Kamala Harris’ Big Oil Boast

Current conditions: Hurricane Francine is approaching Louisiana as a Category 1 storm • The streets of Vietnam’s capital of Hanoi are flooded after Typhoon Yagi, and the death toll has reached 143 • Residents of Nigeria’s northern Borno state are urged to watch out for crocodiles and snakes that escaped from a zoo due to flooding.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Harris boasts about increased U.S. oil production during debate with Trump

Former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris squared off on the debate stage in Philadelphia last night. Here are some important climate and energy highlights from the evening:

• Harris reiterated that she does not want to ban fracking. But she also called for diversifying U.S. energy sources and boasted about increased domestic oil production under President Biden. “Whether or not this is something to brag about is something Democrats will have to decide amongst themselves,” wrote Heatmap’s Katie Brigham. “But for the purpose of this debate, Harris hopes it’s enough to assure swing state voters that she’s no climate absolutist – and that, as of now at least, oil and fossil fuels are far from dead.”
• Harris highlighted the clean energy investments under the Inflation Reduction Act, but didn’t mention the policy by name.
• Trump said he was a “big fan of solar” but complained about the amount of land he thinks solar farms occupy.
• He claimed the Biden-Harris administration is building Chinese-owned EV plants in Mexico (they are not) before launching into a rant about Biden (both Joe and Hunter). “You know, Biden doesn’t go after people because, supposedly, China paid him millions of dollars,” Trump said. “He’s afraid to do it between him and his son, they get all this money from Ukraine.”

2. Wildfires blaze through Southern California

Three large wildfires – the Line fire, the Bridge fire, and the Airport fire – are burning in Southern California, fueled by intense heat and thick, dry vegetation. Already more than 100,000 acres have been scorched. The Line fire is closing in on the popular vacation destination Big Bear, and is threatening some 65,000 structures. Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said the scale of the emergencies is straining firefighting resources, and FEMA is sending financial aid to the state. In neighboring Nevada, the Davis Fire has grown to nearly 6,000 acres and is burning toward ski resorts in Tahoe. Temperatures in the region started to cool yesterday after a long and brutal heat wave. The weather shift could help firefighters bring the blazes under control.

NASA

3. White House launches American Climate Corps tour

The White House is launching an American Climate Corps national tour this fall to highlight the work being carried out by corps members in different communities and showcase important projects. The events will feature remarks from the administration and other officials, roundtable talks with ACC members, and swearing-in ceremonies. The tour began in Maine this week with a focus on climate resilience and urban forestry, and heads to Arizona next week. The rest of the schedule is as follows, with more dates to come:

• Sept. 19: Fairhope, Alabama – Ecosystem recovery, conservation, and coastal habitat restoration
• Sept. 22: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Urban forestry
• Sept. 24: Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina – Conservation
• Sept. 24 and 26: Manhattan and Queens, New York City – Urban agriculture, climate education
• Oct. 8 and 9: Duluth and Minneapolis, Minnesota – Low-carbon transportation, food systems solutions with the Fond du Lac Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa, low-carbon transportation
• Oct. 22: Detroit, Michigan – Climate resilience, environmental justice

4. Nuclear industry needs more engineers

The number of students studying to become nuclear engineers is declining as demand for carbon-free nuclear energy is on the rise, according to The Wall Street Journal . Citing data from the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, the Journal reported that just 454 students in the U.S. graduated with a degree in the field in 2022, down 25% from a decade earlier. Meanwhile, the industry’s workforce is aging. “We need nuclear expertise in order to combat climate change,” said Sara Pozzi, professor of nuclear engineering and radiological sciences at the University of Michigan. “We are at a crucial point where we need to produce the new generation of nuclear experts so that they can work with the older generation and learn from them.” The drop in new recruits comes down to nuclear’s image problem thanks to public disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima, the Journal speculated.

5. Nth Cycle produces nickel and cobalt MHP at new Ohio plant

Critical metal refining company Nth Cycle announced this week it has become the first company to produce nickel and cobalt mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) in the U.S. following the opening of its commercial-scale facility in Ohio. The company’s “Oyster” technology uses electricity to turn recyclable industrial scrap and mined ore into MHP, a key component in clean-energy technologies like batteries. “This revolutionary innovation replaces pyrometallurgy with one of the cleanest technologies in the world, and accelerates the net zero targets of the public and private sector,” the company said in a press release. It claims the Ohio unit can produce 900 metric tons of MHP per year, which would be enough to supply batteries for 22 million cell phones. The company says its process reduces emissions by 90% compared to traditional mining methods and can help EV manufacturers meet the IRA’s sourcing requirements.

THE KICKER

A new nationwide poll of 1,000 registered U.S. voters found that 90% of respondents support President Biden’s federal clean energy incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, including 78% of respondents who said they were Trump voters.

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