In the face of crisis, more delay

Also, a big protest in DC today.

Jun 28, 2021

Happy Monday, everyone. I was under the weather this weekend so I’m skipping a full newsletter today. I’ll be back with an original story tomorrow.

In the meantime, here’s a recommended reading list to catch up with news you might have missed over the weekend. Taken together, the stories paint a clear picture of overwhelming climate crisis unfolding across the world, and continued denial and delay by those with the power to stop it.

Also, if you’re in Washington, D.C., there’s a big Sunrise Movement protest happening today at the White House. More details, and the reasons why, in the stories and tweets below.

Stories:

Biden’s $579 billion bipartisan infrastructure deal “does relatively little to fight climate change,” by Coral Davenport and Lisa Friedman at the New York Times.

Key quote: “The president had hoped to use a sweeping infrastructure bill as a vehicle to enact a national ‘clean electricity standard’ requiring power companies to gradually ratchet up the amount of electricity they generate from wind, solar and other sources until they’re no longer emitting carbon dioxide. That is not included in the bipartisan bill, nor are the hundreds of billions of dollars in spending on tax incentives for wind, solar and other clean energy.”
This bill could represent Biden’s last change to pass big climate legislation, by Ella Nilsen at Vox.

Key quote: “‘I’m terrified of what happens if we don’t act,’ Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) said. Heinrich, his Senate colleague in New Mexico, added, ‘My state is burning up.’”
Biden administration allows Line 3 pipeline to move forward, by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Key quote: “The filing marks the first time President Joe Biden's administration has taken a position on the $3 billion-plus Line 3, which will transport particularly thick oil from western Canada to Enbridge's terminal in Superior, Wisconsin.”
A “once in a millennium” heat wave unfolds in the Pacific Northwest, by Jeff Berardelli at CBS News, which is reliably great about including climate science in weather coverage.
Another dangerous heatwave hits Siberia and Eastern Europe, including an astonishing 118 degree ground temperature recorded in the Arctic Circle, by Laura Millan Lombrana at Bloomberg and Isaac Schultz at Earther.
Water shortages and mega-drought abound in the U.S., and things only stand to get worse, by Zachary Wolf at CNN.
The climate connection to the Miami building collapse, by Susan Matthews in Slate. (Also features a HEATED shoutout).