The uneven toll of extreme heat

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Jul 25, 2022 View in browser   By Arianna Skibell Presented by ExxonMobil People try to stay cool in Bosnia as temperatures pass 104 degrees. | AP More than 100 million Americans were under heat advisories or warnings this past weekend as temperatures in the Northeast climbed into the triple digits. This week, it's the Pacific Northwest's turn: 110-degree days will roast a region where many lack air conditioning. In short, most Americans will experience punishing heat this summer. But the brutal temperatures are not felt evenly. Black and Indigenous populations have the two highest rates of heat-related deaths in the country. Low-income families also face greater risk, as they are more likely to lack access to air conditioners or to live in poorly ventilated apartments or mobile homes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Heat — the No. 1 weather-related killer in the United States — heightens societal disparities already exacerbated by rising housing and gasoline costs, inflation and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. It is often worse in densely populated urban areas that lack greenery. These hubs can experience temperature discrepancies of up to 12.8 degrees , contributing to at least 600 heat-related deaths every year. Many simply cannot afford the cost of cooling. A recent national analysis found that 16 percent of the country lives in energy poverty, meaning those families spend more than 6 percent of their household income paying energy bills. In fact, 5.2 million households living above the federal poverty line still fall into this category. The study further found that Black, Hispanic and Indigenous communities experience energy poverty at a rate 60 percent greater than white ones. When heat strikes, millions of cash-strapped families are at risk of having their power shut off, but only New Jersey, Virginia and Washington have orders in place to prevent power shut-offs for households that don't pay their energy bills during a crisis, according to the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group that tracks energy poverty. Congress is expected to increase funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps households pay their energy bills, but the spending measure has yet to pass. The irony, of course, is that air conditioning can be energy intensive, contributing to greater emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. But as the world continues to warm, the need for AC will only grow.   It's Monday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host,  Arianna Skibell.  Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to  askibell@eenews.net. Trends Image of July 18, 2022. | NASA A lake of superior cold — as record high heat scorches much of the United States this summer, Lake Superior is colder than normal, according to NASA. The water on the surface of the Great Lakes usually warms in the summer. But this year, as temperatures reach new heights on land, Lake Superior's water is 7 degrees colder than average. That has only happened twice in the last 25 years. Power Centers Los Angeles obscured by air pollution. | Mario Tama/Getty Images Capping emissions Legal scholars think Chief Justice John Roberts may have left open the door to other avenues for cutting carbon pollution in the wake of West Virginia v. EPA, write Robin Bravender and Lesley Clark. Roberts wrote that "capping carbon dioxide emissions at a level that will force a nationwide transition away from the use of coal to generate electricity may be a sensible 'solution to the crisis of the day.'" Here's the story . Leaks and spills New estimates have found that a 2020 leak from the Colonial pipeline released just shy of 2 million gallons of gasoline — the largest U.S. spill on record, writes Mike Soraghan.  It took 18 days to discover the leak and the ongoing cleanup effort will likely continue for years, although it is far smaller than in the months immediately after the spill. Read more here . Hotter and hotter As temperatures broke all-time records across Europe, including in the United Kingdom, climate scientists warned that this was no freak incident, write Karl Mathiesen, Zia Weise and Pieter Haeck. How prepared a country is for rising temperatures can determine how many die and the level of disruption to society and to the economy. Here's the story .   A message from ExxonMobil: Producing for today. Investing in tomorrow. We're doing both. At ExxonMobil, we're investing to increase supplies of oil and gas to help meet today's demand. We're producing more oil and gas than any other American company and adding capacity to refine U.S. crude oil by 250,000 barrels per day. We're also investing over $15 billion in lower-emission initiatives through 2027 to support society's net-zero future. Learn more at ExxonMobil.com/supply   In Other News Not just a river in Egypt: The extreme heat is bringing out a new face of climate denial in the U.K., where right-wing outlets are increasingly covering rising temperatures as a culture war issue. There's a name for that : The era of climate change has created a new emotion called "Solastalgia," which is the sense that you were grieving for a lost landscape as you would for a loved one. Today in POLITICO Energy's podcast: Ben Lefebvre explains why the nation's appetite for oil-derived fuels remains high even as more electric vehicles are hitting the road.   A message from ExxonMobil:   Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Jeff Chiu/AP Photo The political toll high gasoline prices have inflicted on Biden is likely to occur to future presidents too. Former Vice President Al Gore compared the county's inaction on climate to the recent school shooting in Texas, bashing climate deniers. Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is urging state regulators to adopt a more accelerated action plan to meet climate goals. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   A message from ExxonMobil: Investing in energy and the world. At ExxonMobil, we're working to supply the reliable energy the world needs. We're investing and producing, more than any other American company, to increase supplies of oil and gas today. In fact, we are adding capacity to refine U.S. crude oil by 250,000 barrels per day—the equivalent of adding a new, medium-sized refinery. And we are investing more than $15 billion in lower greenhouse gas emissions initiatives through 2027. Increasing supplies of reliable energy and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions is not an "either/or" proposition. We can strengthen energy security and help advance the energy transition. Producing for today. Investing in tomorrow. We're doing both. Learn more about what we are doing to strengthen energy security at ExxonMobil.com/supply     Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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