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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: U.S. is warming faster than the rest of the globe and every region is affected, National Climate Assessment warns; U.S. and China agree to work together to displace fossil fuels and tackle the climate crisis; PLUS: Biden Administration releases new funding to strengthen climate resilience across the nation... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Brazil: Health warnings as country gripped by 'unbearable' heatwave; New York sues PepsiCo over plastic bottles and wrappers that pollute clean water; Two studies on Greenland reveal ominous signs for sea level rise; Canada says it can fight climate change and be major oil nation. Massive fires may force a reckoning; Somalia floods: Bodies unearthed and bridges swept away; COP28 Host UAE has world's biggest climate-busting oil plans, data show... PLUS: How to electrify your life when you rent... and much, MUCH more! ...

A whole lot of climate related political news converges on today's BradCast. [Audio link to full show follows below this summary.]

You'll not be shocked to learn that Donald Trump is still lying to his followers about climate change, clean renewable energy and electrification. No, as he lied during a recent rally in Texas, California didn't experience "blackouts all over the place this summer". We had zero, in fact, thanks to renewable energy and battery storage, and haven't had one since 2020.

Sadly, however, Trump is hardly the only Republican politician willing to hoax his own supporters on behalf of the deadly fossil fuel industry which funds so much of the party. At last week's GOP Presidential Primary Debate in Miami --- of all places --- none of the candidates even mentioned climate and, shamefully, neither did the NBC News moderators, who failed to ask a single question about the most existential crisis facing our planet. In Miami!

But the facts about the climate crisis, caused largely by the burning of coal, oil and natural gas, continue to flood in, along with our rising and warming seas, whether any particularly party remains in denial or not. On Tuesday, the U.S. Government released its Fifth National Climate Assessment, a 37-chapter, 2,200-page report which includes an interactive atlas that allows users to zoom down to the county level across a nation where warming is far outpacing the global average.

Climate related disasters are touching every corner of the country, and --- in addition to lives lost --- it's costing an extraordinary amount of money. Last year alone cost U.S. tax payers $178 billion in damage from climate-fueled storms, wildfires and droughts, etc. The new report, as terrifying as it may be, is also hopeful, as it details how it is still not too late to implement already existing tools to mitigate at least the worst of the dangers still to come.

And, on Tuesday, the world may have received a big boost toward that goal, with an announcement by the U.S. and China, in advance of President Biden's meeting today with President Xi Jinping, that the two nations have agreed to jointly ramp up the use of wind, solar and other renewable energy in hopes of displacing fossil fuels in the near future. That's a big deal, as both countries agreed to "pursue efforts to triple renewable energy capacity globally by 2030."

But how do we overcome GOP fossil-fuel funded intransigence (and lies) which have made China very wary that any agreement struck now with the U.S. may not be honored if Democrats are displaced from the White House in the future?

That remains a challenge. But there may be a glimmer of hope for the GOP, as a recent op-ed at The Hill details "The global climate solution Republicans have been looking for". What is that solution? A bill recently introduced by three Senate Republicans --- Bill Cassidy (LA), Lindsey Graham (SC), and Roger Wicker (MS) --- called the Foreign Pollution Fee Act of 2023.

What would it do? It would impose a fee on imports of certain carbon-intensive products manufactured in nations without the same kind of environmental regulations that make similar products more expensive to produce in the U.S. Several weeks ago, the European Union announced a similar tax that puts a fair price on carbon emitted during production of goods that are imported into the EU. They call theirs a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.

Its sounds kind of geeky, but only because it is. It would, however, according to my guests today, both help to lower emissions around the world and bring overseas jobs back to the U.S.

We're joined today by MATTHEW LEE, author of the aforementioned opinion piece at The Hill and a Federal Policy Specialist at the non-profit Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN). We're also happy to be joined by REV. DR. JESSICA MOERMAN, President and CEO of EEN, which has long carried out the mission of educating and mobilizing evangelical Christians to reclaim the Biblical mandate of caring for creation and working toward a healthy, stable climate.

Lee explains the Republicans' policy proposal, how it would work, and what it hopes to accomplish. Moerman, who, as it turns out, is also (helpfully) a Ph.D. in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, also offers her insights into this week's alarming Climate Assessment Report. She was at the White House on Tuesday when the report was released, and when Biden announced $6 billion in new investments to help mitigate the worst of the climate challenges we are all facing.

