Racist-Built Highways Cost Black Neighborhoods Billions: Just 16 miles of intra-urban highways through disproportionately Black neighborhoods Washington DC and Atlanta, Georgia, cost homeowners there more than $2 billion in lost home values, and cost the cities $14 billion in lost tax revenue, a new report from Smart Growth America reveals. The financial and cultural costs of those five miles of I-395 and I-695 in Southwest and Southeast DC, and 11 miles of I-20 in Atlanta are emblematic of the nationwide racist construction of interstates through communities of color — projects that upended those communities when built and which continue to bring pollution from cars driven by white suburbanites into those communities. “The economic benefits that the transportation community gives for building these roadways and expanding them are more theoretical about saving time, but what was damaged was quite concrete,” Beth Osborne, of Smart Growth America, told Bloomberg. “More suburban white commuters gained time with theoretical monetary benefit, and often Black and brown families lost generational wealth in order to accommodate that.” (Bloomberg $)

As Hawai'i Fires Fade, New Worries Emerge: Maui County cited increased wildfire risks in its lawsuit against fossil fuel companies, but while many are criticizing the lack of preparedness, others, in Hawaiʻi and elsewhere, are focusing on what the fires destroyed, and what comes next for survivors. Maui's 2020 lawsuit (still ongoing) accused major oil and gas companies of engaging in a “coordinated, multifront effort to conceal and deny their own knowledge” of the damage of their products, among which was the "increased frequency, intensity, and destructive force” of wildfires supercharged by climate change. In addition to the at least 110 people killed directly by the fires, and much like the rest of Lāhainā, the Na 'Aikane o Maui Cultural and Research Center burned down. Lost were "old documents. Maps. Genealogy. Books that were actually signed by our kings," Ke'eamoku Kapu, the center's steward, told NPR. In addition to the destroyed artifacts, Kapu also worries about the dispossession and dislocation of Native Hawaiians in the wake of the fires. "There's a lot of distrust right now," Kapu said. "What is it going to take to rebuild the capital of the kingdom once again? What is it going to take? This is our legacy we're talking about. What is the payout for losing that?" Of particular concern in the already-housing-scarce region is "climate gentrification" exacerbating the affordable housing crisis. The aftermath of the Maui fires is is one of the “scariest opportunities for gentrification” Jennifer Gray Thompson, head of After the Fire USA, has ever seen, she told the AP, because of “the very high land values and the intense level of trauma and the people who are unscrupulous who will come in to try to take advantage of that.” The fires caused about $3.2 billion in insured losses and more than $5.5 billion total, according to Karen Clark & Co. and federal estimates, respectively. In Maui and elsewhere, the long-term effects of the physical, cognitive, and emotional trauma of wildfires — a form of PTSD survivors call "fire brain" — are coming into greater focus. “People see the environment as a refuge, a positive healing thing. … When something you see as positive turns against you, that’s a difficult thing for many people to deal with,” Dhakshin Ramanathan, associate professor in residence in psychiatry at the University of California at San Diego, told the Washington Post. “Climate will be a sustained stress that will be harder to treat." (Lawsuit: New York Times $; Preparation criticism: The Hill, New York Times $, Grist, The Atlantic; Climate gentrification: AP; Local aftermath: NPR, Washington Post $; Hawaiian Electric: New York Times $, Bloomberg $; Financial costs: Bloomberg $; Post-wildfire trauma: Washington Post $, LA Times $, Reuters, NPR, NPR; Climate Signals background: Wildfires)

First SoCal Hurricane Since '39 Drops Years Worth Of Rain: The remains of Hurricane Hilary, now a post-tropical storm, is inundating Southern California and northwestern Mexico, with “continued life-threatening and locally catastrophic flooding” according to the National Hurricane Center. The first tropical storm to hit Southern California since 1939, Hilary hit some areas with over a year of rainfall at once, setting off dangerous flash flooding, and threatening mudslide-prone regions of both Mexico and Southern California. “The risk in the southeastern deserts is genuinely alarming,” UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain told the New York Times. “We’re talking, in some cases, it will be multiple years’ worth of rainfall.” And because when it rains, it (proverbially) pours, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake centered on Ojai, California, rattled the water-logged region on Sunday. (Storm: AP, AP, CNN, Axios, Yale Climate Connections; Mudslides: KTLA; Swain: New York Times $; Year of extremes: New York Times $; Climate Signals background: Hurricanes)

