Written by rjs, MarketWatch 666
This is a collection of interesting news articles about the environment and related topics published last week. This is usually a Tuesday evening regular post at GEI (but can be posted at other times).
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Note: Because of the high volume of news regarding the coronavirus outbreak, that news has been published separately:
- 13 Dec 2020 – Coronavirus Disease Weekly News 13December 2020
- 13 Dec 2020 – Coronavirus Economic Weekly News 13December 2020
Summary:
New US Covid cases were at a record 247,737 on Friday on the worldometers site that I watch; that would be nearly 40% of all the new infections reported worldwide on that day as per that site…However, the Johns Hopkins dashboard is showing a record 1,489,000 new Covid infections worldwide on that date, more than double any previous one day total….I have to assume that’s in error, and my best guess would be that somehow the data was entered twice, and they’ll eventually correct it…Regardless, whatever the actual global totals are, we’re still seeing increasing record infection rates in both the US and worldwide…Over a million and a half Americans were infected with Covid-19 last week alone; 10.2% higher than the week before; the week over week increase worldwide is at about half that rate…
US Covid deaths also hit new records last week, either on Tuesday or Wednesday depending on who’s reporting it, and again on Friday….the 7 day count of US Covid deaths is up 11.8% from a week earlier, a considerably more moderate rate of increase than the 29.7% rate we saw last week, but still double the US death rate of 4 week ago…Johns Hopkins is reporting a record 12,921 covid deaths globally on Friday, close to what other sites are reporting…while the daily global Covid death rate has doubled since mid-October, it’s been rising less than 5% weekly over the past couple weeks..
US Covid hospitalizations again set records every day last week…that will obviously continue until such time as daily new cases level off or start to fall, allowing hospital discharges to overtake the number of new patients being admitted…
Below is a copy of today’s graph of new US cases from WorldOMeters so you can get a visuallization of what the growth of this thing looks like. There appears to be a leveling off in the prior rapid rise of new cases over the past several days. So far it is within the variability seen in recent months.
New cases globally continued to increase. (See Johns Hopkins graph below.) This graphic shows the daily global new cases since the start of the pandemic up through 15 December.
Calculated Risk continues to track US testing. The decline in positive test results over July and August ended in September. The trend is now up. In September the increase in new cases was attributed to increased testing. In October that has changed – increases in new cases are now arising more from increased percentage of tests returning positive. The temporary dip in percent positive test results has been reversed at the same time the number of tests is declining. The December 15 graphic:
Here’s this week’s other environmental news (latest news on the Ohio nuclear bribery scandal is at the end):
Listen to the birds: illegal diet pill DNP might kill you on the long run -Weight loss appears as a holy grail in our modern societies. DNP (2,4-dinitrophenol), a molecule decreasing the efficiency at which food is converted to cellular energy, was discovered in the early 1930s to be an efficient chemical treatment to promote weight loss in humans. Due to acute toxic effects and the death of several users, DNP was rapidly withdrawn from the market and not used for decades. Yet, DNP has re-emerged over the last decade for human usage through its illegal selling on Internet, leading to several death cases and the recent conviction of an online seller. A global alert was issued by INTERPOL in 2015. A new study led by Dr Stier at the CNRS/University of Strasbourg, France, used captive zebra finches to investigate the impact of a long-term (> 4 years) DNP treatment on key hallmarks of cellular ageing and lifespan.”The birds, which are a widely used avian model not displaying age-related obesity, were treated with a dose of DNP per kilo which was well within the range of what is used illegally by humans. The dose had no short-term deleterious effects and only mildly increased the metabolism of these birds,” says Dr Francois Criscuolo, who is a CNRS researcher in Strasbourg. “While DNP-treated birds were looking healthy, demonstrated similar physical performances than control animals, and were not displaying physiological signs of premature ageing, this new study reveals that the lifespan of the birds was actually reduced by 20% (~ 1 year). This would be equivalent to a reduction of approximately 15 years in human life, which should provide a serious warning signal to both current and prospective users, as well as to scientists investigating its use as a medicine,” adds Dr Stier.
Several U.S. populations and regions exposed to high arsenic concentrations in drinking water – A new national study of public water systems found that arsenic levels were not uniform across the U.S., even after implementation of the latest national regulatory standard. In the first study to assess differences in public drinking water arsenic exposures by geographic subgroups, researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health confirmed there are inequalities in drinking water arsenic exposure across certain sociodemographic subgroups and over time. Community water systems reliant on groundwater, serving smaller populations located in the Southwest, and Hispanic communities were more likely to continue exceeding the national maximum containment level, raising environmental justice concerns. The findings are published online inEnvironmental Health Perspectives.”This research has important implications for public health efforts aimed at reducing arsenic exposure levels, and for advancing environmental justice,” said Anne Nigra, PhD, postdoctoral research fellow in environmental health sciences, and first author. “Systematic studies of inequalities in public drinking water exposures have been lacking until now. These findings identify communities in immediate need of additional protective public health measures.”‘Our objective was to identify subgroups whose public water arsenic concentrations remained above 10 g/L after the new maximum arsenic contaminant levels were implemented and, therefore, at disproportionate risk of arsenic-related adverse health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease, related cancers, and adverse birth outcomes,” said Ana Navas-Acien, PhD, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences and senior author.Arsenic is a highly toxic human carcinogen and water contaminant present in many aquifers in the United States. Earlier research by the Columbia research team showed that reducing the MCL from 50 to 10 g/L prevented an estimated 200-900 cancer cases per year.
Hundreds sickened by mystery illness in southern India –Hundreds have been hospitalized and at least one death reported as an unidentified illness has spread through Andhra Pradesh, India. According to The Associated Press, the Press Trust of India news agency reported on Sunday that a hospitalized 45-year-old man died after exhibiting symptoms similar to epilepsy and nausea. Symptoms that have been observed so far include nausea, anxiety and loss of consciousness, reports the AP. The illness was first detected on Saturday in the city of Eluru. The patients who have fallen ill with the mystery illness have tested negative for the coronavirus and other viral diseases that could explain their symptoms. Officials have yet to determine the cause of the illness. Water samples have not shown any signs of contamination and not all the patients exhibiting symptoms were linked to the municipal water supply. A team of experts was sent to the region by the federal government on Monday to investigate the illness. The Times of India reported that most of the patients were in their 20s and 30s, though there were some children under the age of 12 as well. According to the newspaper, “Organochlorine pesticides” are now believed to be the most likely cause of the sudden illness. According to the newspaper, these chemicals are mostly used in anti-mosquito fogging. When asked about the possibility of the chemical being responsible an Indian government official told the Times, “Mostly yes, but we are waiting for the laboratory report [for confirmation].”
Glyphosate can create biomarkers predicting disease in future generations – Exposure to the widely used weed-killer glyphosate makes genetic changes to rats that can be linked to increased disease in their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, a new study has found.The study provides evidence that glyphosate-induced changes to sperm from exposed rats could be used as biomarkers for determining propensity in subsequent generations for prostate and kidney diseases as well as obesity and incurring multiple diseases at once. In fact, by the time third- and fourth-generation rats whose predecessors had been exposed to the chemical were middle-aged, 90% had one or more of these health problems, a dramatically higher rate than the control group.While limited in scope, the study, which tested generational groups of around 50 rats each, provides a proof of concept that could lead to a new medical diagnostic tool, said Michael Skinner, the corresponding author on the study published in the journal Epigenetics on Dec. 9.”While we can’t fix what’s wrong in the individual who is exposed, we can potentially use this to diagnose if someone has a higher chance of getting kidney or prostate disease later in life, and then prescribe a therapeutic or lifestyle change to help mitigate or prevent the disease,” said Skinner, a professor of biological sciences at Washington State University.This study follows a 2019 paper in Scientific Reports in which Skinner’s lab demonstrated the ability of glyphosate to promote the transgenerational inheritance of disease in mice. Glyphosate is widely used in agriculture and common in the human food supply. Previous research has indicated that the chemical has limited toxicology for those that ingest it since it has a short half-life and breaks down in the body quickly. However, Skinner’s research and other animal studies have provided evidence that health effects from glyphosate and other chemicals can be inherited by subsequent generations.
Honey bees fend off giant hornets with animal dung, U of G researchers discover — U of G researchers have discovered honeybees in Vietnam collect and apply spots of animal dung around hive entrances to deter deadly nest raids by an Asian hornet (Vespa soror) whose North American cousins have been dubbed “murder hornets.”This finding is also the first to document the use of tools by honeybees.An invasive species in North America that came originally from Asia, giant hornets are almost as long as a golf tee and pack about seven times as much venom in a single sting as an ordinary honeybee. Murder hornets (V. mandarinia) were discovered in 2019 in British Columbia and Washington. The arrival of the venomous insect to North America has raised concerns about human safety as well as threats to local honeybees and ecosystems. “Giant hornets are the biggest wasps that threaten honeybees. They are one of their most significant predators,” The hornets raid the nests, killing the bees and carrying away larvae and pupae to feed their own developing brood.The researchers found that honeybees have developed a pre-emptive defence by collecting animal dung and applying it to hive entrances. She said unlike their Asian counterparts, honeybees in Canada lack similar defences. That means North American beekeepers would have to rely on destroying the hornets’ nests, or hope that climate or other factors will limit the hornets’ spread. The researchers gathered dung from water buffalo, chickens, pigs and cows, and placed it in mounds near an apiary. By the end of the day, some 150 bees had visited the piles, particularly collecting more odoriferous manure of pigs and chickens. The team marked individual bees to identify them at their hives. Minutes later, they recorded videos of the marked bees applying the material at nest entrances. The hornets spent less than half as much time at nest entrances with moderate to heavy dung spotting as they did at hives with few spots, and they spent only one-tenth as much time chewing at the hive entrances to get at the bees’ brood. They were also less likely to launch mass attacks on the more heavily spotted hives. The researchers are unsure just what deters the hornets, although they suspect the insects are repelled by the smell of the dung. Dung may also mask odours emitted by the bees.
EPA overrides scientists’ calls for tougher pollutant limit -The Trump administration on Monday made final its decision to leave limits for a deadly kind of air pollutant unchanged, overriding scientific findings that tougher standards could save tens of thousands of lives yearly.Environmental groups and many scientists have condemned the decision, slated to be among the final actions of an administration that targeted most proposed and many existing health and environmental protections as a burden to businesses. In the coal state of West Virginia, officials welcomed Monday’s announcement by Environmental Protection Agency administrator Andrew Wheeler, who was a lobbyist for coal immediately before coming to the Trump EPA.The tougher air standards called for by many scientists in and out of the federal government “could have been a huge blow to the coal industry,” Douglas Buffington, West Virginia’s senior deputy attorney general, told reporters.Wheeler’s decision leaves unchanged limits for what is broadly called “fine particulate matter” – the tiny bits of soot we breathe in unseen from tailpipes, wildfires, factory and power plant smokestacks, and other sources.EPA scientists have estimated exposure at current limits causes the early deaths of tens of thousands of Americans annually from heart disease and lung cancer, as well as causing other health problems.”Their callous disregard for the lives of people and imperiled wildlife, just to save the nation’s biggest fossil fuel polluters a few bucks, is sickening,” Robert Ukeiley, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity advocacy group, said of the EPA’s move.Wheeler on Monday said the country’s levels for the invisible, deadly pollutant were better than the global average. Environmental groups promised a legal challenge to Monday’s action, which makes official a decision earlier announced by Wheeler. The decision was part of a five-year review of limits required under the Clean Air Act.
Trump EPA Disregards Link Between Soot Pollution and COVID Deaths – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator and former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler acted Monday to lock in status quo industrial soot pollution limits for another five years, disregarding the emerging scientific link between air pollution and numerous health harms, including increased COVID-19 death rates.Ultrafine industrial soot, known as PM2.5, is especially harmful to human health because the particles, 1/30 the width of a human hair, can enter into the lungs and bloodstream. Public health experts and environmental justice advocates slammed the move. Industrial pollution like PM2.5 is heavily concentrated in poor communities and communities of color, and the status quo is “an artificially high standard that is supportive of industry,” Bridgette Murray, who lives in Houston’s Pleasantville neighborhood, near a massive shipping channel, several petrochemical plants, and heavy truck traffic, told The Washington Post.Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, EPA scientists found strengthening PM2.5 standards could save more than 10,000 American lives per year. “This flies in the face of good science and good public health. It is outrageous,” Dominique Browning, co-founder and the head of Moms Clean Air Force, told the Post. “It just basically sends a message of not caring about people.” The coal industry cheered the move. President-elect Biden could reassess and strengthen the standards after taking office.As reported by The Associated Press: The tougher air standards called for by many scientists in and out of the federal government “could have been a huge blow to the coal industry,” Douglas Buffington, West Virginia’s senior deputy attorney general, told reporters.Wheeler’s decision leaves unchanged limits for what is broadly called “fine particulate matter” – the tiny bits of soot we breathe in unseen from tailpipes, wildfires, factory and power plant smokestacks, and other sources.EPA scientists have estimated exposure at current limits causes the early deaths of tens of thousands of Americans annually from heart disease and lung cancer, as well as causing other health problems.“Their callous disregard for the lives of people and imperiled wildlife, just to save the nation’s biggest fossil fuel polluters a few bucks, is sickening,” Robert Ukeiley, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity advocacy group, said of the EPA’s move.