"For many decades, our country has had higher environmental standards than other countries," Lee tells me today. "American products are among the cleanest in the world. The problem is that because our companies are held to higher standards, there's an incentive for companies to offshore their factories and take advantage of looser regulations abroad in order to increase profits. This is a problem that a carbon border adjustment or foreign pollution fee, or whatever you want to call it, addresses. If companies have an incentive to offshore their factories to take advantage of looser regulations abroad, let's just charge them a fee when they want to import their products back to the U.S."

"Fossil fuel pollution killed 8 million people around the world --- that accounts for 1 in 5 deaths --- in 2018," Lee says. "If there's any way that we can use our policies to incentivize foreign governments to do better in protecting the health and lives of their citizens and children everywhere, that's something that we should get behind. That's something that Republicans would totally get behind, evangelicals, and anyone who really cares for the health and lives of people around the world."

For her part, Moerman assures me this Republican proposal has no poison pills we might otherwise expect from a "Republican climate bill". "I understand your skepticism," she says. "As we are looking at policy options, we always look at, first, does it defend life? Does it make sure that it's defending the health and livelihoods of all people? Does it protect the environment or, as we see it, God's Creation? And, also, does it support those family-sustaining careers in the clean economy? This one checks all of those boxes."

In speaking about evangelical community's move to the political right in recent decades, Moerman contends "we are seeing a real shift in our community. As evangelicals, we are people who take the Bible seriously. That means we also have to take seriously our biblical mandate to care for God's Creation." She explains that progress is being made in her community "whenever we talk about it in this framing. Take climate out of the partisan political space, the culture war space, and really root it in scripture, in our faith of following through on our values of honoring God, by taking that stewardship mandate seriously. And also loving our neighbor by ensuring that they have that healthy environment and safe climate to thrive in."

Will it work? Will Republicans in Congress take hold of that mandate when, as Moerman notes, "20% of deaths [across the world] can be attributed to fossil fuel pollution"? She says the U.S. steel, aluminum and even oil and gas industry is supporting the bill, "so that should make Republicans pay attention."

