US Was Biggest LNG Exporter Last Year — EIA: The U.S. exported more liquified methane gas than any other country in 2023, according to  Energy Information Administration data released Monday. The U.S. overtook Qatar and Australia with exports up 12% from 2022, when the massive explosion at the Freeport LNG terminal in Texas knocked 20% of U.S. export capacity offline for months. Methane traps more than 80 times more heat in the atmosphere than CO2 over a 20-year time scale and LNG exports drive up heating and energy prices for American families and businesses. The Biden administration paused approvals of new LNG export facilities in January pending a review of whether exporting of what the industry calls "natural gas" is in the national interest. (Bloomberg $, Reuters, The Hill, West Virginia Public Radio, OilPrice)

Children's Books Help Kids, And Parents, Cope After Disasters: Children's books with stories about climate-fueled are becoming important tools for helping children cope with their traumatic experiences, E&E reports. The stories, experts say, can help strengthen the mental and emotional resilience of both children and their parents after a disaster. “There are times in disasters where we want to shield kids from the worst moments of the event, but sometimes they went through it,” said Melissa Brymer, head of UCLA’s National Center for Child Traumatic Stress. “And these stories help kids process it and give parents the language to talk about it even with very young children.” One such story is Elizabeth Hartline's There Was A Fire about the Maui wildfire that devastated Lāhainā last August, which includes mentions of deaths caused by the fires because, Hartline said, these kids know about this … it was all over the news, and if we didn’t name it, it would become taboo and kids would think it was off-limits to talk about." (E&E $)

Musk Pushing Away Tesla Buyers: Elon Musk's racism, anti-semitism and volatility are pushing away potential Tesla buyers, a new report shows. Caliber, a market research firm, says the number of people who would "consider" buying a Tesla in February was less than half the number who said the same in November 2021, and fell eight percentage points in January 2024 alone even as competitors' "consideration scores" pushed up. More than 80% of Americans connect the Zambian emerald mining scion with the Tesla brand, and "It's very likely that Musk himself is contributing to the reputational downfall," Caliber CEO Shahar Silbershatz told Reuters. Since Musk purchased the website formerly known as Twitter about two years ago, the spread and prominence of hate speech and virulent climate denial has dramatically increased on the platform. Tesla is expected to announce weak Q1 delivery numbers early this week. (Reuters; Tesla Q1: Axios)

ENVIRONMENTAL (IN)JUSTICE: Residents fear Pennsylvania, West Virginia chemical recycling proposals will deepen fossil fuel ties and pollution problems (Environmental Health News), Disabled drivers can’t use many electric car chargers. It doesn’t have to be this way. (Mother Jones), 

KEY BRIDGE: The coal was destined for India. Now it’s polluting the air in Baltimore. (Heatmap $)

AGENCIES: Indigenous Pacific wildfire survivors on Maui can finally get FEMA help (Grist)

EPA: The EPA’s push to clean up trucking goes way beyond 18-wheelers (Grist)

DOE: Appliance efficiency standards save lives, making DOE’s updates all the more urgent: Report (Utility Dive), Granholm pitches Biden's big plans in Michigan homecoming (Axios), Granholm eyes talks with Big Tech on AI power needs (Axios), New DOE-backed projects tackle factory emissions with heat pumps and more (Canary Media)

DOI: Feds tout revival of fish that vexed Mountain Valley pipeline (E&E $)

TREASURY: How do you ensure hydrogen is ‘clean’? Treasury rules draw fire. (E&E $), IRS direct pay framework opens doors for tax-exempt entities to access clean energy credits (Utility Dive), Biden administration to hand out $4B in advanced energy tax credits (E&E $, Axios), 

SEC: SEC asks 8th Circuit not to pause climate rule pending challenges (Utility Dive)

WHITE HOUSE: Why Biden is spending billions to boost regional rail lines (E&E $)

THE HILL: Johnson ties LNG exports to Ukraine aid package (E&E $)

CITIES AND STATES: Vermont Republicans warm to ‘Climate Superfund’ bill (E&E $), Virginia seeks millions of dollars in federal funds aimed at reducing pollution and electrifying transportation and buildings (Inside Climate News), Virginia regulators approve Dominion Energy solar projects (Reuters)

FERC: FERC prevails in court fight over gas project approvals (E&E $)

IMPACTS: As El Niño bites, Indonesians grapple with record-high rice prices (Context)

HEAT: Record heat in Europe, Asia closes another extremely warm month for planet (Washington Post $), India braces for heat waves in Q2, impact seen on inflation, election (Reuters)

WILDFIRES: Record wildfires hit Venezuela during climate-driven Amazon drought (Reuters)

WATER: Why is the UK facing water shortages despite record rainfall? (The Guardian, explainer)

INSURANCE: Property insurers see escalating losses from climate disasters (E&E $)

RENEWABLES: India hydropower output records steepest fall in nearly four decades (Reuters), Silfab Solar to work with Solarcycle to recycle module supply (Utility Dive)

BUILDINGS: These startups help busy contractors get electrification rebates faster (Canary Media), Yes, heat pumps slash emissions even if powered by a dirty grid (Yale Climate Connections)

STORAGE: Salt, air and bricks: Could this be the future of energy storage? (The Guardian)

LNG: Qatar signs deals for more ships ahead of big LNG expansion (E&E $), China power firm GCL revives LNG ambition after solar spin-off (Reuters)

EVs: America’s best idea, now accessible by EV (Heatmap $), 30% of Americans say they’ll never buy an EV — survey (E&E $)

EBIKES: E-bikes could cut smog, energy use and congestion globally — but will they? (Mongabay)

CAPITALISM: 'Climate capitalism' projects an optimistic future for environmental policy (NPR)

AGRICULTURE: Colorado farmer finds success with drought-resilient millet (Yale Climate Connections)

BOOKS: What does queer ecological resistance to the Mountain Valley Pipeline look like? (Truthout)

BUSINESSES: Verizon joins RE100 climate initiative, builds on 2030 renewables goal (Utility Dive)

WILDLIFE: Scientists are breeding 'super corals.' Can they withstand climate change? (NPR)

INTERNATIONAL: The two sides of Guyana: A green champion and an oil producer (NPR)

• Here’s why Americans under 40 are so disillusioned with capitalism (Washington Post, Heather Long column $)
• Chinese investment in shale-gas technology is a threat to US innovation (The Hill, Usha Haley op-ed)
• 'DEI mayor’ insults prove that unapologetic racism is back (Washington Post, Eugene Robinson column $)
• Biden’s order: let there be electric trucks (Wall Street Journal, Editorial Board $)

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