| WEATHER WAR — A group that has spent years attacking the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s climate data is working to stand up its own group of temperature sensors around the U.S. to disprove global warming, Scott Waldman of POLITICO’s E&E News reports. The Heartland Institute’s effort is being spearheaded by senior fellow Anthony Watts, a meteorologist who has downplayed climate science and also alleged that NOAA’s temperature data is inaccurate because of a phenomenon called the heat island effect, or the concept that urban centers experience warmer temperatures compared to other areas. “Climate change is the excuse given for ESG scores, carbon taxes, the Green New Deal, and all other forms of economic destruction,” Heartland wrote in a note to prospective donors. “The public must have easy access to comparable scientific data that directly dispute the left’s claim of impending environmental disaster.” Heartland didn’t respond to multiple requests to learn more about the sensors, but according to an email sent to supporters, at least one station has been installed. Watts also did not respond to requests for comment. Gavin Schmidt, a climate modeler and director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, dismissed Watts’ allegations and said NOAA accounts for the heat island effect in its data. “It’s just Anthony Watts,” Schmidt said. “It’s one guy who keeps repeating himself every decade.” DATA DUMP — States across the country are weighing the pros and cons of trying to get in on the data center boom amid concerns that the power-thirsty facilities could keep states from reaching their renewable energy targets, E&E's Adam Aton reports. The industry’s rapid expansion, which has been cited as a reason why U.S. energy demand is projected to grow significantly for the first time in decades, is raising questions from climate hawks as well as some Republicans. But those questions have done little so far to slow the advance, and some lawmakers who back incentives to attract data centers say the trade-offs are ones activists will need to get used to as climate tech goes increasingly digital. “Everything we’re doing to fight climate change requires more energy production,” said Michigan state Rep. Joey Andrews, a Democrat who has riled environmentalists by sponsoring legislation to offer data centers a sales tax exemption. “We have to constantly be scaling our energy production to meet the increased energy demands of decarbonizing — which, you know, seems counterproductive. But that’s the way it is.”
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