We'll see. I remain skeptical, but hopeful. Lee says that Wicker has taken his name off the measure, so we'll see if that is a bad omen. But, we've got to do something, at this point, and we need to do it fast. At least if "God's Creation" might have a chance of surviving our ever-worsening climate nightmares...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Australia signs historic climate refuge treaty with Pacific Island nation Tuvalu; GOP's third 2024 primary debate --- in Miami --- ignores climate change; Last 12 months were the hottest in recorded human history; Some big policy changes after the 2023 elections; PLUS: Manchin to exit the Senate... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): What to know about today’s three big climate reports; Over 60 countries back deal to triple renewable energy this decade; How much trees fight climate change? Massively, but not alone; Microplastics problem just got worse; Oil firms attending climate talks have minimal green energy transition plans; 20 farming families use more water from the Colorado River than some Western states; Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon falls to lowest since 2018... PLUS: Desperate for water, desert city hopes to build pipeline to CA Aqueduct... and much, MUCH more! ...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Australia braces for El Nino to intensify already-massive bushfires this year; October 2023 was the hottest October on record; Michigan legislature enacts sweeping climate and environmental package; PLUS: President Biden unveils nation's largest investment in rail infrastructure in 50 years... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): In the Florida Everglades, a greenhouse gas emissions hotpot; The rich are buying in to build fortresses in Florida with taxpayer subsidies; As climate talks near, calls mount for a 'phaseout' of fossil fuels; How Midwest landowners helped to derail proposed CO2 pipeline; Toxic pesticides are sprayed next to thousands of schools; Cover crops help the climate and environment, but most farmers say no... PLUS: A climate change success story in Hoboken, NJ... and much, MUCH more! ...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Storm Ciaran latest to rapidly intensify before slamming into U.K. and France; Human activities are making the Earth saltier, and not in a good way; U.S. greenlights fifth major offshore wind project; PLUS: Biden launches massive investments in America's farm country to boost resilience and fight climate change... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Hurricane Otis produced 205 mph gust, among the strongest ever measured; New study warns climate is warming even faster than some think; Chemical recycling "a dangerous deception" for solving plastic pollution; Solar and Hydro meet at world's largest hybrid power plant; After hottest summer on record, local governments under-reporting deaths... PLUS: Rescued corals return after historic ocean heat... and much, MUCH more! ...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Powerful Category 5 Hurricane Otis slams into Mexico and the history books; Demand for fossil fuels will peak by 2030, IEA projects; Big Oil doubles down, acquiring new fossil fuel reserves; PLUS: New Republican House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson is a climate science denier (of course)... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Cyclone Tej causes dramatic flooding in Yemen; Debunking 21 misleading myths about EVs; Inside the campaign to put an oil boss in charge of the COP28 climate summit; Earth's vital signs worse that at any time in human history; Company works to replace fossil fuel heating with batteries; Fossil fuel firms spent millions on US lawmakers who sponsored anti-protest bills... PLUS: The trillion-dollar quest to make green steel... and much, MUCH more! ...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Rising sea levels threaten Florida property values and its economy; 'Superfog' triggers massive, deadly vehicle pileup in Louisiana; New study confirms hurricanes really are undergoing rapid intensification more frequently, due to global warming; PLUS: Melting of the huge West Antarctic Ice Sheet may have already passed the point of no return... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Gaza's limited water supply raises concerns for human health; How the Israel-Hamas War imperils action against global warming; Forecast predicts an El Nino winter. What does that mean?; Drought and rising temperatures drive millions of Somalis from their homes; Climate 'loss and damage' talks end in failure; Africa and India push rich nations to phase out fossil fuels faster; Tropical Cyclone Tej to inundate Yemen...PLUS: The slow death of a desert giant... and much, MUCH more! ...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Alaska cancels snow crab harvest due to crashing populations; New documents show the natural gas industry used Big Tobacco's playbook to block gas stove pollution regulations for decades; PLUS: Sweeping new study finds the U.S. is on track to reach net zero climate goals, but it's gonna take a lot more work... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Will the Earth breach its 1.5C guardrail sooner than we thought?; The case against the US government’s big 'blue hydrogen' bet; Alabama Wood Pellet Mill Seeks Millions in Climate Funds, but Critics Say It Won’t Cut CO2; New study projects sea level rise to drain Florida’s financial future; 10 states sue US government over steep flood insurance rate increases; Racist, homophobic "Christian" goes off on the "globalist climate agenda"... PLUS: Factory fishing for krill in Antarctica is targeting the cornerstone of a fragile ecoysystem... and much, MUCH more! ...

The landmark federal climate bill called the Inflation Reduction Act, adopted last year without a single Republican vote when Democrats held majorities in both chambers of Congress, has a long way to go before we can determine its full success or failure.

On the other hand, as discussed on today's BradCast, if it is going well, but few Americans know it's going well --- as corporate broadcast media spend nearly 24 hours a day on various crises both manufactured and real (ironically, many caused by climate change!) --- can it or will it make a difference in next year's elections? [Audio link to full show is posted below this summary.]

But, FIRST UP today, one (or more) of those manufactured crises. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's desperate attempt on Tuesday to win over his own far-right caucus in the House by unilaterally declaring an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden doesn't seem to be going over very well. He had to break his own vow, made just 11 days ago, to do it only after a full vote of the House. It doesn't seem to be winning over enough colleagues to help him avoid a federal Government shutdown at the beginning of the new fiscal year on October 1. And even fellow Republicans in the U.S. Senate apparently see no evidence of High Crimes or Misdemeanors by the President to warrant impeachment.

On the other hand, he hasn't been pushed out of Speaker job by his own party this week...yet. So there's that!

NEXT: Biden and the Democrats' landmark Inflation Reduction Act --- featuring the largest single investment in history in climate change mitigation and clean energy manufacturing and jobs --- is now one year old. It has already begun to "turbocharging" a massive investment in new manufacturing plants and jobs in the U.S. to help reduce fossil fuel carbon emissions causing our climate crisis. It will soon be funding billions of dollars in home improvement projects to allow low and middle-income homeowners to electrify, solarize, upgrade and simply increase energy efficiency to save money. (NOTE: Not currently applicable in states like Florida, Kentucky, Iowa or South Dakota, apparently, which have failed to join the federal program to help their own residents save money and improve their home values while fighting climate change.)

Our guest today to discuss all of this is the great DAVID ROBERTS, longtime climate, energy and politics journalist and podcaster at Volts.WTF. We last spoke to him a year ago, just after passage of the critical legislation.