2020 L.A. air quality: Southern California pollution analysis – Los Angeles Times -The year began with Los Angeles enjoying a 21-day stretch of smog-free days that overlapped with the start of coronavirus stay-at-home orders, fueling hopes that dramatic cuts in driving would at least clean the air. That turned out to be wishful thinking. The year 2020 will instead go down as one of Southern California’s smoggiest in decades. Once the air-cleansing March weather went away, the region plunged into a late spring and summer with intense heat waves that contributed to the worst ozone pollution readings and highest number of bad air days since the mid-1990s. Smog hit abnormally high levels throughout the region, from inland areas to the coast. By fall, the state had experienced the worst and most widespread bout of health-damaging wildfire smoke on record. In all, this year there were 157 bad air days for ozone pollution – the invisible, lung-searing gas in smog – across the vast, coast-to-mountains basin spanning Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. That’s the most days above the federal health standard since 1997. “There’s no sugarcoating it, this was a really, really bad ozone year,” said Philip Fine, a deputy executive officer for the South Coast Air Quality Management District. The region has also had more than 30 bad air days for fine-particle pollution, or soot. Those numbers were boosted by a pall of smoke from local wildfires and blowing in from conflagrations up and down the West Coast. More bad air days are likely before the year’s end due to cool, pollution-trapping weather that concentrates soot near the ground. The exceptionally poor air quality adds to a years-long trend of faltering progress reducing ozone, which triggers asthma attacks and other health problems. At the same time it has increased pressure on regulators to rein in ports, oil refineries and other big polluters and put the nation’s smoggiest region on a path to clean its air to federal health standards. Scientists are working to understand the influence of climate change, wildfires, vehicle emissions and lesser-known pollution sources such as the fumes released by disinfectants and other consumer products. They said the pandemic gave them an unparalleled natural experiment, showing what happens when you drastically curtail one source of pollution. What became evident is that decades of regulations have cut passenger vehicle emissions so dramatically that they are no longer California’s dominant source of smog-forming pollution. “We learned unambiguously that if you just take half the cars off the road, that cleans up the CO2 quite a lot, but CO2 doesn’t contribute to smog,”
Bond Fire in California burned more than 7,000 acres and more fire warnings are ahead – A fast-moving wildfire that began late Wednesday in Southern California is 50% contained as of Sunday morning, a slight increase from the day earlier, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.The Bond Fire has burned 7,375 acres, destroyed 28 structures, damaged 19 others and caused thousands to evacuate since it began in Orange County’s Silverado Canyon, according to CalFire.Mandatory evacuations are still in place in Silverado Canyon, Black Star and the adjacent Baker Canyon, Williams Canyon and Modjeska Canyon, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. At least 25,000 residents were initially evacuated due to the fire and two firefighters have been injured battling the blaze.The fire rapidly spread early Thursday with much of California under extreme fire warnings, as hurricane-force winds, a dry landscape and scorching temperatures set the stage for blazes.Milder wind conditions overnight allowed firefighters to construct and reinforce fire lines to increase the containment of the fire by 10% from Saturday, according to CalFire. But the fire’s threat is not over. The coming days are expected to be dry, with low humidity and the potential for gusty winds, CalFire said. Moderate Santa Ana winds — the name for the area’s strong, hot winds that can dry vegetation and further spread wildfires — are expected to return Monday and Tuesday, bringing a red flag warning that goes into effect Monday morning, CalFire said. This year’s extreme conditions have tested the limits of fire authorities, who have now battled five of the six largest wildfires in California state history, and for the millions of residents who have endured them. California’s wildfire season typically runs from July through November. But officials warn that thecurrent weather pattern is the spitting image of the weather that helped fuel the wildfires that scorched millions of acres this summer and are urging residents to stay vigilant over the coming days.
143 Million Mammals Lost in Australia Wildfires, New Report Finds – (videos) A new report about Australia’s wildlife loss following the 2019-2020 wildfires reveals a staggering number. The sobering findings, calculated by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-Australia, determined that 143 million native mammals were likely killed, including more than 61,000 koalas.Ten scientists and researchers worked on the labor-intensive report, factoring in limitations for concluding total numbers. However, an estimated three billion animals were affected by the fires, including 2.46 billion reptiles.In the report’s forward, WWF-Australia Chief Executive Dermot O’Gorman declared that the fires were “one of the worst wildlife disasters in modern history.”Of the 143 million mammals, it’s estimated that the wildfires killed about one million wombats, five million kangaroos and wallabies, five million bats, 39 million possums and gliders and 50 million native mice and rats,The Guardian reported.The loss of Australia’s endemic mammals is particularly stark since the country is the only place where they’re naturally found.Also lost were about five-and-a-half million lesser-known but equally important Australian mammals such as bettongs (or rat kangaroos), bandicoots, quokkas and potoroos.The koala toll has been especially difficult. O’Gorman wrote in the report, “That is a devastating number for a species that was already sliding towards extinction in eastern Australia. We cannot afford to lose koalas on our watch.”Last month Australian Environment Minister Sussan Ley decried “a serious lack of data about where [koala] populations actually are,” and called for a national census of the marsupial.In New South Wales, a parliamentary inquiry found that koalas would be extinct by 2050 without intervention to save their habitat.Proposed solutions to increase koala numbers involve protecting koala corridors and banning logging in old-growth forests, but the severity of recent fires and the threat of future disasters due to climate change impede saving the species. However, a countrywide koala census is scheduled for next year.
Tiny Pygmy Possum Found After Fears Bushfires Wiped Out Species -Last year, hundreds of millions of animals were killed in the massive bushfires that spread across Australia and nearby islands. Now, for the first time since the fires, researchers have found a little pygmy possum on Kangaroo Island.The little animal was feared to be wiped out after the devastating fires last year. Little pygmy possums live in Tasmania and small patches of SA and Victoria, which were ravaged by fires that destroyed the local habitat. Fauna ecologist Pat Hodgens said the discovery was made on the west of the South Australian island. “There’s only really been 113 formal records of the species [ever on Kangaroo Island]. So certainly not very common and, obviously, the summer bushfires burnt through much of that habitat that species had, but we were certainly hopeful that we would find them,” he said. Hodgens said the little pygmy possum was a difficult species to find and study because they are so small. The one that was found recently on the island weighs just 7 grams. In fact, this species is known as the world’s smallest possum. Hodgens said his team is working hard to survey the area for surviving animals, “to try to do everything we can to protect them to ensure that they hang around during this pretty critical time”. The team has had other successes in their studies as well. In addition to the pygmy possum, they have also found 20 other wild species still living on the island including a bibrons toadlet, a southern brown bandicoot, and a tammar wallaby.However, researchers are still very worried about the animals that they haven’t been able to find.”We don’t know a lot about that species because it is pretty rare around the island and also fairly susceptible to the wildfire events. Even with all fauna survey efforts and camera trapping that we’re doing, we’re still yet to locate an individual swamp rat,” he said.Sadly, researchers estimate that over a billion animals perished in the wildfires, with many others facing grave circumstances after their habitat was destroyed.The damage caused by these fires is actually many times greater than the highly publicized fires in the Amazon late in the summer of 2019. In fact, the Amazon is just one of many regions all over the earth that have been burning over the past year.
Severe Wildfires Are Devastating the California Condor -In 1967, the California condor was placed on the federal endangered species list. But over the past five decades, with the help of captive breeding and rehabilitation organizations, the population has grown from 20 to almost 500 birds. Today, only 340 of those are free-flying across the west; the rest are in captivity. Condor rehabilitations programs typically help release young captive birds into the wild in September, provide a clean and untainted food source for the flock, collect their blood samples, and track the birds across California, Oregon, Northern Arizona, and Southern Utah during the summers. But this year, these states all had particularly devastating wildfires seasons. Some 3.2 million acres burned just in California; both the LNU Lightning Complex and the CZU Lightning Complex fires cracked the top 10 most destructive fires in the state’s history. Arizona also hadthree of its biggest wildfires in 2020. Nationwide, there were over 3,500 more wildfires compared to 2019. After an unprecedented fire season, condor experts are evaluating how increasingly aggressive fires could jeopardize their rehabilitation efforts.The Dolan Fire ended up consuming 124,924 acres of Los Padres National Forest and killed 11 condors, 10 percent of the Big Sur flock. (Ultimately, the Ventana team released 17 condors this year in California.) Ventana biologists later found birds with hot gas burns on their feet, like the skin had melted away as the fire passed underneath their bellies. The fire also destroyed Ventana’s condor research facility and release site infrastructure. The pens where the birds are sometimes kept became mangled ruins of chain link fences. The lab facility for the wildlife biologists was flattened. Livestreaming cameras melted, and burned trees fell, blocking the only road to the facility. And it’s not only happening in California. Earlier in the summer, 700 miles away from Big Sur, near the Grand Canyon, the condor program manager at the Peregrine Fund, Tim Hauck, also set off to check on a chick who had been caught in the Pine Hollow Fire. The fire had passed over the cave where the chick had been residing. Hauck hiked for hours, off-trail through a rough, scorched desert in 106-degree heat, before he caught a glimpse of the three-month-old, alive and being fed by its parents. “The chick likely retreated to the back of the cave where it would be the safest.” Hauck said. “And while it probably got very hot as the fire passed over, the chick was able to survive and the parents came back.”
Black Vultures Menace Pennsylvania Town – A town in southeastern Pennsylvania is facing an unusual infestation. Black vultures are settling on roofs and trees, defecating profusely and causing thousands of dollars in property damage. The vultures have been seen in Marietta, Pennsylvania before, but this year the problem has become more extreme, local resident John Enterline told the LNP Dec. 3. “This is the worst year,” Enterline told the paper. “There are many more of them.”The vultures are a problem for residents for two reasons. First, they poop everywhere, turning the trees they roost on white. Second, they like to tear at roof shingles and rubber roofing. Enterline said he had paid several thousand dollars to repair his roof after the vultures settled there.”They have a fetish with rubber,” Bob Schutsky of the Lancaster County Bird Club told LNP, “but it’s not well understood.” Yet while black vultures are a menace to Marietta homeowners, they are also a conservation success story. A federal law passed in 1918 protected them from being shot for feathers, and the banning of DDT and other pesticides protected them from the ill-effects of these chemicals. Between 1966 and 2014, their population increased, according to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Their range has also expanded, most likely because of an increase in roadkill and temperature changes caused by the climate crisis.They also were not always perceived negatively. In the 1800s, they were seen as helpful scavengers and allowed to feast on the outskirts of meat markets in the southeastern U.S. Now, black vultures retain their protection, which means they can only be killed with a federal permit, the New York Daily News explained. Marietta has not sought a lethal solution yet. Instead, residents try to harass thebirds by banging pots and pans or lighting fireworks. Homeowners can also apply for permission to display a taxidermied black vulture, which tends to scare away live birds, but they can cost hundreds of dollars. The vultures tend to prefer warmer roosting sites in winter that keep them safe from predators and close to food, which is likely why they settle on Marietta’s roofs.”They are attracted to these roofs, especially during this time of year … attracted to the warmth of artificial structures, especially black covered roofs,”
House Passes Big Cat Public Safety Act to Prevent the Next ‘Tiger King’ -The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to ban the keeping of big cats as pets, after the Netflix documentary series Tiger King drew renewed attention to the issue this spring.H.R. 1380, or the Big Cat Public Safety Act, passed the House 272 to 114, CBS News reported. Specifically, it limits who is permitted to breed, sell, buy, transport or own large felines like lions, tigers and leopards. “Animals like tigers, lions, leopards, and pumas should not be exposed to miserable conditions so many of them in our country currently face,” Democratic Illinois Rep. Mike Quigley, who introduced the bill, said in astatement. “By passing the Big Cat Public Safety Act we are one step closer to ensuring these animals are treated humanely and to keeping the public safe from dangerous big cats. It is my hope that the Senate will quickly bring this bill to the floor so we can get it signed into law before the year ends.”
