Keeping Tabs

PRESENTED BY THE EVER-PRESENT HUM

It’s too hot for me to try. Also WHERE IS MY SLUSH FUND? Someone steal a billion dollars for me, please. For me to have.

But if I don’t feed the insatiable demand for content, who will? We can’t have our AI-generated podcasts keening “PDF redacted” into the void.

Even better, here’s a new human-generated AI podcast:¹

OKAY, TRYING:

Several climate champions came out on top in yesterday’s elections:

• Eco-socialist Chris Rabb won the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania’s 3rd District to succeed the retiring Rep. Dwight Evans (D)

• Indivisible-endorsed microbiologist Jasmine Clark won the primary to succeed the deceased Rep. David Scott (D)²

In Pennsylvania, Lead Locally-backed Ce-Ce Gerlach (HD-22) is winning her primary. Climate Cabinet-backed Brittany Bloam (HD-45) also won. Additionally, several uncontested Climate Cabinet endorsees are headed to November—Eileen Albillar (SD-06), Chris Thomas (SD-24), Sen. Katie Muth (SD-44), Rep. Arvind Venkat (HD-30), Rep. Mandy Steele (HD-33), and Rep. Paul Takac (HD-82).

In Oregon’s non-partisan races, the climate hawks won or are headed to a November runoff:

• Former Environmental Defense Fund oceanographer Jamie Collins was elected to the Deschutes County Commission

• Alexi Miller won a seat on Eugene Water & Electric Board Commissioner At-Large

• Jennifer Smith won for Eugene City Council Ward 3

• Athena Aguiar (37%) is headed to a runoff against incumbent Mike Clark (42%) for Eugene City Council Ward 5.

• Incumbent Lane County Commissioner Heather Buch’s opponent, the anti-tax pro-logging Jake Pelroy, got 49.9% of the vote to her 45.1%; if Pelroy stays below 50%, they head to a run-off in November.

In the Democratic primaries for the Oregon legislature:

• Tonia Moro (SD-03) is down by 201 votes

• Myrna Muñoz (SD-15) is down by 204 votes

• Nicole Bassett (SD-26) won

• Tammy Carpenter (HD-27) down by 57 votes

• David Osborn (HD-52) lost

Oregon voters also overwhelmingly repealed $400 million a year in transportation funding, rolling back a 6-cent gas tax and other micro-taxes and vehicle fees.

This is why you need to volunteer for Lead Locally phonebanking!

Here’s what else has been happening:

The United States is about to invade Cuba, which has been driven into blackout by a U.S. fuel blockade.

The Trump death cult has okayed atrazine and rolled back PFAS regulations, while also extending the deadline for protecting drinking water from PFOA and PFOS compounds.³

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum went to Alaska to flack the Alaska LNG project, a toxic $70 billion boondoggle that is a pipeline to nowhere but perdition.

Space Nazi Elon Musk is about to become a trillionaire, thanks to your pension fund investors.

Gentoo penguins are four distinct species.

Hearings on the Hill:

• 9:30 AM: Senate Budget Committee
  Markup of ICE-CBP Budget Reconciliation Bill

• 10 AM: House Science, Space, and Technology Committee
  Markup of Research and Development Acts for Surface Transportation, Next-Generation Geothermal, and Water Power

• 10 AM: Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
     Clean Air, Climate and Nuclear Innovation and Safety Subcommittee
  Nuclear Power Plant Deregulation Bills

• 10 AM: House Natural Resources Committee
  The Federal Reclamation Program

• 10:15 AM: House Energy and Commerce Committee
     Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee
  Examining the Potomac Interceptor Collapse

• 11 AM: House Appropriations Committee
     Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Subcommittee
  Full Committee Markup of Fiscal Year 2027 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Bill and Fiscal Year 2027 Legislative Branch Bill

• 2 PM: House Natural Resources Committee
     Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee
  Right-Wing Attacks on Environmental Nonprofits and Legal Recoveries

• 2:30 PM: Senate Appropriations Committee
     Energy and Water Development Subcommittee
  A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation

Thanks for subscribing and spreading the word. If you’ve got job listings, event listings, or other hot news, I want to hear it. Connect with me—@[email protected], @climatebrad on Threads, and @climatebrad.hillheat.com on BlueSky.

1  Yes, today’s pretend sponsor is a real endeavor, which could have plausibly sponsored this newsletter! But didn’t, because I don’t have the right hustle. Send me money!

2  There will be a separate special election at the end of July to fill Scott’s seat from August through December.

3  Specifically, the EPA is rolling back the regulations against perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorononanoate (PFNA), the GenX compound hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA), and mixtures with perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PBFS).