Current conditions: Typhoon Yinxing is expected to bring heavy rain to the Philippines this week • India is considering cloud seeding to trigger artificial rain to combat dangerous air pollution • It will be 59 degrees Fahrenheit and cloudy in Washington, D.C., where security fences have been put in place ahead of potential Election Day unrest.
THE TOP FIVE
1. Americans head to polls in 2024 presidential election
Voters head to the polls today to decide whether Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States. As Heatmap’s Jeva Lange writes, Americans will either elect a leader who continues the build-out of renewable energy and prioritizes a healthy, clean environment, or a leader who embraces the fossil fuel industry. In some places, climate will be on the ballot directly. In South Dakota, for example, the debate over carbon capture and CO2 pipelines is being put in the hands of voters; in Berkeley, California, voters will decide if they want to incentivize the decarbonization of large buildings with a natural gas tax; and Washingtonians will have two different climate-related policies to defend, with repeal initiatives on the ballot thanks to a determined Republican millionaire.
Harris and Trump made their final pitches yesterday in separate Pennsylvania rallies. In Pittsburg, Trump made the odd confession that he’s a big fan of Green Party candidate Jill Stein. “I love the Green Party,” he said. “Jill Stein just may be one of my ... I've never met her but she may be one of my favorite politicians.” Third party candidates like Stein could influence the election outcome by siphoning votes from Trump or Harris. “The vote right now is so close that a small amount of tipping in one direction or another could swing it,” Bernard Tamas, a professor of political science at Valdosta State University, told The Guardian.
2. Valencia asks for $34 billion to fund flood recovery
The Spanish city of Barcelona was inundated with extreme rainfall yesterday, just days after devastating floods killed more than 200 people in Valencia. Rescue crews are still searching for survivors and angry residents are beginning to point fingers at authorities for not sounding the alarm about the floodwaters early enough. The Valencian government is asking for a €31.4 billion ($34.2 billion) rescue package to rebuild. The flooding was one of the worst natural disasters in Spain’s modern history, wrote the Financial Times editorial board. It’s “a particular reminder to politicians in Europe that climate preparedness is a pressing issue on the continent … not just in hotter areas closer to the equator.”
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3. Canada outlines plan to cap oil and gas emissions
Canada yesterday unveiled a proposal for capping greenhouse gas emissions from the high-polluting oil and gas sector. The plan would cap emissions at 35% below 2019 levels by 2030, with producers required to report emissions starting in 2026. Canada’s Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson told Reuters that most of the emissions cuts would likely come from curbing methane, as well as from carbon capture projects. The oil and gas industry opposes the proposal. Canada is the fourth largest oil producer in the world.
4. The EV political gap may be narrowing
Recent data from automotive marketing research firm AutoPacific suggests political affiliation is becoming a smaller factor in Americans’ decision making process around whether to buy an electric vehicle. So far, most EV adopters lean Democratic. But as EVs become more common, AutoPacific’s survey suggests the political gap is shrinking. Among people who identify as “future EV acceptors” – those who say they’ll consider buying an EV in the future – 46% are Democrat, 28% are Republican, and 24% are independent or third party. That’s a narrower gap than exists among current EV owners (54% of whom are Democrats and 30% are Republicans). “When it comes to EV rejection, politics do play a small role, albeit a declining one,” said Deborah Grieb, AutoPacific’s director of marketing and consumer insights. “But rejection of EVs is much more likely to be due to charging and cost concerns.”
5. Wooden satellite launches into space
The world’s first wooden satellite was launched into space today. Japanese scientists created the satellite – called LingoSat – to prove that wood can be a space-grade material, and a sustainable one at that. Existing satellites are made mostly out of aluminum. When they reach the end of their lives, they burn up in the atmosphere, leaving behind particles that can damage the Earth’s protective ozone layer. Wooden satellites, though, wouldn’t do this. And wood could be surprisingly suitable for space flight: Without exposure to oxygen, wood isn’t vulnerable to things like rot or fire. The LingoSat will be monitored throughout its time in orbit for signs of strain and to help researchers better understand how wooden satellites might perform in space.
THE KICKER
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s plans to build a nuclear-powered AI data center have reportedly been canceled after a rare bee species was discovered near the proposed build site.
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