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New Tailpipe Emissions Standards Expected: President Biden is planning to reinstate Obama-era fuel standards over the next five years before implementing even more stringent rules, the Associated Press reported. The move, which could come as soon as next week, would undo a Trump administration rollback of tailpipe emissions standards set under former President Obama. Under that standard, automakers were required to raise fuel economy 5% per year from 2021 through 2026. The Biden administration says the new requirements for carmakers would start in 2023, ramp up to the Obama-era level by 2025, and then go even higher for model year 2026. The administration also hopes 40% of all new car sales will be electric vehicles by 2030, but there is currently no enforcement mechanism to meet that goal. Under the Obama-era standards, automakers got double credit toward meeting their fuel economy and pollution requirements for fully electric vehicles, but it’s unclear whether Biden will reinstate that program, which was ended by Trump. While the new standards would be a major step in cutting current climate-warming emissions, some think the proposal does not go far enough. “The world isn’t the same as it was in 2012 when President Obama signed the clean car standards,” said Katherine Garcia, acting director of Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All campaign. “Millions of Americans have had to swelter in heat waves, evacuate their homes in the face of onrushing wildfires, or bail out flooded homes.” (Associated Press, Independent, Reuters) 

Oregon Moves Toward 100% Clean Electricity: Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed an ambitious climate bill aimed at getting the state to 100% clean electricity by 2040 on Tuesday. The bill sets a timeline for the state’s two major power companies to reduce emissions by 80% by 2030, 90% by 2035 and 100% by 2040. Seventeen other states and the District of Columbia have also passed bills aimed at achieving 100% clean electricity, but Oregon has the most aggressive timeline. It also plans to measure progress by how much utilities cut overall emissions, rather than by how much they increase the amount of energy that comes from renewable sources, as many other states do. On top of the clean electricity standard, the bill also bans new construction of fossil fuel power plants and allocates $50 million for community-based energy projects. A senior official at PacifiCorp, one of the state’s largest utilities, said they feel comfortable making the 2030 goal, but do not yet have a  plan for the 2040 goal. “This bill will put Oregon on a pathway for a more environmentally sound future and create economic opportunity and jobs for our working families,” said Rep. Jason Kropf, a sponsor of the bill. (Associated Press)

The Potential of the Civilian Climate Corps: One part of President’s Biden’s infrastructure plan, a Civilian Climate Corps (CCC), could help places like storm-battered Lake Charles, Lousiannna recover from extreme weather and prepare for future storms, Rolling Stone reports. Many residents in Lake Charles are still recovering from Hurricanes Laura and Delta which hit the region last year, even as a new hurricane season begins. Currently, many in the region are relying on nonprofits and the federally funded, voluntary civil society program AmeriCorp to recover, as FEMA aid has been slow or nonexistent. The CCC, which is based on the New Deal-era Civilian Conservation Corps, could help. Among other things, the program would put people to work restoring natural environments. In Lake Charles and coastal communities like it, restoring wetlands not only improves the natural habitat, but also can also serve as a buffer to absorb hurricane storm surge. At the funding level proposed in Biden’s plan, the CCC would operate on a much smaller scale than the original Civilian Conservation Corps, employing around 200,000 people. However, there are several plans from Congressional Democrats calling for a more robust program that focuses on environmental justice and calls for investments in local-led adaptation projects. In May, members of the Sunrise Movement marched from New Orleans to Houston to highlight the potential of a CCC along the Gulf Coast. The fossil fuel industry supports up to 10 percent of jobs in Louisiana and even more in Lake Charles, so a program that offers employment would be welcome in the region. “People feel forced to choose between putting food on their table and getting rid of the petrochemical plants,” said Jenna Hanes, who marched with Sunrise. But a CCC would mean “workers can gain skills for the future, that aren’t in an industry that’s going to eventually die.” (Rolling Stone) 

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: What does California owe its incarcerated firefighters? (The Atlantic)

