran heat: Washington Post $; Climate Signals background: Extreme heat and heatwaves)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Energy company plotted gas plant in small Pennsylvania town — but no one told residents (The Intercept), Redlined Black communities face higher risk of heart failure (Black Wall Street Times)

COP28: Fake Twitter profiles, Wikipedia editing and PR battles: Inside the push to greenwash the COP28 climate summit (CNN)

FOSSIL FUELED WAR: Europe faces winter gas crisis if Russia halts supplies, IEA warns (FT $), Russia sends oil through the Arctic again to speed up delivery to China (Bloomberg $), Russian crude oil exports sink to six-month low (OilPrice), Climate and violence hobble Nigeria’s push to rely on its own wheat after the hit from Russia’s war (AP, AP)

• SEEMS UNHELPFUL: Top US firms supplied equipment to keep Russian oil flowing after Ukraine invasion (AP)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Political backing for EU Green Deal fizzles despite heat wave (Politico Pro $), EU carbon import tax shifts climate burden, South Africa says (Bloomberg $), G20 panel says additional $3 trln needed by 2030 towards climate action (Reuters)

• KERRY IN CHINA: Two climate old timers get back on track in Beijing (Bloomberg $), US, China discuss curbing coal usage and methane emissions (PBS NewsHour), In China, Kerry is surrounded by coal — and renewables (E&E $), US envoy Kerry says climate cooperation could redefine US-China ties (Reuters), US and China on climate: How the world’s two largest polluters stack up (New York Times $)

DENIAL & DELUSION: How urban planning turned into a climate conspiracy theory (E&E News)

GAS LEAKS: Gas leaked from bad fitting at Pennsylvania chocolate factory where 7 died in blast, report says (AP)

FINANCE: BlackRock forges a new bond with Big Oil (New York Times $), Few 'sustainable' funds aligned with EU green criteria, MSCI finds (Reuters)

DISEASE: A warming planet, pathogens, and diseases (Grist)

COLONIAL PATTERNS: No more plundering: Can Africa take control in green mineral rush? (Context)

EPA: Appeals court rejects refiners' challenge to EPA extension rule (Politico Pro $), EPA watchdog calls for more agency leadership on Chesapeake cleanup (Politico Pro $)

DOI: 9th Circuit upholds Interior approval of massive lithium mine (E&E News), Fight over Pride flag, LGBTQ rights lands at national parks (E&E News), For clean energy, miners want a road in one of the most remote national parks (Washington Post $)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden approves additional aid to Vermont after severe storms, flooding (The Hill), John Kerry says 'under no circumstances' will US commit to climate reparations (Democracy Now)

THE HILL: Dems ask EPA to reject Texas' bid to oversee CO2 wells (E&E $), Lawmaker pushed Biden to talk about reflecting sun rays. Now what? (E&E News), Lawmakers urge NRC to address several issues in draft licensing framework for advanced reactors (Utility Dive)

HOUSE: House GOP appropriators double down on spending cuts in Interior-EPA report (Politico Pro $), House GOP forms group to rewrite Endangered Species Act (E&E $)

SENATE: Elizabeth Warren calls out Elon Musk for ‘unavoidable’ conflicts of interest caused by Twitter takeover (CNN)

ELECTIONS: Congressional Black Caucus aligned super PAC shakes up 2024 election (The Root), Energy donors are shelling out for Trump rivals (E&E News)

TRIBES: Facing a plunge in salmon numbers in the Kuskokwim and Yukon rivers, [Indigenous] Alaskans seek a voice in fishing policy (Inside Climate News)

CITIES AND STATES: Connecticut mapping tool aims to bring visibility to environmental justice communities (Energy News Network), Missouri utility regulators plan for peak pricing prompts pushback from top Republican (Missouri Independent), N.C. moves to defang building regulators, risking climate goals (E&E $), Puerto Rico governor says power grid issues keep him up at night (Politico Pro $), South Dakota lawmakers push for special session against carbon capture pipeline (AP), Oklahoma considers natural gas manipulation case over 2021 storm (BNN Bloomberg Canada)

• TEXAS: Texas troopers told to push children into Rio Grande, deny water to migrants, records say (Houston Chronicle, Texas Public Radio, Newsweek, Dallas Morning News, Texas Tribune, USA Today, Axios, HuffPost, The Guardian, Esquire, CNN), Mexico files border boundaries complaint over Texas’ floating barrier plan on Rio Grande (AP)
• CALIFORNIA: Volunteers help identify heat-vulnerable neighborhoods in San Francisco (Yale Climate Connections)

PIPELINES: As Mountain Valley Pipeline debate continues, who really wants it? (West Virginia Public Radio), Manchin backs Mountain Valley Pipeline bid for SCOTUS to lift construction pause (Politico Pro $), Federal-state panel led by Manchin’s wife backs gas hub (E&E $)

