The full newsletter — with all three top stories this time — is below. 

FIRST LOOK:

GreenLatinos is hosting a panel discussion on Spanish-language climate disinformation on Thursday, October 13, in Washington DC and online. 

Dunbar Neighborhood Got 'Destroyed Too': Over 110,000 Puerto Rican utility customers were still without power Tuesday morning, more than two weeks after Hurricane Fiona knocked out power to the entire territory. The Predominantly Black community in the Dunbar neighborhood of Fort Myers, Florida, is also without power, but — not-unlike Puerto Rico — its devastation has been largely overshadowed by media attention to the damage done by Hurricane Ian's to whiter and wealthier communities including Sanibel Island and Fort Myers Beach. "They're saying the islands got destroyed," 24 year-old Lexxus Cherry told NPR. "Well, we're destroyed, too. We're really messed up here." Florida Power and Light is boasting its pre-storm preparation has limited the storm's damage and says electricity will be restored soon, but when people from Dunbar ask for more information, they only get vague promises. "This is a common thing that I'm seeing in cities around America. Whenever a disaster happens, for some reason the city is slow to respond to people in ethnic communities, in low-income communities," Ta'Wan Grant told NPR. "We are the ones who need the most help." FPL says restoring electricity can only come after floodwaters recede, which means low income communities of color are likely to wait longer as systemic racism and climate gentrification have pushed them into more flood-prone locations, a trend likely to worsen in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. (Dunbar: NPR; FPL: E&E News, Utility Dive, Politico Pro $; Gentrification and inequity: E&E News)

Iranian Leader Calls For More Brutal Repression Of Protests: Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf doubled down on his government's brutality toward protesters on Sunday, and called for even greater state violence against those protesting the brutal murder of 22-year-old Mahsa (Jina) Amini while in police custody. Amini was detained and beaten by the Islanmic theocracy's morality police for allegedly not wearing the hijab too loosely. "When Iranian woman see what happened to Mahsa, they think it could have happened to them because you hardly find an Iranian woman who has not been either warned or detained or harassed by the morality police," Golnaz Esfandiari, a senior correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, told NPR last week. "So we all know we've all had this experience." The protests sparked by her death on Sept. 16 have drawn global support and have grown to encompass a range of grievances — in addition to the state's repression of women — and have escalated to include calls for overthrowing the clerical establishment. Though not on the same scale — the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights reports 133 people have been killed by security forces — protests incited by water shortages caused by drought and extreme heat in the country have also been brutally put down by government forces. The environmental conditions underlying that unrest persist. Amid drought and extreme heat, flash floods killed at least 21 in Fars province in July. (Call for violent crackdown: AP; Water shortages: CBC, New York Times $; Concurrent crises: Atalayar; Recent protest death toll: BBC; Climate Signals background: Drought, Extreme heat and heatwaves; Commentary & Analysis: Kayhan Life, Roshanak Astaraki analysis)

SCOTUS Hears Case on WOTUS: The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in Sackett v. EPA, a case over what exactly are the "waters of the United States." The case, among the first heard by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, could have major implications for the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to protect wetlands under the Clean Water Act. “Big polluters, like the oil and gas industry and coal companies, want people to think this is all about some legal definition of an obscure word. It is not. This is about our ability to protect clean water now and for generations to come,” LCV senior VP Tiernan Sittenfeld told reporters outside the Supreme Court. The Court and its conservative supermajority could continue or even accelerate its revision of American society this term, with upcoming cases on voting rights, state politicians' ability to meddle in federal elections, affirmative action, whether businesses can discriminate against LGBTQ+ people, and more. (E&E News, Washington Post $, Vox, Politico Pro $, Reuters, E&E $, New York Times $; Upcoming Term: New York Times $, Boston Globe $, NewsOne)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Come along as we connect the dots between climate, migration and the far-right (NPR)

FOSSIL FUELED ENERGY CRISIS: Experts: Europe faces ‘unprecedented risk’ of a gas shortage (AP), ‘Significant risk’ of winter gas shortages in Great Britain, warns Ofgem (The Guardian), China is rerouting US liquefied natural gas to Europe at a big profit (Wall Street Journal $), More U.S. LNG heads to Europe despite output constraints (Reuters)

• NORD STREAM SABOTAGE: Denmark says Nord Stream 1 pipelines stop leaking (AP), The Nord Stream leaks are a wake-up call for countries with vulnerable pipelines (NPR), The Nord Stream pipelines have stopped leaking. But the methane emitted broke records (NPR)

