A New TV Series, Global Climate Court, Give The Gift of Nature, and More!

Hey climate heroes! Welcome to The Climate Roundup, where we round up the change, er the news about climate and the environment. As part of the Gen E community, we thank you for making climate action part of everyday life. (Reading this newsletter counts!)

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In Pop Culture:

📺 A TV series will be made about the true story of how US oil executives knew since 1959 that burning fossil fuels would cause catastrophic global warming, and their response was to develop an elaborate ecosystem of lies to cover up the scientific truth and continue to burn, baby, burn. The series will be based on the book The Petroleum Papers, by investigative journalist Geoff Dembicki, which exposed confidential oil industry documents detailing this massive scheme with existential consequences. Deadline suggests it could be done in a style similar to Dopesick on Hulu. I just hope it’s something 300 million+ people watch and that it can change minds to vote against Big Oil.

Your Philanthropy At Work:

🌊 President Biden just signed legislation to add 290,000 acres of coast to the bipartisan Coastal Barrier Resources Act, which bolsters coastal resilience and disincentivizes development along fragile coastlines. Surfrider Foundation was among the groups advocating for this expansion.

🦪 Billion Oyster Project released its 10 year anniversary impact report. To date, they’ve restored 140M oysters to New York Harbor.

In Enviro News:

🧑‍⚖️ A climate case is being heard at the International Court of Justice through December 13th to determine the role of international law and the legal consequences for countries that harm Earth’s climate, thereby violating human rights around the world. The Pacific island nation of Vanuatu led the charge to get this case heard, and now over 100 countries and organizations are making their statements to the court. It’s the biggest case in ICJ history. One argument being made is that the current processes to handle climate change, through the UN’s COP and voluntary agreements are simply not enough.

🤥 A small town in North Carolina is suing Duke Energy, the nation’s third largest greenhouse gas emitter, for deceiving the public about the utility company’s knowledge of the harmful effects of fossil fuel-driven climate change, and actively delaying the transition to clean energy. This follows a recent trend in environmental lawsuits to focus on manipulation and deceit, as legal experts think that could be a more viable pathway to winning cases and holding polluters accountable.

💪 Last week I told you about how evil country forces are working to prevent global action to stop global warming. Well thankfully, we have an opposite force for good emerging from a new coalition of countries, including the EU, UK, Canada, and Mexico, who have vowed to set more ambitious goals to reduce their emissions by 2035, in line with the 1.5°C target. Ah yes, a sign that sanity and courage among countries does exist.

📈 November was a banger month for EV sales in the US. So put that in your pipe and smoke it, EV-doomers. Ford had its highest month of EV sales ever, Hyundai’s EV sales increased a record 77%, and Kia and Honda crushed their previous sales figures too. A potential driver could be that people want to cash in on the federal EV tax credit, courtesy of the Inflation Reduction Act, before Trump kills it.

One Gift Glory

🎟 Forget all the holiday gift guides and lists trying to get everyone to buy more stuff. If you must buy gifts this season (or whenever), one of the best ideas is…🥁…a National Park Pass! Good for an entire year, granting access to over 2,000 parks, it’s truly the gift that keeps on giving and getting your loved one outside in the peaceful presence of nature, while maybe even exploring new places. Plus it’s not stuff. You’re welcome.