He explains today that it is still "too early to tell" whether the legislation is a success or not given all of its many practical objectives, which include vastly lowering emissions, creating millions of good paying jobs, sparking a manufacturing renaissance in the U.S. to bring supply chains home for renewable energy technology and overtaking China's dominance in the sector.

"Because the IRA's goals are so vast," Roberts explains, "it will only be over the course of five to ten years that we really have any understanding of whether it pulled it off. It's trying to do enormous things."

"What we definitely can say," however, is "that one of the goals --- which was to spur private investment into these products and supply chains in the U.S. --- is absolutely working. Last I looked, it's like $270 billion-worth of private investment flooding into the U.S."

But the yardstick for success here may be even longer than you think, according to Roberts. He tells me there is yet another goal for the legislation that is "not as public, but, if you talk to some Biden people behind the scenes, they will tell you that this apocalyptic terror you have about the future of democracy is not crazy."

"We are in a perilous, perilous moment. And part of the thinking behind IRA was that it is these parts of the country that were hollowed out by globalization, hollowed out by decades of reflexive 'free trade' dogma --- it's these parts of the county that have experienced this reactionary backlash that we've all been living through over the past little while. And if that goes on, U.S. democracy is in serious, existential trouble. People are freaked out about that all the way to the top. So, part of the goal of IRA was to channel investment into those areas. And that is happening."

Roberts says that much of the new investment "is coming into Southern and Midwestern states," including by companies like First Solar, which is "investing $1.2 billion into a facility in Louisiana. That is the single largest private investment in that state's history." Similar projects are happening in states like Georgia, West Virginia and elsewhere.

So, all we need to assess success of this enormous new law is whether it helps solves both of the nation's most existential crises: Democracy and Climate Change.

"Spurring investment, yes, it is succeeding. Is it succeeding in muting that reactionary backlash? Is it succeeding in muting these horrendous politics we've dealt with? Is it succeeding in turning a few swing voters in those swing states to help Joe Biden get back into office? That we don't know yet. And part of the problem is that our media ecosystem is broken and dysfunctional, and people just don't know about [the law]."

How to solve that? Well, as you can tell, we've got much to discuss today with Roberts along those lines as well, as he characterizes that part of issue as "the six million question" given "how broken the media is, and how difficult it is to get it to focus on these things."

He's got a few ideas, however, some involve "a huge role for NGOs, for the green movement" and even for you, as the climate, economic and political effects of the IRA one year on are still "TBD"...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Maui Fires now the deadliest U.S. wildfires in 100 years; Europe's drought deepens, impacting agriculture, shipping, and tourism revenue; NOAA revises hurricane forecast upwards; PLUS: Montana judge sides with young activists in landmark, first-of-its-kind climate victory... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): "This is the Climate Crisis": Why disasters are becoming deadlier; Drought in the tropics: Hawaii wildfires highlight worsening trends; Wildfires are exploding in unexpected places due to climate change; Mishmash of how U.S. heat deaths are counted complicates safety efforts; Mosquito season has gotten a month longer in some places; Appeals court rejects latest challenge to Mountain Valley Pipeline; The clean energy future is arriving faster than you think; Survival of Objiwe tribe's wild rice threatened by climate change... PLUS: Why you should wear reef-safe sunscreen, even if you’re not snorkeling... and much, MUCH more! ...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Man-made climate change made record hot July three times more likely, new study finds; Extreme heat is extremely costly for small businesses; Record high temps ironically force oil refineries to curtail production; PLUS: America's first new nuclear reactor in years finally starts operations in Georgia...with higher cost for ratepayers... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Former DOJ Environment Chief Described As Co-Conspirator in Indictment; For Florida Keys coral, climate change is the difference between life and death; Underground Climate Change Poses A Risk To A City’s Infrastructure; Experts call for above-average hurricane season with peak weeks ahead; 6 Months After E. Palestine Derailment, Congress Is Deadlocked On Safety; California’s Joshua Trees Are Burning Up, May Be Impossible To Replace... PLUS: Why sucking CO2 out of the atmosphere can’t undo all the effects of climate change... and much, MUCH more! ...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: July 2023 is the hottest month in all of recorded history; President Biden enacts new heat protections for workers; Canada takes first steps to eliminate taxpayer subsidies for fossil fuels; PLUS: An Australian state bans natural gas in new homes and buildings... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Climate anomalies are emerging around the globe; Turns out paving over everything makes heat waves worse; America’s first new nuclear reactor in years starts operations after massive cost overruns; Scorching summer heat curtailing operations at oil refineries; Republicans threaten to derail Biden NEPA permitting reform talks; Zero oil companies bid in BLM’s Nevada lease sale; Big Business lobbies against heat protections for workers as US boils; Fungal disease spreading fast in U.S - hotter climate could be to blame ... PLUS: Alaska’s newest gold rush: Seaweed... and much, MUCH more! ...

