Project Canary CEO Replaced With Brother: The CEO of a startup claiming to assess and certify less-climate-damaging oil and gas extraction is stepping down. Denver-based Project Canary claims to monitor the climate-heating pollution released by methane gas operations and selling that analysis to firms in order for them to market their product as 'responsibly sourced.' The leadership reshuffling comes amid criticism that so-called 'responsibly sourced' methane gas programs are merely greenwashing schemes. It also follows a report, released by Earthworks and Oil Change International earlier this year, revealing possible conflicts of interest and discrepancies between the firm's data and observations at oil and gas sites. CEO and co-founder Chris Romer (son of former Colorado Governor Roy Romer and a former state legislator himself) will remain chairman of the firm and will be replaced as CEO by his brother CFO Tim Romer (who has a background on Wall Street) and COO and co-founder Will Foiles. (Bloomberg $, Denver Business Journal)

UAE, PR Pros Prepare To Protect Reputation During COP: Emirate officials are concerned the country's image could be tarnished by criticisms raised around the UN climate conference taking place there in December, and they are creating public relations strategies to limit the damage, the New York Times reports. The reporting is based on a recording of a February meeting between Emirati officials and COP28 organizers — obtained by the London-based Centre for Climate Reporting and shared with the Times. "Alarm bells are going off," said one Emirati official who the New York Times identifies as head of the human rights office at the presidential court. "COPs have evolved, obviously, over time. Now they’re an outlet for activism and for youth activism,” Sconaid McGeachin, a public relations specialist hired by the Emirates to serve as communications director for the summit, said. “They will use this opportunity to attack the UAE. We need to preserve the reputation of the UAE, to look at how we can protect that and enhance its reputation, and to try and minimize those attacks as much as possible.” McGeachin suggested the UAE should attempt to head off human rights criticisms by engaging with groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, but the UAE official insisted, “Conversations should be limited to those directly associated with climate change,” adding it was crucial that COP28, “not [be] used as a free pass to throw everything at us." “If the complaint is that HRW and other groups will use COP28 to highlight human rights issues in the UAE, they are absolutely correct,” Joey Shea, an investigator at Human Rights Watch, told the Times. “The climate crisis is a human rights crisis, and governments at COP28 have a human rights obligation to address climate change.” (New York Times $)

Coal And Gas Outages Put Customers On Hook For Keeping Texas Grid Online: The Texas electricity grid has kept running this summer through an unrelenting heatwave, but it's largely thanks to families and businesses curtailing their electricity usage, and no thanks to the unusual and inexplicable amount of gas and coal power plant outages, the Houston Chronicle reports. For the eighth time in just two weeks on Wednesday, ERCOT, the state's grid operator, asked Texans to voluntarily curtail their electricity use with more than 9,000 megawatts of coal- and gas-fired power plants unexpectedly offline. The potential shortfalls in power supply typically come in the early evening as the day's heat remains (keeping air conditioners running) after the sun goes down. Joshua Rhodes, a research scientist with the UT Austin Energy Institute, blamed the fossil fuel plants' unreliability on their age and the fact they were not designed to handle the constant demand driven by the extreme heat they helped exacerbate. “It’s like if you were to get in your car and drive at 100 miles an hour in 120 degree heat for a month straight. You would probably have some issues with your engine, because it's not really designed to do that,"  Rhodes said. "Plus, if that car is also a 1969 Chevelle, it's not going to do as well.” (Houston Chronicle; Climate Signals background: Extreme heat and heatwaves) 

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: After Jacksonville shooting, some Floridians see connections between state’s education laws and anti-Black racism (The 19th* News)

WORKERS: Amid record heat, even indoor factory workers enter dangerous terrain (Washington Post $), UAW union accuses GM and Stellantis of unfair labor practices (Washington Post $)

FOSSIL FUELED ENERGY CRISIS: LNG imports from Russia rise, despite cuts in pipeline gas (Reuters)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: African climate summit seeks to shift focus to finance from floods, famine (Reuters), What to watch at Africa's first climate summit (Reuters Factbox), US denies rigging loss and damage fund’s board in rich nations’ favour (Climate Home)

DENIAL & DELUSION: Social media videos push baseless conspiracy theory that blue items were spared from Maui wildfires (AP)

(LIQUIFIED) METHANE: Rule allowing rail shipments of LNG will be put on hold to allow more study of safety concerns (AP), California panel to vote on increasing storage at site of worst US methane leak despite risks (AP)

INFLATION REDUCTION ACT: Electrifying your home is about to get a lot cheaper (Grist)