Scientists solve mystery of mass coho salmon deaths. The killer? A chemical from car tires –When officials in Seattle spent millions of dollars restoring the creeks along Puget Sound – tending to the vegetation, making the stream beds less muddy, building better homes for fish – they were thrilled to see coho salmon reappear. But when it rained, more than half, sometimes all, of the coho in a creek would suffer a sudden death. These mysterious die-offs – an alarming phenomenon that has been reported from Northern California to British Columbia – have stumped biologists and toxicologists for decades. Numerous tests ruled out pesticides, disease and other possible causes, such as hot temperatures and low dissolved oxygen. Now, after 20 years of investigation, researchers in Washington state, San Francisco and Los Angeles say they have found the culprit: a very poisonous yet little-known chemical related to a preservative used in car tires. The chemical is just one of a vast number of contaminants that washes off roads whenever it rains. This giant soup of pollutants, which includes trillions of microplastics, rushes down drains and into creeks and ultimately into the sea. “We pretty much figured out that anywhere there’s a road and people are driving their car, little bits of tire end up coming off your tire and end up in the stormwater that flows off that road,” said Ed Kolodziej, an environmental engineer and chemist at the University of Washington (Tacoma/Seattle), whose lab led a study that was published Thursday in the journal Science. “We were able to get all the way down to this one highly toxic chemical – something that kills large fish quickly and we think is probably found on every single busy road in the world.” Peter Moyle, a longtime salmon expert and emeritus professor at UC Davis, recalled the four small streams in San Francisco Bay that once had coho. He has been following the Puget Sound research, which he is also not affiliated with, and now wonders whether all the roads and major freeways that crossed these creeks contributed to their disappearance decades ago, despite all the restoration efforts.
The Great Barrier Reef Is Now Officially in ‘Critical’ Condition – The Great Barrier Reef’s condition was given the worst possible rating this week, as a UNESCO advisory body named climate change as its single greatest threat. The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) 2020 Conservation Outlook report, which assesses the condition of World Heritage-listed natural sites, found that “a number of values” that had placed the Great Barrier Reef on the World Heritage list had deteriorated-prompting them to change its rating from “significant concern” to “critical”.Much of the damage reportedly occurred in the past four years, as the result of a number of mass bleaching events as well as the direct impacts of human behaviour and infrastructure projects. “There has been a further dramatic decline as a result of the 2016, 2017 and 2020 coral bleaching events,” the report said. “Some of the activities causing a threat to the values of the site can be influenced by the management authorities, such as fishing and coastal development. The report further noted that “other pressures cannot be addressed at the site level, such as climate change, which is recognised as the greatest threat.” Four other Australian world heritage sites, including the Blue Mountains, the Gondwana rainforests and the Ningaloo Coast, were also found to have deteriorated. Climate change was found to be a threat to 69 percent of the country’s world heritage sites-more than double the global trend of 33 percent. In the case of the Blue Mountains and the Gondwana rainforests, Australia’s 2019/20 “Black Summer” bushfire season was found to be the main contributing factor. Those blazes affected more than 80 percent of the Blue Mountains world heritage area and more than 50 percent of the Gondwana rainforests. But it’s the findings in relation to the Great Barrier Reef in particular that have scientists feeling “surprised and shocked”-even though the existential threat facing the natural wonder is well-documented.
Coral Reefs Are Still Growing Atolls Despite Sea Level Rise – Sea level rise caused by the climate crisis is considered a major threat to low-lying Pacific atolls. Despite this, however, some of these islands are actually growing. Now, a recent study published in Geophysical Research Letters Nov. 20 has figured out why. The coral reefsthat give these islands their structure are continuing to produce sediment. “The big picture with this is the modern day coral reef can build an island even though the sea level is rising,” study coauthor and University of Auckland senior lecturer Dr. Murray Ford told Stuff. Atolls are islands situated on top of rings of coral, with a lagoon in the center. Past studies have indicated that several of these islands have actually been growing, despite the threat of rising sea levels. A 2018 analysis of 30 Pacific and Indian Ocean atolls including 709 islands found that none of the atolls had lost land area in the preceding decades and that 88.6 percent of the islands had either increased their size or stayed the same. To understand what was going on, Ford and his team focused on Jeh Island in the Marshall Islands, where sea levels have risen by 0.3 inches a year since 1993. They used aerial photographs to confirm that the island had increased in size by 13 percent between 1943 and 2015. In fact, sediment had actually caused two separate islands to merge and a spit at the island’s western end to grow longer, Stuff explaine The researchers also used radiocarbon dating to confirm that much of the new sediment was deposited after 1950. This is an important finding, because scientists had previously been unsure if the islands were increasing in size because of new material or recycled reef pieces. “This is the first time we can see the islands form, and we can say the stuff making that island is modern … so it must be coming from the reef around the island,” Ford told CNN. “It’s entirely the skeletons of the reef and the organisms that live on it.”
550 Groups Ask Biden to Solve Plastic Pollution Crisis With Eight Executive Actions – Center for Biological Diversity – – A coalition of more than 550 community and conservation organizations today released its Presidential Plastics Action Plan, urging President-elect Joe Biden to take eight key executive actions to solve the plastic pollution crisis.These include a moratorium on new plastic production facilities, using federal purchasing power to curb single-use plastics, tightening up regulation of the petrochemical industry, ending fossil fuel subsidies and protecting environmental justice communities from pollution.The plan responds to the plastic industry’s aggressive expansion of facilities using the country’s oversupply of fracked gas to make throwaway plastic that fills our oceans, landfills and landscapes. Petrochemical-plastic projects harm frontline communities with toxic air and water pollution and worsen the climate crisis.”President-elect Biden can begin solving the plastic pollution crisis in his first days in office without any help from Congress,” said Julie Teel Simmonds, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Implementing this historic plan would protect vulnerable frontline communities and marine life while addressing a key driver of climate change. It’s time to rein in the fossil fuel industry’s insidious plans to keep fracking for plastic and polluting poor communities here and around the world.”The Presidential Plastics Action Plan includes detailed steps Biden can take as part of eight priority actions:
- Use the purchasing power of the federal government to eliminate single-use plastic items and replace them with reusable products;
- Suspend and deny permits for new or expanded plastic production facilities, associated infrastructure projects, and exports;
- Make corporate polluters pay and reject false solutions;
- Advance environmental justice in petrochemical corridors;
- Update existing federal regulations using the best available science and technology to curtail pollution from plastic facilities;
- Stop subsidizing plastic producers;
- Join international efforts to address the global plastic pollution crisis through new and strengthened multilateral agreements;
- Reduce and mitigate the impacts of abandoned, discarded and lost fishing gear.
“There is nothing common-sense about increasing cancer rates, sterility, or developmental issues in poor communities of color just for plastic. I support the Presidential Plastics Action Plan because plastic is not worth the sacrifice,” said Yvette Arellano with Fenceline Watch. “My state of Texas leads the country in rates of uninsured people yet is home to the largest petrochemical complex; more plastic will only benefit one of those. Instead let’s reinvest in healthcare, healthy jobs, education, and ending a global pandemic.”
More than 200 000 lightning strikes cause damage and outages across Mackay region, Australia -More than 200 000 lightning strikes were recorded across Queensland’s Mackay region from Tuesday afternoon, December 8, 2020, to December 9, according to Ergon Energy, resulting in power outages and equipment damage.Ergon Energy spokeswoman Emma Oliveri said that Mackay and nearby areas in a 100 km (62 miles) radius recorded more than 76 400 lightning strikes. Moranbah had 35 000 bolts, while Airlie Beach clocked up 30 000. Talkback caller John Emms, from Schumanns Road in Eungella, told ABC, “That’s the best storm I’ve ever seen, continuous lightning and thunder.” He added, “Better than a night artillery barrage, and I’ve been in one of those before today.” “, “I don’t scare too easily but it gave us a bit of a shock.” In Glenden, more than 65 000 strikes were recorded in the town’s Central Highlands, where the storms caused damage to substation equipment and succeeding power outages.
Powerful Nor’easter knocks out power to more than 250 000 in New England, U.S. (video) More than 250 000 customers were left without power in New England as the season’s first Nor’easter rolled through the northeast U.S. over the weekend, December 5 and 6. Strong winds and heavy snow hit several areas, with inland Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire receiving more than 0.3 m (1 foot) of snow.Maine felt the brunt of the storm as more than 230 000 customers were affected at some point this weekend, the Central Maine Power reported. Workers reported damage from fallen trees and limbs, hampering repairs, the company added.According to poweroutage.us, as of Monday morning, December 7, more than 83 000 people are still affected by outages in Maine.The highest snowfall total recorded was 0.5 m (1.5 feet) in Carrabassett Valley, Maine- a town of fewer than 1 000 residents. In Cape Cod, peak wind gusts reached more than 117 km/h (73 mph). On Saturday, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned that the combination of strong winds and heavy snowfall from the powerful storm would result in dangerous travel conditions and whiteout visibilities.”A lot of the storms’ precipitation initially fell as heavy rain but it quickly changed to snow once the cold air ushered in behind it. Strong winds accompanied the heavy, wet snow that fell,”said meteorologist Derek Van Dam.”Not an ideal situation considering the treacherous conditions that have been left in the storms’ wake.” He continued, “This nor’easter was a significant snow, wind, and rain event but could have been debilitating if temperatures were just a few degrees cooler at the start of the storm.”
Extremely rare tornado hits Trieste as historic supercell barells through the North Adriatic Sea – An intense supercell storm barrelled through the North Adriatic Sea on Monday, December 7, 2020, generating a rare tornado that hit the city of Trieste in Italy, and damaging hail across the Slovenian coast.A historic supercell storm produced a rare tornado that struck the Italian city of Trieste on Monday, December 7.”Call it rare, historic, or whatever possible, [but] the event is extremely rare,” SWE wrote.”Let us repeat, it is December 7th, a winter month, and the Adriatic Sea and the city of Trieste are located in central Europe. And the area experienced an intense supercell and a tornado.” “This was a very rare and probably a historic event for the region. To receive a supercell storm during the winter month of December is very uncommon for this part of Europe. And to top this, the storm also developed a tornado that rolled into the city of Trieste.”
Unusually large tornado hits Sakaka, Saudi Arabia – one of the largest ever documented in the country (video) A massive tornado formed on the outskirts of Sakaka in Al Jawf, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, December 5, 2020. Meteorologists said it was unusually big for the region and one of the largest tornadoes ever documented in the country. The incredible tornado occurred in the middle of the desert and reached an uninhabited area, according to Metsul Meteorologia. “Weather radars captured the storm supercell responsible for the tornado in Al-Jawf Province in northern Saudi Arabia,” it stated. The storm system also brought heavy rain and hail. The meteorological authority added that among the affected regions wereTabuk, Hail, Al-Qassim, and parts of Madinah, Riyadh. Wind speeds were between 16 and 40 km/h (10 and 25 mph), while waves on the Red Sea reached up to 2 m (6.5 feet). The tornado was unusually large for the region, according to local reports. It covered a small territory and moved very slowly. No injuries were reported, but authorities advised residents to stay indoors as the region is experiencing unpredictable weather conditions. Abdullah Al-Misnad, professor of Climate Change and Department of Geography at the University of Casim, noted that it was one of the biggest tornadoes ever recorded in the region. “The tornado, which formed southeast of Al-Jawf is one of the largest hurricanes that has been documented with pictures in Saudi Arabia,” Al-Misnad stated.
Ship Returning To Japan After Losing Record Number Of Containers While Crossing The Pacific — The owners and managers of the containership that lost a record number of containers overboard as it sailed across the Pacific Ocean towards Long Beach have provided an update on the status of the vessel as it now heads for Japan. The update revised down the number of containers either lost or damaged from the original estimate of 1,900, to now 1,816 units, of which now 64 are believed to be Dangerous Goods containers. The vessel continues to proceed to the Port of Kobe, Japan with an estimated arrival of December 7 or 8. The ONE Apus suffered the incident after encountering severe weather on Monday, November 30, during its voyage from Yantian, China to Long Beach, California. The vessel was approximately 1,600 nautical miles northwest of Hawaii at the time. The ONE Apus is a 14,000 TEU containership built in 2019 measuring 364-meters in length and sailing under the Japanese flag. The vessel is operated by Japan’s Ocean Network Express on the Far East Pacific 2 (FP2) Service. “The priority remains on getting the vessel and crew safely to port. Once berthed, it’s expected to take some time to offload the dislodged containers that remain on board. Then, a thorough assessment will be made on the exact number and type of containers that have been lost or damaged,” the update said. Today’s update from Chidori Ship Holding LLC and NYK Shipmanagement Pte Ltd, the owner and manager, respectively, provides some additional details about the incident and what will happen moving forward. The update said weather at the time was reported as wind force 4 on the Beaufort Wind Scale, corresponding to 13-18 mph winds, with north-westerly seas of 5 to 6 meters and a “long high swell”. Weather maps around the time of the incident, however, show significant wave heights of up to 16 meters associated with the low pressure system. “A notification was sent to the JRCC in Honolulu and Guam with maritime navigational warnings subsequently broadcast. We are continuing to liaise with the JRCC in Honolulu, who have advised that there have not been sightings of any containers as yet,” the update said. It’s becoming more and more clear that this is likely the worst weather-related container loss in history.
