Tornadoes Leave Trail Of Destruction In Oklahoma: At least one person has died and a dozen people have been injured as a fast moving storm system made its way across the Texas Panhandle and into Oklahoma earlier this week. Weather services classified the storm as a derecho - a large, fast-moving, violent thunderstorm paired with exceptionally strong winds. “I got up and then the wind just threw me back. And I’m screaming,” Frances Tabler of Norman, Oklahoma, told KOCO. “It was like a blizzard inside the house.” The storm toppled trees and power lines leaving more than 16,000 without power as more than 100 other storm reports were recorded in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. Climate change is making the conditions necessary for derechos to occur more likely, as it leads to additional latent heat available in warmer air, and an increase in the temperature gradient, which increases available potential energy. (ABC News, CBS News, New York Times $, Yale Climate Connections, Reuters, Photos: Washington Post $, Derecho explainer: Climate Signals)

Sámi Activists Close Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. Sámi activists chained themselves outside the ministry to protest a $1.3 billion wind farm that prevents them from raising reindeer in their native lands, which include Arctic Norway. In October 2021, Norway’s Supreme Court voted unanimously that the construction of the 151 wind turbines violated the Sámi’s cultural rights because the windmills prevented them from herding reindeer. Despite the ruling, the wind farm continues to operate. “We cannot be sacrificed in the name of the green transition because they cannot find other solutions,” said Áslat Holmberg, president of the Sámi Council. Sámi reindeer herders explain that wind turbines scare reindeer and can throw shards of ice hundreds of feet. The protest marks the first time in more than 40 years Sámi organizers occupied a government building. (AP, Grist, Fox News)

Climate Change Makes Back-To-Back Hurricanes More Frequent And Nastier, Research Finds. Princeton scientists have found that the back-to-back hurricanes that used to happen once every few decades could happen every two or three years as the world continues to get hotter. The study looks at not just the storms but the harm frequent hurricanes cause to people. “You can’t imagine. You’re dumbfounded. You think it can’t be happening to us again,” United Way of Southwest Louisiana President Denise Durel told the Associated Press. “The other side of it is that you can’t wish it upon anyone else either.” In 2021, Hurricane Ida’s 150 mph winds hit Louisiana just 15 days before Hurricane Nicholas added more wind, rain and storm surge to the region. The climate scientists used computer models to assess Atlantic storm records beginning in 1949, and found that flood and wind risks posed by storms have steadily increased. A separate report finds that 13.4 million more US properties will likely face destructive winds in the next 30 years, as average annual hurricane-related losses rise to roughly $20 billion. The federal response to hurricanes often deepens racial inequity. Black communities and communities of color–who are often hit the hardest by extreme rain and flooding due to our history of racist housing segregation–are forced to wait longer and are given less government support than white communities to aid in recovery. (Back-to-back hurricane research: AP, NPR, Hurricanes and property damage: CNN, NPR, CBS News, Verge, Axios, Guide to advancing equity in disasters: NAACP, Inequity in FEMA response: Center for American Progress)

ENVIRONMENTAL (IN)JUSTICE: Why the White House’s environmental justice tool is still disappointing advocates (Grist)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: Kerry to stay on as Biden's top climate diplomat (Politico), We can’t find people to work': The newest threat to Biden's climate policies (Politico)

DOE: Lithium-ion battery recycling company Li-Cycle scores $375 million conditional loan from Energy Department for Rochester plant (CNBC), DOE offers conditional $375 million loan for battery recycling facility (Politico Pro $), More money for US battery recycling: DOE offers $375M loan to Li-Cycle (Canary Media)

UNITED NATIONS: UN chief slams ‘climate-wrecking’ firms at human rights body (AP)

THE HILL: Schumer demands Norfolk Southern CEO testimony on Ohio crash (E&E News $), Rep. Garret Graves and House Republicans make their opening permitting pitch (Politico Pro $)