DENIAL: We know how this ends (Gizmodo), podcast: A drying lake in Oregon attracts the far right (LA Times $)

SHIPPING: Why Walmart, Target, Amazon and Ikea need greener ships (Greenbiz)

COP26: How much is the developing world getting to fight climate change? (BBC), South Africa proposes global goal for adaptation at pre-Cop26 ministerial (Climate Home), India ditches key climate meeting after disrupting G-20 (Bloomberg $)

COAL ASH: Toxic TVA coal ash on Claxton playground confirmed by Duke University testing (Knoxville News Sentinel)

VITAL SIGNS: Between 2020 and 2021, the earth’s vital signs got worse (Fast Company, The Independent)

SALMON: Shocking video shows salmon almost boiled alive in heatwave (The Hill, Guardian)

SURVIVAL: Beyond human endurance (Washington Post $)

OLYMPICS: ‘I can die’: Medvedev survives extreme heat at Tokyo Games (AP, Reuters)

CHERRY POINT: This refinery community is going to ban any new fossil development (Fast Company)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: John Kerry "not confident" enough is being done to prevent worst damages of climate change (CBS), John Kerry tells CBS News that extreme weather around the world makes action on climate change urgent (CBS)

INFRASTRUCTURE BILL(S): Sen Joe Manchin warns 'everything could fall apart' on two big infrastructure bills (The Hill)

POLITICS: Why does the Squad oppose a bipartisan energy security bill? (Grist)

CITIES AND STATES: California PUC unveils draft plan for 'forward-thinking' distributed energy policy (Utility Dive), in Wisconsin, conservatives make the case for third-party community solar (Energy News Network), a Rhode Island utility successfully lobbied to increase solar net metering (Energy News Network)

FERC: Chatterjee on coal, nuclear push: 'I didn't handle it well' - (E&E $)

IMPACTS: Iowa farmers absorbed $243 million in losses from last year's devastating drought, derecho, new tally says (Des Moines Register), the little ice age shows that small climate changes can have devastating consequences (Fast Company), is this the end of summer as we’ve known it? (New York Times $), have we entered a new phase of climate change? (FT $)

HEAT: Heat wave grips U.S. this week from coast to coast (Axios), Minnesotans urged to take care of themselves and others during extreme heat (MPR), Tokyo Olympics reschedule some events around intense weather: High heat, high humidity, and tropical storm (Teen Vogue), U.N. climate panel confronts implausibly hot forecasts of future warming (Science), extreme heat could also mean power and water shortages (Wired)

DROUGHT: Western drought drives water levels at Great Salt Lake and Lake Powell to historic lows (Washington Post $), how is Utah's on-going drought impacting fish? (Utah Public Radio)

WILDFIRES: West coast facing uptick in wildfires thanks to climate change, experts say (Yahoo), as Dixie fire doubles in size, monsoon weather brings new threats (LA Times $), what you need to know about how wildfires spread (Washington Post $), as wildfires worsen, more California farms are deemed too risky to insure (Grist), wildfires are a threat to steamboat springs’ water supply. Here’s how the city is getting ready (Colorado Public Radio), extremely hot temperatures and drought conditions exacerbate European wildfires (CNN), wildfires have burned a combined area the size of Delaware and Rhode Island -- and then some (CNN)

WILDFIRE OFFSETS: Western wildfires are sending carbon offsets up in smoke (Gizmodo, Politico), 

TIPPING POINT: Thousands of scientists warn climate tipping points ‘imminent’ (Al Jazeera), critical measures of global heating reaching tipping point, study finds (The Guardian)

SMOKE: Climate change could make these smoky days more common (Bangor Daily News)

HUH?: Wildfires were so hot they cooled the planet (E&E $, Washington Post $, Axios)

FLOODING: Flooding concerns amid heavy rain and thunderstorms (BBC), study: Boston’s subway system faces severe flood threat (Portland Press Herald)