IMPACTS: US hit by blazing heat, smoky air, tropical storm all at once (Reuters factbox), ‘This is just the beginning’: Extreme heat around the world as fires rage in southern Europe (CNN), A hotter, sicker world (Grist), Corals are starting to bleach as global ocean temperatures hit record highs (The Conversation), Major typhoon strikes southern China amid record heat wave (Democracy Now), This summer is on track to be among Texas’ most extreme (Texas Tribune), US global food security envoy 'very concerned' about El Niño (Axios), 11 dead after a wall collapses near an under-construction bridge in Pakistan during monsoon rains (AP), There's no safe port in a changing climate (Axios)

HEAT: What do the ‘supercharged’ Northern Hemisphere heatwaves mean for the Australian summer? (The Guardian explainer), Hospitals struggle to keep people cool as heat wave continues (CBS), Extreme heat and weather around the world – in pictures (The Guardian), Miami's worst heat wave breaks records on land and sea (Axios), Extreme heat is ruining vacations. Here’s how to cope. (Washington Post $), World reels from wildfires, floods as US and China discuss climate crisis (Reuters), The economic fallout from extreme heat will rise over time (New York Times $), The health risks of extreme heat (Reuters), 

• EUROPE: Southern Europe soars to record temperatures as heat wave peaks (Washington Post $), So far, Europe’s electricity systems are coping with the heat. (New York Times $), Scorching Europe struggles to adapt to near-record temperatures (FT $), Tourists and residents warned to stay inside as deadly heat hits Europe during peak travel season (AP), Europe's sweltering summer could send tourists to cooler climes (Reuters), Italians’ electricity use surges as heat wave blankets country (Bloomberg $), Italian hospitals report sharp rise in emergency cases as Rome hits 41.8C (The Guardian)
• OLYMPICS: As heatwave bakes Europe, Paris keeps eye on weather models (Reuters)
• HEART ATTACKS: Heart attack warning during global heatwave (AP, The Hill)
• DO NOT DO THIS: In 128-degree Death Valley, a man dressed as Darth Vader ran a mile (Washington Post $)

WILDFIRES: Police evacuate Swiss mountain villages as wildfires spread – video (The Guardian), Switzerland fights to contain forest fire near Italy border as winds pick up (Reuters), Syria struggles to contain wildfires as temperatures rise (Reuters), Wildfire rips through California valley as seen in timelapse video (The Guardian)

• CANADA: How Canada’s record wildfires got so bad, so fast (New York Times $), ‘Zombie fires’ in the Arctic: Canada’s extreme wildfire season offers a glimpse of new risks in a warmer, drier future (The Conversation), As wildfires gobble more Canadian acreage, crews struggle to even keep up (CNN), Why Canada’s wildfires will affect air quality for weeks to come (Vox), Wildfire smoke is easing in eastern US but more is building in Canada (Washington Post $), Wildfires have burned a record amount of area in the Canadian province of British Columbia (AP), Canadian wildfires displace Indigenous communities (AP)
• GREECE: Wildfires in Greece close highways and threaten an oil refinery, as the EU sends firefighting planes (AP, The Guardian), Drone footage shows scale of destruction – video (The Guardian), Firefighters battle wildfires surrounding Athens as second heat wave hits the Mediterranean country (AP)

FLOODING: The 'new abnormal': The rise of extreme flooding, briefly explained (Vox), The world is reeling from record heat and flooding. Scientists say its the cost of climate inaction (Inside Climate News)

HURRICANES: Tropical Storm Calvin to bring heavy rain, strong winds to Hawaii (Washington Post $)

DROUGHT: Drought could cause Western carbon emissions to surge on reduced hydro: report (Utility Dive), Facing a future of drought, Spain turns to medieval solutions and ‘ancient wisdom’ (New York Times $)

• IRAN: As water shortages intensify Iran’s heat wave, authorities shift blame (Washington Post $)

WATER: A river runs above us (Hakai Magazine)

INSURANCE: After devastating 2022 hurricane season, AAA not renewing some insurance policies in Florida (AP), Insurers exploit climate crisis to gut consumer protections (The Lever)

BOOZE: Climate change is turning up the heat for winemakers (Atmos)

WORKERS: Target workers can now wear shorts (CNN), Pennsylvania locomotive manufacturing workers are striking for greener jobs (Grist), Heat divide leaves low-income workers among the most vulnerable (New York Times $)

AFFORDABLE HOUSING: Using green banks to solve America’s affordable housing crisis – and climate change at the same time (The Conversation)

RENEWABLES: Energy startup says it has achieved geothermal tech breakthrough (Bloomberg $), Germany adds 60% more onshore wind power in H1 but pace seen too slow (Reuters, OilPrice), Solar PPA prices drop for first time since onset of COVID-19: LevelTen (Utility Dive), US solar contract prices stabilize on improved panel supplies-report (Reuters)

BATTERIES: Battery storage systems could face rapid asset degradation, especially with arbitrage: Fitch (Utility Dive)

BUILDINGS: What’s a home energy audit — and should you get one? (Canary Media)

LNG: World’s top LNG players push for more, but greener, gas investments (Reuters, FT $)

