Extreme heat, from the perspective of scientists
As federal policymakers debate (or ignore) the merits of climate change, members of the science community have a prevailing message: This isn’t normal. And heat-related deaths are preventable.

HOT IN HERE • Extreme heat is on everyone’s mind.
July was the hottest month on record. The arrival of El Nino is expected to last through winter, a factor NOAA considered as forecasters raised the likelihood of an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season from 30 percent in May to 60 percent on Thursday. And some workers who work in the elements are under intense heat stress with fewer, if any, rest breaks to cool off.
As federal policymakers debate (or ignore) the merits of climate change, members of the science community have a prevailing message: This isn’t normal. And heat-related deaths are preventable.
“This is shocking, but it’s not surprising. It’s what was predicted 20 or 30 years ago,” Dr. Andrew Pershing, vice president for science at Climate Central, said to reporters on Thursday during a briefing on extreme heat. “It’s not a new normal. This is the world we’re living in. And part of that is acknowledging the change, that things are unfortunately only going to get harder as the years progress until we get [carbon dioxide] under control.
Dr. Kristie Ebi, professor of global health at the University of Washington, said the US has much better ways to manage the heat to keep people from suffering and dying.
“We need to raise awareness so people know that they have to take action,” she added. “And it’s critically important to invest in that so that our future doesn’t become more dire.”
”PRACTICALLY SPEAKING” • An action climate activists and House progressives would like to see is for President Joe Biden to declare a climate emergency.
The president raised eyebrows this week during an interview with The Weather Channel when he said, “practically speaking,” he’s already done so. Biden then pivoted to the historic $370 investment in the Inflation Reduction Act to combat climate change as an example of him, as Deputy Communications Director Herbie Ziskend put it, “[treating] climate change as an emergency — the existential threat of our time — since day one.”
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) piggybacked on this argument, claiming it to be more important to behave like it’s a climate emergency than to simply declare one. (It’s worth noting that a climate emergency declaration would in fact expand President Biden’s authority to take further action.)
In addition to implementing the IRA, Whitehouse listed several other actions he’d like to see, including cracking down on major methane leaks and streamlining the permitting process for offshore wind projects.
A 3-CITY SNAPSHOT OF THE FUTURE • Pershing said one reason to avoid accepting extreme heat as the new normal is that even if we were to adjust to the new baseline, it would just change because every year scientists expect it to get warmer.
A few examples:
Newark: The industrial New Jersey city is expected to have the climate of Charlottesville, Virginia. Under the high CO2 scenario, it may feel like August, Georgia by 2100.
Chicago: Someday the Windy City could feel like Montgomery, Alabama, a city around 750 miles to the south.
Phoenix: Perhaps most shocking of all, Arizona’s state capital might feel like Saudi Arabia in the future. Today’s forecast in the Middle Eastern country? A high of 111 degrees.
Any conversation around heat and health must consider inequities as well, Dr. Ebi said.
“There’s lots of ways that heat exacerbates current inequities,” she added. “You think about where people live, think about the red-line districts. Those districts are hotter than surrounding areas. They don't have trees or have fewer trees.”
This requires smart thinking about how we build and organize the basic physical structures needed to work and live in our communities.
“We need to interact in terms of how we’re going to improve our long-term infrastructure to make sure that we're going to have cities that are going to be more comfortable as temperatures continue to rise,” Ebi said.
Related reads: “This strange hurricane season may take a turn for the worse” by Umair Irfan … “How Maui’s wildfires became so apocalyptic” by Benji Jones
👋🏾 HI, HEY, HELLO! Good Friday morning. It’s August 11, 2023. Thank you for reading Supercreator Daily, your guide to the politicians, power brokers, and policies shaping the American creator experience. Any cool plans for the weekend? Get in touch: michael@supercreator.news.
IN THE KNOW
INFLATION TICKS UP SLIGHTLY IN JULY • After 12 straight months of decline, inflation rose 3.2 percent from a year ago in July — a slight uptick from June’s three-percent figure, according to the July Consumer Price Index.
Rent and higher energy prices were the top contributors to the increase. But when food and energy prices are excluded, so-called core inflation is at the lowest rate since October 2021, a development that was most pleasing to the financial markets.
The Federal Reserve will meet next month to decide if this data is enough for it to forgo another hike in interest rates. Read President Biden’s statement to the CPI report.
WH MAKES IT ASK FOR MORE UKR AID • The White House formally submitted a supplemental funding request for $40 billion, including more than $24 billion in additional military, economic, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
The request also includes $12 billion for border management operations, counter-fentanyl activities, child labor investigations, and hiring additional immigration judges. The other $4 billion would go to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to address ongoing disaster response and recovery efforts. The administration said the previous funding Congress will approve will last through the rest of the year. The supplemental request is to cover the first quarter of 2024.
The top two Senate leaders — Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) both issued statements expressing a sense of urgency to review the request ahead of potential fall floor action. But the emergency aid package faces an uncertain future in the House as conservative members oppose additional Ukraine funds and Speaker Kevin McCarthy previously indicated he wouldn’t bring a supplemental bill to the floor for consideration.
ICYMI: “The White House has a message for Ukraine aid skeptics”
THOMAS GOT GIFTS FROM OTHER RICH BENEFACTORS • Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas received secret gifts from a network of ultrawealthy industry power brokers and executives, Brett Murphy and Alex Mierjeski report in their latest bombshell for ProPublica.
The gifts included: “At least 38 destination vacations (including a previously unreported voyage around the Bahamas) … 26 private jet flights, plus eight by helicopter … A dozen VIP passes to professional and college sporting events, typically perched in the skybox … Two stays at luxury resorts in Florida and Jamaica … one standing invitation to an uber-exclusive golf club overlooking the Atlantic coast.”
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and head of the longshot Senate Democratic effort to pass Supreme Court ethics reform, said these new revelations prove the gifts and Thomas’s failure to disclose them are more than ethical lapses. “This is a shameless lifestyle underwritten for years by a gaggle of fawning billionaires.” Read Durbin’s full statement for more.
And wait there’s more:
Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) endorsed Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) for US Senate in his bid to upset Republican incumbent Ted Cruz next November.
HAPPENINGS
All times Eastern
9 a.m. The Senate will meet in a pro forma session.
10 a.m. President Biden will receive his daily intelligence briefing.
10:20 a.m. Vice President Harris will leave Washington to travel to Chicago, arriving at 12:20 p.m.
11 a.m. The House will meet in a pro forma session.
1:50 p.m. The vice president will participate in a moderated conversation at Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund’s annual conference.
3 p.m. Vice President Harris will leave Chicago to return to Washington, arriving at 5:35 p.m.
6:10 p.m. The president will leave the White House to travel to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware for the weekend, arriving at 7:05 p.m.
6:25 p.m. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will speak at a campaign fundraiser in Chicago.
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