ENVIRONMENTAL (IN)JUSTICE: The case for building green spaces in under-represented communities amid extreme heat (WABC-TV), Why it’s more expensive for Black towns to borrow money (Grist), Suicide watch incidents in Louisiana prisons spike by nearly a third on extreme heat days, a new study finds (Inside Climate News)

COP28: Wealthy oil nation lays groundwork for ‘eye-popping’ climate fund (Politico), Ethiopia reiterates leadership in Africa’s climate action at COP 28 (Prensa Latina)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: Hawaii’s climate-change lawsuit going to trial next summer (CNN), Utilities are getting sued over wildfires. Who’s bearing the cost? (Grist)

• MONTANA CLIMATE TRIAL: Montana’s landmark climate ruling: Three key takeaways (The Guardian)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: How geopolitics is complicating the move to clean energy (New York Times $)

DENIAL: Florida approved a PragerU climate cartoon for schools. We asked a scientist to fact-check it. (Mother Jones), No, sea level rise over past 20,000 years doesn't prove climate change is a 'scam' (USA Today fact check), Online posts spread misinformation about FEMA aid following Maui wildfires (AP), Oil companies are hiring TikTok influencers to court young people (Washington Post $)

THE KIDS ARE … RESPONDING RATIONALLY: With TikTok and lawsuits, Gen Z takes on climate change (New York Times $)

CLIMATE COMMUNICATION: All talk and, yes, action. Could conversations about climate change be a solution? (USA Today), Talking to conservatives about climate change (The New Yorker $)

GOP vs. ESG: ESG’s long history: 1700s to today (Wall Street Journal $)

🐦🗑️🔥: Environmental activists are fleeing Elon Musk's Twitter (Quartz)

GREEN GROUPS: Here’s how employees rated their own green groups (E&E News)

INFLATION REDUCTION ACT: White House is torn over Joe Manchin’s fury at climate law he crafted (Washington Post $), 1 year into Biden's landmark legislation and the question remains: Is it a big f**king deal or not? (HuffPost), Canary Media talks Inflation Reduction Act on The Weather Channel (Canary Media), How is the Inflation Reduction Act helping the US fight climate change? (Context)

SCOTUS: Why the latest abortion pill ruling has enviros rolling their eyes (Politico)

EPA: EPA elevates climate in polluter crackdown plan (Axios), EPA's 'forever chemicals' test results hint at scale of water contamination (Politico Pro $, The Hill)

DOE: DOE lab develops new models to address inverter faults, avoid grid disruptions (Utility Dive)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: Commerce Department says five solar companies dodged tariffs in final finding  (The Hill), Biden administration decision threatens solar imports from Southeast Asia (Politico Pro $), US places tariffs on some big solar companies for dodging China duties (Reuters, Washington Examiner, Washington Examiner), The US imports most of its solar panels. A new ruling may make that more expensive (NPR)

FEMA: As the country braces for tropical storm Hilary, FEMA head warns disaster relief funding is running low (USA Today, Fox News, CBS, CNN, CNN, Bloomberg $), FEMA has paid out more than $5.6 million to Maui survivors, a figure expected to grow significantly (AP)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden faces calls to declare climate emergency as he heads to Maui (Politico), Joe Biden says he declared a national climate emergency, but he hasn’t (PolitiFact), The Bidens will travel to Maui to meet with wildfire survivors and first responders (AP), Ahead of Maui visit, Biden’s governmental and personal response scrutinized (Washington Post $)

THE HILL: GOP lawmakers opposed Biden's climate measure but it's helping their constituents (NPR), Hawaii fires thrust congressional approval of disaster funds into the spotlight  (The Hill)

SENATE: Cassidy proposes ‘foreign pollution fee’ to stem climate change (CNN), Double dip: A GOP Senate candidate's shameless opportunism on climate (HuffPost)

POLITICS: ‘Gigantic’ power of meat industry blocking green alternatives, study finds (The Guardian), US climate groups call on multiple industries to fire their fossil fuel lobbyists (Common Dreams)

CITIES AND STATES: Gulf Coast officials are scrambling to prepare for two weather disasters to combine in deadly fashion (CNN), Climate advocate Kate Knuth on her new role as Minnesota’s agency’s climate director (Energy News Network), "Clean air centers" are sprouting up, but can they help? (Axios), Marvin Hayes is spreading ‘compost fever’ in Baltimore’s neighborhoods. He thinks it might save the city. (Inside Climate News), New Jersey requires climate change education. A year in, here's how it's going (NPR), North Carolina kills effort to make its building code energy-efficient (Canary Media), This NJ town erected barriers to hold back the sea. A public fight erupted. (Washington Post $), Underground mines are unlikely to blame for a deadly house explosion in Pennsylvania, state says (AP)