METHANE: Japan plans climate initiative to help cut methane emissions (Bloomberg $)

OIL & GAS: US gas system investments: Stranded assets or stranded customers? (Context), Gas stoves are barely a blip in US home energy consumption (Bloomberg $), US natgas prices jump 5% as brutal heatwave lingers (Reuters)

PLASTICS: Experts study using waste plastic in roads and more, but find the practice isn’t ready for prime time (Inside Climate News)

MINING: Deep-sea mining can chase off marine life for months — study (E&E $)

EVs: Battle over US EV credits heats up with carmakers left idling (Bloomberg $), Tesla faces citizen grilling on impact of German plant expansion (Reuters), India’s Tata will build a $5-billion new electric car battery factory in the UK (AP)

AVIATION: British tycoon plans to launch an electric airline that will serve plant-based food (CNBC)

BOOKS: Eight excellent books on sea level rise risk for US cities (Yale Climate Connections)

BUSINESSES: Amazon says its carbon emissions fell for first time in 2022 (Bloomberg $)

FOOD: Surging frozen food demand may stress critical cold storage supply chains (CNBC)

CARBON PRICING: Hedge fund manager who cashed in on EU carbon credit rally bets prices will tumble (FT $)

CARBON CAPTURE: What’s behind Exxon’s big carbon capture deal? Here are 3 theories. (Heatmap $)

AL GORE: Al Gore on extreme heat and the fight against fossil fuels (New York Times $)

INTERNATIONAL: Australia will update the ‘fantasy’ net zero plan it inherited (Climate Home), China expects no major blackouts despite blazing hot summer (OilPrice), Climate change is at the heart of the Spanish general election (CNBC), Paris when it sizzles: The city of light aims to get smart on heat (Yale Environment 360), Petro courts foreign investors to fulfil Colombia’s ‘potential’ beyond oil (FT $), Xi says China will act on climate goals at its own pace (New York Times $, Washington Post $), China leading global electric vehicle production (NBC), India sets sights on home-mined minerals to boost its clean energy plans (AP)

• My city’s drinking water is salty and foul. Will your city’s be next? (New York Times, Guillermo Garat op-ed $)
• America faces another high-wire moment: This one around its energy future (Utility Dive, Amy Andryszak and Jason Grumet op-ed)
• There is no ‘new normal’: absent drastic action, the climate will only get worse (The Hill, Andrew Pershing op-ed)
• Ever-increasing storms don’t have to be this catastrophic (Mercury News, Mark Gongloff op-ed)

Extreme Heat Across US Just Your Imagination, WSJ's Deniers Insist As They Praise A/C

Sometimes climate disinformation is sophisticated, as is the case with slickly-produced oil industry advertisements. Sometimes, it's painfully basic. For the past two weeks, as people in the southwestern US have been sweating through a record-breaking heatwave and the entire world has been breaking heat records day after day, deniers have insisted that you're just imagining the sweat running down your back the moment you step out of the air-conditioning. Even our friends over at TheRighting noticed how rabidly well-funded right-wing media denied the undeniable heat, and of course Media Matters gave it a thorough treatment. 

For example, the industry-funded Heartland Institute ran a number of posts denying the mainstream coverage of the July 4th week's record-breaking temperatures. Not only that, but The Wall Street Journal's opinion page (again) platformed Steve Milloy, who denied that heat and averages exist. (Denial's basically Milloy's product — he's denied both the cancer risk of second-hand smoke for his tobacco clients as well as air pollution and climate harms.) 

That the record global temperature was broken back-to-back? Pay no mind to it, says Milloy, as "Average global temperature is a concept invented by and for the global-warming hypothesis. It is more a political concept than a scientific one. The Earth and its atmosphere is large and diverse, and no place is meaningfully average." 

Yes, now even basic mathematical concepts like an average are apparently part of a global scam! Math? Numbers? Thermometers? All part of the sinister scheme! Rejoice, oh wicked Alarmists, for your power and influence knows no bounds! 

According to Milloy, "Average global temperature also changes on [a] seasonal basis: Temperatures are higher globally during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer because of more sunlight-trapping land." Okay, so it's warm in the summer in the North; that's not exactly news to climate scientists putting together temperature records, or most anyone else for that matter. But here’s the kicker: To support the contention that the Climate Reanalyzer record was biased by summer in the north, Milloy points to the South Pole! 

Without missing a beat, in the same paragraph as the above quote about the Northern Hemisphere summer being the reason for the record heat, Milloy wrote that "estimated temperatures in early July were skewed by a heat wave in the Antarctic, where areas may have warmed some Antarctic temperatures by as much as 43 degrees." 

Why worry about global warming, just because the Antarctic ice, which could raise sea levels by 187 feet if melted, is experiencing a 43 degree heat wave — in the middle of (its) winter!? 

Then, much as the heat records fell back to back, the WSJ followed Milloy's embarrassing self-denial with not one but two veritable paeans to air conditioning, a sweaty double-implicit admission that it's been unbearably, nay, undeniably hot. 

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