The unabridged version of this morning's newsletter is available here.
FIRST LOOK:
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Gaza Suffers From Heat, Lack Of Power: Triple-digit heat in the Gaza Strip is exacerbating electricity shortages and residents' frustrations with both Hamas and Israel, Reuters reports. The more-than 2.3 million people living in the narrow piece of land under a 16-year Israeli blockade endure power outages for as much as 12 hours a day. "Our dreams have shrunk from (achieving) the right of return and liberating the homeland to one extra hour of electricity," local journalist Abdel-Hamid Abdel-Ati told Reuters (parenthetical Reuters'). Some people and businesses are able to afford solar panels or generators to lessen the impacts of the power cuts, but others are forced to use poor substitutes or go without. "We haven't witnessed such heat in years, and we get electricity for around six hours a day, so I can't fan my children, so I am using the plastic tray to fan them because of the severe heat," Yasmin Fojo, a mother of five from Nahrelbared camp in southern Gaza Strip, told Reuters. "I don't have money to buy a fan and if I did they would cut off the power and I end up in the heat, therefore, I am using those plastic trays," added 90-year-old, Um Khattab Dula. (Reuters)
Port St. Joe LNG Export Facility Won't Be Built: A controversial LNG export project in Port St. Joe, Florida, will not be built, marking a huge win for community advocates concerned about the dangers of pollution and potential explosions. The gas facility would have been built on the site of a shuttered paper mill, continuing a legacy of polluting facilities in the predominantly Black neighborhood on the north side of the town's railroad tracks. Longtime Port St Joe Resident Chester Davis explained the “mill … was harmful to this community. And to put another gas plant in here, that we think or based upon the history, will be just as harmful.” “I think it’s a real testament to the incredible organizing by the people of Port Saint Joe,” Energy Program Director for Public Citizen, Tyson Slocum said. “Once they started to learn about what had been negotiated behind closed doors, they rose up in very clear opposition to building an LNG export terminal.” (MyPanhandle, The Star)
Gas Failures Responsible For 70% Of December '22 PJM Outages: Gas-fired power power plants accounted for approximately 70% of unplanned outages during so-called Winter Storm Elliot last December, a report released Monday by the country's biggest grid operator revealed. Nearly one-quarter of PJM Interconnection generating capacity was unexpectedly offline during the storm. “Gas plants and dual-fuel gas plants made up the majority of outages primarily due to mechanical issues likely resulting from the extreme cold,” the report said, along with “a significant level of gas supply issues.” (Utility Dive, E&E $, Politico Pro $)
Arizona Hits 110°F For 19th-Straight Day: Arizona set a new record Tuesday, reaching 110°F or more for the 19th-consecutive day. It's a record unlikely to last long, however, with forecasts predicting high temperatures of at least 115°F for another week or more. The extreme heat is especially dangerous — especially for unhoused people, incarcerated people, and those unable to afford air conditioning — given how little it abates overnight with low temperatures never dropping below 90°F Monday or Tuesday. “Heat makes people sick. Heat makes people die,” Dr. Erik Mattison, director of the emergency department at Dignity Health Chandler Regional Medical Center in Phoenix told the AP. Electricity demand in the state also hit all-time highs multiple times in the last week. The heatwave pummeling the southern U.S. is one of four major heat domes across three continents — the others are over the North Atlantic, North Africa and the Mediterranean, and another in southern Asia where the heat index at Persian Gulf International Airport in Iran reported a heat index of 152°F over the weekend. (Arizona heat: AP, Washington Post $, The Guardian, New York Times $, The Hill, Democracy Now, New York Times $, Axios; Arizona power: Reuters; Arizona Republic; Incarcerated people: AP; Global heat: Bloomberg $, New York Times $, Axios, CNN, Axios PHOTOS; Iran heat: Washington Post $; Climate Signals background: Extreme heat and heatwaves)
Climate News
(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Energy company plotted gas plant in small Pennsylvania town — but no one told residents (The Intercept), Redlined Black communities face higher risk of heart failure (Black Wall Street Times)
COP28: Fake Twitter profiles, Wikipedia editing and PR battles: Inside the push to greenwash the COP28 climate summit (CNN)
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GAS LEAKS: Gas leaked from bad fitting at Pennsylvania chocolate factory where 7 died in blast, report says (AP)
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COLONIAL PATTERNS: No more plundering: Can Africa take control in green mineral rush? (Context)
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TRIBES: Facing a plunge in salmon numbers in the Kuskokwim and Yukon rivers, [Indigenous] Alaskans seek a voice in fishing policy (Inside Climate News)
CITIES AND STATES: Connecticut mapping tool aims to bring visibility to environmental justice communities (Energy News Network) [ ... ]
PIPELINES: As Mountain Valley Pipeline debate continues, who really wants it? (West Virginia Public Radio) [ ... ]
IMPACTS: US hit by blazing heat, smoky air, tropical storm all at once (Reuters factbox), ‘This is just the beginning’: Extreme heat around the world as fires rage in southern Europe (CNN) [ ... ]
HEAT: [ ... ] The health risks of extreme heat (Reuters),
EUROPE: Southern Europe soars to record temperatures as heat wave peaks (Washington Post $), So far, Europe’s electricity systems are coping with the heat. (New York Times $) [ ... ]
WILDFIRES: [ ... ]
CANADA: How Canada’s record wildfires got so bad, so fast (New York Times $), ‘Zombie fires’ in the Arctic: Canada’s extreme wildfire season offers a glimpse of new risks in a warmer, drier future (The Conversation) [ ... ] Canadian wildfires displace Indigenous communities (AP)
GREECE: Wildfires in Greece close highways and threaten an oil refinery, as the EU sends firefighting planes (AP, The Guardian) [ ... ]
DROUGHT: [ ... ]
IRAN: As water shortages intensify Iran’s heat wave, authorities shift blame (Washington Post $)
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WORKERS: Target workers can now wear shorts (CNN), Pennsylvania locomotive manufacturing workers are striking for greener jobs (Grist), Heat divide leaves low-income workers among the most vulnerable (New York Times $)
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The full roundup of this morning's climate and energy news is available here.
Analysis & Opinion
My city’s drinking water is salty and foul. Will your city’s be next? (New York Times, Guillermo Garat op-ed $)
The full roundup of this morning's climate and energy news is available here.
Denier Roundup
Extreme Heat Across US Just Your Imagination, WSJ's Deniers Insist As They Praise A/C
Sometimes climate disinformation is sophisticated, as is the case with slickly-produced oil industry advertisements. Sometimes, it's painfully basic. [ ... ]
Read the full Denier Roundup for more.
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