FIRST LOOK: 

America’s Rivers for an event commemorating the announcement of America’s Most Endangered Rivers of 2022. Hear from frontline, tribal, and national leaders where climate change and injustice are putting water supplies and the wellbeing of tens of millions of people at risk.  TODAY at 1:00 PM ET. REGISTER HERE.

Russia's War Has Ripple Effects From Record Methane Gas Prices: Fallout from the Russian war in Ukraine roiling global energy markets and a cold front across large swaths of the U.S. pushed gas prices to a 13-year high, with futures breaking above $8 on Monday for the first time since 2008, double the price since the first of the year. Unseasonably cold temperatures increased gas demand in the U.S. at a time in the year when demand for gas typically begins to wane. At the same time, sanctions on Russian gas constricted global supply, with European and Asian markets competing for liquified methane gas exports. High gas prices harm vulnerable people and the climate. In the immediate term, high prices exacerbate the energy burden on low income households in the U.S. and around the world already struggling with inflation. Pakistan is cutting electricity due to fuel shortages as it struggles to afford coal and gas from overseas. The soaring gas market is reversing the trend in which gas undercuts coal, encouraging record coal output in China and elsewhere. On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will convene the heads of the World Bank, IMF, and ministers from the G7 and G20 countries, in an effort to stave off a food security crisis that could be exacerbated, in part, by high gas prices that threaten the supply of nitrogenous fertilizer, of which gas is a key ingredient. Finally, U.S. gas producers are moving to start production on the thousands of stockpiled undeveloped leases, bidding on new leases the Biden administration recently made available, and pushing to accelerate construction of new gas export terminals. Increased fossil fuel production will lock in CO2 and methane emissions for decades to come, at a time when scientists have warned that failing to break free from fossil fuels will result in “an unlivable world.” (CNBC, Bloomberg, Houston Chronicle, Wall Street Journal $, E&E $, Marketwatch, OilPrice.com; Impacts: Bloomberg, Bloomberg, Reuters, Reuters)

Meteorologists Seek To Reach Deaf Americans With ASL Forecasts: Some local news channel meteorologists are looking to make critical weather broadcasts available to the deaf community by providing sign language interpretation when they appear on TV. For the more than half a million Americans who rely primarily on American Sign Language, local weather forecasts are difficult to access: Because ASL and English are different languages, closed captioning often does a poor job of translating what’s being said on air, while some people who rely on ASL may struggle with English grammar and/or have difficulty seeing. Vivian Rennie, of KSBY in San Luis Obispo, California, was inspired by the ASL interpreters who were a fixture on the regular press briefings given by state and local officials in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Then a reporter and meteorologist in Sioux City, Iowa, Rennie contacted Tara Burglund, a representative for the local deaf community, who taught her words in ASL such as “tornado,” “emergency,” “it’s not safe to drive now,” and “the storm has passed.” “Hearing people don’t know … how important the necessities are to the deaf communities,” Burglund wrote. “I hope that hearing people would just listen to us, the deaf community, for our accessibility needs.” (Washington Post $)

Kentucky’s Coal Collapse Leaves Regulators Toothless To Enforce Law On ‘Zombie’ Mines: In Kentucky, coal mines that were operated by now-bankrupt companies are racking up violations of regulations that are meant to protect the public and the environment from destructive impacts of strip mining – and the state regulator is left with little power to enforce the law. As of February, there were 817 notices of noncompliance – about twice as many as in 2013, when there were 28% fewer active mining permits – according to an investigation by Inside Climate News, which found that more than half of the violations stem from mines that were operated by now-bankrupt companies. Companies are required to reclaim surface mined sites as they move into mining new areas, by backfilling and grading, eliminating waste, planting trees and grass, and treating toxic runoff – returning the land to its approximate original contour – and are supposed to secure bonds to cover the costs of reclamation in the event of bankruptcy. But because the primary mechanism of enforcement is withholding permits, bankrupt companies are simply leaving the state holding the bag, to the tune of as much as a $2.4 billion liability. “This is completely out of control,” Courtney Skaggs, a senior environmental scientist with the Kentucky Department of Natural Resources, wrote to the department’s commissioner, Gordon Sloane, in December. “This is going to blow up in someone’s face.” (Inside Climate News)

NOT EVEN CLOSE TO ENOUGH: Inside Biden's sparsely staffed, high-pressure environmental shop (E&E $)

CORONAVIRUS: COVID-19 recovery meant more oil spills in New Mexico, study says. What can the State do? (Carlsbad Current Argus)

SWEPT AWAY: Death toll from South African floods rise to 443, dozens still missing (Democracy Now)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: IMF expects 'significant' pledges for new climate, pandemics trust (Reuters), US calls on Australia to increase 2030 emission reduction pledge to help prevent ‘greater destruction’ (The Guardian)

