As Biden takes climate victory lap, new threat emerges in American West

By Trey Thoelcke Published Aug 17, 10:47AM EDT

Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

As Biden takes climate victory lap, new threat emerges in American West — © benedek / E+ via Getty Images

In today’s issue:

— Biden’s climate victory lap short-lived as water cuts ordered in West

— The under-the-radar renewables set to boom under IRA

— How an EV charger that drops from the sky could be a gift from the gods

President Biden took a well-deserved victory lap in signing the Inflation Reduction Act today. with his often-scorned strategy of compromising on Capitol Hill bringing about the Schumer-Manchin climate bill just in time for the mid-term elections.

But even as he signed what represents the biggest-ever U.S. effort to fight global warming and reduce emissions, the federal government was ordering drastic water cuts out West, tied to threateningly low levels in the Colorado River. Arizona, Nevada and Mexico are expected to see cuts, the second time in two years. With no end to the drought in site, few are expecting them to be temporary.

Overall, the scenario is set to shift the climate fight in the U.S from one of reducing emissions to prevent future crises to rapid and painful mitigation of the catastrophes that have already been caused. Indeed, as we can see in Europe, where hosepipe bans, air-conditioning rationing and drastic energy usage restrictions are emerging, the mitigation phase of the climate fight will be far more painful and controversial than the engagement and de-carbonization phase.

For Biden and the Democrats, today’s signing is a timely benefit as elections loom. But as the water cuts and heatwaves grow, and we move from a climate culture war to a real-life scramble for resources, it’s becoming clearer how quickly time is running out.

Subscribe to Callaway Climate Insights to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.