COP27: Young people demand climate justice in run-up to COP27 UN talks (The Guardian), Egypt: About 90 heads of state confirmed for COP27 climate summit (Reuters), COP27 host Egypt warns UK not to backtrack from climate agenda (The Guardian), King Charles III decides not to attend climate summit (E&E $)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: UN chief: World is in `life-or-death struggle’ for survival (AP), World Bank criticised over climate crisis spending (The Guardian)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: Big Oil takes another hit as it seeks reprieve from SCOTUS (E&E $), Supreme Court directs Biden to weigh in on climate lawsuits (Politico Pro $)

TRAGIC IRONIES: Unstable ground (Grist and Type Investigations)

DENIAL & DISINFO & GREENWASHING: Bill Nye batters Republicans, Fox News with emotional plea on climate change (HuffPost), Fossil fuels in schools: Industry faces pushback in fight for hearts and minds of next generation (The Guardian), Utility climate pledges amount to 'greenwashing,' report says (Washington Post $)

INSURANCE: Live near water? Get flood insurance, FEMA admin says after Ian. (Politico), Biden administration monitoring Hurricane Ian's insurance industry impact (Reuters)

BRAZILLIAN ELECTION: Indigenous defenders stand between illegal roads and survival of the Amazon rainforest – Brazil’s runoff election could be a turning point (The Conversation)

SCOTUS: Black representation in Alabama tested before Supreme Court (AP), US Supreme Court spurns coal executive's challenge to mine-explosion conviction (Reuters)

• KBJ: Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson will rule on important cases for Black folks (The Root), Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson marks historic first day on Supreme Court: ‘A beacon to generations’ (The Grio), Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wades into questioning about murky wetlands dispute as Supreme Court opens new term (NBC), US Supreme Court's Jackson emerges as energetic questioner on first day (Reuters), Jackson tangles with Gorsuch in her first oral argument appearance (Talking Points Memo)

AGENCIES: Medical groups ask Justice Department to investigate threats against hospitals over gender-affirming care (The 19th* News)

DOE: DOE seeks input on Biden energy manufacturing order (E&E $), DOE takes step to advance Defense Production Act use for clean energy (The Hill, Politico Pro $, Reuters)

DOI: Appeals court considers challenge to Obama-era royalty rule (E&E $), Interior police reforms require body cameras (E&E News, AP, The Hill)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: USTR sees ‘positive momentum’ in energy dispute talks with Mexico (Politico Pro $)

WHITE HOUSE: ‘We’re with you,’ Biden tells Puerto Rico ahead of visit (AP), Biden to announce $60M to bolster flood protections in Puerto Rico (Politico), Biden's 'supercharged' plan for Puerto Rico's grid (E&E $)

THE HILL: Will the farm bill be the next big climate package? It depends on the midterm elections. (Grist), Help wanted: Carbon dioxide pipeline companies mark legislative wins by staffing up with lobbyists (Politico Pro $)

CITIES AND STATES: N.Y. echoes Calif. as it eyes 100% clean car rules (E&E News), Rhode Island starts to wrestle with what its net-zero goal means for natural gas (Energy News Network), Texas makes case to lead national clean hydrogen push (Houston Chronicle), Texas wants oversight of CO2 wells. Other states may follow. (E&E News), Youngkin plan calls for reevaluating major clean energy law (AP), Denver considers converting vacant office space into housing: 'There will be affordable housing that comes out of this' (CBS)

FWIW, HOT NEWS IS ALSO A "NONOPERATING GAS PLANT":FERC: Grid operator paid $100M to nonoperating gas plant (E&E $)

IMPACTS: As Himalayan glaciers melt, a water crisis looms in South Asia (Yale Environment 360), Predicting landslides: after disaster, Alaska town turns to science (NPR), US plans to award $221 mln to address Mississippi flooding risks (Reuters)

• SCIENCE AT THE END OF THE WORLD: Research center in Chile's Cape Horn serves as climate change 'sentinel' (Reuters)

HEAT: Pacific Northwest heat wave was a freak, 10,000-year event, study finds (Oregon Public Broadcasting, E&E $ via Scientific American)

DROUGHT: The end of a way of life? Ranchers struggle to survive the south-west’s megadrought (The Guardian)

WILDFIRES: Nebraska Sandhills wildfire razes camp, prompts evacuation (AP), US East coast faces 'competing catastrophes' as fire risk grows (Context), Volunteer firefighter dies in Nebraska Sandhills wildfire (AP)

HURRICANES: A new tropical threat heads toward the Caribbean (Yale Climate Connections), Hurricane Orlene is coming ashore in southwest Mexico (Washington Post $), Orlene downgraded to tropical storm after slamming Mexico's Pacific coastline (Axios)