EXTREME WEATHER: As climate change worsens, extreme weather disasters pile up (Yahoo)

RENEWABLES: ‘Most powerful' tidal turbine starts generating electricity off Orkney (BBC)

ENERGY: Tesla Energy achieves record quarter; Megapack and Powerwall are sold out for a while (Electrek), Naturgy net profit rises on higher energy demand and prices (Reuters)

EFFICIENCY: Massachusetts considers higher efficiency bar for large commercial buildings (Energy News Network)

LNG: Polish PGNiG ends LNG deal over U.S. Texas Port Arthur delays (Reuters), Poland ends LNG deal with Sempra in Texas, signs memo to take gas from other projects (San Diego Union-Tribune), U.S. LNG exports in first half up 42% from a year ago (Reuters)

HYDROELECTRIC: Can retrofitting dams for hydro provide a green energy boost? (Yale Environment 360)

NET ZERO: LA. energy battles show challenge of reaching net zero  (E&E $)

OIL & GAS: U.S. oil refiners set for first profit since onset of pandemic (Reuters)

HYDROGEN: Low-carbon hydrogen is not cheap and needs support, says major energy organization (CNBC)

WATER: We're in a water crisis. We need to act like it (TIME), Mendocino is running out of water. The solution might involve a very old train (San Francisco Chronicle), illegal cannabis growers are stealing water amid California’s drought, officials say. (Washington Post $)

POWER PLANTS: 5% of earth's power plants create 73% of the energy sector's emissions (Vice)

SHELL: Shell to buy renewable energy company (The Hill, Reuters)

ACTIVISM: Climate activists challenge Britain's support of North Sea oil and gas producers (Reuters)

BUSINESS: TPG raises $5.4 billion for climate fund chaired by Hank Paulson (Bloomberg $)

CARS: U.S. lawmakers urge EPA to reinstate California vehicle emissions authority (Reuters)

NASA: NASA’s new mission studies how intense thunderstorms may influence climate change (ABC)

GAS LEAKS: Wisconsin home explosion leaves one dead (Washington Examiner)

INTERNET: Worried your Netflix binge is killing the planet? You can chill—for now. (Popular Science)

DRINKS: Champagne with no bubbles? Thank climate change (Bloomberg $), top soy, coffee, sugar ports tackle Brazil climate change (Bloomberg $)

FOOD: How to make your next takeaway dinner more environmentally-friendly (The Independent), get ready to pay more for tomatoes, as California growers reel from extreme weather (Washington Post $)

EARTH: Earth’s liquid hot interior is ‘swallowing up’ more carbon than thought (The Independent)

PARIS AGREEMENT: Why the Paris climate agreement might be doomed to fail (InsideClimate News)

GARDENING: He wrote a gardening column. He ended up documenting climate change. (New York Times $)

FINANCE: Brookfield raises $7 billion for global energy transition fund (Reuters), pension funds talk green while holding billions in polluter stocks (Bloomberg $)

CRYPTOCURRENCY: This Utah oil producer was wasting natural gas. Now it uses it to mine cryptocurrency. (Salt Lake Tribune)

OCEAN: Enlist the ocean in combatting climate change, experts and advocates argue (Scientific American)

BIG TECH: Google plans to expand its campus — which might become unsafe as sea levels rise (NPR, NPR)

FARMING: As carbon markets reward new efforts, will regenerative farming pioneers be left in the dirt? (Civil Eats)

EMISSIONS: Boeing jets emissions data highlights industry's green challenge (Reuters), EGEB: In 2020, the US produced the lowest energy emissions in nearly 40 years (Electrek)

INTERNATIONAL: US, European and UK diplomats meet to encourage Australia to ramp up climate action (The Guardian), renewables industry blasts ‘unacceptable’ Australian energy market rules it says will prolong coal plants (The Guardian), amid crushing floods in China, officials focus not on climate change, but on control (LA Times $), German election frontrunner stumbles after flooding, poll shows (Bloomberg $)