CATCH 22: Responses to rising hunger could threaten climate goals (Scientific American)

DENIAL: No, global warming will not be overturned by a paradigm shift (Clean Technica)

PAYIN’ AT THE PUMP: Gasoline prices fall for fourth consecutive week, but rebound possible as oil rallies (Houston Chronicle), Higher gas prices a factor for those considering a hybrid or electric car - CBS News poll (CBS)

SCOTUS: Supreme Court rejects Missouri gas pipeline bid to overturn permit ruling (AP, Politico Pro $), Supreme Court blow to Missouri pipeline seen boosting FERC oversight efforts (Politico Pro $)

BLM: Cows, coal, and climate change: A Q&A with the new BLM director (Grist)

BUILD BACK BETTER ACT: Democrats still aiming to pass pieces of Biden's 'Build Back Better' plan (NBC, The Hill), Lawmaker Raskin sees hope for U.S. climate legislation this year (Reuters)

HOUSE: Jamie Raskin on the climate crisis: ‘We’ve got to save democracy in order to save our species’ (The Guardian)

EARTH DAY PARTY: Biden to tout climate policies for Earth Day (The Hill), Officials tout climate agenda for Earth Week (The Hill)

SPEC: Interview: Special Envoy John Kerry on helping small island nations dealing with climate change (NPR), John Kerry says the ocean is finally getting the attention it deserves in the climate change fight (TIME)

POLITICS: New Mexico’s Democrats offer an energy lesson for the party (Politico), Pence group to target vulnerable Democrats over gas prices (The Hill)

ELECTIONS: Charles Booker, Senate candidate, wants to build a progressive future for Kentucky (Teen Vogue)

CAN YOU NOT: EPA ghoul Scott Pruitt is plotting his comeback (Gizmodo)

TRIBES: How rights of nature and wild rice could stop a pipeline (Grist)

CITIES AND STATES: America’s mayors mount a bipartisan push for climate action (Governing Magazine), Here are the 7 greenest and least-green states in the US (Fox Weather), Gulf Coast, Mississippi River cities eager for flood funding (AP), New Hampshire legislation aims to preempt state’s net-metering study (Energy News Network), Granholm, Lee, Cortez Masto tout Nevada’s role in clean energy (Las Vegas Review-Journal), N.Y. utility's $1B plan targets offshore wind's grid problem (E&E News $), NY green lights clean energy projects, but concerns linger (City Limits (NYC), Oil prices soared this year. Wyoming production didn't. Here's why. (Longview News-Journal)

CALIFORNIA: California gives rivers more room to flow to stem flood risk (AP)

RIVER, YOU’RE IN DANGER GIRL: Colorado River deemed ‘most endangered river’ in the US: Report (CNN, The Hill, ABC)

IMPACTS: The natural wonders we're losing to climate change (CNN)

DROUGHT: A vast California lake is set to run dry. Scientists are scrambling to save its endangered fish (San Francisco Chronicle)

WATER: Feds face tough water choices in parched west (Gizmodo)

REEFS: The rainforests of the sea—coral reefs—likely to vanish by 2050, claims new research (Weather Channel, Nature World News), Caribbean sea urchins are mysteriously dying in droves (Gizmodo, CBS)

RENEWABLES: Scientists push clean energy for combating climate change (CBS)

BATTERIES: How to build a better battery (Vox)

BUILDINGS: Gas ban 2.0: Building wars (E&E $), Our obsession with new buildings, McMansions is driving up emissions (Houston Chronicle)

CLEAN JOBS: Australia begins long road to retraining thousands of coal workers for clean energy roles (Bloomberg $)

CRITICAL MINERALS: How mining for clean energy could undermine Biden’s EJ goals (E&E News $)

STORAGE: The renewable-energy revolution will need renewable storage (The New Yorker $)

GAS EXPORTS: LNG exports will add to climate change (The Hill), Sabine Pass, the nation’s largest LNG hub, may need to grow with demand (Houston Chronicle)

METHANE: Texas pipeline leaks 16,000 cars' worth of methane in 'ultra-emitter' Event (Washington Examiner, Bloomberg $), unregulated pipeline break in Webb County highlights' Texas oil and gas accountability problem (Daily Kos)

OIL & GAS: Permian gas production at risk by late 2023 as midstream capacity dwindles (S&P Global)

PLASTICS: Microplastics and pollution combine to become much more toxic: Study (Environmental Health News)

PIPELINES: CO2 pipelines are coming. A pipeline safety expert says we’re not ready. (Grist)

COAL: Can China's coal capital transform itself into a solar mecca? (National Geographic), Frontieras North America to bring coal processing plant to Mason County, West Virginia (WVNews, The Center Square)

HYDROGEN: Texas companies embrace hydrogen to retain energy crown (Houston Chronicle), the hydrogen energy dream (Vox)