Death toll climbs to 24, over 555 000 homes affected in southern Thailand’s worst floods in 50 years –The death toll from southern Thailand’s worst flood in 50 years has risen to 24 as of Sunday, December 6, 2020. About 180 000 houses have been flooded, with Nakhon Si Thammarat the worst-hit province.The region has been lashed by heavy rains brought by the southern monsoon over the Gulf of Thailand since November 25.According to the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, flooding has claimed more lives, including a woman who drowned in Phrasaeng District of Surat Thani, and two women who also suffered the same fate in Sathing Phra District of Songkhla.More than 555 000 houses have been flooded, with Nakhon Si Thammarat the hardest-hit province, where 19 fatalities and 180 000 flooded homes were reported. Many farmlands and residential areas in Trang province remain underwater as of Monday, a consequence of a heavy flood spilling downriver from Nakhon Si Thammarat. #Thailand #KE #น้à¹à¸²à¸—่วมpic.twitter.com/KiRMmcTq5fThe disaster department added that while the situation eased, more floods were reported in Surat Thani, Trang, and Songkhla, despite water levels slowly receding in other provinces.Weather forecasts showed that there would be less rain along the Gulf coast on Monday, December 7, but up to 60 percent more rains are expected for the rest of the week.
Venice Floods After New Barrier Fails to Activate – Flood waters swamped Venice’s iconic Saint Mark’s Square on Tuesday, despite the implementation of a barrier system that was supposed to protect the city from the flooding events that are getting more frequent because of the climate crisis.The water level rose to a high of 4.5 feet above sea level in the afternoon, AFP reported. This swamped St. Mark’s Square, the lowest point in the city at only about three feet above sea level, as well as its historic basilica.”The situation is terrible, we’re under water in a dramatic way,” the church’s head procurator Carlo Alberto Tesserin told Italian media, as The Guardian reported.The flooding came despite the fact that the city had finally installed a system of retractable flood barriers called MOSE. However, the system failed to activate because of a mistaken weather forecast.MOSE is designed to close its barriers before high tides of 1.3 meters (approximately 4.3 feet). However, Tuesday’s tide was only predicted to rise to 1.2 meters (approximately 3.9 feet), instead of the 4.5 feet it eventually reached.”The situation is really bad as we weren’t expecting it,” Matteo Secchi, head of the activist group Venessia.com, told The Guardian. “It’s frustrating as we thought that with Mose this kind of thing wouldn’t happen any more, but instead we’re back to square one. It’s the same old problem.”The higher than expected tide was also driven inward by stronger winds than predicted, according to The Associated Press. “Unfortunately, the weather is freer than us. It does what it wants,”
Two months’ worth of rain in few hours floods Iran, killing 7 people – Heavy rains from December 5 to 7, 2020, have triggered more flooding in Iran, further worsening the situation in eight provinces already affected by inundations in late November. Up to 160 mm (6 inches) of rain fell in just a few hours– equivalent to two months’ worth of rain– killing at least seven people. In Dashestan in Bushehr Province, severe flooding occurred after 160 mm (6 inches) of rain fell in a few hours. The amount of rain is equivalent to twice the average for the month of December. Other counties also badly affected were Deylam and Genaveh. Over the past few days, at least seven people lost their lives in rain-related incidents. In Bushehr, one person was swept away by flash floods, while another person was killed by a collapsed building. Five people lost their lives in a landslide that buried several vehicles in Hormozgan Province. This was the second bout of flooding in Iran in just two weeks. In late November, heavy downpours flooded the provinces of Ilam, Bushehr, Khuzestan, Fars, Boyer-Ahmad, Golestan, Qazvin, Kohgiluyeh, and Lorestan. The Iranian Red Crescent Society has deployed 125 relief teams to vulnerable sites, warning that more heavy rains are expected for the country.
At least 18 dead after heavy rains cause severe flooding in DRC – Heavy rainfall in the Democratic Republic of Congo during early December has caused deadly flooding in Mbanza-Ngungu, leaving at least 18 fatalities.On December 1, at least 13 deaths were reported after overnight heavy rains triggered floods. A day after, December 2, five more fatalities were confirmed, bringing the death toll to 18. The casualties were mostly children.Among the areas affected were Zanga and Nsona Nkulu in the Noki and Disengomoka Districts. Several houses were also damaged, including three houses that completely collapsed.According to local reports, provincial minster of interior Nestor Mandiangu visited the affected site to assist the victims’ families and help with the burial.Heavy rains have been battering the country for days, with up to 69 mm (3 inches) of rain recorded in a three-hour period to December 7 in the capital Kinshasa.
Major winter storm buries parts of Alps under more than 3 m (10 feet) of snow, Europe – (videos)A major winter storm that started affecting parts of Europe on Friday, December 4, 2020, has dumped more than 3 m (9.8 feet) of snow in parts of Italy and Austria by the end of December 6 and more than 770 mm (30 inches) of rain in the town of Barcis in northern Italy. The snow is still falling, with up to 80 cm (2.6 feet) more expected in the Dolomites, Italy, and Carinthia and Osttirol, Austria on Tuesday, December 8. Before the event is over, some parts of the Alps might end up under more than 5 m (16.4 feet) of snow.The general pattern over the North Atlantic and Europe has changed as we entered the much more dynamic weather lately, Marko Korosec of the Severe Weather Europe said. “A very deep upper trough/low has emerged into southwestern Europe while a persistent upper-level ridge is placed across western Russia and eastern Europe,” Korosec explained.”In between, a powerful southerly jet stream is advecting high moisture towards the north. A significantly warmer air mass is being pumped from the Mediterranean into Central Europe and the Alps. While at the surface, a deep secondary low is emerging over Italy.””This has introduced a textbook scenario for extreme rainfall and snowfall for the Alpine region, precisely across northeast Italy, south Austria and northwest Slovenia.”A combination of excessive rainfall, snow melting, and snowfall at higher altitudes could lead to damaging flooding and avalanches in the region, Korosec said Friday, December 6. Sadly for the region, Korosec was spot on.Most of the snow fell on Sunday, December 6, bringing widespread disruption and travel chaos, with flooding at lower levels and power lines down in places.Italy’s Ministry of the Interior reported on December 6 that the regions of Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Emilia-Romagna, Piemonte, Lombardy, and Tuscany were all severely affected, with 2 fatalities already reported in Lombardy and Basilicata.Fire service reported 2 500 interventions from December 5 to 7, with most of them in Veneto (1 000), followed by 300 in Emilia-Romagna. The worst of the flooding took place along the Panaro river in Modena Province of Emilia-Romagna region. Residents of Nonantola were reportedly affected particularly bad — with 175 people rescued from the flooding. In total, 364 people in the region were evacuated.
Cold snap brings unseasonal snow to parts of southeast Australia – Unseasonal snow has fallen in Victoria, New South Wales, and Tasmania on December 7, 2020, as the Australian states are gripped by a cold snap after half of the continent sweltered through arecord heatwave. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, (BOM), the snow was caused by a cold air mass moving across the country’s southeast.In Victoria, ski resort Mt. Buller was engulfed by snow as flurries descended on slopes. The resort’s marketing manager, David Clark, described the scenery as “magical.””Snow at this time of year is not unheard of,” he told NCA NewsWire. “It probably snows a couple of times throughout summer each year. But to have it in December, so close to Christmas, was really nice.”According to the BOM, the cold front reinforced wintry conditions across the state, forecasting showers, small hail, and snow across the ranges until Tuesday, December 8. BOM meteorologist Matthew Thomas a cold air mass moving across southeast Australia is to blame for the unusually wintry weather.Although in the middle of summer, temperatures are expected to drop between 5 and 8 degC (41 and 46.4 degF) inland and up to 10 degC (50 degF) about the coast.In New South Wales, snow is also forecast for the alpine region, along with some thunderstorms in the northeast and southeast of the state.”Yes, it is summer, but there is snow on the forecast for the alpine region,” stated BOM NSW.
November 2020 was warmest recorded, EU program says – The world just recorded the warmest November on record, according to a European Union climate organization. Data analyzed by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) shows that November was more than 0.1 degree celsius hotter than Novembers in 2016 and 2019, which were previously considered the warmest. In a statement, the service described this as a “clear margin.”The data also showed this past November was about 0.8 degrees celsius warmer than the average temperature of Novembers 1981 through 2010.In November 2020, places with “substantially higher than average temperatures” included parts of the U.S., South America, southern Africa, eastern Antarctica and most of Australia.”These records are consistent with the long-term warming trend of the global climate,” said C3S director Carlo Buontempo in a statement. “All policy-makers who prioritise mitigating climate risks should see these records as alarm bells and consider more seriously than ever how to best comply with the international commitments set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement”, he added. The finding follows a preliminary projection from the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization which said that 2020 was slated to be the second-warmest year on record based on data from January to October. mThe UN group found that during that period, the average global temperature for 2020 was about 1.2 degrees Celsius higher than the baseline temperature for the years 1850 through 1900.
Climate Crisis: World Experiences Hottest November on Record in 2020 –The world experienced the hottest November on record in 2020, while Europe has had its warmest fall weather in history, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in a monthly report on Monday.C3S’ analysis of surface and air temperatures found that the month was 0.8 degrees Celsius (1.44 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the 30-year average of 1981-2010. This November also broke the previous record by more than 0.1 C, set in 2016.The data showed temperatures in the boreal fall (September-November) in Europe were 1.9 C above the 1981-2010 norm, and 0.4 C higher than the average temperature for 2006, the previous warmest fall.The average temperature in November in Europe was 2.2 C above that in Novembers of the 1981-2010 reference period and the joint second-highest on record. The highest was in November 2015, at 2.4 C. “These records are consistent with the long-term warming trend of the global climate,” said C3S director Carlo Buontempo.”All policymakers who prioritize mitigating climate risks should see these records as alarm bells,” he added. Earth is seeing an increase in the frequency and strength of extreme weather events as human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels contribute to a rise in average global temperatures. The changing climate has resulted in devastating wildfires and led to ever more violent tropical storms in many regions of the world. The five hottest years in history have all come since 2015. A landmark deal struck in that year, the Paris Agreement, aims to limit temperature rises to “well below” 2 C (3.6 F) above pre-industrial levels. Currently, the Earth is seeing just over 1 C of warming.
Arctic wildfires linked to warming temperatures: NOAA — Wildfires in the arctic are linked to warming temperatures there, according to a new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA’s new 2020 update to its Arctic Report Card said the “extreme” fires in Russia’s Sakha Republic “coincided with unparalleled warm air temperatures and record snow loss.”Increasing air temperature over the past 41 years is a factor contributing to “more favorable” conditions for fires, the report said. Scientists have repeatedly linked climate change to extreme weather events. The new report noted that this year’s annual land surface air temperature in the region was the second highest recorded since at least 1900. The new NOAA report also said sea ice loss this year was particularly high, with the end of summer sea ice extent reaching the second-lowest level recorded during the past 42 years. It said that changes due to sea ice loss are “challenging” traditional ways of life for coastal indigenous communities and the loss of sea ice cover may be linked to weather shifts.The report follows recent news showing that the planet in general is reaching warmer temperatures.The United Nations’s World Meteorological Organization recently projected that 2020 will be among the three hottest years recorded globally. It also said the years 2015 through 2020 are expected to be the six warmest on record.
Ships make record number of sailings through Arctic in 2020 (Reuters) – Ships sailing through the Arctic region’s busiest lane along the Siberian coast made the highest number of trips on record this year as a quicker-than-expected melting of ice enabled more traffic, data showed. The Arctic has warmed at least twice as quickly as the rest of the world over the last three decades and shipping activity has picked up. Analysis by the Centre for High North Logistics (CHNL) at Norway’s Nord University Business School showed there were 62 transits through the Northern Sea Route in the period to Dec. 9, versus 37 for the whole of 2019. “This year is considered to be the highest number of the full transit voyages,” Sergey Balmasov with CHNL told Reuters. “We see favorable ice conditions in this navigation season as one of the reasons for the growth.” The number of ships using the route rose to 331 vessels in the year to date, versus 277 for the whole of 2019, CHNL data showed. The trade is driven by commodities producers – mainly in Russia, China and Canada – sending iron ore, oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other fuels through Arctic waters. The United Nations shipping agency last month approved a ban on the use of heavy fuel oil (HFO) in the Arctic, but the move was criticised by green groups which said loopholes would allow many vessels to keep sailing without enough regulatory control over the region’s fragile ecosystem. Environmentalists say HFO produces higher emissions of harmful pollutants, including sulphur oxide, nitrogen oxides, and black carbon. “The region has seen comparatively little shipping traffic compared to other regions of the world, and the necessary environmental regulation to minimise the impact of increased shipping in the region is incomplete,” said Sian Prior, lead advisor at the Clean Arctic Alliance. “Increased shipping will increase the risk of oil spills in the Arctic, but the remoteness and lack of infrastructure will make responding to an oil spill very challenging, if possible at all.”
