I'm excited to announce L.A.'s new chief heat officer
Wait, why isn't Karen Bass making the announcement?
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In the three months since Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass quietly fired one of her top climate officials, there’s been no word about a replacement — at least not publicly.
I broke the story here at Climate-Colored Goggles that Bass had unceremoniously dumped Marta Segura, L.A.’s chief heat officer, with no announcement and no public explanation — just ahead of the hot summer months, when Segura would otherwise be charged with helping Angelenos protect themselves from extreme heat. Only after I inquired did the mayor’s office release a statement thanking Segura for her service and saying officials were “in the final stages of appointing a dynamic new Chief Heat Officer.”
Since then, radio silence.
So I was surprised to learn from multiple attendees at a climate event on Tuesday that a new chief heat officer was already in place.
Bass’ office started telling environmental groups two weeks ago that the mayor had appointed Daniela Simunovic, her senior director of climate and sustainability, to the heat job. Simunovic previously worked at the California Air Resources Board.
When I asked Bass’ office for comment, a spokesperson confirmed the news, telling me that Simunovic started the new job on May 31. Like her predecessor, Simunovic is also running the city’s Climate Emergency Mobilization Office.
“Many stakeholders and City partners have been working closely with her and are excited to have her lead the office, including during the current Extreme Heat Warning in effect for the City of L.A.,” the spokesperson said in an email.
Politically, the whole thing is low-key baffling to me. Bass has never exactly been a climate champion — she took tons of well-deserved flak from environmentalists when she tried to eliminate the Climate Emergency Mobilization Office in 2025, hoping to save a little money. Activists were pissed when she dismissed Segura, too. And now she’s fighting to win reelection against a progressive challenger, Nithya Raman, with a strong climate plan. Why not put out a press release touting the new chief heat officer and stressing her commitment to keeping Angelenos safe?
All that said, I’m glad the job’s been filled. The chief heat officer can play a key role in coordinating between city agencies and marshaling resources in advance of heat waves, with a special eye toward protecting the most vulnerable. You may have heard that fossil fueled heat waves are very deadly.
But even if Simunovic is great at the job, one person can only do so much. The Bass administration has declined to fill four open positions at the Climate Emergency Mobilization Office, leaving just Simunovic and Gordon Haines, the deputy chief heat officer. City Council wouldn’t go along with Bass’ plan to eliminate the office, but the mayor has hollowed it out anyway.
So here’s hoping Bass does more — a lot more — to try to win over climate-conscious voters ahead of the November election. As I wrote during the primary, Raman was the clear choice for climate voters. For now, that’s still the case.
CCG Book Club: Crunch time on the Colorado River
As I mentioned last week, I’m excited to host a live conversation on Tuesday, 7/28 at 4 p.m. PT with environmental journalist Zad Podmore, author of the book, “Life After Dead Pool: Lake Powell’s Last Days and the Rebirth of the Colorado River.”
There’s never been a more perilous moment than right now in modern humanity’s relationship with the Colorado. Several scholars noted this week that the last time Lake Mead and Lake Powell held this little water combined, Lake Powell didn’t exist yet — meaning all the water was in Lake Mead. It’s a harrowing thought.
I’ll ask Zak about what he’s learned over many years of reporting on falling water levels and shortsighted decision-making at Powell — including why some folks think draining the reservoir is the best way forward for the tens of millions of people who rely on the Colorado River.
You can register for the Zoom here. There will be time for audience Q&A. If you can’t make it on Tuesday, 7/28 at 4 p.m. PT, the video recording will be available afterward for Climate-Colored Goggles paid subscribers. (Subscribe here!)
In the meantime, a few recent Colorado River stories:
Arizona’s San Pedro River, which flows to the Colorado, ran dry at a key spot for only the second time in 122 years. (Sarah Henry, Arizona Republic)
Will the Trump administration release cold water from Lake Powell to protect threatened native fish in the Grand Canyon, like federal officials have done in years past? The Interior Department isn’t saying. (Alex Hager, KJZZ)
State and federal officials will finally study how much water evaporates from the Colorado River’s Upper Basin reservoirs. (Brooke Larsen, Salt Lake Tribune)
In other news
The clean car transition:
The technical hurdles weren’t easy to overcome, but you can finally travel America and explore the great outdoors in an electric RV. (Michael J. Coren, Washington Post)
Sometimes the headline says it all: “I’ve Seen More Improvement In Two Years Of Reviewing EVs Than I Did In A Decade Testing Gas Cars” (Mack Hogan, InsideEVs)
Trump’s UFC fighting buddy Dana White is now starring in an atrocious Ram Trucks ad, explicitly selling the idea that LOUD TRUCKS are GOOD and AMERICAN. (Drew Magary, Defector)
The grid transition:
Why haven’t there been major power outages during the recent U.S. heat waves? Lots of new solar and wind farms. (Kathryn Krawczyk, Canary Media)
Hawaiʻi Governor Josh Green is the latest climate backslider. His team is fudging the numbers to make it look like natural gas would save residents lots of money, relative to staying the course on 100% clean energy. (Canary Media, Hawaiʻi Public Radio)
Just like at Google and Amazon, AI infrastructure is causing Microsoft’s climate pollution to soar. The company’s carbon emissions were up 25% last year. (Monica Nickelsburg, KUOW)
Trump nonsense:
President Trump explained his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad decision to dismantle Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments with this breathtaking lie: “You can’t go hunting, you can’t go fishing, you can’t do anything, you can virtually not even walk on it.” (Chris D’Angelo, Public Domain)
The Trump administration now says you can destroy an endangered animal’s habitat without “harming” the animal. It’s totally nuts. Multiple lawsuits have been filed. (Catrin Einhorn and Maxine Joselow, New York Times)
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is canceling federal funding for bike lanes, claiming they are “DEI.” No, this is not a joke. (Edith Olmsted, the New Republic)
Around the West:
Salt Lake City hit an all-time record 109 degrees on Sunday — two degrees higher than its previous record of 107. (Sean P. Means and Samantha Moilanen, Salt Lake Tribute)
The Trump administration approved Cadiz Inc.’s long-simmering plan to pump ancient groundwater from the Mojave Desert and sell it to Southwestern cities. But Cadiz still needs California’s approval as well. (Ian James, L.A. Times)
Groundbreaking new research, funded by California legislation, has finally allowed scientists to predict deadly cliff collapses along the Pacific coast with amazing accuracy. (Rosanna Xia, L.A. Times)