• TEXAS: ERCOT calls for energy conservation with Texas projected to break power demand records (Dallas Morning News), Energy analysts react to ERCOT issuing another voluntary conservation notice due to high grid demand (CBS Austin)

IMPACTS: ‘One climate disaster after another’: North America’s long hot summer (FT $), The climate crisis is here now, experts warn, as death tolls from summer disasters mount (Inside Climate News), ‘It was pretty miserable’: Planning a wedding amid climate change (New York Times $), As the Gulf of Maine warms, where are the mussels? (Boston Globe $), Central Valley farmers are having a climate reckoning (Politico), India braces for more rain after floods, lightning kill 2,000 (Bloomberg $), Climate change is coming for a Chesapeake Bay island. Is it worth saving? (Wall Street Journal $), Climate haven no more? Floods and fires hit farmers in east Canada (Context), Flesh-eating bacteria at the beach? What you need to know. (New York Times $), For a trendy night out in Paris, how about a climate change workshop? (New York Times $), Get ready, MI... flood events are becoming more common (Michigan Radio), How climate scientists feel about seeing their dire predictions come true (LA Times $), How global warming makes hurricanes, floods and droughts worse (Bloomberg $), New study warns against risks of ‘time-traveling pathogens’ (CNN), Olive oil is in trouble as extreme heat and drought push the industry into crisis (CNN), Scientists lament Southern Ocean ‘data desert,’ just as climate crisis brings frightening changes (The Guardian), Survival of wild rice threatened by climate change, increased rainfall in northern Minnesota (MPR)

HEAT: ‘The heat’s different now’: Why the US was unprepared for a deadly summer (Politico), Seattle’s nights are hotter than ever. Climate change means more to come (Seattle Times), Death tolls mount in the ‘summer of heat’ (E&E News), Heat wave prompts calls for the French to stay home (Bloomberg $), It’s hot. You’re traveling. Here’s what could go wrong. (E&E News), NOAA forecasts above-average temps this fall (E&E News), Surviving the Phoenix heat (The New Yorker $), Expanding heat wave engulfing much of Texas threatens Central US (AP, Axios, NPR) 

WILDFIRES: 1 dead, 185 structures destroyed in eastern Washington wildfire (AP, The Hill, AP, New York Times $), Maui wildfires show that ‘risk is ubiquitous now’ (Bloomberg $), Fighting fires on the frontlines of climate change (CNN, On Assignment with Audie Cornish podcast), As Syria burns, and its economy collapses, firefighters appeal for support (Washington Post $), Eight villages evacuated as wildfire scorches northeast Greece (Bloomberg $, AP), How an age of fire wiped out California’s mammoths (The Hill), Meta's news ban in Canada is getting in the way of Yellowknife wildfire evacuations (Quartz), On Maui, another fire is burning but capturing less attention than Lahaina (NPR), Why wildfires are at their deadliest in more than a century (Washington Post $)

• MAUI: 3 strategies Maui can adopt from other states to help prevent dangerous wildfires (NPR), Hawaii could burn again. How can the government prepare? (Vox), A ‘perfect storm’ set Hawaii ablaze. Experts say it could happen almost anywhere (LA Times $), 9 things everyone should know about Maui’s wildfire disaster (Vox), The Maui fires are messing with Hawaii’s prized coral reefs (Gizmodo), The doctors, dentists and anthropologists striving to identify Maui's victims (Reuters), What to know about Maui wildfires, the deadliest in the US in 100 years (Washington Post $)
• CANADA: Canadian wildfires force over 50% of people in Northwest Territories to evacuate (Axios), Wildfire forces entire capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories to evacuate (Washington Post $), Canadian firefighters wage epic battle to save communities after mass evacuations (AP), British Columbia declares state of emergency amid ‘devastating’ wildfires (Washington Post $, Bloomberg $, Reuters, New York Times $), Firefighters curb blazes threatening 2 cities in western Canada but are ‘not out of the woods yet’ (AP), Man found dead in driveway of home in fire-evacuated community in Siskiyou County (LA Times $), Yellowknife and Kelowna wildfires burn in what is already Canada’s worst season on record (The Conversation), Yellowknife residents wonder if wildfires are the new normal as western Canada burns (NPR)
• SPAIN: Wildfire spreads on Spain's Tenerife, forcing thousands from homes (Reuters, AP), Thousands evacuated in Canary Islands after ‘most complex’ fire in 40 years (New York Times $, AP)