Long-duration C7.4 solar flare produces asymmetric full halo CME, impact expected on December 9 – A long-duration solar flare measuring C7.4 at its peak erupted from Active Region 2790 — positioned in Earth-striking zone — at 16:32 UTC on December 7, 2020. The event started at 15:46, peaked at 16:32, and ended at 17:33 UTC. An asymmetric full halo coronal mass ejection (CME) was produced, with a likely Earth-directed component arriving on December 9.The flare was associated with an approximately 9 degree long, N-S aligned disappearing solar filament that bisected the southern extremity of the region’s magnetic neutral line.Additionally, the flare was associated with a 180 sfu Tenflare at 16:43 UTC. There was also some minor coronal dimming, post-flare coronal looping, and an EIT wave observed in GOES/SUVI 195A imagery.”A consensus of model runs suggest speeds between 830 – 880 km/s, and arrival in the latter half of December 9,” SWPC forecasters said at 00:30 UTC on December 8.A G1 – Minor geomagnetic storm watch is in effect for December 9, G3 – Strong for December 10, and G2 – Moderate for December 11, SWPC said at 15:06 UTC today.Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 50 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude.Induced Currents – Power system voltage irregularities possible, false alarms may be triggered on some protection devices.Spacecraft – Systems may experience surface charging; increased drag on low Earth-orbit satellites and orientation problems may occur.Navigation – Intermittent satellite navigation (GPS) problems, including loss-of-lock and increased range error may occur.Radio – HF (high frequency) radio may be intermittent.Aurora – Aurora may be seen as low as Pennsylvania to Iowa to Oregon.
World carbon dioxide emissions drop 7% in pandemic-hit 2020 -A locked-down pandemic-struck world cut its carbon dioxide emissions this year by 7%, the biggest drop ever, new preliminary figures show. The Global Carbon Project, an authoritative group of dozens of international scientists who track emissions, calculated that the world will have put 37 billion U.S. tons (34 billion metric tons) of carbon Scientists say this drop is chiefly because people are staying home, traveling less by car and plane, and that emissions are expected to jump back up after the pandemic ends. Ground transportation makes up about one-fifth of emissions of carbon dioxide, the chief man-made heat-trapping gas. “Of course, lockdown is absolutely not the way to tackle climate change,” said study co-author Corinne LeQuere, a climate scientist at the University of East Anglia. The same group of scientists months ago predicted emission drops of 4% to 7%, depending on the progression of COVID-19. A second coronavirus wave and continued travel reductions pushed the decrease to 7%, LeQuere said. Emissions dropped 12% in the United States and 11% in Europe, but only 1.7% in China. That’s because China had an earlier lockdown with less of a second wave. Also China’s emissions are more industrial based than other countries and its industry was less affected than transportation, LeQuere said. The calculations – based on reports detailing energy use, industrial production and daily mobility counts – were praised as accurate by outside scientists. Even with the drop in 2020, the world on average put 1,185 tons (1,075 metric tons) of carbon dioxide into the air every second. Final figures for 2019 published in the same study show that from 2018 to 2019 emissions of the main man-made heat-trapping gas increased only 0.1%, much smaller than annual jumps of around 3% a decade or two ago. Even with emissions expected to rise after the pandemic, scientists are wondering if 2019 be the peak of carbon pollution, LeQuere said. “We are certainly very close to an emissions peak, if we can keep the global community together,” said United Nations Development Director Achim Steiner.
Sixth Carbon Budget – UK Climate Change Committee – (pdf reports) The Sixth Carbon Budget report is based on an extensive programme of analysis, consultation and consideration by the Committee and its staff, building on the evidence published last year for our Net Zero advice. In support of the advice in this report, we have also produced:
- A Methodology Report, setting out the evidence and methodology behind the scenarios.
- A Policy Report, setting out the changes to policy that could drive the changes necessary particularly over the 2020s.
- All the charts and data behind the report, as well as a separate dataset for the Sixth Carbon Budget scenarios, which sets out more details and data on the pathways than can be included in this report.
- A public Call for Evidence, several new research projects, three expert advisory groups and deep dives into the roles of local authorities and businesses.
An underperforming Exxon Mobil faces a new climate threat: Activist investors – Exxon Mobil could become the most interesting target of a combined attack from activist hedge funds and long-term impact investors focused on sustainability and carbon emissions. A newly formed activist investor group, Engine No. 1, announced plans on Monday to seek four board seats at the oil and gas giant, and underlying the effort are both short-term and long-term goals to change the way Exxon approaches the energy business at a time of rapid transition forced by climate change. The activist firm – which includes founders from successful activist hedge funds including Partner Fund Management and JANA Partners – thinks the time is ripe for an overhaul of Exxon’s management. The market stats cited in its letter to Exxon’s board highlight a significant drop in operating performance and “dramatic” decline in Exxon’s stock value in recent years as many investors have lost faith in the company. Total shareholder return, including dividends, over the last 10 years has been negative 20%, versus 277% for the S&P 500. Its total shareholder return for the prior 3-, 5- and 10-year periods trailed energy peers, as well. One sign of how much Wall Street is shying away from Exxon Mobil: a lack of analysts recommending the company. “Despite the Company’s dramatic decline in value, as of last week only 14% of sell-side analysts covering the company rated it as a “buy,” the letter noted. Activists see opportunity in short-term value creation for a company that has been depressed by factors including poor capital spending decisions during a cyclical downturn. Institutional investors, including pension funds, also see an opportunity to get an oil company that has ignored climate change engagement efforts to finally pay attention. And the big three index fund companies – BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street Global Advisors – represent many individual investors who are increasingly worried about what may be a threatened Exxon Mobil dividend. Engine No. 1 already received the backing of California pension giant CALSTRS, which invests on behalf of the state’s teachers. CalSTRS chief investment officer Chris Ailman told CNBC on Monday that the pension fund is becoming more of an activist shareholder after previous work his pension fund has done with the Climate Action 100+ coalition to engage with Exxon has not worked. “With Exxon it has been very unsuccessful, sadly, trying to get their attention, change their behavior,” Ailman said. “This company is just throwing money after projects that are not going to be successful. … When I think about Exxon, it has been focused in on drilling every last molecule of carbon. They need to wake up and realize the future is different.”
SCIENCE: Climate racism is real. Researchers found it in U.S. cities — Thursday, December 10, 2020 — Lower-income residents and people of color are more likely to live in the hottest neighborhoods in cities across the country, putting them at greater risk of heat-related illnesses and death. A trio of studies presented yesterday at the American Geophysical Union’s annual fall meeting underscored that sobering point. “Disparities in urban heat exposure as a direct result of urban planning and design, environmental racism, and the policies such as redlining … do in fact exist,” said Angel Hsu, an environmental policy expert at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and lead author of one of the studies. “And now we have the evidence and the quantitative data to show that these patterns are not isolated to case studies or ad hoc anecdotal evidence, but actually they’re widespread, pervasive and consistent.” The perils of city heat are well known. Urban centers are often significantly hotter than surrounding rural areas – by as much as several degrees in some cases. It’s a phenomenon known as the “urban heat island effect.” There are a variety of causes, not always the same ones from one city to the next. But it’s often a combination of less vegetation and denser populations, with closely set buildings and lots of dark surfaces that help trap heat. That can mean different neighborhoods within the same city may be hotter than others. Now, research increasingly suggests that residents of the hottest neighborhoods are often predominantly lower-income people and people of color. Hsu’s study looked at 175 cities across the U.S., each with a population of more than 250,000. It compared urban summer heat and demographic data in each city, including race and ethnicity, age, and income. In 97% of these cities, people of color were likely to live in hotter neighborhoods than white residents. On average, they were exposed to temperatures a full degree Celsius higher, or nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit. In 94% of these cities, a similar trend held true for households living below the poverty line. A second study, looking at data from more than 400 counties across the U.S., came to similar conclusions. The researchers found that the lowest-income residents were exposed to significantly higher temperatures than the highest-income residents in 80% of the counties analyzed. When income was held equal, they found that people of color were still exposed to higher temperatures than white residents in more than half the counties.
U.S. green groups say honeymoon is over, turn up heat on Biden -(Reuters) -U.S. environmental groups that poured money and effort behind Democrat Joe Biden’s successful run for president are shifting to a new more adversarial role now that he has been elected, launching a pressure campaign to make sure he delivers on his promises to fight climate change. The dynamic reflects a return to influence for environmental advocacy groups after four years in which they were shut out by the administration of President Donald Trump, a climate skeptic who crafted policies to maximize U.S. fossil fuel development with the help of industry. While Biden united a range of groups from youth activists to labor unions behind his presidential campaign, he has already become the target of some green groups for considering cabinet picks with ties to fossil fuels. He will be under constant pressure in office to move fast on his environmental agenda – potentially more than ex-President Barack Obama was during his tenure. “The honeymoon ended at the altar when the networks pronounced Biden president-elect,” said Jamie Henn, director of environmental group 350.org‘s Fossil Free Media, which opposes the fossil fuel industry. “It’s Biden’s call if he wants that pressure with him or against him.” Biden has acknowledged the role played by advocates as he prepares his administration. He said on CNN last week that advocacy groups are “pushing for more and more and more of what they want. That’s their job.” Nat Keohane, senior vice president for climate at the Environmental Defense Action Fund and a former special assistant to Obama, said Biden could face even more scrutiny than Obama, who was regularly criticized by green groups for not acting urgently enough on climate. The reason, he said, is that worsening climate events of recent years such as wildfires and hurricanes have spawned a new, more aware and aggressive generation of climate activists. “There wasn’t the same breadth of voices in the U.S. environmental movement as there is now, and climate wasn’t as high on the agenda,” he said.
Climate Coalition Talking Points Prop Up Brian Deese – Last week’s announcement of Brian Deese as the next director of the National Economic Council marked one of the first major setbacks for progressives in the battle over the composition of Joe Biden’s new administration. As far back as July, progressive and environmental groups launched a concerted campaign to keep high-ranking BlackRock officials like Deese, who ran the firm’s global sustainability desk, out of the Biden administration. In recent weeks, those same groups trained their focus on Deese specifically, who was being floated as a likely pick for NEC director throughout November. Opponents staged protests and pushed to keep him out of that role, to no avail. They had good reason to oppose his appointment. During his time in the Obama administration, Deese lobbied on behalf of financial deregulation and austerian policies, for cutting social services and against raising corporate taxes. On climate, he co-signed the fracking boom that led to the massive expansion in oil and gas production under Obama, going so far as to support controversial oil drilling in Alaska and fracking on public land, something even Biden, who’s been vocal in his support of fracking, won’t touch. In his time at BlackRock, Deese oversaw what has been widely pilloried as a greenwashing campaign, running BlackRock’s environmental, social, and governance investment strategy, which puts out a lot of nice press releases about environmental commitments, but has proven to be a formidable enemy of divestment and hasn’t even offloaded all investments in coal or made commitments not to fund new fossil fuel infrastructure that have become standard for large American banks.Yet, upon Thursday’s announcement, legacy environmental organizations were circulating messaging points to member groups and allies defending Deese’s record, and whipping support for him.
TRANSITION: Needed for Biden EPA: ‘Political valor,’ ‘smelling salts’ — Tuesday, December 8, 2020 — Former EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck recently spoke with her old staffers for a postelection celebration of EPA’s golden anniversary. She came away with a dour forecast. “The new administrator is going to have to arrive with a 55-gallon drum of smelling salts to bring the agency back to life,” said Enck, who oversaw the New York-based Region 2 during the Obama administration and is now president of Beyond Plastics. “This was a very challenging four years for environmental professionals,” she said. “And a bunch left.” President-elect Joe Biden has big ideas for EPA. But to execute them, his administrator will first face an unsexy, bureaucratic slog to get the agency back to full strength. Those considerations are shaping the transition team’s search as well as progressives’ outside pressure campaigns. Biden is expected to announce his EPA pick in the next two weeks. Rejuvenating federal morale and rebuilding scientific capacity top the agenda in every corner of the Democratic Party. The Trump administration has moved to restrict the types of research EPA can use for regulations, and an exodus of federal scientists has left hundreds of top science positions vacant. The need to reverse those trends is a point of agreement for activist and establishment Democrats trying to shape EPA’s future.Also high on Democrats’ agenda is environmental justice – but this issue is where the left-center consensus begins to break down. Biden has promised to prioritize communities of color and vulnerable populations. His plans call for 40% of climate funding to reach disadvantaged communities and for prioritizing environmental justice in permitting decisions. That mandate means the next EPA administrator needs firsthand experience with people who live on the fence line of polluting industrial areas, activists say. They point to California’s cap-and-trade regime as an example of climate policy that keeps pollution in poor Black and Latino neighborhoods.
