environment-climate-news
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Maine Legislature Considers Creating Statewide Electricity Monopoly
Opinion -Lawmakers in Maine are considering a proposal to combine the state’s two investor-owned electric utilities into a single, monopoly, nonprofit utility. -
Interior Department Takes Steps to End Sue-and-Settle Agreements
Opinion -The U.S. Department of Interior has identified the steps it is taking to improve transparency and public input for legal settlements it is considering. -
Mexican Gray Wolf Livestock Kills Are Rising Rapidly in Arizona and New Mexico
Opinion -Endangered Mexican gray wolves, reintroduced by the federal government to parts of the Southwestern United States, have killed nearly as many cows and calves in the first four months of 2019 as they did all of last year. -
Justice Department Appeals Court Ruling Rejecting Road Through Alaskan Wildlife Refuge
Opinion -The U.S. Justice Department is appealing a decision by the Federal District Court of Alaska blocking the federal government from exchanging land with the state and an Alaskan Native Corporation to build a road through the Izembek Wildlife Refuge. -
Climate Models Overstate Temperature Impact of Carbon Dioxide, Study Confirms
Opinion -A new study demonstrates climate models consistently overstate the warming effect of increasing carbon dioxide concentrations on climate. -
Liberal Party Unexpectedly Wins Australian Elections Focused on Climate Change
Opinion -In an election focused on climate change, a coalition of two of Australia’s right-of-center parties unexpectedly won the national election, emerging with more seats in Parliament than they had before the elections. -
New Nevada Law Mandates Costly 100 Percent Carbon-Dioxide-Free Electricity
Opinion -Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak signed a bill requiring 50 percent of the electricity utilities in the state provide come from renewable resources by 2030. -
House Moves to Block President from Leaving Paris Climate Agreement
Opinion -The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to block President Donald Trump’s decision to take the United States out of the Paris climate agreement. -
The Misleading Conclusions from the 4th National Climate Assessment
Opinion -Despite all the doomsday descriptions, the projected costs of climate change found in Volume 2 of the Fourth National Climate Assessment are actually paltry in the big picture of things. -
House Bill to Reduce Wildfires Held Up by Committee Chair
Opinion -Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR), Congress’ only professional forester, has introduced the 2019 Resilient Federal Forests Ac, to improve forest management and reduce the economic and environmental damage caused by wildfires. -
Study: Fracking Isn’t Causing Health Problems for PA School Children
Opinion -A new study of natural gas production near two schools in Washington County, Pennsylvania finds no evidence emissions pose a health risk to the kids attending the schools. -
Interior Department Acts to Expedite Some Federal Facility Title Transfers
Opinion -In an effort to boost water development and the maintenance of water projects on federal lands, the U.S. Interior Department has taken steps to make it easier to transfer water projects on federal land to users of the water. -
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Issues New Clean Air Rule
Opinion -The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it has formally replaced the prior administration’s Clean Power Plan, to reduce power plant greenhouse gas emissions, with the Affordable Clean Energy rule. -
Regulatory Science 101: Risk Assessments vs. EU-Style Hazard Assessments
Opinion -Allowing European style hazard assessments of chemicals to replace risk assessments used in the United States for regulatory decisions will make people less healthy and less safe. -
New York City Mayor de Blasio Vows to Ban Glass and Steel Skyscrapers
Opinion -New York City’s iconic and historic glass and steel skyscrapers have no place in the city under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Green New Deal, unless they undergo extensive and expensive retrofitting -
Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Another Attempt to Regulate Refrigerants for Climate Reasons
Opinion -The United States D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in April struck down another attempt to restrict the use of hydrofluorocarbons, a refrigerant, based on its being a greenhouse gas. -
U.S. Transition to 100 Percent Renewable Energy ‘Would Lead to Catastrophe,’ Study Says
Opinion -Any effort to require that 100 percent of the electric power supply in any one state or for the United States as a whole come from renewable power energy sources would lead to extremely high costs and power shortages. -
Washington State to Allow Composting of Human Corpses
Opinion -Washington State became the first state in the nation to legalize an accelerated decomposition method to transform deceased persons into soil after Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill passed by state legislators. -
Federal Court Rejects Northeastern States Bid to Expand Ozone Regulations to Other States
Opinion -The District of Columbia Appeals Court rejected North East states efforts to force the Environmental Protection Agency to include more states in a regional ozone organization. -
South Dakota’s Governor Gets Bill to Punish Violent Pipeline Protests
Opinion -South Dakota's legislature adopted a legislative package, aimed at preventing the kind of violent protests that delayed and raised the costs of the Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota. -
FERC Approves New Natural Gas Pipeline Expansion in the Northeast
Opinion -The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission concluded a proposed pipeline project carrying natural gas from the shale fields of Pennsylvania connecting to utilities throughout the Northeast was in the public interest and approved its construction. -
Maine Bans the Sale and Distribution of Styrofoam Containers
Opinion -Ignoring objections raised by business groups, conservative politicians, and consumers, Maine became the first state in the country to ban Styrofoam, also known as polystyrene. -
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Approves Two New Gas Export Projects
Opinion -The United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved two new Liquefied Natural Gas export projects in April. -
Tesla Posts Big Losses as Government Subsidies Wane
Opinion -Tesla reported losses of $702 million during the first quarter of 2019, breaking a streak of two straight quarters posting a profit.