HURRICANES: Hurricanes more likely to kill vulnerable populations in the US, study finds (Gizmodo), Tropical storm Emily forms in the Atlantic (New York Times $), Unusual Pacific storms like Hurricane Hilary could be a warning for the future (Inside Climate News), Tropical storm Gert forms in the Atlantic, but is expected to be short-lived (New York Times $), Tropical storm Franklin expected to head toward Puerto Rico and Hispaniola (New York Times $)

DROUGHT: This french-fry boomtown is a climate change winner. But for how long? (Washington Post $), California is free of extreme drought conditions for the first time in 3 years (New York Times $)

(DE)FORESTATION: The effort to restore Joshua trees after Mojave wildfire faces grim odds (NPR), Mountain treelines are rising due to climate crisis, study finds (The Guardian), New Orleans groups help grow trees for vanishing cypress swamps (Yale Climate Connections)

AIR POLLUTION: Indoor pollution can make you sick. Here's how to keep your home's air clean (NPR)

RESPONSIBILITY: Study: Top 1 percent responsible for 15 percent of US greenhouse gas emissions (Truthout)

RENEWABLES: In the waters off Massachusetts, a hunt for foreign ships building wind farms (Boston Globe $), Europe must step up solar efforts to compete with cheap China panels - Meyer Burger CEO (Reuters), New tax-credit transfer rules could unlock $1T in cleantech investment (Canary Media), Solar developers blast specter of new US tariffs as blow to climate (Bloomberg $), Tokyo hopes rooftop solar mandate will help it get through hot summers (Wall Street Journal $)

BATTERIES: China’s nickel plants in Indonesia created needed jobs, and pollution (New York Times $)

LNG: Energy Transfer seeks new LNG export license after extension denied (Reuters), Global markets brace for supply disruptions as Woodside Energy workers prepare to strike (The Guardian), Unions notify Woodside they may strike at key Australia gas platforms (Reuters)

METHANE: A Texas dairy ranks among the state’s biggest methane emitters. But don’t ask the EPA or the state about it (Inside Climate News), California’s top methane emitter is a vast cattle feedlot. For now, federal and state greenhouse gas regulators are giving it a pass. (Inside Climate News), This Colorado-built satellite will leave methane polluters nowhere to hide (Colorado Public Radio), We could be 16 years into a methane-fueled 'termination' event significant enough to end an ice age (Space.com)

OIL & GAS: China oil buying frenzy cools as record inventory shields it from price rally (Reuters), Evacuation ordered after gas plant explosion; no injuries reported (AP)

PIPELINES: More hearings begin soon for Summit’s proposed CO2 pipeline. Where does the project stand? (AP)

NUKES: Utilities begin loading radioactive fuel into a second new reactor at Georgia nuclear plant (AP)

UTILITIES: Hawaii fires turn a safe investment into a big risk (Wall Street Journal $), Hawaiian Electric lawsuit is more evidence that electric grids across the US need updating (TIME), Company that leaked radioactive material will build barrier to keep it away from Mississippi River (AP), In hit to Ameren, Illinois governor vetoes right of first refusal for MISO transmission (Utility Dive), Xcel proposes $102M transmission upgrade, targeting major congestion relief in Midwest (Utility Dive)

GRID: Virtual power plants: Resource adequacy without interconnection delays (Utility Dive), Maui wildfires spark new fears about outdated US power grid (Axios)

EVs: Detroit carmakers resist pressure to pay up for battery workers (Bloomberg $), Electric cars are the future. But renting one? Good luck. (New York Times $), How gas station economics will change in the electric vehicle charging future (CNBC), The Lamborghini Lanzador concept is a first look at the first all-electric Lamborghini (Jalopnik)

CRYPTO: Can ‘regenerative finance’ clean up crypto’s dirty image? (CNBC)

PALEOANTHROPOGENIC CLIMATE CHANGE: Human-caused fires and a changing climate may have contributed to mass extinction 13,000 years ago (Smithsonian Magazine)

DRUGS: Eels, cocaine and climate change (The Revelator), Give invasive species a job (The Atlantic), The psychedelic '60s have everything to do with climate change (Newsweek)

AGRICULTURE: California’s big bloom aids seed collectors as climate change and wildfires threaten desert species (AP), As world warms, Sweden sees opportunity to grow its young wine industry (AP)

BOOKS & FILMS: Readers share their visions for fossil-fuel-free life (Yale Climate Connections), How to write a climate thriller fit for page or screen (Bloomberg $)

CARBON PRICING: Mozambique to regulate carbon-credit projects next year (Bloomberg $), Zimbabwe to take 30% of carbon credit revenue (Reuters)

