Sorry, Santa

PRESENTED BY

This evening in DC, the Climate and Community Institute is presenting a panel discussion of Sandeep Vaheesan’s new book, Democracy in Power, with Kate Aronoff, Johanna Bozuwa, and Advait Arun.

Sorry, Santa: “I suspect we may be on the ledge of another tipping point,” cryologist Walt Meier warns of the North Pole, whose ice cover is in rapid decline thanks to the unlimited burning of fossil fuels. The fossil-fueled Cyclone Chido was so powerful at landfall that it destroyed much of the meteorological measurement network on the island of Mayotte. Gusts approached 250 kmh (155 mph).

The Department of Energy has completed its review of the U.S. liquefied natural gas export boom, during which it paused approvals of new projects. The 2024 LNG Export Study finds that already-approved exports are wildly above any scenario that limits global warming to safe levels, that domestic natural gas prices will rise under already-approved exports, and that fracking is bad for health at all points along the extraction, distribution, and combustion pipeline.

As Bill McKibben writes, “Finally a Democratic administration has been straightforward and honest about natural gas.” He concludes:

Speaking of natural gas, here’s more posters from AGU24! PSE Healthy Energy’s Eric Lebel found that the health costs to restaurant workers of gas stoves are fantastically bad. Methane, CO2, CO, NOx, VOC pollution are at dangerous levels even when vented, with constantly dangerous heat exposure equivalent to being outside in the worst heat waves.

And Beyond Gas DC presented the results of its community study of hazardous nitrogen dioxide levels in DC and Maryland kitchens with gas stoves. The testing was organized by a coalition that included Interfaith Power and Light, Washington Interfaith Network, Action in Montgomery, and Sierra Club.

On the Hill, the House Democrats voted in their new committee leadership: climate hawk Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) easily won the vote to succeed Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) on Natural Resources, and Angie Craig (D-Minn.) is replacing the senescent David Scott (D-Ga.) on Agriculture. With Nancy Pelosi’s support, the 74-year-old Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) beat back Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-N.Y.) bid to become the top Democrat on Oversight.

There still isn’t a continuing resolution text. The crypto industry, via Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), is tanking the last chance for Democrats to get Caroline Crenshaw onto the Securities Exchange Commission.

ERMAGERD, JERBS!

Big shoes to fill: The League of Conservation Voters is on the hunt for a new president ($450-$550K, DC preferred) to succeed Gene Karpinski, who announced his retirement this September. Lower down, the environmental political juggernaut is also hiring a climate change and clean energy government affairs advocate (lobbyist) ($79-$94K, DC), and a state water policy director ($90-$110K, flexible).

The National Resource Defense Council is looking for a chief program officer ($350K-$450K, NYC) under executive director Christy Goldfuss to manage the organization’s six program areas. The role has been empty since Drew Caputo left last year for Earthjustice.

NRDC’s chair of the board, Kathleen Welch of Corridor Partners, is also on the board of LCV. Welch is the most influential donor advisor in U.S. climate politics. NRDC’s political arm is tightly coordinated with LCV’s work.

The industry-aligned Clean Air Task Force has many job openings right now, including an early-career U.S. federal policy manager ($93-$139K, DC) to managing director ($240-$280K, global) of the organization’s $40 million budget.

Academia: The Program in Environment, Ecology and Energy at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is hiring a teaching assistant professor ($70-$72K). Dr. Michael Mann, U Penn’s new Vice Provost for Climate Science, Policy, and Action, is looking for a shared executive assistant ($52-$80K).

Interfaith Power and Light is seeking an operations manager ($65-$80K, DC).

The World Resources Institute has an opening for a research assistant to Lacey Shaver, the senior manager of the City Clean Energy program ($48-$54K, DC).

Appalachian Voices is hiring a fundraising data specialist to manage their Salesforce database ($50-$60K, remote in Appalachia).

Greenlight America is hiring a clean energy organizer in Arizona ($65-$80K) to support utility-scale solar, battery storage, and wind siting.

The North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association is hiring a chief of policy strategy and innovation ($100-$125K, Raleigh/remote).

Rewiring America is seeking a senior federal policy manager. ($110-$150K, DC/remote).

The DC Green Bank is hiring a director of solar investments ($160-$175K, DC).

The Rockefeller Foundation is looking for a director of special projects and partnerships to manage its events under SVP Eason Jordan ($160-$224K, NYC). The Connected Leaders program hosts 20-30 “Institutional Signature Convenings” on climate for big shots throughout the year, including during the UN General Assembly and World Bank meetings.

The Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets is hiring a director of financial institution engagement ($115-$137K, Boston/SF/remote) to work under Net-Zero Director Holly Li, and the Ceres Company Network is hiring a director of financial services ($103-$122K, Boston/SF/remote) to work under Company Network Program Director Dan Saccardi.

The Center for Sustainable Energy is hiring a Ph.D.-level senior research analyst ($88-$115K, Calif.) to work on EV market analysis.

The Washington Post’s climate and environment team is hiring an accountability reporter ($97-$162K, DC) and a visual enterprise editor ($122-$204K, DC).

Most of these jobs were originally listed on Ed’s Clean Energy & Sustainability Jobs List. For weekly job listings, subscribe to his great resource.

Climate Action Today:

• 6 PM: Climate and Community Institute
  Looking to History to Build Power
  

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.