Today on The BradCast: Why I'm quickly becoming a single-issue voter and you should too. [Audio link to full show follows this summary.]

It's getting easier and easier by the day --- as Trump's Republican Party completes its transition to full-on autocracy --- to make my choices for next year's general election before I even know who will be running. If a candidate is pro-democracy and running against a pro-autocracy candidate, I'll choose the one who supports democracy every time. It's simple.

It's not a partisan issue either. If there is anyone left within the Republican Party willing to support democracy and oppose authoritarianism, I'm happy to examine the rest of their record and consider voting for them. The way things are shaking out, however, I'm not sure where I would find such a Republican candidate, all of which is discussed in varying degrees of detail on today's program.

Among the many stories today that help illustrate what I believe will be the single most defining issue in American elections for the foreseeable future...

• A Township Clerk in Michigan is stripped of his election administration duties after being one of 16 people indicted this week for defrauding the state by pretending to be a "duly elected" elector after the 2020 Presidential election. Each of the 16 Republicans are charged with 8 criminal counts related to conspiracy to commit election forgery. Each charge carries a penalty of anywhere from 4 to 14 years in prison. While they all deserve punishment, I especially hope they throw the book at the longtime, elected Shelby Township Clerk Stan Grot, who violated the trust of the people he serves, who definitely understood what he was doing wrong, and that Donald Trump did not win Michigan's 2020 election.

• While GOP election officials are violating election laws (Grot is not the only one), the Republican lawmakers are otherwise working hard to prevent (certain) people from voting at all. Happily, a U.S. District Judge in Florida recently blocked a new state law that prevented certain former felons and non-citizens from participating in voter registration drives. The judge found the measure, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, to "reduce individual rights to ashes" in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

• Meanwhile, Republicans in the U.S. House are attempting to force similar measures on all 50 states, reducing states rights to ashes (despite long pretending to care about them, but only in certain, very specific circumstances). Their newly introduced measure is called The American Confidence in Elections Act. It makes it more difficult for many to vote, easier to cheat, and easier for millionaires and billionaires to further purchase American elections. Contrast that with two Democratic voting and election reform measures being reintroduced --- the Freedom to Vote Act and John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act --- which would, among other things, make it easier for legal voters to cast their votes, provide support for election workers, regulate dark money in elections, ban partisan gerrymandering, revive portions of the Voting Rights Act gutted by SCOTUS, and allow every voter a hand-marked paper ballot. Again, another clear illustration of a pro-democracy party versus an anti-democracy party. Next year's choices should be simple.

• And, if there are any remaining questions about Democracy v. Autocracy as the stark new stakes our country now faces, there is likely no clearer illustration of it than Monday's explosive New York Times story detailing the Republican's $22 million "Project 2025". The plan, being prepared by former Trump White House officials for Trump or whichever Republican next wins the White House, involves what NYU Historian and fascism expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat described as "autocratic capture". The scheme, which they are not trying to hide, calls for the consolidation of all Executive Branch power into the White House, allowing the President to purge tens of thousands of career public officials deemed as insufficiently loyal, and to allow him or her to take over complete control of all independent Executive Branch agencies, such as the Dept. of Justice, FCC, FTC, Federal Reserve and many others. The President would also grant himself the power to block the allocation of monies appropriated by Congress. As one of the Republicans behind the project explains: "There is no way to make the existing structure function in a conservative manner. ... What’s necessary is a complete system overhaul." Another tells the Times: "What we’re trying to do is identify the pockets of independence and seize them." Are the extraordinary 2024 stakes making sense out there yet?

• All of that as the planet's climate continues to degenerate thanks to the continuing burning of fossil fuels and those in the industry --- and politicians they've purchased --- who continue to lie to the public about it. In California's "Darth Valley Run" one guy is making the best (or worst?) of it...even as he seems to concede he is certifiably insane. (See the photo above for a hint.)

