Doctors: Fossil fuel addiction is killing us

FOSSIL FUELS: One of the world’s oldest and most respected medical journals declares that human health is ​“at the mercy of fossil fuels,” and likens the continued use of oil, gas and coal to an addiction. (Axios)

CLIMATE:
• A United Nations report finds most countries are falling short on their climate commitments, with the U.S. among those that didn’t step up its goals this year. (New York Times)
• Nearly all the world’s children will face frequent heat waves by 2050, a new report from UNICEF estimates. (Washington Post)

CLEAN ENERGY: Renewables made up a bigger piece of new global energy deployment last year than the year before, though fossil fuels still account for the majority of electricity use. (New York Times)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• The Inflation Reduction Act allocated the U.S. Postal Service $3 billion to buy electric vehicles and build EV infrastructure, but the agency hasn’t yet detailed how it’ll use the money. (E&E News)
• California officials say sales of hydrogen fuel cell cars have plummeted, with only 153 sold in the third quarter of this year. (Inside EVs)

BUILDINGS:
• LEED-certified office buildings brought in 4% higher rents over the last three years compared to non-certified buildings, even when controlling for buildings’ location, age and renovations. (Bisnow)
• Maine will soon become the latest state to offer Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy loans, which let property owners pay for solar, energy efficiency and other projects through a line on their property tax bills. (Energy News Network)

GRID: Federal regulators find Texas’ grid is nearly as vulnerable to collapse as it was last year when a winter storm caused widespread outages; state officials say the report is inaccurate and that they’ve made improvements. (Austin American-Statesman)

SOLAR:
• Houston is building the country’s largest landfill-to-solar facility near a majority-Black neighborhood, providing a model that may be replicated elsewhere. (Vox)
• A northern Minnesota tribal college’s solar certification program is training a broad spectrum of students for solar installation jobs as the industry experiences continued growth. (Sahan Journal)

POLITICS:
• Oil and gas companies are among the biggest donors to Republican congressional campaigns this election cycle. (E&E News)
• States’ midterm elections for gubernatorial, legislative, and regulatory posts will have huge clean energy implications. (Reuters)

PIPELINES:
• Environmental groups challenge West Virginia regulators’ approval of a permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline to cross streams and wetlands after they’d already issued nearly 140 citations against it. (Roanoke Times)
• Once in opposition over the development of oil pipelines, South Dakota farmers and tribes now stand together against proposed carbon dioxide pipeline projects. (NBC News)

NUCLEAR: Backers of small modular reactors pitch them as a rescue for coal towns, but a utility executive warns that while converting coal plants to nuclear is technically feasible, ​“significant challenges” remain. (S&P Global)