Green Lights Aug. 18: Top stories this week

Don't miss a single story: The best from Callaway Climate Insights

. . . . Welcome to Green Lights, our weekly roundup of the best of Callaway Climate Insights. This week, we take you from the searing sands of Dubai, home of the COP28 UN climate summit (or will it be an oil fest?), to the frozen frontier of the Svalbard archipelago between Norway and the North Pole, for our review of a classic adventure story. Here are the highlights in a simple and convenient format that makes it easy for our readers. It’s also easy to subscribe.

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. . . . As President Joe Biden’s climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, turns a year old this week, the renewable energy industry is celebrating one of the biggest investment surges in history, with more than $100 billion in new projects announced. But Republican opposition to it, based on spending, is building. And it is a prime target of any new post-2024 Republican administration. Senior Washington correspondent Bill Sternberg breaks down the scenarios for the IRA depending on how the election goes, both in Congress and the White House. . . .

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. . . . The unprecedented climate verdict for the Montana 16 this week will do more than shake up the legal departments of Big Oil and Big Coal. Banks and asset managers should be nervous as well, writes David Callaway.

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. . . . The collapse in shares this week of Hawaiian Electric Industries as Maui officials probe the source of the deadliest wildfire in modern U.S. history is a stark warning to investors and political leaders focused on the cost of adapting to climate change over the physical risks of ignoring it. Meanwhile, Hurricane Hilary (above) is barreling toward California. A hurricane warning has been issued for parts of Baja California, and a tropical storm watch was issued for Southern California. . . .

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. . . . Summer in Dubai — a pre, pre-COP28 brainstorm: The president of this year’s COP28 climate summit in November in Dubai, oil chief Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, is calling for an early dialogue in Dubai next week to discuss the lack of progress on climate adaptation financing, i.e. getting richer countries to help support the climate needs of poorer ones. David Callaway writes this might be a signal about whether the summit will be more of an oil fest about carbon capture and storage rather than focus on decarbonization.

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. . . . Amid the oppressive summer heat, our book reviewer Jack Hamilton found himself transported into a subzero adventure that held him spellbound. See what he says about Christiane Ritter’s “A Woman in the Polar Night,” an autobiographical account of her year-long stay in Spitsbergen, one of the most northern inhabited places on the planet. 

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. . . . How do you count bears? Very carefully. At Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska, bears are drawn to the large number of salmon readily available in late summer, as the bears pack on the pounds in preparation for winter hibernation. Fat bears exemplify the richness and environmental health of this area.

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More greenery . . . .

• Shark teeth: Fossils help unlock where animals can live in a changing climate. (The Atlantic)

• The fish are moving to cooler waters: Fears grow that climate change could put an end to fishing in Ireland (euronews.green)

• Your Tesla’s not enough: The richest Americans account for 40% of U.S. climate emissions (WashPo)

• No doubt: 10 Facts That Prove the World Is in a Climate Emergency (Wired)

• But wait, there’s more: NASA clocks July 2023 as hottest month on record

• Not as divided as we think: Most Americans support renewable energy (Pew Research)

From ABC affiliate KITV: Watch this report on the post-fire fate of Lahaina’s banyan tree.