FIRST LOOK:

Schools are going solar across the country, most with zero upfront costs. How are they doing it? Join Generation180 and the Center for Green Schools Monday at 12pm ET and learn directly from school decision makers responsible who made the switch to solar.

Join Climate Nexus and Atmos on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 11:00 am ET for a panel discussion among journalists, advocates, and policy experts ahead of COP27 on climate migration and loss and damage. Register here. 

Google Profits Off And Enables Climate Denial: A year since Google announced it would demonetize climate disinformation in its ad service and on YouTube, a new report by Dewey Square Group found Google Display is still serving ads on climate disinformation websites. The analysis, conducted for the Climate Action Against Disinformation coalition, reviewed over 100 top "climate disinformation sites" including Fox, Breitbart, and the Daily Caller, as well as the fringe video platform Rumble. Analysts found Google's ad services "were by far the most widely used," serving half of the sites and accounting for 97.7% of the millions of total projected weekly visits accounted for in the research. "We can't solve the climate crisis if Google continues to enable and fund the sites that expose millions of people to climate denial," said Erika Seiber of Friends of the Earth in a press release. The report is "further proof that tech companies can't be trusted to self-regulate" she added, which shows why "we have to stop this industry of opaque ad networks from propping up the dark corners of the internet." (Common Dreams, Rumble: Media Matters)

Don't Share This If You're Going to COP27: Egyptian police are allegedly stopping people in the streets and searching their phones for anti-government content. Similar crackdowns regularly occur in the lead up to the anniversaries of the January and June uprisings that overthrew dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and democratically-elected President Mohamed Morsi in 2015. But as the calls for abused Egyptian political prisoners like hunger-striking Alaa Abd El Fattah to be released grow louder, with Greta Thunberg tweeting support, and as the COP27 UN climate negotiations grow nearer, the Egyptian government is responding with further crackdowns. COP Civic Space has a petition to release those arbitrarily detained, and locally some are calling for protests on 11/11 during COP27, but Amr Magdi of Human Rights Watch tweeted those calls "have been marginal" and "not adopted by any large" local organizations with "the ability to mobilize in any significant way." Nonetheless, people are getting "arrested when police find the slightest critical content on their Whatsapp or Facebook. Even a message from a friend." (Middle East Monitor, World Politics Review, Quartz) 

Why'd The Mountain Lion Cross The Road? Wildfires. A new study published in Current Biology on Thursday found mountain lions around the area burned by Southern California's 2018 Woolsey Fire were forced to engage in risky behavior to adapt. Fitted with GPS collars, the big cats were observed crossing major roads more often (crossing the 10-lane highway 101 once every four months instead of an average two years between crossings), straying into rival territory, and risking human encounters while traveling during the day instead of at night. The big cat population remaining in the Los Angeles area has already dwindled to just a dozen or so, with only around 100 in the Santa Monica mountains north of LA. Even before the fires the cats, which need a large, wooded territory to hunt deer, had "a lot of barriers to dispersal" and are "experiencing a lot of stressors," including finding suitable mates, but now major portions of their already-fragmented territory were transformed when the fire burned nearly 100,000 acres into "pretty much a moonscape," according to study author Rachel Blakey. Though it's always the case, their increased presence during the day and around humans due to climate-amplified wildfires makes it more important than ever that LA residents be wary of cougars engaging in risky behaviors, especially when they're looking for mates. (Smithsonian Magazine, E&E News $)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: First Blood, now floods: these farmers are battling bandits and climate change (Vice), Climate change threatens Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe's cultural sites (NPR)

FOSSIL FUELED ENERGY CRISIS: Ukrainians asked to reduce power usage in wake of Russian infrastructure attacks (The Hill), A cooler than normal winter is forecast for a dozen states amid rising energy costs (CNN), Saudi Arabia unfazed by US backlash on oil as Russia reaps benefits (The Hill), Energy crisis tests resilience of Italian businesses (Reuters)

COP27: What is COP27 and why does it matter? (Independent), Rich nations may finally need to talk climate reparations at COP (Bloomberg), US supports climate reparations talk at UN summit (Bloomberg), As UN climate talks near, a showdown on reparations looms (Yale Environment 360)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: London's mayor slams global leaders for 'dragging feet' on climate (Reuters), The World Bank and IMF say they'll do more to address climate change (Washington Post $), Why the Bangladesh PM wants rich nations to pay up (E&E News $), Germany steps up on climate finance and seeks overhaul of World Bank (Financial Times)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: Ruling could result in trials against oil majors over Louisiana wetlands damage (Nola.com)

DENIAL: Scientist fights climate change deniers causing 'dangerous' delay (Context), Volkswagen sued for not disclosing climate lobbying activity (E&E News $)

GOP vs. ESG: Investors resist efforts to paint ESG as a political issue (Roll Call)

FOREVER CHEMICALS: ‘Forever chemicals’ found in water systems serving millions: GAO (The Hill), Alligators exposed to ‘forever chemicals’ show autoimmune impacts: study (The Hill)

