The Oilers, Lynx Comeback, Cow Tax, 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!)

Sign up for The Climate Roundup weekly newsletter here

In Pop Culture:

 🏒 Now that the tears have dried up on both sides of the ice for the Stanley Cup Finals, I think it’s a fine time to pose the question: Should the Edmonton Oilers change their name? Hockey gods, please forgive me, as I mean no disrespect. But should a team and its fans, by no fault of their own, really be sporting gear that normalizes and subtly celebrates a planet-destroying industry…in this climate?

For comparison’s sake, let’s look at the Florida Panthers, the Oilers’ prevailing opponents in this year’s epic Stanley Cup battle. The Panthers have a name that raises awareness for an endangered species, the Florida panther, while also being fierce and fun. Whether or not you knew about that underlying mission isn’t the point, but it sure might cultivate some good will. Take it, begrudgingly, from a Leafs fan.

The point is, there are plenty of good names and surely some great ones just waiting to be picked for the Edmonton hockey club. Because even with a name and logo as clutch and iconic as the Edmonton Oilers’ have had, we can no longer ignore what that name and logo represent. And in this case, they happen to represent the cause of our world’s most urgent existential crisis. So I say this with the deepest respect for the team’s history, its fans, and its brilliant branding: knowing what we know and experiencing what we are experiencing in this climate emergency, it’s time to retire the Oiler brand and usher in a new era for this Alberta franchise – one with a name we can all feel good rooting for.

Getting down to climate business:

🗳 The New York Times has a good overview of the climate policy that’s at stake in this year’s election. The world cannot afford any type of deceleration to the clean energy transition. And every election during this transition phase needs to be treated as the most important election if we truly want a shot at reigning in global temperature rise. For the love of god.

😶 During last week’s debate, unsurprisingly, climate change was barely mentioned. And in response to the single direct question about taking climate action, the planet lost. Most notably is the missed opportunity to tout all the legit positive climate legislation that Biden is responsible for. That is so Democrat. Semafor sums it up best. “Biden’s muddled reference to the Inflation Reduction Act was a missed opportunity for him to press what should be one of his strongest arguments in swing districts: That he is overseeing the reindustrialization of the US, and is responsible for at least $200 billion in investment in job-creating industrial facilities, overwhelmingly in Republican-majority areas.”

🌄 The Biden admin officially killed a proposed industrial road for mining that would’ve cut into pristine Alaskan terrain. They also re-upped protections for 28M acres of Alaskan land that Trump had previously tried to open up for drilling and mining.

🌊 A new study finds that by 2050, over 700 coastal communities in the U.S. will be unlivable due to monthly flooding of critical infrastructure.

🐄 Starting in 2030, livestock farmers in Denmark will be taxed on the methane-heavy emissions from their cattle and pigs, in order to help the country meet its climate reduction targets. Agriculture is estimated to account for a whopping 46% of Denmark’s emissions by then.

🤨 This opinion piece drives home the point of why we need a spectrum of actions, including disruptive ones, to fight for what’s important. Nobody knew about the peaceful march for nature last week, but you probably heard about the orange cornflower incident at Stonehenge that was deemed “disgraceful” by many. Hmm, you know what’s really disgraceful though? The constant spewing of toxic greenhouse gasses into the sacred air we breathe and rely on to stay alive. One might say that in fact it’s those responsible parties who should be facing “the full force of the law”.

😼 The Iberian lynx was almost extinct in 2002 with less than 100 remaining. Now they are bouncing back with over 2K alive and roaming Spain and Portugal, thanks to a massive ongoing conservation effort across several entities and governments.

🚘 Volkswagen Group is investing $1B and potentially up to $5B in EV darling (of mine) Rivian. The two companies will form a joint venture focused on Rivian’s electrical architecture and software platform.

✈️ To meet new EU requirements for airlines to use a minimum amount of sustainable aviation fuels in order to reduce aviation emissions, Lufthansa is choosing to pass on the cost to customers by charging them extra for it.

Grill, Baby, Grill

The hottest ticket this summer? An invite to somebody’s backyard electric grill show. New electrified and tech-enabled grills are appealing to a new market of home cooks keen to cook outside in a way that doesn’t negatively impact their health or the climate. But how does it taste? Invites to an electric cookout welcome – for research purposes, of course. Enjoy your holiday week!