SCOTUS: Clarence Thomas acknowledges undisclosed real estate deal with Harlan Crow and discloses private jet flights (ProPublica), Clarence Thomas discloses more private jet travel paid for by GOP megadonor Harlan Crow (USA Today, NPR, AP, Washington Post $, The Hill, Politico, CNN, CNBC, BBC, NBC, Al Jazeera) Pressure grows on Clarence Thomas after more gifts from rightwing donor (The Guardian), Clarence Thomas' lawyer says a billionaire bought his mom's house because it was in a blighted neighborhood full of junkies and they wanted her to keep living there (Business Insider)

AGENCIES: Trump-era rule change allowing the logging of old-growth forests violates laws, judge says (AP)

EPA: EPA staff survey: Touch telework and I’m out of here (E&E News), Jeff Clark's lawyer has sought to unravel EPA climate power (E&E $)

DOE: Biden administration offers $12B to convert auto factories into EV plants (The Hill, New York Times $), DOE tees up $15.5B for electric vehicles, battery manufacturing amid union pressure (Politico Pro $), DOE ties billions in new EV money to higher wages (E&E $), Eos wins $400M DOE loan guarantee to build longer-lasting batteries (Canary Media, Politico Pro $)

TREASURY: Treasury proposes regulations for IRA’s wage and apprenticeship requirements (Utility Dive), Yellen to attend India G20 summit, focus on economy, climate, Ukraine (Reuters)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden seeks $16 billion in disaster aid as Idalia, wildfires deplete federal funds (Washington Post $, AP, Politico Pro $), Looming auto strike puts Biden’s labor loyalty to the test (The Hill), Biden visits FEMA headquarters to thank workers for their disaster response (AP)

HOUSE: House committee probes Hawaiian Electric's possible role in Maui wildfires (Politico Pro $)

POLITICS: DeSantis voted against Sandy aid a decade ago. Now his state needs the help. (E&E News), Chris Hayes sums up GOP climate plans in most chilling way (HuffPost)

ELECTIONS: Abortion fight unites the left and rattles the right in key Wis. battleground (Washington Post $)

CITIES AND STATES: Gretchen Whitmer throws weight behind push for 100% carbon-free power (HuffPost), Hawaii investigates unsolicited land offers in Lahaina (AP), California Republican winning over Democrats in push for new oil drilling bill (Washington Examiner), Highways are the next antiabortion target. One Texas town is resisting. (Washington Post $)

IMPACTS: Even the bayous of Louisiana are now threatened by wildfires (Grist), Australia headed for hot and dry spring after unseasonably warm winter (The Guardian), Scientist Peter Kalmus: The hurricanes, floods & fires of 2023 are just the beginning of climate emergency (Democracy Now), Typhoon Saola on track to swipe Hong Kong and mainland China (Washington Post $)

WILDFIRES: Forecasters are warning gusty winds and low humidity raise risk of fires spreading rapidly in Hawaii (AP, The Hill), Could whacking some trees cut fire risk and help Maui in other ways? (Washington Post $), Invasive species have created a cycle of wildfire in Hawaiʻi. Can Maui break it? (Grist)

• GREECE: Greece sends 100 extra firefighters to a massive northeastern wildfire as it burns for a 13th day (AP), Greece to launch drones, temperature sensors to better fight wildfires (Reuters)
• ARE YOU SLEEPING TOO WELL?: Wildfire traffic jams are deadly. Can anything be done? (Heatmap $)

HURRICANES: Tampa Bay area gets serious flooding but again dodges a direct hit from a major hurricane (AP), Tropical Storm Jose is expected to be absorbed by Hurricane Franklin (New York Times $)

IDALIA: Residents return to find homes gone, towns devastated in path of Idalia (AP, Reuters, AP, Gizmodo), At least one death reported as Idalia moves out to Atlantic Ocean (The Hill), In final hours before landfall, Hurricane Idalia stopped intensifying and turned from Tallahassee (AP), Hurricane Idalia is yet another test of America's aging power infrastructure (Axios), Hurricane Idalia leaves trail of destruction and flooding in its wake in Florida – video (The Guardian), Hurricane Idalia wasn’t as bad as feared. Here are 5 reasons. (Washington Post $), Idalia fallout: Florida's manatees at risk (Axios), Idalia rapidly intensified ahead of landfall. Expect more of the same in a warming world. (Yale Climate Connections), Idalia, wildfires may not break Congress spending impasse (E&E $), New advanced computer modeling helped predict Idalia's intensity spike (Axios), The scene after Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida (Washington Post, PHOTOS $)

• WHAT'S NEXT: Idalia heads out to sea after flooding coastal South Carolina (Yale Climate Connections, Democracy Now), Could Idalia make a loop and revisit the Southeast next week? (Washington Post $), Cedar Key survives Idalia, but climate change is testing its resiliency (Washington Post $)
• (INSURANCE) COSTS: Idalia to boost Florida apartment insurance costs further (Reuters), Biden going to Florida on Saturday after Hurricane Idalia (The Hill, AP), Hurricane Idalia could become 2023’s costliest climate disaster for the US (The Guardian, Wall Street Journal $), You dodged Idalia? You might have to pay for rebuilding anyway. (E&E $)