UTILITIES: Utilities want to convert coal plants to nuclear; skeptics abound (Wall Street Journal $)

LAUGHING ALL THE WAY: A coal tycoon is making billions in a world aiming to go green (Bloomberg $) 

(ALLEGED) UTILITY CORRUPTION: Dark money helped Ohio utilities subsidize coal plants, delaying action on climate change at ratepayers’ expense (Energy News Network)

THE WHEELS ON THE (E)BUS: Can the EPA actually make school buses greener? (Grist)

EVs: Ginger Zee takes ultimate road trip for spring break (ABC), Seeing more Teslas on Texas roads? Electric vehicle adoption isn’t as widespread as you’d think (Dallas Morning News), Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess on electric cars, the war in Ukraine, and recapturing the American car market (CBS), The 10 ‘greenest’ cars to buy this year for every budget (Ebony), Illinois offers $4,000 incentive to electric vehicle buyers (Yale Climate Connections), Rivian CEO warns of looming electric-vehicle battery shortage (Wall Street Journal $), Rivian opportunity at risk (Axios)

TRAINS: Will a fast train to Vegas lure road trippers from their cars? (Bloomberg $)

BRIDGE TO SELL YOU: Is cryptocurrency the magical Texas route to a stable power grid? Or just wishful thinking? (Houston Chronicle)

ACTIVISM: Extinction Rebellion protesters worldwide demand real action on climate emergency (Democracy Now)

AGRICULTURE: A Maine-based company is helping fisherman become kelp farmers to adapt to climate change (Fast Company)

GET A MOOVE ON: Dairy Giant Arla Wants to Pay Farmers More for Low-Emission Milk (Bloomberg $)

FOR YOUR CONSUMPTION: Frontline’ review: Why the climate changed but we didn’t (New York Times $), ‘We’re trying to turn the magnet towards optimism’: Cate Blanchett on her new climate crisis podcast (The Guardian), Author: Climate change could lead to financial crisis (Bloomberg $), Review: 3 books tackle aspects of climate change, from hard science to the beauty of what’s being lost (San Francisco Chronicle)

TINSELTOWN: Why screenwriters should keep climate change top of mind in their scripts (The Wrap, Deadline, AP)

MAKE BETTER CHOICES: Environmentalist Leah Thomas shares 5 tips to lead a more sustainable life (Ebony)

THE WORLD IS HIS CLASSROOM: Kerim’s climate odyssey: The climate change classroom on the sea (Al Jazeera)

BUSINESS: Proxy power: Annual meetings are the new frontline in the battle over corporate purpose (Economist), Society Watch: How employees are taking their companies to task over climate change (Reuters)

DIVESTMENT: California fossil fuel divestment bill in peril after losing key lawmaker (Politico Pro $)

FINANCE: The next hurdle in Europe’s energy transition: Being more enticing than NFTs (New York Times $)

HEALTH: A switch to clean energy rapidly improves community health (Yale Climate Connections), Earth Day: Researchers studying climate change and its health impacts (CBS Miami)

LAWSUIT WAITING TO HAPPEN: Celeb-backed environmental law firm accused of transphobia (Gizmodo)

OH YOU SAID ETHICAL CLEANSING: Waterless skincare: The beauty firms tapping into ethical cleansing (The Guardian)

DO ROBOTS DREAM OF ELECTRIC TREES? Drones are setting down roots in wildfire-scarred landscapes (The Verge), How robots and indoor farming can help save water and grow crops year round (CNBC)

GEE WHIZ: Tech Support: Solutions for a warming world (Vox)

PUBLIC LANDS: Drilling plan complicates climate, reconciliation politics (E&E News $)

NATURAL DEFENSE: Mangroves have 'superpowers' against climate change. Scientists are racing to save them. (NBC), Why are nature-based solutions on climate being overlooked? (Yale Environment 360)

INTERNATIONAL: Climate change 'eating away' Iraqi monuments, experts warn (The New Arab), How climate change is disrupting the global supply chain (Greenbiz), Singapore and New Zealand to jointly tackle climate change (AP)

• Is it possible to heal the damage we have already done to the Earth? (The Conversation, Scott Denning)
• Biden’s gas exports create imported headaches (Bloomberg, Javier Blas $)
• How net zero became our global climate goal and why we need it (Forbes, David Carlin)
• The Guardian view on the future of buildings: Make do and mend (The Guardian, Editorial Board)
• Losing some bald eagles may be among the trade-offs for clean energy (Washington Post, Eugene Robinson $)
• Why it’s time to start caring much more about clean hydrogen (New York Times, Philip Verleger and David G. Victor $)
• Climate change will transform how we live, but these tech and policy experts see reason for optimism (The Conversation, Robert Lempert and Elisabeth Gilmore)

Wall Street Journal Pushed More Climate Disinfo During Putin’s Fossil-Fueled Invasion Of Ukraine Than It Has In Any Month Since 2009

Here’s a fun fact! According to our records of more than 1,000 editorials, op-eds and columns, the Wall Street Journal’s opinion page published more climate disinformation in March than it has in any month in more than 10 years: Twenty-six pieces covered for the fossil fuel industry’s massive profits resulting from the pandemic and Putin’s fossil fueled war on Ukraine, and otherwise advanced pro-industry propaganda. 