EPA: GOP playbook to complicate a Mary Nichols nomination — Tuesday, December 8, 2020 — Mary Nichols is a favorite to win the nomination to lead President-elect Joe Biden’s EPA. Of the current top contenders for the post, she also could face the toughest path to Senate confirmation.While any nominee to lead EPA would be controversial among conservatives on Capitol Hill, Nichols’ record of favoring an aggressive regulatory approach to curbing emissions is expected to especially rankle Senate Republicans. Further, Nichols’ ties to California, which has some of the most stringent and politically polarizing environmental standards in the country, could provide a road map for Republicans to undercut her standing during the confirmation process (Climatewire, Oct. 15). “California’s command and control culture is not the answer for our country,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) – the outgoing chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that will convene confirmation hearings for Biden’s EPA administrator nominee – said in a statement to E&E News.”The EPA needs leaders dedicated to protecting America’s air, water, and communities,” Barrasso, who is expected to remain a member of the committee, continued, “not runaway regulations, mandates, and more federal dictates.” As chair of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) – the state’s main air pollution regulator – Nichols was directly involved in developing tougher tailpipe pollution rules for passenger cars and implementing an aggressive, first-in-the-nation policy to phase out diesel trucks by 2045.Currently, she is overseeing the early stages of drafting regulations to achieve 100% electric car sales in the state by 2035 following a directive from California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).Nichols declined to comment for this story when reached by E&E News, but she has told theAssociated Press and The New York Times she would accept the EPA administrator job if offered by Biden.If Nichols is ultimately nominated to lead EPA, it’s likely she would face scrutiny – and not only for her role in crafting a few specific environmental policies.She’d also undoubtedly be challenged on whether she believes that every other major environmental regulation in the state should be applied at the national level (Climatewire, Aug. 27).Critics point to California as an over-regulated, top-down bastion that is making it impossible for people to live and work. All the while, they say, California’s Democratic-controlled government can’t even manage wildfires or prevent mass rolling blackouts.
Trump EPA Issues Last-Minute Rule Making it Harder for Biden to Address Climate and Pollution – With President Donald Trump’s first term soon coming to an end, the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday finalized a rule that critics are calling a last-minute attempt to “sabotage” future efforts by President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration to tackle the intertwined climate and pollution crises.Capping off nearly four years of Trump and members of his administration working to roll back over 100environmental and public health protections in the service of corporate polluters, the new rule changes how the EPA calculates the costs and benefits of new policies on air pollution under the Clean Air Act.The new requirements, as the Washington Post reports, “instruct the agency to weigh all the economic costs of curbing an air pollutant but disregard many of the incidental benefits that arise, such as illnesses and deaths avoided by a potential regulation. In other words, if reducing emissions from power plants also saves tens of thousands of lives each year by cutting soot, those ‘co-benefits’ should be not be counted.” Former coal lobbyist and current EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the finalization during a virtual event with the Heritage Foundation, saying, “thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we are ensuring that future rulemakings under the Clean Air Act are transparent, fair, and consistent with EPA governing statutes.”Environmental and public health advocates pushed back against Wheeler’s framing, blasting the rule as not only yet another piece of the outgoing administration’s deregulatory agenda but also a blatant attempt to hamstring Biden, who ran on a promise to deliver environmental and climate justice.”For four years, this administration has waged war on public health by kowtowing to polluters,” Environmental Working Group president Ken Cook said of Trump’s first term. “Now, on the way out the door, this amounts to sabotaging the efforts of the incoming administration to protect Americans from dirty air.” “It will literally be a breath of fresh air to soon have a president and an EPA working each day to make Americans and the planet healthier and safe,” he added of Biden’s planned January 20 inauguration. “But Administrator Wheeler and President Trump are hellbent on making that job as difficult as possible.”
Most states are below their greenhouse gas reduction goals: report – A new analysis issued by the Environmental Defense Fund reveals that U.S. states and territories are underperforming on their climate goals. The study, released Tuesday, looked at emissions data from the Rhodium Group from 25 states and Puerto Rico, all of which individually committed to the Paris Climate goals, which would require greenhouse gas emissions to be limited enough to prevent global temperatures from rising past an additional 1.5 degrees Celsius. The target evaluated set for each state would require them to cumulatively reduce emissions by about 45 percent to reach a goal consistent with the Paris Agreement. States are broadly off track; collectively, they are projected to reduce emissions by 11 percent from 2010 levels, well below the 45 percent needed to reach their original goal by 2030.Researchers emphasize that strong public policy is critical to states meeting their climate goals. “State leaders need to build on the momentum they created by setting climate targets, publicly acknowledge their current emissions gaps, and take policy action to achieve the cumulative reductions consistent with achieving their targets,” the report read. Enforceable caps on carbon emissions are a key example in how to reduce sector, source and economy-based emissions. Investment in clean energy and technology, as well as a potential pollution tax, are also recommended approaches. “This analysis sends a clear signal to governors and state lawmakers: making a climate commitment is only the starting point – not the finish line,” Pam Kiely, the senior director for Regulatory Strategy at EDF, said. The findings come at a crucial time for climate change policy in the U.S., particularly on the federal level. President Trump’s executive order removing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement became official on Nov. 4, and his administration has rolled back other key environmental protections. At the same time, President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to rejoin the Paris Agreement, but Kiely notes that local and state governments still play a larger role in reducing emissions. “Even under a new president with a meaningful climate agenda, state policies are essential for securing significant and immediate reductions in climate-warming pollution that can reduce long-term climate damages,” she said. “It’s also time for states that haven’t made a climate commitment to join the effort to reduce pollution and safeguard our health, economy and ecosystems. With a vanishing window to take transformative action, state leaders have to put their foot on the pedal today.”
Banks Keep Funneling Billions Into Polluting Energy Projects – Almost five years after countries signed the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change, financial institutions are still providing billions of dollars to companies extracting and burning the earth’s most-polluting resources. Since the start of 2016, banks extended more than $1.6 trillion of loans and underwriting services to fossil-fuel companies planning and developing oil, gas and coal projects, according to a joint report by 18 climate organizations published on Thursday. The top three – Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. – lent and underwrote a combined $295 billion. The findings are based on the banks and investors linked to companies involved in 12 energy projects, so they underestimate the global scale of the funding for fossil fuels. The total amount is closer to $3.7 trillion when including all types of corporate emitters, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Together, the 12 projects spotlighted in the report have the potential to produce at least 175 gigatons of additional CO2 emissions, according to the report, which was coordinated by German climate group Urgewald. That’s almost 75% of the remaining carbon budget, which is required to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celcius, according to researchers at Climate Analytics. “Instead of adopting a rigorous approach that would prevent the expansion of fossil fuels and facilitate their phase-out, global banks are refusing to break with the fatal growth trend of fossil extraction,” U.S. banks led the funding of domestic projects such as the oil drilling and fracking in the Permian Basin, which covers parts of Texas and New Mexico. Bank of America lent more than $54 billion to companies involved in the basin during the past five years, the research shows. In China, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has plowed more than $14 billion into the country’s coal industry. Fossil fuels also are receiving interest from fund managers. As of August, Vanguard Group held more than $65 billion worth of shares and bonds of companies linked to projects in the Permian Basin. BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest asset manager, held about $110 billion in bonds and shares of companies involved in the projects featured in the report. Public bodies aren’t perfect, either. The World Bank Group has provided more than $12 billion of loans, guarantees, equity investment and technical assistance to fossil-fuel projects since the Paris agreement, according to the report. For example, the World Bank is providing $80 million in Mozambique for technical assistance to help develop oil and gas fields, including funds which went to a law firm acting on behalf of Exxon Mobil Corp. in 2018.
United Airlines turns to CO2 removal technology to offset emissions – United Airlines is turning to technology that aims to capture carbon dioxide from the air and store it underground to help offset its carbon emissions completely by 2050, a change from offset programs the airline industry and others have traditionally leaned on to reduce their footprints. The Chicago-based airline on Thursday said it is making a multimillion dollar investment in a carbon-capture joint venture of Occidental Petroleum subsidiary and private equity firm Rusheen Capital Management. The company is developing a carbon capture plant in the Permian Basin in Texas. While the coronavirus pandemic has decimated air travel around the world, airlines usually generate around 2% of global carbon emissions. Carriers have used biofuels and carbon offsets, which are purchased in exchange for conserving forests and other projects. “It may feel good in the short term but the math just doesn’t come close to adding up,” United’s CEO, Scott Kirby, said of carbon offsets on a call with reporters Wednesday. “The only way we can truly make a dent in the levels of atmospheric carbon is through direct air capture and sequestration.”
- Electric utilities have a legal obligation to plan for climate change and its impacts under public utility and state tort laws, and could face liability if they fail to do so, according to a new report from the Environmental Defense Fund and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School.
- Electric utilities “should be reorienting risk assessment and management efforts” to address “increasingly knowable climate change impacts,” according to Michael Panfil, EDF’s director of federal energy policy and an author of the report.
- The use of tort law, which covers harm related to civil claims, could provide “another legal mechanism for reforming local electricity distribution,” according to Ari Peskoe, director of Harvard University’s Electricity Law Initiative. But he said “the best approach” remains using the utility regulatory commissions to ensure utilities are prepared for climate change.
Panfil acknowledges that the report’s conclusion is “novel,” but also says “the novelty is one that doesn’t depart from core legal obligations and longstanding understandings of our legal system.” “To the extent there are obligations and requirements that entities avoid harm [and] reasonably consider risk, climate change should be no different,” Panfil said. Public utility law “obligates electric utilities to meet, among other things, prudent investment, safe and adequate service, and reliability standards,” and tort law requires electric utilities to “avoid foreseeable harm when performing acts that could injure others, EDF’s report says. A. The group concluded that now includes climate change, as the consequences “become ever-more pronounced and pervasive.” Addressing that risk will require utilities to utilize a two-stage planning process, said Panfil, including completing a climate vulnerability assessment, and then developing a climate resilience plan to reduce the risk to vulnerable assets. But is it true that utilities are legally required to plan for climate change? Experts say this isn’t clear. “The devil is in the details,” said Jonathan Adler, director of the Coleman P. Burke Center for Environmental Law at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. According to Adler, the answer is “maybe.” “I think the real question is what sorts of specific harms are alleged to be reasonably foreseeable consequences of the utilities’ conduct (and which conduct we’re talking about),” Adler said in an email. “I think this is more difficult in the climate context than some others, though the increase in climate-related litigation means this is something utilities should pay attention to, even if I’m not convinced their obligations are as great as EDF might suggest.”
Commercial buildings have gotten larger in the United States, with implications for energy — Commercial buildings have gotten larger in the United States as their floorspace continues to grow faster than the number of commercial buildings, according to preliminary results from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) 2018 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS). CBECS estimates that 5.9 million U.S. commercial buildings contained a total of 97 billion square feet as of 2018. The number of commercial buildings increased by 6%, and commercial square footage increased by 11% since the CBECS was last conducted in 2012. Lodging, health care, and public order and safety buildings saw significant growth in building stock between 2000 and 2018. More than one-third of the 2018 building stock in these categories was constructed after 2000. These buildings tend to be larger than the average commercial building in the United States, which contributed to the increase in commercial floorspace relative to commercial building stock. Building types that are more likely to be occupied more often, such as lodging, health care, and public order and safety, tend to be newer than building types that are less likely to be in constant use throughout the year, like religious worship, education, and vacant buildings. More heating and cooling is required for buildings with longer operating hours. According to CBECS data for 2012, a building that was used for 80 hours a week consumed 86,300 British thermal units per square foot per year, while a building that was used for all 168 hours in a week consumed 126,200 British thermal units per square foot per year.EIA’s CBECS is the only nationally representative data collection for building characteristics and energy use for commercial buildings in the United States. The preliminary 2018 CBECS data, released on November 18, includes information on building counts, square footage, building activity, year of construction, and census region and division. EIA expects to publish more detailed building characteristic data in summer 2021, and in 2022 EIA will publish energy consumption and expenditure data based on information collected on respondents’ utility bills.