OCEANS: The ocean is responding to mounting human threats in surprising ways (Axios), World fisheries may be ‘resilient’ to impacts of heat waves (The Hill)

WATER: US aquifers are running dry, posing major threat to drinking water supply (Democracy Now)

BOOZE: Wildfires force Sicilian winemakers to grapple with climate change (Washington Post $)

RENEWABLES: Onshore wind is poised to grow, and move away from boom and bust cycles (Inside Climate News), Orsted delays 1st New Jersey wind farm until 2026; not ready to ‘walk away’ from project (AP), Ørsted presses Biden administration for easier access to tax credits (Politico Pro $), As Ørsted, others seek up to 71% hike in clean energy contract prices, NYSERDA warns of rate increases (Utility Dive), Drill, baby, drill: The promise of geothermal power (New York Times $), Wind energy proved critical during a winter storm in the Southeast (Yale Climate Connections)

BATTERIES: Nissan is reusing the batteries from old Leaf electric vehicles to make portable power sources (AP), What’s the most sustainable way to mine the largest known lithium deposit in the world? (Popular Science)

BUILDINGS:You Should Consider a Heat Pump Dryer (LifeHacker) Natural gas could go away in new Napa County construction (The Press Democrat)

LNG: Talks to avert strike called as Chevron Australia LNG workers reject deal (Reuters)

PLASTICS: Microplastics can travel into the brain and cause behavioral changes, study finds (Gizmodo)

PIPELINES: Minnesota regulators vote to proceed with environmental review of disputed carbon capture pipeline (AP)

COAL: Hawaii quit coal one year ago. Here’s how it’s been going (Canary Media), Coal miners forced to save for a rainy day by insurance snub (Reuters)

HYDROGEN: Canadian province Newfoundland picks 4 wind farm projects to power hydrogen plants (Reuters)

NUKES: Researchers find nuclear fingerprints in sea turtle shells (Grist)

UTILITIES: Climate change turns US utilities grimly exciting (Reuters), Utility’s ‘arbitrary’ cap is squeezing solar in southwest Michigan (Energy News Network)

GRID: Texas hooked up its first virtual power plants to help the grid (Canary Media)

EVs: EV boom remakes rural towns in the American South (Wall Street Journal $), How long can an electric car just sit there? (Heatmap $), India is one of the world’s fastest-growing EV markets. This is why (AP), This trans woman was begging on India’s streets. A donated electric rickshaw changed her life (AP), With an EV, I had to learn to drive all over again (Wall Street Journal $)

AGRICULTURE: As winters warm, the citrus industry squeezes into Georgia (Grist)

BOOKS: Black gold to frozen gas’ review: a natural gas powerhouse (Wall Street Journal $)

ARTS: When all the art is green: Swiss institute takes on climate change (New York Times $)

HEALTH CARE: How New York’s public hospitals cut carbon emissions: more vegetables (New York Times $)

FINANCE: World Bank, IDB to deepen cooperation on Amazon, Caribbean, digital access (Reuters)

HOBBIES: I learned new hobbies to ditch fast fashion. You can, too. (Washington Post $)

INTERNATIONAL: Brazil eyes tax perks for energy sector, sparking 'green' vs oil debate (Reuters), Philippines to auction off 8-gigawatt power capacity in push for renewables (Reuters)

(COLOR) PALATE CLEANSER: Brilliant venus and harvest moon light up a delightful September sky (Washington Post $)

• There’s been a shift in how we think about climate change (Vox, Lorraine Whitmarsh interview)
• How the unprecedented climate ruling in Montana can be an example to the world (Washington Post, Bina Venkataraman and Amanda Shendruk op-ed $)
• Hurricane season is a perfect storm for insurance coverage (Bloomberg, David Fickling column $)
• The people of Ecuador just made climate justice history. The world can follow (The Guardian, Steven Donziger op-ed)
• If you want to save the planet, look to the people (The Hill, Becky Chaplin-Kramer and Unai Pascual op-ed)
• Clean energy investment is surging, but success is far from guaranteed (Utility Dive, Jason Grumet op-ed)
• Heat or eat? How efficient buildings today can save lives tomorrow (Context, Mónica Vidal and Eva Brardinelli op-ed)
• How a South Carolina faith leader and a California congressman are fighting for environmental justice (The Hill, Rep. Ro Khanna and Leo Woodberry op-ed)
• What you can do about climate change. Readers have suggestions. (Boston Globe, Scot Lehigh column $)
• Africa climate summit: A chance to spur the livestock sector (Context, Soipan Tuya and Appolinaire Djikeng op-ed)

The Denier Roundup will return next week! 

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