CARBON CAPTURE: CCS 2.0: Company reboots bid to save N.M. coal plant (E&E News)

FINANCE: Is JPMorgan turning a corner on climate finance? (Tech Crunch), A carbon tax on investment income could be more fair and make it less profitable to pollute – a new analysis shows why (The Conversation)

INTERNATIONAL: Brazil govt pushes Congress to approve 'green' bills before COP28 (Reuters), Canada’s oil-rich Alberta province halts renewable-energy projects (Wall Street Journal $), Ecuador prepares for ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ vote to stop oil drilling (The Guardian), India govt sets emission limit for hydrogen to qualify as 'green' (Reuters), MoD must act to tackle impact of climate crisis on UK forces, MPs say (The Guardian), Reforesting Scotland doesn’t need multimillionaires, say campaigners (The Guardian)

• Why was there no water to fight the fire in Maui? (The Guardian, Naomi Klein and Kapuaʻala Sproat op-ed)
• Law students should only apply to firms that prioritize climate (Bloomberg Law, Jessenia Class and Aidan Bassett op-ed)
• A legal scholar calls the ruling in the Montana youth climate lawsuit ‘huge’ (Inside Climate News, Pat Parenteau interview)
• 47 days in extreme heat, and you begin to notice things (New York Times, Terry Tempest Williams and Michael Lundgren op-ed $)
• Net zero is stalling out. What now? (Bloomberg, Bloomberg Editorial Board $)
• Can the global air pollution crisis lead to effective climate action? (The Hill, Andre Zollinger op-ed)
• What I saw after the wildfires on Maui (Vox, J. Matt perspective)
• Flood insurance quagmire demands bold reform, not stopgaps (Bloomberg, Jonathan Levin column $)
• We would be sailing blind without the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, climate research (The Hill, Katherine Tsantiris op-ed)
• Meal kits aren't as wasteful as you think (Bloomberg, Amanda Little Column $)
• Why didn’t Hawaii evacuate sooner during the fires? (New York Times, Costas Synolakis and George Karagiannis op-ed $)
• One year in, the Inflation Reduction Act shows great promise for ethanol (The Hill, Emily Skor op-ed)
• Britain’s sharks should be cherished, not feared (Bloomberg, Lara Williams Column $)
• Why hurricanes like Hilary have been so rare in California (LA Times, Ned Kleiner op-ed $)
• Maui’s fires and the electric grid (Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journal Editorial Board $)
• Lahaina in ruins (Wall Street Journal, James Freeman op-ed $)
• A progressive’s case for getting rid of ‘ESG’ (Wall Street Journal, Alex Edmans op-ed $)

Cowboy State Daily Launders Climate Disinformation Taking Advantage Of Local News Deserts

Last week, Jem Bartholomew and Dhrumil Mehta of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism published an absolute must-read in the Columbia Journalism Review, exploring how Cowboy State Daily, a conservative media outlet funded by Daily Caller donor Foster Friess, has filled a growing Wyoming news desert with climate disinformation: 

“Tow Center analysis of Cowboy State Daily content found the five most commonly cited institutes/think tanks in energy stories all had links to climate denial. These were: the Heartland Institute (mentioned in fourteen articles), Manhattan Institute (eleven), American Petroleum Institute (ten), Institute for Energy Research (ten) and Competitive Enterprise Institute (seven). All five appear in nonprofit DeSmog’s Climate Disinformation Database, which tracks organizations that ‘delay and distract’ on the need to reduce greenhouse gas pollution.”

And like so many others in the right-wing, billionaire-funded disinfosphere, Cowboy State Daily is making explicit use of anti-trans rhetoric: 

“Per Tow Center analysis, the outlet has published 129 articles mentioning the word ‘transgender’ in 2023 so far, almost double the 68 found from 2022. That’s not necessarily significant given the national and statewide uptick in interest in trans rights this year. But our analysis also found numerous instances where Cowboy State Daily reporting on trans communities used tropes the Trans Journalists Association’s style guide says perpetuate ‘harmful cliches and stereotypes.’” 

There's plenty more, so please go give the deep-dive analysis a full read. 

But if you really need to TL;DR, here's their conclusion: 

“In this sense, Wyoming’s experience—declining local news, a vacuum of good information, a mega-rich partisan setting up a news outlet that has pushed anti-trans views and climate misinformation—is an alarm bell for the rest of America. If local news cannot find a route to sustainability, actors with cash and questionable motives are free to inject their talking points into the political bloodstream. It’s a warning for where we’re heading as news deserts take hold.”

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