• How many years until we must act on climate? Zero, say these climate thinkers (The Guardian, Jennifer Francis , Michael Mann , Holly Jean Buck and Peter Kalmus op-ed)
• Climate change is a unifying threat — NATO should enact Article 5 to combat it (The Hill, Deborah Brosnan op-ed)
• Will our food break the climate or save it? (The Hill, Martin Frick and Ryan Hobert op-ed)
• Iron-air batteries: Huge green-energy breakthrough, or just a lot of hype? (Washington Post, David Von Drehle op-ed $)
• Column: Rising global energy use complicates path to net zero: Kemp (Reuters, John Kemp Column)
• Utilizing space to fight climate change on Earth (The Hill, Jennifer Manner op-ed)
• Don’t blame men for the climate crisis – we should point the finger at corporations (The Guardian, Arwa Mahdawi op-ed)
• Its time to make long-lasting and transformative investments in biofuels (The Hill, Rep. Angie Craig op-ed)

GOP Bill Seeks To Eliminate Police(-ing of EPA Regulations on Polluting Street Racers) 

For a party that claims to “Back the Blue,” Republicans have been surprisingly anti-police this year. First it was the insurrection on January 6th, where conservative hatred of democracy and lust for power overcame their supposed respect for law enforcement, leaving scores of Capitol police wounded in the course of doing their job protecting elected officials from a mob threatening to assassinate police officers, VP Pence and other political leaders. Republicans were… not exactly thrilled yesterday when 4 officers testified about the Jan 6 assault on the Capitol, and themselves, in the course of the failed insurrection.

Adding insult to injury? Kentucky Republican and insurrection-supporter Rep. Thomas Massie, is co-sponsoring a bill that would prevent cops from policing. 

…

Okay maybe that’s a little exaggerated. 

Specifically, H.R. 3281 would amend the Clean Air Act to exempt anyone who’s converting their car into a racecar from rules meant to clean up tailpipe pollution. Turns out that one of the ways to make a car faster is to make it dirtier, and the EPA is cracking down on businesses that provide that service.

As the Washington Examiner’s Kerry Picket recently covered in a story that’s strangely sympathetic to lawbreakers given the outlet’s otherwise staunchly-pro-police stance, EPA enforcement officers have been raiding mechanics suspected of installing devices that bypass pollution control mechanisms. Per an EPA spokesperson, there are something like a million converted racecars that “have had their emissions controls completely removed.” 

Facing fines they’ve already argued down from the hundred-thousand dollar range to a ten-thousand-dollar one, mechanics who supe up everyday Honda Civics into Fast and Furious racers are very spooked by the fact that these police are armed. 

And because it’s polluting businesses that are complaining about overly-militarized police issuing fines, Republicans are mad and taking action. “The EPA shouldn’t be able to raid anything or anybody,” Rep. Massie told the Examiner, because he thinks “it’s insane that over 40 executive branch agencies have police forces.” 

We’re actually somewhat inclined to agree with the erstwhile maskless crusader Massie, although it’s pretty odd for a lawmaker to feign offense at the mere existence of law enforcement. And as you may suspect, Rep. Massie said last year that defunding the police was the “absolute wrong thing to do.” What happened? Has Massie been persuaded to seek entrance into The Squad? 

Or, perhaps it has something to do with January 6th, when his base used Christian, Confederate/MAGA, American and “thin blue line” flags to attack Capitol Police? (Officers who Massie voted against giving medals to honor last month...) 

Seriously though, there’s not really much hypocrisy from Massie, or the 90 other House members sponsoring the RPM Act. 

Because it’s always been obvious, even as they deny the racism inherent in American policing, that their support for the police is more about oppressing people of color (including Officers) and protecting whiteness than it is any ideological fealty to “law and order.”

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