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Good evening, and welcome to the first issue of Sticky Weather, a new climate journalism newsletter focused on climate in the South! This week, we’re covering the South from one corner to the other, starting with Virginia.
I use the editorial “we,” but Sticky Weather is (currently) run by one person. I won’t begin every newsletter with a desperate plea for referrals, but this newsletter is brand new, and I could really use your help in getting the word out. If you know someone who might be interested in getting regular, dependable climate coverage for the South, consider forwarding this email to them.
Now, on to this week’s headlines.
- Forrest Brown
P.S. About the subject line—unfortunately, there’s no emoji for a dogwood blossom, so cherry blossom it is for now. I hope you can understand.
Spotlight • Politics
In a blow to decarbonization and climate resilience, Virginia is leaving RGGI
Virginia’s State Air Pollution Control Board held a final vote to leave the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI (pronounced “Reggie”) on June 7, 2023, putting the state on track to leave RGGI by the end of the year, despite objections from public commentators and numerous state environmental organizations.
The vote came as a direct result of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s ninth executive order, one of 11 executive orders the Republican governor signed on his first day in office in January 2022 that included bans on Critical Race Theory in public schools, public health measures intended to slow the spread of COVID-19, and vaccine mandates for state employees. The process cleared its first vote in December 2022 following guidance from the Virginia attorney general’s office.
Back up, what is RGGI?
Virginia was officially admitted to RGGI in July 2020 after the state finalized legislation to regulate its CO2 emissions. RGGI is a regional cap-and-trade program that takes a market-based approach to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its 12 member states, which include Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey, and others.
RGGI works like this:
Each state sets a limit on how much CO2 their power plants can emit, represented in the form of RGGI CO2 Allowances issued by the member states
Allowances are sold to power plants in auctions held at the beginning of each quarter
Every year the number of allowances decreases, thereby forcing power plants to lower their CO2 emissions
The money states collect from CO2 Allowances is reinvested in green initiatives that would otherwise be financially prohibitive to citizens and municipalities
Cap-and-trade programs work, so why is Virginia leaving RGGI?
Similar cap-and-trade programs exist in places like China, California (which is also linked to Ontario and Quebec), and the European Union, among others. When designed well, cap-and-trade programs are an effective way to reduce carbon emissions, especially when paired with other policies like a carbon tax.
But in Virginia, the Youngkin administration has doubled down on calling increases in electricity prices following Virginia’s admission into RGGI a “hidden tax,” also claiming that RGGI does not reduce GHG emissions. The former claim is tied to separate charges Dominion Energy was adding to customers’ bills to cover the cost of the CO2 Allowances.
According to the way RGGI is structured, Dominion Energy could lower costs associated with CO2 Allowances by deploying more renewable energy, and the money Virginia gets from selling CO2 Allowances goes back to taxpayers in the form of financial assistance with energy-saving investments, like better home insulation, rooftop solar, and heat pumps.
Climate groups have been vocal critics of the decision, with Nate Benforado, senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, telling Inside Climate News, “It’s just a disaster of a decision.”
In other news
Weather: The current heatwave has seen Texas use more electricity than ever. Per a Reuters report, Texas is breaking power use records as people try to stay cool. According to AccuWeather, the high today in Houston is 100°F, with a RealFeel temperature of 112°.
⚡Unlike other states, Texas has its own electrical grid managed by ERCOT. It’s a big state, but the independent nature of Texas’ grid makes it less resilient compared to other electrical grids. In the contiguous continental United States, there are three power grids: the Eastern Interconnect, the Western Interconnect, and the Texas Interconnect.
☀️ Similar to the way wind energy carried Texas’ grid through the last winter storm, solar power is helping the Lone Star State through this brutal heatwave without blackouts.
🥵 In the same week that extreme heat in Texas killed a lineman and a hiker, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott ratified a law that goes into effect in September nullifying local laws in Dallas and Austin that require construction workers to be given 10-minute water breaks every four hours.
Justice: Stop Cop City protesters kick off week of action in Atlanta. Last Saturday, June 24, protestors met at Brownwood Park in East Atlanta Village to kick off seven days of marches, discussions, and events aimed at furthering opposition to the construction of an 85-acre public safety training center in Southeast Atlanta.
💸 Projected to cost a total of $90 million, the Associated Press reported in May that the proposed training center—dubbed “Cop City” by opponents—could cost the City of Atlanta more than double the original $30 million the city pledged to contribute to the project. The Atlanta City Council voted to approve the $30 million in funds on June 6th after hearing hours of public comment mostly opposed to the project.
🌳 A 2018 report from the U.S. Forest Service found that Georgia leads the country in loss of urban tree cover. Atlanta is affectionately known as the “city in a forest,” but the significant loss of urban tree canopy in recent years is placing that moniker under scrutiny. The construction of the public safety training center would cause further loss of urban canopy.
👮 In January, Atlanta police and Georgia state troopers shot a climate activist protesting the facility 57 times, killing them. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) claimed Manuel “Tortugita” Terán fired at police first, but ABC News received a copy of the DeKalb County autopsy report, which found no gunpowder residue on their hands, suggesting they did not fire at police. The Intercept analyzed APD bodycam footage from the shooting, in which one Atlanta police officer can be heard saying “Man, you fucked your own officer up?” in response to a Georgia state trooper being shot in the groin.
Over yonder
Here are some recent noteworthy climate stories from outside the South:
“In the nation’s first youth-led climate trial, a case for hope” by Richard Forbes in High Country News
“An Iowa meteorologist’s climate change coverage led to a death threat. He’s now resigning.” by Eric Lagatta in USA Today
“Even mainstream news outlets are causing fake pizza panic” by Emily Atkin in HEATED
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🌸 Goodbye, RGGI
Great article!