CITIES AND STATES: Massachusetts energy efficiency programs should shift focus to emissions, critics say (Energy News Network), Texas led the U.S. in wind and solar energy production last year (Gizmodo), Red states lead U.S. in wind and solar power production, study finds (EcoWatch), Red states leading the US in solar and wind production, new report shows (The Guardian), Xcel Energy played a leading role in a stealthy plan to defend natural gas in Colorado (CPR News), Indiana lawmakers in no rush to study climate change crisis (Indy Star $)

IMPACTS: Coal plant pollution can be deadly — Even hundreds of miles downwind (Grist), Climate change is fuelling the rise of superbugs. What can we do to save ourselves? (The Conversation), These are the US states most at risk from climate crisis (The Independent)

BUILDINGS: Here’s proof that gas stoves are overrated (The New Republic), Like the idea of a heat pump? Here’s how to actually get one (Washington Post $) Tuition-free weatherization courses available to area adults (Boston Globe) 

RENEWABLES: Weekly data: booming battery pipeline heralds era of renewables-dominated grids (Energy Monitor), The mobile industry is increasingly powered by renewable energy (CNET)

METHANE: Methane emissions ‘incredibly cheap’ to cut without needing offsets, safeguard mechanism inquiry told (The Guardian), Gas crisis Is far from over for Europe Inc. (Bloomberg $), Is LNG by rail safe? (E&E News $)

CARS: Energy agency: SUV growth weighs on emissions, batteries (AP)

GRID: Payouts on biggest US power grid fall 15% in auction (Bloomberg $), PJM's expected fossil fuel losses could threaten reliability, report says (Politico Pro $), PJM launches fast-track capacity market reform process in face of shrinking reserve margins (Utility Dive), DOE touts grid expansion plans as operators raise concerns (E&E $)

H2: BMW launches demonstration fleet of hydrogen cars that use fuel cells from Toyota (CNBC)

EVs: EVs are billed as the future. But a potential skills gap is sparking concerns about cost and safety (CNBC), Fisker pacifies investors with higher orders; keeps 2023 production target (Reuters), Musk's plan for a cheap Tesla car is what fans hope to hear this week (Reuters), The EV revolution brings environmental uncertainty at every turn (Yale Climate Connections), Ford’s electric pickup is built from metal that’s damaging the Amazon (Bloomberg $)

MINING: China lithium probe shuts down a tenth of global supply (Bloomberg $), Judge won’t block Nevada lithium mine (The Hill), How can we get enough minerals for EVs without trashing the planet? (Canary Media), Global miners gear up for energy transition with deals and investments (Wall Street Journal $)

AVIATION: Airbus, Qantas close to first joint sustainable aviation fuel investment (Reuters)

BEER: Wisconsin breweries feeling the affects of climate change (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel $)

FUNGI: The Last of Us Gets One Thing Right about Fungi and Climate Change (Inverse)

FINANCE: Brookfield seeks $20 billion for next energy transition fund (Bloomberg $), Climate campaigners sue BNP Paribas over fossil fuel finance (The Guardian), The conservative battle against ‘woke’ banks is backfiring (Washington Post $), Banks need even bigger low-carbon pivot to avert climate crisis (Bloomberg $)

GEOENGINEERING: 60 scientists call for accelerated research into ‘solar radiation management’ that could temporarily mask global warming (Inside Climate News), Scientists are trying to pull carbon out of the ocean to combat climate change (Scientific American), How much does mass tree planting affect climate change? (Quartz), A ‘climate solution’ that spies worry could trigger war (Washington Post $)

WILDLIFE: Research reveals climate crisis is driving a rise in human-wildlife conflicts (The Guardian)

INTERNATIONAL: South Africa tried to weaken corruption safeguards in coal phase out deal, says CEO (Climate Home), France seeks pro-nuclear alliance for EU energy talks (Reuters), Still no decision on how much US will donate to Amazon Fund, Brazil's V.P. says (Reuters), Warm Canadian winter threatens Algonquin ice-fishing traditions (Reuters), Germany asks EU for wiggle room on combustion engine phaseout (Reuters), Kenya to set up 136 solar mini-grids for remote communities (Reuters)