The last time climate got so much play in the WSJ opinion pages, it was in 2009 when the Journal pushed “climategate” disinformation. That December during the Copenhagen climate COP negotiations, the Journal ran 28 op-eds, columns and editorials, 24 of which were a who's-who of climate disinfo, featuring Pat Michaels and Bjorn Lomborg, false attacks on climate science, and cheering political obstruction of climate policy and negotiations. The month kicked off with a column by Bret Stephens advancing the climategate lie and an op-ed by Richard Lindzen headlined “The Climate Science Isn’t Settled.” 

In the years since, the Journal has churned out plenty of climate hit pieces, like Steve Koonin’s 2014 WSJ op-ed with the Lindzen-like headline “Climate Science Is Not Settled” (Couldn’t it at least come up with something new?), which Koonin then used for the title of his 2021 “Unsettled” book (Guess not…). 

Most of the time, the quantity of content ranges from a handful to around a dozen pieces a month, with November and December, COP season, generally being the busiest. Climate disinfo during the Trump years was a bit less frequent than when there was policy to oppose under the Biden and Obama administrations.   

The Journal more or less kept up that cadence until October of 2021, when in just three weeks, it ran 21 pieces on the UN COP negotiations and high gas prices, and every one pushed industrial disinformation. 

In November 2021, it published a dozen pieces, just one of which, by U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry, wasn’t full of fossil fuel disinformation. There were nine in December (all dumb), fifteen in January (uniformly uninforming), and 16 in February, as the Russian invasion began.   

This set up the disinfo boom in March, when the opinion page ran 26 pieces of fossil fueled disinformation. 

On March 1st, a WSJ editorial blamed Europeans for buying Russian oil. The Journal then ran two pieces on the 4th promoting fossil fuels and attacking Biden, and rounded out the week with an anti-ESG op-ed (denierland’s new hobby horse). 

On March 8th, the Editorial Board ran editorials criticizing renewables and Biden’s climate and energy agenda. On the 11th they ran another one headlined “Democrats for Higher Gas Prices” and an op-ed by birdbrained Robert Bryce blaming California for high gas prices, “not Moscow.” 

Apparently the Journal is playing to an audience eager to attack Democrats for trying to save the planet from fossil fuels instead of a petro-dictator committing war crimes. 

On the 13th the Journal ran an op-ed claiming “Biden’s War on Oil Hits Consumers” by oil tycoon Harold Hamm, who has made so much money off of consumers he’s got to dodge taxes to pass it to his children and whose fracking company is returning billions to shareholders based on profits made by high prices.  

Then on March 14th came a full Opinion page press, with editorial writer Gerard Baker running a column attacking Biden for blaming Putin for recent inflation; an editorial echoing the one it ran days earlier, but this time more specific because recycling ideas is easy: Whitmer Wants Higher Gas Prices. Another editorial praised Joe Manchin for opposing Sarah Bloom Raskin’s appointment to the Fed because praising fossil fuel millionaires is important content; and a final editorial calling on Biden to deregulate the fossil fuel industry, just in case anyone wasn’t sure where the paper stood in relation the industry (under its boots, tongue out). 

The next day the Journal ran a piece blaming climate policy for oil and gas prices, and another dancing on Raskin’s Fed appointment grave. (The sole exception to the onslaught of climate lies on the WSJ opinion page the entire month was an op-ed on March 2nd rebutting the industry’s false attacks against Raskin, whose mere nomination is still cited as a reason for high fuel prices.)

On March 17th, the WSJ opinion page featured yet another combo of Biden/climate attacks and oil/gas defense. And on the 20th, it gave space to some Republicans to complain about the SEC’s overdue decision to require companies to disclose climate risks, which it followed up with an editorial on the 21st making the same points, because propaganda and disinformation is only effective when repeated. That’s why we’ll breeze past the last bunch, as they’re largely repeats, like an energy lawyer shamelessly using Ukraine to attack FERC, and the closing act, stalwart climate disinfo pro Bjorn Lomborg. 

Halfway through April, and the Journal appears back on pace for more like 18 disinfo opinion pieces this month, suggesting we’re past the peak for the Wall Street Journal’s Putin-excusing and petro-praising propaganda push.  

We’ll call it a Special Disinformation Operation. And unlike Putin’s so-called Special Military Operation, this one might be succeeding. 

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