HURRICANE IAN: Hurricane Ian destroyed power systems and ravaged homes. One Southwest Florida community completely powered by solar escaped with little damage. (CBS), As Florida prepares to rebuild after Ian, the ‘state is in an insurance meltdown’ (NBC), Hurricane Ian: When the power grid goes out, could solar and batteries power your home? (The Conversation), Three ways to build back smarter after Hurricane Ian (New York Times $), After Ian, here’s what’s next for Atlantic hurricane season (Washington Post $), Amid the devastation of Hurricane Ian, a new study charts alarming flood risks for US hospitals (Inside Climate News), Central Florida floodwaters rising after Ian unleashed "unprecedented rainfall" (Axios), Emergency workers continue door-to-door search as hurricane Ian's death toll rises (Gizmodo), Florida agriculture takes a punch from Ian (E&E $), How Hurricane Ian caught so many off guard (Axios), Hurricane Ian capped 2 weeks of extreme storms around the globe: Here’s what’s known about how climate change fuels tropical cyclones (The Conversation), Hurricane Ian flooded a hospital and forced evacuations from dozens of nursing homes – many health facilities face rising risks from severe storms (The Conversation), Hurricane Ian spawned a nor’easter that’s flooding the mid-Atlantic coast (Washington Post $), NOAA’s man in the eye of the storm faces Ian’s fury (E&E News), Their paradise lost to Ian, Sanibel residents hope its spirit survives (Washington Post $), Ian exposes messy politics of disaster spending (E&E News)

WATER: California drought pits farmers vs. cities. But neither is the biggest water victim (LA Times $), ‘The worst we’ve seen’: ranchers threatened by historic heat and drought (Washington Post $), California’s ‘most sustainable’ dairy is doing what’s best for business (Inside Climate News), LA restricts water flow to wasteful celebrity mansions: ‘No matter how rich, we’ll treat you the same’ (The Guardian), California wells run dry as drought depletes groundwater (AP)

RENEWABLES: Solar is now 33% cheaper than gas power in US, Guggenheim says (Bloomberg $), As energy costs soar, are solar panels the right fit for your family? (Today Show), Community solar can help revitalize communities. Here’s how (Canary Media), Consolidated Edison sells renewable energy businesses to Germany’s RWE for $6.8B (Utility Dive), RWE may hike European renewables spending after Con Edison deal (Reuters)

BUILDINGS: How to insulate yourself from energy bills that are going through the roof (The Guardian)

OIL & GAS: Gasoline prices are on the rise again. It's not Ian's fault. (E&E $), Billionaire Ibrahim decries double standard in West seeking gas from Africa (Reuters), Dallas Fed Survey: Oil and gas industry says production costs on the rise for last 21 months (Houston Chronicle), OPEC+ to weigh production cut to bolster oil prices (Wall Street Journal $), OPEC+ production decision will provide pivotal moment for oil markets (Houston Chronicle)

ORPHANED WELLS: Nationwide work starts to plug abandoned gas and oil wells (Wall Street Journal $)

NUKES: Nuclear power stages a comeback, but is it affordable and safe? (Wall Street Journal $)

COAL (COUNTRY): The perils of unofficial coalmining in India – photo essay (The Guardian), Ill. coal country chases federal aid to prevent 'slow death' (E&E $), The best policies to help coal towns weather the switch to renewables (Canary Media)

GRID: Like Manchin, Obama tried to fast-track transmission. Nope. (E&E News), Reducing energy waste key to meeting climate goals (Reuters)

• GOOD LUCK: New ERCOT CEO's first priority is restoring trust. Fixing the grid is more complicated. (Houston Chronicle)

EVs: Tesla delivered 343,000 vehicles in the third quarter of 2022 (CNBC), The American EV boom is about to begin. Does the US have the power to charge it? (The Guardian)

CRYPTO: Environmental toll of Bitcoin similar to beef production, crude oil: study (The Hill)

WORKERS: Alabama prison strike enters seventh day (The Real News), Railroad workers still have reservations about the tentative agreement—strike still possible (Prism Reports)

HELLUVA BUSINESS MODEL: How McKinsey cashed in by consulting for both companies and their regulators (NPR)

MOVE OVER, COCOMELON: Climate change for preschoolers: A TV show explores unmapped ground (New York Times $)

DOING WELL, DOING GOOD: Want a career saving the planet? Become an electrician. (Washington Post $)

BOOKS: When America was awash in patriotic frenzy and political repression (New York Times $)