• Does President Biden mean what he says on climate? (The Hill, Abigail Dillen op-ed)

• Peak fossil fuel doesn’t mean climate change is solved (Bloomberg, David Fickling $)

• A gold mine of clean energy may be hiding under our feet (New York Times, Peter Coy $)

Daily Caller's 'Big Tent Ideas' Competing With RealClear as Climate Disinfo Dumping Ground

For all the things that are difficult to deal with about disinformation, the fact that disinfo only works if people see it can make researching it pretty easy. For example, if you want to know what pro-fossil-fuel talking points may be going around, you could check out Alex Epstein's "EnergyTalkingPoints" substack, for messaging as honest as the name is subtle. 

Similarly, for the past few years, RealClearEnergy's "recommended" tab has been a convenient place to find all sorts of fossil fuel industry-backed op-ads, and indeed, it still is. In the past week, RealClearEnergy has run a piece by a mining executive begging for more of the public's money, let the guy whose byline claim-to-fame is responsibility for US Army intelligence during the 2003 invasion of Iraq publish his fossil-fueled astroturf talking points, gave one of the GOP's green-washers space to offer an end-run around the democratic process to gut environmental permitting laws, and let CFACT's Duggan Flanakin publish a piece about coal that used a racial slur in its title. 

But these days, the billion-dollar disinfo machine is pumping out more content than even RealClear can handle, and since basically zero mainstream news outlets will run their content, disinformation-spreaders are having to find other options for placement. 

It seems that The Daily Caller (whose conservative and fossil-fueled donors receive favorable coverage in the outlet) and its "Big Tent Ideas" section is the new overflow receptacle for disinformation that no one else deems fit to publish. Judging by the output, one might guess that the DC News Foundation's Managing Editor, Michael Bastasch, has tapped the disinfo network that trained him, and is regularly running Koch content. 

For example, one "Big Tent Idea," from Mandy Gunasekara, Trump EPA Chief of Staff and Director at the IWF Center for Energy and Conservation, is that conservatives should lead on the environment (with methane gas, of course).

Then there's Suzanne Downing, who literally cries wolf about ESG measures with the headline that "Biden is throwing Americans' retirement savings to the wolves. It's not too late to stop him." Downing's byline notes only that she's "publisher of Must Read Alaska," which looks like news but actually gets GOP campaign payments. However, per LinkedIn, Downing was also Communications Director for the Alaska Republican Party and prior to that spent four years as a speechwriter to Republican Governor Sean Parnell. 

It’s odd that the Daily Caller didn't disclose that, because the outlet is not adverse to telling readers when the GOP is telling them what to think, as evidenced by Frank Lasee's bio that provides five lines of historical context about his time as a state senator but does not mention his ill-fated presidency of the Heartland Institute, which he basically ran (further) into the ground. Lassee's op-ed finds a way to attack the one kind of hydrogen that isn't greenwashing (when it's generated from renewables) and adds some anti-Chinese racism for good measure. 

And that’s not all from “Big Tent Ideas”! Coinciding with the RealClear op-ed advocating for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reform, David Vasquez of the Trump-y dark money America First Policy Institute, argued that in light of the Ohio petrochemical train derailment and ensuing toxic mess, we should just gut NEPA. 

We could go on like this, but the last example we'll point to of the Daily Caller's disinfo that was published just in the last week, is a piece by Daniel Turner (yet another Koch-alum whose career is deflecting blame off of fossil fuels), which hypocritically claims that it's environmentalists who "are hard at work deflecting blame" for whale deaths away from offshore wind. 

So if you're looking for some "Big Tent Ideas" that range from fossil-fueled, front group-authored propaganda to Republican Party operative-penned propaganda to former Republican official turned fossil field front group astroturfer propaganda, or if every single other outlet, including RealClear, passed on your climate disinfo op-ed, then The Daily Caller's got you covered! 

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