‘Green News Report’ – July 13, 2023

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Another major insurer exits Florida, citing high costs of extreme weather; Heavy truck manufacturers reach deal with California to phase out polluting diesel big rigs; The U.S. is the blackout capital of the world, and natural gas is largely to blame; PLUS: Americans vastly underestimate the popularity of climate policies… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): ‘The Heat Will Kill You First’ is a chilling book — and a warning; Health warnings as “Cerberus” heat wave broils southern Europe; Vermont floods show limits of America’s efforts to adapt to climate change; As budget talks heat up, Republicans ramp up attacks on climate spending; Heat down below is making the ground shift under Chicago; New anti-ESG rule in Missouri offers US Republicans another path away from ‘wokeness’; Town buys the surrounding forests to confront climate-driven wildfires… PLUS: It’s toxic slime on Florida’s Lake Okeechobee… and much, MUCH more! …

STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY’S ‘GREEN NEWS REPORT’…

• VIDEO: DeSantis brags his climate change plan is scrap Biden’s ‘Green New Deal’: (Stock Dork/MSN)
• Vermont grapples with more record rain, floods, as cleanup begins:
• Storms target flooded Vermont, Northeast after spawning Chicago tornadoes (Washington Post)
• FEMA, Vermont leaders conduct damage assessments after mass devastation (WFFF- Burlington)
• Vermont Storm Exposes the Strengths, and Limits, of New Flood Defenses (NY Times):
  The state began new flood protection efforts after being battered by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. Many appeared to be effective, but experts say more will be needed as storms become more extreme.
• VIDEO: Historic floodwaters begin to recede as Vermont dam stabilizes after nearing capacity (CBS News)
• 108 million Americans under extreme heat warnings:
• Extreme U.S. heat wave intensifying with world records in jeopardy (Washington Post/MSN)
• Why a power outage amid this Phoenix heat wave would be so deadly (Washington Post/MSN)
• Nearly 110 Million Americans Under Extreme Heat Advisories—Here’s Where Temperature Records Could Fall (Forbes)
• WMO confirms first week in July was planet’s hottest week in recorded history:
• Preliminary data shows hottest week on record. Unprecedented sea surface temperatures and Antarctic sea ice loss (World Meteorological Organization)
• Earth hit an unofficial record high temperature this week – and stayed there (AP)
• Florida ocean temperatures at ‘downright shocking’ levels (Washington Post)
• Global heat in ‘uncharted territory’ as scientists warn 2023 could be the hottest year on record (CNN)
• Florida ocean water just hit a ‘boiling’ 97 degrees. That’s bad for several reasons. (The Week)
• Another major insurer exits the state of Florida:
• Farmers Insurance is leaving Florida in latest blow to homeowners (Tampa Bay Times):
  The decision was “necessary to effectively manage risk exposure,” the company said.
• VIDEO: ‘We can’t get insurance’: Farmers Insurance is leaving its business in Florida (USA Today/MSN)
• VIDEO: Farmers Insurance pulls out of Florida, affecting 100,000 policies (CBS News)
• A big name insurer flees Florida, prompting more criticism toward GOP (Politico)
• Farmers Insurance pulls out of Florida, affecting 100,000 policyholders (CNN)
• How to find insurance you need in Florida (MSN)
• Farmers, California’s second-largest insurer, limits new home insurance policies (LA Times/MSN)
• US is the world’s blackout capital, and natural gas is to blame:
• Why natural gas makes the U.S. power grid more vulnerable (Bloomberg)
• Why The U.S. Has Become The Blackout Capital Of The Developed World (Oil Price International):
  The harsh reality is that natural gas plants, even relatively modern ones, are proving to have the worst failure rate when faced with extreme weather compared with other generation methods.
• Study confirms renewable electric grid is reliable, economically feasible:
• 2035 Report (UC Berkeley):
  The United States can achieve 90% clean, carbon-free electricity nationwide by 2035, dependably, at no extra cost to consumers, and without new fossil fuel plants. But without robust policy reforms, most of the potential to reduce emissions and increase jobs will be lost.
• Heavy truckmakers agree to California’s phase-out of polluting diesel big rigs:
• U.S. Truckmakers Reach Deal To Phase Out Polluting Diesel Big Rigs (Washington Post)
• Two-thirds of Americans support transformative climate policies, but underestimate popularity:
• Most Americans underestimate the popularity of policies to protect the climate (Yale Climate Communications):
  “While actual supporters of climate policies outnumber opponents two to one, we see that Americans think it’s the other way around,” Sparkman says.
• AUDIO: Andrew Freedman, The Hotter We Get, The Harder We Fall: ‘BradCast’ 7/10/2023 (The BRAD BLOG)

‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (Stuff we didn’t have time for in today’s audio report)…

For a comprehensive roundup of daily environmental news you can trust, see the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Daily Headlines page

• ‘The Heat Will Kill You First’ is a chilling book — and a warning (Grist)
• Health warnings as “Cerberus” heat wave broils southern Europe (CBS News/MSN)
• Vermont Floods Show Limits of America’s Efforts to Adapt to Climate Change (NY Times)
• As Budget Talks Heat Up, Republicans Ramp Up Attacks on Climate Spending (Inside Climate News)
• Heat Down Below Is Making the Ground Shift Under Chicago (NY Times)
• Analysis: New anti-ESG rule in Missouri offers US Republicans another path away from ‘wokeness’ (Reuters)
• FEMA Stretched Beyond Climate Response as Disasters Balloon (Bloomberg)
• Why Rooftop Solar Is So Much Cheaper in Australia Than America (Distilled)
• It’s toxic slime on Florida’s Lake Okeechobee: (NY Times)
• In Oregon Timber Country, a Town Buys the Surrounding Forests to Confront Climate-Driven Wildfires (Inside Climate News)
• Nature Restoration Law survives knife-edge vote in the European Parliament amid right-wing backlash (EuroNews)
• EPA Proposes Tighter Limits on Lead Pain Dust in Homes and Child Care Facilities (NY Times)
• Mountain Valley Pipeline Halted as Legal Wrangling Heats Up (NY Times)
• UAE’s COP28 President Lays Out Plan For ‘Brutally Honest’ Climate Summit (Reuters)
• Rough years ahead [as new El Nino arrives] (Nature)
• Complete Series: Farmers Under Attack for Supporting Clean Energy (Climate Crocks)
• These are the places most at risk from record-breaking heat waves as the planet warms (CNN)
• Building Steam in Lithium Valley (The American Prospect)
• Feeling Overwhelmed About Going All-Electric at Home? Here’s How to Get Started (Inside Climate News)
• VIDEO: See what three degrees of global warming looks like (The Economist/YouTube)
• The 7 climate tipping points that could change the world forever (Grist)
• The 1977 White House climate memo that should have changed the world (Guardian UK)
• Four solutions to mitigate climate change, from the IPCC (Dr. Michael Mann, Penn Today)
• Environmental Sacrifice Zones: 8 Places We’ve Given Up-Probably Forever (Environmental Health Network)
• Feeling Hopeless About the Climate? Try Our 30-Day Action Plan (The Revelator)
• VIDEO: 2050: what happens if we ignore the climate crisis (Guardian UK)
• 99.9 percent Of Scientists Agree Climate Emergency Caused By Humans (Guardian UK)
• Climate Fund Choices for Investors Are Multiplying (Bloomberg/Yahoo)
• How climate change could undo 50 years of public health gains (Grist)
• Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration (Pro Publica)
• Exxon’s Snake Oil: 100 years of deception (Columbia Journalism Review)
• VIDEO: A Message From the Future With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (The Intercept)
• What genuine, no-bullshit ambition on climate change would look like: How to hit the most stringent targets, with no loopholes. (David Roberts, Vox)
• A Global Shift To Sustainability Would Save Us $26 Trillion (Vox)
• Project Drawdown: 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (Drawdown.org)
• An Optimist’s Guide to Solving Climate Change and Saving the World (Vice)
• The great nutrient collapse: The atmosphere is literally changing the food we eat, for the worse. And almost nobody is paying attention. (Politico)
• The world’s bleak climate situation, in 3 charts: We’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there. (Vox)
• The Climate Risks We Face (NY Times):
  To stabilize global temperature, net carbon dioxide emissions must be reduced to zero. The window of time is rapidly closing to reduce emissions and limit warming to no more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit or 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, the goal set in the Paris climate accord. The further we push the climate system beyond historical conditions, the greater the risks of potentially unforeseen and even catastrophic changes to the climate – so every reduction in emissions helps.
• The Uninhabitable Earth: When will climate change make earth too hot for humans? (New York Magazine):
  Famine, economic collapse, a sun that cooks us: What climate change could wreak – sooner than you think.
• A beginner’s guide to the debate over 100% renewable energy (Vox):
  Clean-energy enthusiasts frequently claim that we can go bigger, that it’s possible for the whole world to run on renewables – we merely lack the “political will.” So, is it true? Do we know how get to an all-renewables system? Not yet. Not really.