California was the largest net electricity importer of any state in 2019 – Today in Energy – (EIA) Electricity routinely flows between the Lower 48 states and, to a lesser extent, between the United States and Canada and Mexico. Electricity generation exceeds electricity consumption in 25 states, and excess electricity is transmitted across state lines-almost 10% of U.S. electricity generation is traded among states. In 2019, California’s net electricity imports were the largest in the country at 70.8 million megawatthours (MWh), or 25% of the state’s total electricity supply. Pennsylvania’s electricity exports were the largest of any state in 2019, at 70.5 million MWh, or 24% of total supply. California utilities partly own and import power from several power plants in Arizona and Utah. In addition, California’s electricity imports include hydroelectric power from the Pacific Northwest, largely across high-voltage transmission lines running from Oregon to the Los Angeles area. Pennsylvania’s electricity generation was the third-largest in the nation, behind those of Texas and Florida. Natural gas-fired and nuclear power plants produced the majority of Pennsylvania’s in-state electricity in 2019, at 43% and 36%, respectively. Pennsylvania ranks second in the nation, after Illinois, in nuclear power generating capacity. Although Ohio is in the top 10 states for electricity generation, it was the second-largest electricity importer in 2019. Ohio’s large population, heavily industrial economy, and wide seasonal temperature variation create high electricity demand, which at times exceeds in-state generation. The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) State Electricity Profiles provide data on interstate electricity trade and international imports and exports. EIA calculates net interstate electricity trade by subtracting total reported retail electricity sales, direct use, international exports, and estimated line losses from the total electricity supply. In 2019, electricity exports from Vermont accounted for the largest share of its total electricity supply. Electricity flows from Canada into Vermont and continues on to other states, such as Massachusetts. States that imported the majority of their total electricity supply tended to be smaller, more population-dense states such as Massachusetts. Conversely, states that exported the majority of their total electricity supply tended to be geographically large, low-population density states such as Wyoming.Four of the five largest exporters, by percentage of total supply, produced more than half of their in-state electricity from coal, ranging from 51% in Montana to 91% in West Virginia. Wyoming is the nation’s largest coal-producing state; West Virginia, Montana, and North Dakota are also major coal producers. Renewables were the second-largest source after coal in Wyoming, West Virginia, North Dakota, and Montana. Nearly all (99%) of Vermont’s in-state electricity generation in 2019 came from renewable sources, largely from hydropower.
17 tribes awarded federal grants to support energy sovereignty – Seventeen federally recognized American Indian tribes, Alaska Native entities and tribal energy organizations will share in $1.55 million in grant funding from the federal government. The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs, via the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, announced the grants last week. The Tribal Energy Development Capacity program will go toward bolstering tribes’ managerial and institutional capacity to develop energy resources, as well as develop the organizational and business structures to manage those projects, according to a statement. Tribes can use the grant funding to create energy regulations, conduct feasibility studies on the formation of tribal utility authorities and develop various legal infrastructure for their energy resources. “Tribal Energy Development Capacity grants support a tribe’s ‘energy sovereignty,’ that is, to use its resources for its needs, to have the ability to do so effectively, and to ensure such resources will be maintained into the future,” Mark Cruz, the deputy assistant secretary of Indian Affairs for Policy and Economic Development, said in a statement. As previously reported, eligible projects for the funding include establishing tribal business charters with a focus on energy resource development, implementing a secured transactions code, performing feasibility studies on forming a tribal utility authority and developing tribal energy regulations. Regulatory projects could include creating tribal regulations for the leasing of surface and subsurface land for energy development and enacting ordinances related to regulating and developing energy resources.
We’ve reached a ‘turning point’ on the electrification of vehicles, Nissan executive says – A “turning point” has been reached when it comes to the electrification of vehicles, according to the chief operating officer of Nissan, with the Japanese automotive giant “ready to address that opportunity everywhere in the world.”Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Tuesday, Ashwani Gupta explained the shift to electric vehicles had been driven by customers and enabled by infrastructure and government support.The rise in the number of electric vehicles used by consumers has indeed been quite rapid over the past decade. According to figures from the International Energy Agency, globally, there were around 17,000 electric cars on the road in 2010. Last year, that figure had risen to 7.2 million, with 47% of these located in China.The comments from Nissan’s Gupta come as authorities around the world look to ramp up the number of electric vehicles on roads in an attempt to tackle air pollution and move away from the internal combustion engine. The U.K., for example, has announced plans to stop selling new diesel and petrol (gasoline) cars and vans from 2030. Elsewhere, Denmark has proposed a phase-out of new diesel and petrol car sales in 2030 while Norway wants all new light vans and passenger cars sold to be zero emission by the year 2025. “We do believe that moving forward, with the support, with the infrastructure … electrification will be highly valued by the customer,” Gupta added, stating that Nissan was “prepared” for the U.K.’s 2030 roadmap. Gupta’s mention of infrastructure is important, as it will play a crucial role when it comes to alleviating concerns over “range anxiety” – the idea that electric vehicles aren’t able to undertake long journeys without losing power and getting stranded.Around the world, efforts are being made to boost the number of charging options for electric vehicles. Norway, a world leader when it comes to the adoption of electric vehicles, is now home to more than 10,000 public charging points, according to the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association, while the U.K.’s first forecourt dedicated to charging electric vehicles opened for business this week.
Some Cadillac dealerships choose not to invest for EV future – About 150 Cadillac dealers are choosing to take buyouts from General Motors Co. rather than invest thousands to support electric vehicles, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Cadillac’s 880 U.S. dealers were told in September they needed to invest $200,000 to transition dealerships for coming electric vehicles. The dealer network had until Nov. 30 to make the decision if they wanted to take a buyout. About 17% of Cadillac dealers took the buyout offer, the Journal reported Friday citing anonymous sources. Cadillac, GM’s flagship electric brand, is aiming to sell more vehicles powered by electricity than by fossil fuels by the end of the decade. The electric Lyriq crossover will kick off the transition for the luxury brand, arriving in the first quarter of 2022, nine months ahead of schedule. “Cadillac will have a very exciting and comprehensive EV portfolio moving forward as demonstrated by the initial reveal of the LYRIQ,” Rory Harvey, vice president, Cadillac sales, service and marketing, said in a statement. “This forward product offering needs to be combined with exceptional customer experience. The future dealer requirements are a logical and necessary next step on our path towards electrification to ensure our dealers are prepared to provide customers an exceptional experience. We see Cadillac’s dealer network as a business advantage, and they will remain a critical part of the retail and relationship chain with customers.” Many of the buyouts offered ranged from $300,000 to $500,000, the Automotive News reported first in November. Most of the dealers opting for the buyout are smaller-volume operations. There are still discussions taking place with some dealers, but Cadillac spokesman Michael Albano said: “We hope to wrapped up by the end of the year.” David Butler, chairman of the Cadillac National Dealer Council and executive manager at four Cadillac dealers, says the organization approached GM about the transition to electric vehicles. “We said you have 900 Cadillac dealers, some of whom are in more rural areas that may not share the vision with you,” Butler said..
The curse of ‘white oil’: electric vehicles’ dirty secret –Electrifying transport has become a top priority in the move to a lower-carbon future. In Europe, car travel accounts for around 12% of all the continent’s carbon emissions. To keep in line with the Paris agreement, emissions from cars and vans will need to drop by more than a third (37.5%) by 2030. The EU has set an ambitious goal of reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by the same date. To that end, Brussels and individual member states are pouring millions of euros into incentivising car owners to switch to electric.Some countries are going even further, proposing to ban sales of diesel and petrol vehicles in the near future (as early as 2025 in the case of Norway). If all goes to plan, European electric vehicle ownership could jump from around 2m today to 40m by 2030.Lithium is key to this energy transition. Lithium-ion batteries are used to power electric cars, as well as to store grid-scale electricity. (They are also used in smartphones and laptops.) But Europe has a problem. At present, almost every ounce of battery-grade lithium is imported. More than half (55%) of global lithium production last year originated in just one country: Australia. Other principal suppliers, such as Chile (23%), China (10%) and Argentina (8%), are equally far-flung.Lithium deposits have been discovered in Austria, Serbia and Finland, but it is in Portugal that Europe’s largest lithium hopes lie. The Portuguese government is preparing to offer licences for lithium mining to international companies in a bid to exploit its “white oil” reserves. Sourcing lithium in its own back yard not only offers Europe simpler logistics and lower prices, but fewer transport-related emissions. It also promises Europe security of supply – an issue given greater urgency by the coronavirus pandemic’s disruption of global trade.Even before the pandemic, alarm was mounting about sourcing lithium. Dr Thea Riofrancos, a political economist at Providence College in Rhode Island, pointed to growing trade protectionism and the recent US-China trade spat. (And that was before the trade row between China and Australia.) Whatever worries EU policymakers might have had before the pandemic, she said, “now they must be a million times higher”. The urgency in getting a lithium supply has unleashed a mining boom, and the race for “white oil” threatens to cause damage to the natural environment wherever it is found. But because they are helping to drive down emissions, the mining companies have EU environmental policy on their side.
Trump administration argues against refiners’ biofuel petition (Reuters) – The Trump administration has argued against a petition from oil refiners asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court decision that undermined the legitimacy of the Environmental Protection Agency’s biofuel waiver program. Department of Justice officials said the court should not review the case as it does not conflict with any other Supreme Court or appeals court decision, according to the brief submitted on Dec. 8. The officials argued that the court could review the decision after a similar case is completed in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Under U.S. law, refiners must blend billions of gallons of biofuels into their fuel, or buy credits from those that do. Small refiners can apply for exemptions to the requirements if they prove the obligations would cause them financial harm. At issue is a January decision by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals that ruled that waivers granted to small refineries after 2010 should only be approved as extensions. Because most recipients of waivers in recent years have not continuously received them year after year, the decision threatened to upend the waiver program. Oil refiners petitioned the Supreme Court to review the decision in September. A coalition of U.S. biofuel groups has since announced, on Tuesday, it had filed a brief with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the Trump administration’s decision in 2019 to grant 31 oil refineries exemptions from U.S. biofuel blending obligations. “Those pending D.C. Circuit proceedings provide an additional reason to deny the petition in this case. If the D.C. Circuit parts ways with the Tenth Circuit on the question presented, this Court can consider whether that conflict warrants further review,” the DOJ brief said. The biofuel industry has called for the EPA to apply the Tenth Circuit Court ruling broadly, but the agency has yet to do so and is still contemplating pending petitions for the 2019 and 2020 compliance years. “The Tenth Circuit got it right the first time, and now refiners need to accept the reality that they must comply with the law,” said Geoff Cooper, president of the Renewable Fuels Association. “It’s time to move on.” Meanwhile, the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers trade group said the Supreme Court has enough information to review the case now and should not delay.
Owner of Allentown biofuel company sentenced to prison in green energy scheme – – The owner of an Allentown biofuel company who pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to fraudulently claim green energy subsidies was sentenced to prison and ordered to repay the government more than $10 million. Ralph Tommaso, 51, of Warren, New Jersey, and business partner Dave Dunham Jr. were indicted in 2015 on charges they conspired to defraud the government and other businesses in a scheme to claim credits for producing renewable diesel and heating fuel from used cooking oil. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Schmehl sentenced Tommaso to one year and one day in federal prison and ordered him to pay $10.2 million in restitution. Tommaso’s attorney, Nathan Andrisani, said his client had no comment. Schmehl suspended Tommaso’s sentence until May 7, when he will be required to report to prison. Tomasso pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy in 2017 and testified in a trial last year where Dunham was convicted of 54 counts including conspiracy, wire fraud, false tax filings and obstruction. Dunham, 40, of Hanover Township, Northampton County, was sentenced in August to seven years in prison and also ordered to pay $10.2 million in restitution.
As the Livestock Industry Touts Manure-to-Energy Projects, Environmentalists Cry ‘Greenwashing’ – When the world’s largest pork producer and a major public utility announced they would team up to turn hog manure from North Carolina swine farms into energy, they billed their new partnership as a win-win for both the companies and the climate. With a $500 million commitment and a recently minted joint venture called Align RNG, Smithfield Foods and Dominion Energy set out to capture the methane emitted from giant hog manure “lagoons,” convert it into biogas-what the industries dub “renewable natural gas”-and inject that biogas into pipelines to heat homes and buildings. The partnership, the companies said, would create the biggest manure-to-energy project in North Carolina, a state with the potential to become the largest producer of livestock biogas in the country. At the same time, the project would help the companies meet their goals of reducing climate-warming emissions, they said. Similar alliances are emerging around the country as the livestock industry comes under increasingly critical scrutiny for its greenhouse gas emissions, and utilities and power companies attempt to meet climate-related commitments. To name only two recent examples, Duke Energy announced in July that it will collaborate with dairy farmers in the Southeast. In September, Chevron announced a project with California Biogas and the state’s dairy farmers.But as utilities, oil companies and livestock companies pitch biogas as an emissions-reducing solution, critics say it simply locks in systems that allow two highly polluting industries to continue unchecked and without truly tackling their climate impact. These industrial farms, like oil and gas infrastructure, are disproportionately located in lower income and minority communities, where pollution plagues waterways, air and quality of life.”It’s absolute greenwashing,” said Sherri White-Williamson, environmental justice policy director with the North Carolina Conservation Network. “If you think about it, there’s nothing renewable about biogas, because in order to make it, you have to grow the hogs in large quantities in huge facilities.”She added, “It only continues to ingrain that system.”Biogas development is creating a new revenue stream for the livestock industry, potentially spurring big operators to expand and add more animals to their inventories. In dairy powerhouse Wisconsin, and in California, the country’s largest dairy state, there’s evidence that such expansion is alreadyhappening. At the same time, biogas supports the construction of new natural gas infrastructure, much of it with public funding.