BUSINESSES: IKEA's home deliveries will be fully electric by 2025, CEO says (Reuters)

INTERNATIONAL: Australia's resources revenue to hit record amid Ukraine conflict (Reuters), Diageo boss warns on Scottish water shortage (Reuters), Japan firms eye ammonia, methanol projects in Canada, Alberta minister says (Reuters), What does King Charles's reign mean for climate action? (Context), What will Italy’s new right-wing government mean for energy? (Energy Monitor)

• Vice President Harris is right to highlight the importance of equity in disaster relief (NewsOne, Anoa Changa op-ed)
• Virginia declares independence—from Gavin Newsom (Wall Street Journal, Editorial Board $)
• Monopoly utilities crush clean-energy transition | Commentary (Orlando Sentinel, Heaven Campbell and Howard Crystal op-ed)
• Here’s how to make the Inflation Reduction Act benefit all (Context, Jesse Keenan and Laurie Schoeman op-ed)
• A Nord Stream disaster every day (The Hill, Martina Otto, Drew Shindell, and Gabrielle Dreyfus op-ed)
• With Ian, treat climate like an 'active shooter' (Environmental Health News, Peter Dykstra column)
• Hurricane Ian is no anomaly. The climate crisis is making storms more powerful (The Guardian, Susan Joy Hassol and Michael Mann op-ed)
• FERC, state utility regulators, and the arsonist’s dilemma (Utility Dive, Todd Snitchler op-ed)
• Michael Bloomberg's charitable gift to Donald Trump (Wall Street Journal, Allysia Finley op-ed $)

"Let Them Eat Gas": Heidi Heitkamp's Latest Op-Ed For Gassy Front Group

Last week we talked about the utility front group ad spend tracker, mentioning that Natural Allies For A Clean Energy Future was one of the big national front groups using Facebook for as a disinformation billboard.

But ads are just the start. The real stuff coming from front groups like Natural Allies For A Clean Energy Future are the things that don't look like ads, but definitely are. 

And we have to look no further than the ol' reliable outlet for sophisticated consumers of climate disinfo, the Wall Street Journal. They recently ran one of the more obvious and shameless attempts to scare people into loving fossil fuels, with the oh-so-subtly-headlined "You can't eat without natural gas." 

Signed by former Democratic senator from North Dakota Heidi Heitkamp, now "a leadership council co-chairman for Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future" according to the byline, the piece warns that "now isn’t the time for short-sighted political thinking about energy." 

But that's exactly what Heitkamp provides, arguing that the "U.S. can again serve as the beacon of light for a suffering world by putting aside political games and investing in natural-gas infrastructure to strengthen global security and help solve world hunger." 

Because the cost of fertilizer is basically just the cost of gas, Heitkamp and her front group want readers to know that Europe's high natural (methane) gas prices have taken 3/4ths of the continent's fertilizer capacity offline. Instead of shipping them fertilizer, though, apparently the answer to this short-term problem precipitated by Putin's invasion of Ukraine is "more natural-gas exports" because "the only thing that holds us back is the lack of domestic infrastructure to get that energy where it’s needed." 

So in order to address a short-term price swing, the methane gas industry wants to lock in decades of emissions with new fossil fuel infrastructure. "Natural gas can aid in the fight against climate change" Heitkamp's op-ed claims, "by providing a low-carbon alternative to nations that currently rely on coal." It doesn't stop there though, throwing in some greenwashing for good measure to really make it clear that they're engaging in the "fossil fuel saviorism" disinformation narrative: "The U.S. has driven its carbon emissions to 30-year lows using natural gas." Which is only true if you don't count all the leaked methane emissions, and of course is like replacing your daily 2-liter of Coca-Cola with a 2-liter of Diet Coke instead. 

And more importantly, the science is clear that we can't build new fossil fuel infrastructure and have any hope of preventing catastrophic climate change. 

That said, there is certainly a way to reduce the price of methane gas, so that Europeans can afford to make fertilizer and grow food. Because if we stop burning methane for electricity, all our existing capacity could be used to make fertilizer, bringing down prices significantly. 

So if we were to replace gas-fired power plants with wind, solar and batteries, we wouldn't need any climate-killing new fossil fuel infrastructure, and it would bring down fertilizer and food prices. And since solar is 33% cheaper than gas, it'd save money, too!

But instead of suggesting maybe a reduction in demand would lower prices quicker than a long term increase in supply that would doom the climate, the WSJ gives its pages to an industry spokesperson to offer up the very "short-sighted political thinking about energy" it criticizes. 

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