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Climate

What’s Going On with Coal Power in China?

On plummeting plant approvals, DNC Day 3, and blood shortages

What’s Going On with Coal Power in China?
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

Current conditions: Extreme storm warnings are in place across Europe • Large hail could terrorize the High Plains today and tomorrow • It will feel like 113 degrees Fahrenheit in Houston, Texas.

THE TOP FIVE

1. A quick climate roundup from the DNC

It’s Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention. The Obamas took center stage last night. Now the focus shifts to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who will accept the vice-presidential nomination this evening. There are a few climate-specific events on the schedule today, including a meeting hosted by major environmental groups (some of which are behind a new $55 million climate ad push for Kamala Harris) to “present the latest on climate,” and a meeting of the Council on the Environment & Climate Crisis. Today’s events will also feature speeches from climate advocates Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).

2. Climate change threatens U.S. medical blood supply

The American Red Cross says that extreme weather events are pushing down attendance at its blood drives. In July alone, the organization experienced a shortfall of 19,000 donations and its blood inventory dropped by a quarter, in part because of heat waves. And so far in August, 60 blood drives have been canceled because of extreme weather. “That limits our ability to meet hospital requests for blood,” Rodney Wilson, the senior biomedical communications specialist for the American Red Cross, toldThe Guardian. “So as hospitals request blood to treat patients, we’ve had to limit our distributions of some of those key types that they need the most, because there isn’t enough for everybody.” The American Red Cross supplies 40% of the country’s donated blood.

3. NextDecade cancels carbon capture and storage plans for Texas LNG facility

Liquefied natural gas company NextDecade yesterday canceled its plans to build a carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility on its $18.4 billion Rio Grande LNG export project in Texas, officially withdrawing its application from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The company had big plans for the Rio Grande facility, which will be one of the largest LNG facilities in the country once completed. It was touted as the first U.S. LNG project expected to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 90% through CCS. FERC approved the export project, but a few weeks ago the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals tossed out that approval citing serious “procedural defects.” The court said FERC hadn’t sufficiently examined the project’s environmental impact. According to Gas Outlook, the Rio Grande facility will emit more than 8 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent every year and be “the largest polluter in the Rio Grande Valley.”

4. Rivian VP of manufacturing departs

Rivian this week got approval to expand its plant in the city of Normal, Illinois, to build its upcoming R2 crossover SUV, Electrekreported. The R2 is expected to enter production in 2026, but the company needs to continue to expand its Normal operations first. The town council approved a whole new “R2” building and more square footage overall. In other Rivian news, the company’s vice president of manufacturing, Tim Fallon, is leaving to join Stellantis. Fallon is the latest in a wave of recent high-level departures for the company. “The exits highlight the volatility at the EV startup as it navigates production hurdles and a broader slowdown in demand for plug-in vehicles also afflicting its rivals,” explainedBloomberg.

5. China’s approvals for new coal power plants plummet

New analysis from Greenpeace East Asia finds that China cut approvals for new coal power operations by 80% in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period last year, “marking a potential turning point in China’s energy transition, as wind and solar power capacity continues to expand.” However, while many fewer projects have been given the green light, those that have are quite large. China is the world’s top emitter of coal carbon emissions.

Greenpeace

THE KICKER

Virtually the entire population of the United States has received at least one extreme weather alert since the beginning of May.

Yellow

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Politics

AM Briefing: Los Angeles Faces Its ‘Most Dangerous Day’

On executive orders, the Supreme Court, and a “particularly dangerous situation” in Los Angeles.

The Offshore Wind Ban Is Coming
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

Current conditions:Nearly 10 million people are under alert today for fire weather conditions in southern California • The coastal waters off China hit their highest average temperature, 70.7 degrees Fahrenheit, since record-keeping began • A blast of cold air will bring freezing temperatures to an estimated 80% of Americans in the next week.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Los Angeles to face its ‘most dangerous day’

High winds returned to Los Angeles on Monday night and will peak on Tuesday, the “most dangerous” day of the week for the city still battling severe and deadly fires. In anticipation of the dry Santa Ana winds, the National Weather Service issued its highest fire weather warning, citing a “particularly dangerous situation” in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties for the first time since December 2020.

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Sparks

Trump’s Offshore Wind Ban Is Coming, Congressman Says

Though it might not be as comprehensive or as permanent as renewables advocates have feared, it’s also “just the beginning,” the congressman said.

A very large elephant and a wind turbine.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

President-elect Donald Trump’s team is drafting an executive order to “halt offshore wind turbine activities” along the East Coast, working with the office of Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, the congressman said in a press release from his office Monday afternoon.

“This executive order is just the beginning,” Van Drew said in a statement. “We will fight tooth and nail to prevent this offshore wind catastrophe from wreaking havoc on the hardworking people who call our coastal towns home.”

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An Unexpected Obstacle to Putting Out the L.A. Fires

That sick drone shot is not worth it.

A drone operator and flames.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

Imagine for a moment that you’re an aerial firefighter pilot. You have one of the most dangerous jobs in the country, and now you’ve been called in to fight the devastating fires burning in Los Angeles County’s famously tricky, hilly terrain. You’re working long hours — not as long as your colleagues on the ground due to flight time limitations, but the maximum scheduling allows — not to mention the added external pressures you’re also facing. Even the incoming president recently wondered aloud why the fires aren’t under control yet and insinuated that it’s your and your colleagues’ fault.

You’re on a sortie, getting ready for a particularly white-knuckle drop at a low altitude in poor visibility conditions when an object catches your eye outside the cockpit window: an authorized drone dangerously close to your wing.

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