Cancer Alley Residents Are Fighting Back: In Southwestern Louisiana, oil and gas companies are polluting the air and water with dangerous chemicals, making kids sick. Yet the fossil fuel industry wants to expand in the region, vying to build four massive new gas export terminals within five miles of each other to export methane gas to other countries. 10-year-old Kamea, who lives in Sulphur, Louisiana near the Gulf Coast is fighting back - asking President Biden to stop approving new oil and gas projects, especially in the Gulf Coast. Kamea has a skin condition that burns and itches because of the polluted environment. Kamea’s skin breaks out in rashes, and the condition comes after Kamea has already struggled with asthma triggered by poor air quality. Kamea and her mother, Roishetta held an Earth Day march and workshop, to empower others to join their call for environmental justice and the prevention of new fossil facilities. (Teen Vogue)

Microsoft Signs Huge Nuclear Fusion Under Sustainability Banner: The tech giant Microsoft, has agreed to buy electricity from startup Helion Energy, which is aiming to make at least 50 megawatts of electricity from nuclear fusion by 2029. No one anywhere in the world has produced electricity from fusion yet, an energy source that powers the sun and stars and a potential limitless source of clean power. “I would say it’s the most audacious thing I’ve ever heard,” University of Chicago theoretical physicist Robert Rosner told the Verge. “In these kinds of issues, I will never say never. But it would be astonishing if they succeed.” The International Atomic Energy agency forecasts fusion electricity is possible in the second half of this century, though scientists have been trying to achieve nuclear fusion energy since the 1950s. Today’s nuclear power plants use fission, which unleashes tons of energy from separating atoms but also creates unstable waste that stays radioactive for millions of years. Fusion avoids the radioactive waste problem because it is creating, not separating helium atoms. (Axios, CNBC, Reuters, The Verge, The Hill, Bloomberg $, Wall Street Journal $)

White House Backs Manchin’s Permitting Plan: A proposal from U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) would not only expedite the approval of fossil fuel projects but also accelerate construction of new power transmission lines needed to plug renewables into the grid. “Right now, the permitting process for clean energy infrastructure, including transmission, is plagued by delays and bottlenecks,” John Podesta, President Biden’s senior adviser for clean energy innovation,  told an audience at the Bipartisan Policy Center. “We’ve got to fix this problem now.” The bill would fast-track the Mountain Valley Pipeline and set a two-year limit on environmental reviews of all major federal energy projects, whether clean or not. Podesta also noted the need to update the regulations covering the mining industry, which have not been touched since 1872. “Even though the memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant are still on recommend[ed] reading lists, [the] mining legislation he signed more than 150 years ago is a little out of date,” Podesta added. (Axios, The Hill, New York Times $)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Extreme heat will take an unequal toll on tribal jails (Grist)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) INJUSTICE: High percentages of Black, Hispanic Americans worried about tainted water: poll (The Hill)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: Watchdog probes more than 100 Australian firms on greenwashing (Bloomberg $), Fossil fuel influence on US supreme court is pervasive, Whitehouse says (Bloomberg $)

DRC: Thousands still missing as Congo flood survivors search for relatives (Reuters)

EPA: 4 answers on EPA’s looming power plant rules (Politico)

DOE: DOE proposes framework for national transmission corridors to spur new lines, ease grid congestion (Utility Dive)

LAWSUITS: Court extends Kentucky's WOTUS reprieve (E&E $)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden: GOP carrying water for Big Oil (E&E $)

THE HILL: Manchin says he will vote against Biden’s EPA nominees (The Hill), Manchin vows to oppose all Biden’s EPA nominees over climate plan (Politico), Leading Democrat blasts GOP war on ‘woke’ in anti-ESG hearing (The Hill), Lawmakers back speedier dam licenses for grid, climate goals (Bloomberg Law)

HOUSE: Why McCarthy might not get permitting reform in his debt ceiling demands (Washington Post $)

CITIES AND STATES: So-called 'green' cities promise a climate-friendly utopia. The reality is a lot messier (TIME), Texas House weighs Senate-approved plan to incentivize new gas plants as grid faces dicey summer (Utility Dive), Here’s what local climate action looks like in small-town USA (Canary Media), New Mexico constitution focus of legal fight over oil and gas drilling (AP), Some Mainers are giving up flying because of climate change (Bangor Daily News)

~CALIFORNIA: $3.4-million fine proposed over Huntington Beach oil leak (LA Times $), California’s catastrophic three-year drought might have had a surprising trigger (San Francisco Chronicle)

IMPACTS: Fires burn in Canada, Russia as summer heats up: weather watch (Bloomberg $), Oil and gas health impacts cost $77 billion per year, study finds (Axios), As climate change fuels fiercer rains, a new report on 2010 Massachusetts floods sends a dire warning (Boston Globe $), Black summer bushfires may have caused rare ‘triple dip’ La Niña, study suggests (The Guardian), Whaling logs and climate change; the 11 most endangered places in the US (NPR)

JACKSON: Jackson’s federally appointed water manager may also take over the city’s sewer system (AP)

DUST: More frequent dust storms could be in our future (Scientific American)