• And, in Philadelphia on Thursday, President Biden, speaking at a shipyard, detailed an extraordinary array of remarkable new renewable energy projects now underway --- mostly off-shore wind in this case --- and the thousands of good-paying, union jobs that come with them, created by Biden and Congressional Democrats in all 50 states as part of last year's Inflation Reduction Act.

• Finally, Desi Doyen further breaks down the stakes for the planet --- as all-time, mind-blowing heat records continue to be shattered across the Northern Hemisphere --- in our latest Green News Report...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: U.N. warns nations must move faster to adapt to extreme heat; Heat waves in Europe and Middle East set astonishing new records; Outdated federal flood maps underestimate flood risk across U.S.; PLUS: Wind and solar on track to provide more than a third of the world's electricity by 2030... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): The world is reeling from record heat and flooding. Scientists say it's the cost of climate inaction; It's stupid hot. Here are the freakish global heating facts; Summers are always hot. Here's how we know climate change is making summer 2023 hotter; Seniors are migrating to states that face America’s most extreme heat; Your air conditioner isn't built for this heat. 5 tips can boost performance; Monsoon floods touch the walls of the Taj Mahal; Study finds using waste plastic in roads isn't ready for prime time (yet); Canadian wildfires hit Indigenous communities hard, threatening their land and culture... PLUS: How to keep your dog safe in the heat, according to an emergency vet... and much, MUCH more! ...

We not only cover a whole bunch of news stories on today's BradCast, we also explain what they mean and why they matter. As always, we want you to not only know what happened, but understand why it did and what can be done about it, so you can pass that important information on to others. [Audio link to full program follows this summary.]

Among the many stories both reported and explained on today's program...

• Film and TV actors of SAG-AFTRA join the Writers Guild of America (WGA) in going on strike against producers in hopes of proper payment and residuals for streaming services and AI usage, among other appropriate demands.

• We take another quick spin through my new favorite website --- FoxWeather.com --- where they report on all of the catastrophic effects of climate change now devastating much of the planet, but because Fox hates its duped readers and viewers so much, they never even once explain why all of these disasters are now happening. (Hint for Fox "News" dupes, if I'm lucky enough that you stopped by: It's the climate change, stupid, as caused by the burning of fossil fuels.)

• The Biden FDA approves the first ever over-the-counter birth control pill. Happily, this should be bring the abortion rate way down. So, rightwingers will be delighted with this news, right?

• Dumb GOP megadonors in Illinois lose their ill-considered fight to prevent the use of clean, electric leaf blowers on their 22-acre estate. But it's a win for their neighbors and for the rest of us. (And even for them, whether they too dumb to know it or not!)

• A state court orders New York to redraw U.S. House maps before the 2024 elections. That alone could end up flipping the House back to Democratic control next year, after the GOP flipped four NY seats from "blue" to "red" last year, after the state court blocked an attempted Democratic gerrymander. It's complicated.

• Great news for North Carolina residents! After Republicans on the corrupted U.S. Supreme Court recently blocked Affirmative Action for college admissions at the University of North Carolina (and everywhere else in the bargain), the school has announced it will be offering FREE tuition to many in-state students "as part of their continued effort to boost diversity".

• Late last month, the corrupt rightwing SCOTUS majority used their recently invented-from-whole-cloth "Major Questions Doctrine" to block the Biden Administration from using the specific text of the federal HEROES Act to forgive up to $20,000 in student loans to borrowers. The President has announced a new plan to use a different law to accomplish even broader forgiveness, though it will take a bit more time than his initial plan. In the meantime, beginning next month, a newly restructured repayment plan for loans will allow millions to pay just $0 a month (you read that right) without seeing any interest added. Their entire loan may then be considered as paid in full after 10 years. We break down the key details of the new plan and how Republicans are already attempting to undermine it, because they hate people who aren't millionaires or billionaires.

• Finally, it's our latest disturbing Green News Report with Desi Doyen here to drive you crazy as the summer of climate catastrophes continue. Among our coverage: another major insurer flees Florida; California works out a deal with manufacturers to phase out polluting big rigs; and the U.S. becomes the blackout capital of the world, thanks to the many failures of natural gas...

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