AGENCIES: Federal government needs 30,000 new electric vehicles per year to meet emission goals: report (The Hill)

EPA: EPA opens civil rights probe of Mississippi after Jackson water crisis (Politico, AP, Axios), EPA takes additional step toward phasing out planet-warming gas used in refrigeration (The Hill, Washington Post $)

FERC: FERC meeting: Glick warning, 'self-dealing' and pipeline win (E&E News $)

DOE: Biden admin announces first Gulf oil sale from climate law (E&E News $)

DOJ: DOJ indicts 5 Russians in oil-smuggling scheme (E&E News $)

ELECTIONS: The overlooked elections this year with big climate stakes (Vox), Time Michels doesn't know about the wild rice problem (HEATED), What Senate candidates got wrong about climate policy during debates (Washington Post $), Spotlight on gas prices turns up heat on Biden ahead of midterms (The Hill), Sea level rise, coastal resiliency and climate change a national security issue, Tim Kaine says (Virginian-Pilot), Black, other voters of color lean into climate action, poll says (Bloomberg $), In North Carolina Senate race, global warming is on the back burner. Do voters even care? (Inside Climate News)

CALIFORNIA: Calif. Envisions low-carbon cement freeways (E&E News $)

IMPACTS: As snowmelt becomes uncertain, grit and tradition prevail (New York Times $)

HEAT: Warming waters cited as "key culprit" in mass die-off of Alaska snow crabs (CBS)

WILDFIRES: Why Seattle currently has the worst air quality in the world (Washington Post $), Wildfire smoke clouds Pacific NorthWest (Axios)

HURRICANES: Hurricane blamed for flesh-eating bacteria cases (CBS), Tropical Storm Roslyn strengthens off Mexico's Pacific coast (AP), Scientists blame climate change for dangerous storms. These South Florida residents agree (Gainesville Sun), Hurricane Ian devastates Florida agriculture with $1.5 billion in damages (CBS), Is U.S. nuclear power infrastructure vulnerable to climate change and hurricanes? (NBC), In Ida's aftermath, New Jersey officials eye new construction rules (CBS)

SANDYVERSARY: ‘Climate change anxiety’: A decade later, Hurricane Sandy’s lasting impact on Staten Island students (SILive)

DROUGHT: NOAA sees no winter drought relief across parched West (E&E News $), Rio Grande managers eye federal cash for western drought (AP), Severe drought and climate change are drying up bodies of water across North America (ABC), Months after floods, Brazil's Amazon faces a severe drought (AP)

WATER: Ocean protection around Hawaiian islands boosts far-flung 'Ahi populations (Inside Climate News), 'Nature is striking back': flooding around the world, from Australia to Venezuela (Guardian)

RENEWABLES: Renewables are holding back the emissions tide (Earther), Once cheap, wind and solar prices are up 34%. What's the outlook? (Inside Climate News), Orsted sells stake in U.S. wind farms, solar project to private equity firm (Reuters), Billionaire Adani to target Europe with huge Morocco clean energy project (Bloomberg) 

SOLAR: Solar farm to help thousands of Alabamians save money on electricity bill (WSFA), Families sink thousands of dollars into solar panels they say don't work (WLOS), Minnesota Power solar projects in Duluth, Brainerd online by year end (Duluth News Tribune), Ohio Power Siting Board approves two solar energy projects, rejects one (WTOL), Baileyton farmer Brad Mitchell uses solar energy to power his operation (Cullman Times)

OIL & GAS: Large oil project asks to inject wastewater in Wyo. aquifer (E&E News $)

PLASTICS: The selective accounting behind the plastic industry's climate-friendly claims (Grist), Mattel remakes Barbie with recycled plastic (Bloomberg)

COAL: Midwest co-op CEO: Closing coal plants is 'dumb' (E&E News $), Climate change: China’s Xi Jinping affirms net-zero commitment while touting coal’s near-term value for energy security (South China Morning Post), Climate, health activists call for Evergy to close coal power plant (KMBC) 

EVs: Huge EV-station battery opens in Calif. Desert (E&E News $), Why 6 flooded EVs burst into flames after Hurricane Ian (E&E News $)

ACTIVISM: Just Stop Oil spray orange paint on Harrods on day 20 of climate protests (Independent), A fossil museum uses the past to reimagine climate's future (New York Times $), 'Heat, heat, heat': Aspen Institute holds climate change roundtable (NBC Miami), Miami Beach's biggest climate change conference will return in 2023 to talk solutions (Miami Herald)

DIVESTMENT: How to purge fossil fuel investments from your 401(k) or IRA (Bloomberg)

FINANCE: Revealed – how US insurers compare when it comes to exiting fossil fuel support (InsuranceBusinessMag), Dubai Islamic Bank sets up green financing framework (Reuters)

PUBLIC LANDS: A plan to save a beloved park from flooding has angered its biggest fans (New York Times $)

SPELUNKING: How the world's northernmost caves could hold answers to climate change (CNN)