RAIL: Rail safety bill, inspired by fiery Ohio derailment, clears first major hurdle (HuffPost)

AG: John Kerry targets agriculture as part of climate crusade (Fox News)

RESEARCH: A Dutch university just set a powerful precedent for climate research (The Nation)

OIL & GAS: Up to 90% of EU spending to replace Russian gas with green technology could be recouped through fuel savings (Energy Monitor), $3.4M fine proposed over 2021 California oil pipeline leak (AP)

EUROVISION: The climate change messages behind the Eurovision song contest (Energy Monitor)

NUKES: Nuclear power makes a comeback underpinned by Russian uranium (Wall Street Journal $)

UTILITIES: Octopus Energy is bringing clean, distributed energy to the masses (Canary Media), A new law in Colorado will prevent utilities from charging customers for lobbying (Grist)

EVs: Five new EV models drive up North American factory production (Bloomberg $), Toyota accelerates EV revamp with extra $7 billion investment (Wall Street Journal $), How clean are electric cars? it depends where you live (Wall Street Journal $)

RENEWABLES: We need an area the size of Texas for wind and solar. Here’s how to halve it. (Washington Post $)

BIOMASS: More Georgia biomass plants could soon burn a new fuel: Scrap tires (Atlanta Journal Constitution $)

SOLAR: Long popular in Asia, floating solar catches on in US (AP)

COAL: Are Democrats finally winning the war on coal? (Politico)

MINING: Mining company wins approval for drilling in Wisconsin (AP), Livent, Allkem agree to create $10.6 billion lithium producer (Wall Street Journal $)

PLANNING: For more effective climate planning, cities must include suburbs and exurbs, researchers say (SmartCities Dive)

BOOKS: A force that has shaped the history of the world (The Atlantic)

FINANCE: SVB lends $200 million in first syndicated loan since collapse (Bloomberg $), US Republicans seek review of BlackRock utility holdings (Reuters), Consumers want companies to invest in climate tech (Morning Consult), The number of climate funds out there has exploded (Bloomberg $), Republican states move to block giant asset manager’s ESG push for utility companies (The Hill)

INTERNATIONAL: Spain plans to ban outdoor work in extreme heat (AP), Knitting Nannas tell court NSW protest laws have left them ‘frightened’ to take climate action (The Guardian), UK tops list for fossil fuel sites in nature protected areas (The Guardian), At least 21 dead as wildfires rage across Urals and Siberia (The Guardian)

• Australia needs bigger ambitions to be a hydrogen powerhouse (Bloomberg, David Fickling $)

• Oceans are heating up and El Nino will make it worse (Bloomberg, F.D. Flam $)

• Oakland teachers strike for climate justice (Wall Street Journal, Editorial Board $)

Meet The Disinfluencers: Eva Vlaardingerbroek, The Dutch Conspiracist Popping Up On Twitter And Fox

Brace yourselves, because there’s a new disinfluencer in town. Eva Vlaardingerbroek is a Dutch right-wing conspiracy theorist who has become the newest face of climate disinformation on Fox and Breitbart.

Vlaardingerbroek promoted her way onto our radar with her “activism” surrounding the long string of Dutch farmers’ protests in response to nitrogen emissions reduction plans. Her March 2023 speech at a farmers’ rally has over 17.5 million views on Twitter, and her tweets on this subject have caught the attention of high-profile disinformers like Jordan Peterson.

But don’t be fooled! Vlaardingerbroek is not some earnest voice for small farmers: She is a disinfluencer who exploits whatever situation she can in order to make money by spreading conspiracy theories.

She has repeatedly framed the Dutch government’s emissions reduction efforts as “a pretext to confiscate land for their own political and financial gain,” and she has spread the 15-minute city and Great Reset conspiracy theories. According to her, there is “no nitrogen crisis,” but there is apparently a “globalist climate agenda.” Vlaardingerbroek uses the #ClimateScam hashtag, and, like many other climate disinformers, she also traffics in COVID disinformation.

Vlaardingerbroek has joined the flood of other climate disinfluencers who have realized they can make bank by posting climate disinformation online. In addition to posting disinformation on Twitter and Instagram, she also monetizes her harmful conspiracy theories through Substack.

Recently, Vlaardingerbroek has gotten publicity from some of the biggest right-wing outlets. She appeared multiple times on Tucker Carlson’s now-defunct show on Fox News to help push climate conspiracy theories. Furthermore, just this week, Breitbart covered Vlaardingerbroek’s tweet that states, “There is nothing more narcissistic, degenerate and evil to me than people who propagate abortion or not having children because of ‘climate change’ or ‘the current state of the world’... Get a grip, you weak minded morons.”

Yes, we're at the stage where Breitbart is turning Eva's tweets into full “news stories.” 

So, whether you’re a farmer or an average internet user, make sure that you don’t fall for Vlaardingerbroek’s climate conspiracy theories!

New climate disinfluencers like Vlaardingerbroek will keep popping up as long as Big Tech continues to make climate disinformation a viable career path. Online platforms must address the widespread climate disinformation problem by, at the very least, preventing the monetization of climate disinformation.

After all, we can't keep waiting for Fox to fire its hosts who platform climate disinfluencers! 

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