WILDLIFE: Florida conservation effort helps restore oysters and their ecosystem (CBS News)

INTERNATIONAL: South Africa approves $8.5bn energy transition investment plan (Climate Home News)

• Climate and Women: Canaries in the climate-change coal mine (LA Times, Barbara Natterson-Horowitz interview)
• An immigration plan for the climate change era (New Republic, Deepak Bhargava interview)
• Methane is a global climate concern, but new technologies offer hope (CNN, Tianyi Sun op-ed)
• The world can't afford world bank inaction on climate change (TIME, Phyllis Cuttino op-ed)
• Big Ag has misled the public when it comes to fighting climate change (Missouri Independent, Dave Dickey column) 
• As America grapples with the climate crisis, 9 experts weigh in with solutions (CNN, multiple interviews)
• On climate protests, the media misses the point (Environmental Health News, Ans Irfan op-ed)
• How many van Goghs is one Earth worth? (Vox, Aja Romano column)
• India's next green revolution (Economist editorial) 
• Why Africa is central to the climate change conundrum (Financial Times, David Pilling column)
• The vegan protesters spilling milk in supermarkets are right (New Republic, Jan Dutkiewicz op-ed)
• In a warming climate, San Diego must change how its homes are cooled (Times of San Diego, Elise Gout op-ed)
• I didn't vote in 2016. Young, liberal voters: Don't make my mistake with the midterms. (USA Today, Carli Pierson column)
• The pushback to woke capitalism (Wall Street Journal, Vivek Ramaswamy interview)

Seven Shades of Stenography: Disinfo Outlets Dutifully Rebroadcast Corrupt GOP Attacks on Banks

On Wednesday, the Infowars Investors from the offices of 19 states' Attorneys General sent letters to six major banks, pressing them on their involvement with the Net-Zero Banking Alliance and their Environmental, Social and Governance practices (to prevent investing in the dirtiest, most racist and corrupt companies). 

This latest step in the Alex Jonesian assault on companies behaving semi-decently, is ramping up the rhetoric, alleging a banking conspiracy, and is getting just about as close as elected Republicans can, to out-right claiming Jewish bankers are secretly running the world. 

But of course that's not how rightwing media covered it! No, instead they basically just copied and pasted the press release into their respective publishing softwares, and uploaded. Churning press releases into "journalism", AKA churnalism. 

The Federalist was explicit that its story was "according to a press release" from Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, before basically just copying and pasting the entire thing, while the Washington Times piece at least pretended to do journalism and noted that the banks all "declined" or "have not responded to requests for comment." 

Trevor Schakohl, a "legal reporter" at the daily Daily Caller, on the other hand, based his coverage on releases from Republican Attorneys General from Arizona and Texas. Sort of. Schakohl linked to the Texas release when quoting Arizona AG Mark Brnovich, so while we also found the Arizona press release, the particular quote from him the Caller uses isn't actually there, so who knows where they got it from. 

Oh wait, we do! It looks to be a botched paraphrase of the Missouri AG Eric Schmitt's statement, so it doesn't appear to be a quote from Brnovich — or anyone else for that matter — at all!

Here's the Daily Caller, note the second sentence in particular: “NZBA is an agreement between major banking institutions to support the climate agenda by choosing not to work with companies engaged in fossil fuel-related activities,” Brnovich said. “This means some farmers, oil leasing companies, and other businesses will be unable to get a loan because of the alliance.”

Now read Missouri AG Schmitt's press release: “The Net-Zero Banking Alliance is a massive worldwide agreement by major banking institutions, overseen by the U.N., to starve companies engaged in fossil fuel-related activities of credit on national and international markets. Missouri farmers, oil leasing companies, and other businesses that are vital to Missouri’s and America’s economy will be unable to get a loan because of this alliance,” said Attorney General Schmitt." [bolding in original]

It's press release churnalism, and the Daily Caller still messes it up! And not for lack of experience with the concept- ever since 2015 we've been calling Michael Bastasch a churnalist for running disinfo press releases as "news", and now he's the Managing Editor at the Daily Caller, but apparently he still can't manage to edit things well. (That's what happens when you hire a Koch-trained propagandist to do a journalist's job!) 

Anyway, if you're wondering about the larger effort to make capitalism even more racist, polluting, sexist and corrupt by fighting ESG standards, worry not! Wil Hild, of the newly-billionaire-backed group Consumers Research (covered recently by the New York Times) was quoted in a bunch of outlets with a reputation for spreading conservative disinformation. 

Breitbart, PJMedia, Epoch Times all ran a quote from him, as did the Daily Wire, which described both Wild's quotes and the Missouri AG's quotes, whose press release they turned into "news," as "a statement provided to The Daily Wire," which is technically true, but also about the most desperate and self-inflating way to say "they sent us a press release we copy-pasted-published." 

But hey! At least they didn't screw up the copypaste and attribute an edited quote to the wrong Attorney General!

The Daily Caller: terrible, even among awful competition! 

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