With closing date set for MIRA trash plant, Connecticut looks for a long-term solution – Hartford Courant –The agency that runs the regional trash-to-energy plant in Hartford has set June 30, 2022 as a target date to stop burning garbage and truck the waste instead to out-of-state landfills.Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority President Tom Kirk said Monday that he does not see costs to MIRA’s 51 member communities changing significantly after the conversion to a transfer station, but that will depend on the price of transportation and capacity of out-of-state landfills. Garbage is to be trucked to landfills in states that include Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. Rock-bottom energy prices and the refusal of state and municipal leaders to fund upgrades to the electrical plant prompted agency leaders’ decision in May to start the conversion.Built in the 1940s, the mighty turbines that generate electricity from burning up to 720,000 tons of garbage each year have undergone major repairs since catastrophic failures in November 2017. Still, Kirk said, “the plant is old and tired and in need of a capital infusion,” so significant repairs in the future would not make sense and the conversion would accelerate if another breakdown happens.
New England energy storage advocates say FERC ruling is a setback for industry – A decision by federal regulators to throw out a rule that has helped emerging technologies gain a foothold on New England’s electric grid will put the region’s energy storage industry in jeopardy, according to advocates. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week ordered New England’s grid operator to end a rule that has allowed new bidders in its capacity market to lock in their prices for up to seven years. The annual capacity auction is meant to ensure the region will have enough electricity to meet peak demand three years in the future. Developers bid resources, often yet to be built, into an auction, and those accepted are paid to be available to meet demand. The rule has allowed owners of new resources to avoid potential fluctuations in future auctions. That means the developer has a guaranteed revenue stream, something that can help them gain investor confidence when they’re trying to capitalize the project. For example, in the most recent capacity market auction (for capacity supplied in 2023/2024), the clearing price in the auction was $2 per kilowatt per month. If a battery developer received an obligation to supply 5 megawatts of capacity to the market and selected the price lock, it would be guaranteed $120,000 a year for up to seven years, regardless of the clearing price in the following six auctions. Several groups, led by the New England Power Generators Association, asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to overturn the rule. (The association’s members include fossil and renewable developers.) They said the rule suppresses prices in the market and hurts competition. ISO-New England has said the rule is no longer clearly necessary, given that it was enacted to address a capacity shortage that’s been mitigated. On Thursday, FERC agreed, saying the rule distorts prices and is no longer needed to attract new entrants into the market. The decision comes as states in New England and other regional transmission organizations reconsider their future in the markets as they move toward a cleaner energy mix.
Critical metals supply: Industry and government just couldn’t be that shortsighted, could they? – In 2009 I had an email exchange with a reader in the computer industry in which he contended that the supply of two key metals in the electronics and solar energy industries, gallium and indium, just couldn’t be as precarious as I was claiming. I bring this up because the European Commission put out a white paper earlier this year about the need for a plan to secure adequate supplies of critical metals including gallium and indium. This concern arises, in part, because these metals and several others are central in the manufacture of ubiquitous devices such as cellphones and renewable energy equipment such as solar cells. In 2009 my reader made the following case which I summarized in a piece I wrote at the time: He insists that indium simply can’t be that scarce because-get this-there is indium in billions of electronic devices including cellphones and computer screens, in fact, in nearly everything that has a flat-screen display associated with it. This is curious logic. It says that because we are using a resource ubiquitously and at an exponentially increasing rate, it must be plentiful… I realized later that what this computer professional actually meant was that the corporate and government planners charged with thinking about resource supply issues couldn’t possibly have made a colossal blunder which would lead to a catastrophic shortage of key metals in the electronics industry. He presumed, I think, that such an outcome was simply out of the question given the competence and intelligence of the people in his industry. Now we are 11 years on and the alarm bells are going off. I’m NOT predicting that we will anytime soon run out of indium or gallium or niobium, tantalum, germanium, scandium and the many other key metals that are now on the critical list drawn up by the Europeans. But as longtime readers know, we don’t have to run out of something in order for it to become scarce and prohibitively expensive. We only need to see a situation where supply plateaus or even starts to decline for prices to shoot up far beyond what manufacturers can afford and still make a profit.
Chinese steel mills seek more US coking coal deals – Chinese steel producers are keen to buy more US coking coal to replace Australian cargoes blocked by import curbs, giving the first significant boost to this trade flow since China imposed retaliatory tariffs on US coal in 2018. US coal producer Arch Resources will ship 300,000t of high-volatile A coal from its Leer mine in West Virginia to China under a one-year contract to a buyer, possibly a northeast China steel mill. “This particular buyer did test out a cargo of Leer coal previously, and they found it quite suitable,” a Beijing-based trader said. “Either way, they do not have any other appropriate alternatives at present.” The Argus Australian premium low-volatile coking coal index has a coke strength relativity (CSR) specification of 67-70 CSR, higher than other origins that makes it the preferred coal for Chinese mills. But Chinese mills were verbally told to stop importing Australian coal in early October. Market participants at first expected the curbs would ease when China’s import quotas reset in 2021, but fob basis prices have since tumbled as outlooks softened for Australian coal. Discussions are possibly under way with Chinese buyers for Oak Grove premium hard coking coal with February and March laycans. Chinese importers are also buying US and Canadian coal in spot deals. Arch’s spot volumes were also likely fully sold out until April. “What the Chinese need is a high CSR replacement for Australian coking coal to be blended with low CSR domestic coal, making Leer positive since it has a CSR of more than 65,” The Leer coal has a CSR of 67-68, 32-33pc volatile matter, 7-8pc ash and 1.0-1.1pc sulphur. The higher sulphur content of Leer coal has made it unattractive for many buyers in China because it would not pass customs pollutant inspections standards at most ports, a trader said. But northeast China ports are generally less strict with sulphur content of cargoes, so the buyer is unlikely to face any major hurdles in importing this coal, the trader said.
Justice family’s coal company agrees to settlement to reduce water pollution, help fund river trail preservation – Environmental groups on Thursday filed a pollution settlement with a coal company owned by Gov. Jim Justice’s family. If approved by the federal court, the company would comply with selenium discharge limits and pay $270,000 to the West Virginia Land Trust. The agreement proposal comes four months after a federal judge found the company liable for selenium pollution discharged into waters near the Red Fox Surface Mine, in McDowell County. According to the agreement filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, Bluestone Coal Corp. would provide the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, Appalachian Voices and the Sierra Club with quarterly progress reports monitoring pollutant discharge permit compliance. Bluestone also would pay a $30,000 civil penalty to the U.S. Treasury and pay $270,000 to the West Virginia Land Trust, a statewide conservationist nonprofit, to help fund development of a new water trail along the Tug River. The company also would comply with selenium effluent limits at an outlet that has been out of compliance within 12 months of the agreement’s approval. Thursday’s agreement stemmed from a lawsuit the environmental groups filed in August 2019 under the citizen suit provisions of the Clean Water Act and Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. In a July ruling, Senior U.S. District Judge David A. Faber found Bluestone liable for 60 violations of its monthly average limit for selenium and 78 violations of its daily maximum limit for selenium. Faber noted that Bluestone was liable for 3,033 days of Clean Water Act violations, since each violation of a monthly average limit is treated as a violation for every day in the month in which the violation occurred, rather than as a single violation for that month. High selenium concentrations can be toxic to animals and humans. Faber rejected Bluestone’s request to dismiss the lawsuit. The company unsuccessfully argued that a 2016 agreement that Southern Coal Corp. reached with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency precluded environmental groups from filing the lawsuit over selenium pollution. Southern Coal also is owned by the Justice family.
A Coal Company Owned by This Billionaire Governor Has Pledged to Stop Breaking Pollution Laws – A coal company owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice pledged to stop violating water pollution rules at a large strip-mining site in the state, according to a settlement filed Thursday in federal court with local and national environmental groups.By agreeing to come into compliance within a year, Justice’s Bluestone Coal Corp. will avoid the harshest financial penalties that could have been levied – the maximum potential federal fines were nearly $170 million.The company agreed to pay $30,000 in new penalties, and the settlement document noted that it had already paid $414,500 in water pollution fines for violations at the same mine site, under the terms of a 2016 deal the Justice family’s coal operations made with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.The new settlement, which needs court approval, resolves a suit filed by the Sierra Club and other groups in August 2019, alleging excess discharges of selenium, which can be toxic to fish and other aquatic life, at Bluestone’s Red Fox Mine.As part of the deal, Bluestone also will pay $270,000 to the West Virginia Land Trust, a conservation group. The money will be used to buy land for a newly proposed trail along the Tug Fork River in southern West Virginia, to provide local residents with new economic and recreational opportunities.”This proposed settlement will hold the company to account for its selenium pollution and helps fund an environmental project that benefits the Tug River,”said Karan Ireland, the West Virginia Sierra Club’s senior campaign representative.A lawyer for Bluestone Coal had no immediate comment on the settlement, which was signed by the governor’s son, Jay Justice, who is also the company’s president.
With mega-emitters closed, coal’s ‘cleaner fleet’ persists — Wednesday, December 9, 2020 — – At first glance, 2020 looks to be another big year for coal retirements. The 9.4 gigawatts of coal capacity shut down this year is the fourth-highest annual total since 2009, federal figures show. But dig a little deeper, and it becomes apparent that the 36 retirees this year were relatively small emitters. The 385 million tons of cTotal coal emissions will still be down this year. American coal plants were already running less, and the COVID-19 pandemic pushed even more to the sidelines. Yet coal generation could arbon dioxide generated between 2010 and 2019 by units retiring this year is the smallest such figure since 2017, according to an E&E News review of federal data. rebound in 2021, when the economy is expected to recover and an anticipated uptick in gas prices could prompt power companies to switch on their old coal stations. The dynamic highlights the role gas prices play in determining American coal consumption and carbon dioxide output. It also points to the role coal retirements have played in greening the U.S. economy in recent years. American coal capacity fell 25% between 2010 and 2019, with emissions from coal plants declining by 46%. Emissions reductions from retirements have been supercharged in the last two years from the shutdown of some of America’s largest coal plants. But that trend did not extend to 2020. The largest emitters retired this year were part of partial shutdowns at larger facilities rather than plantwide closures. Whether 2020 represents an anomaly remains to be seen, but industry observers say it has important implications for U.S. climate policy. Few super-emitters are slated to shut down in full between now and 2025.
HEC report says Indiana lagging in coal ash pollution prevention | IER Indiana Environmental Reporter – Fourteen of Indiana’s 15 coal ash sites have left groundwater unfit for human consumption, according to a new report by the Hoosier Environmental Council. And unlike other states dealing with residue from coal-burning power plants, Indiana is taking few steps to stop pollutants from coal ash ponds from seeping further into the water system.”The contrast with other states is stark,” said Dr. Indra Frank, the council’s director of environmental health and water policy and co-author of the report. In North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Tennessee and Georgia, coal ash is being removed from leaking disposal sites in floodplains and either recycled or taken to lined landfills on higher ground, she said.”These other states show just how feasible this is,” Frank said. “In fact, in North Carolina and South Carolina, this process has already been completed for millions of tons of coal ash. Yet in Indiana, the state has started approving plans to leave coal ash in the floodplain and contaminating groundwater.” Frank said resulting pollution threatens Indiana’s major rivers and Lake Michigan because most of the coal ash in the state is currently sitting in the floodplain. Coal ash is what is left over after burning coal for electricity. The burning process concentrates the heavy metals in coal, such as arsenic, lead and mercury, making the ash a potentially hazardous substance. Indiana has more coal ash than any other state, with 13 unlined ponds in floodplains. Utility plants need to have a source of cooling water in order to run. This has led to coal ash ponds being located near or next to Lake Michigan, the White and Ohio rivers, as well as every major waterway in the state. In 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency released the first ever federal rules regarding coal ash handling called the Coal Combustion Residuals Rule. This rule required ground water monitoring at all coal ash sites. Ground water monitoring results released in 2018 showed 14 of 15 sites in Indiana “exceed drinking water limits for molybdenum and lithium, 12 for boron, 11 for arsenic, 10 for sulfate, six for cobalt, four each for antimony and radium and two each for lead, selenium and thallium. The maximum concentrations detected often exceeded drinking water standards by many-fold,” according to the HEC report.
Court rejects Trump challenge of DTE agreement to retire 3 coal plants | Utility Dive A district court on Thursday rejected the Trump administration’s challenge to a settlement agreement between DTE Energy and Sierra Club that led to the utility committing to retire three coal-fired plants.Following years of litigation, the Sierra Club in May filed a settlement agreement with DTE requiring the utility to retire the plants as well as provide funding for bus electrification and local environmental projects. But weeks later, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency formally objected to the agreement, arguing the settlement encroached on its authority under the Clean Air Act (CAA). Thursday’s order from the Southern Division of the Eastern U.S. District Court of Michigan rejected EPA’s argument, ruling the agreement constituted a private settlement, not a consent decree that the court should be involved in.Thursday’s ruling wraps up a decade of litigation between DTE, the U.S. government and the Sierra Club. DTE was accused of violating the CAA under the Obama administration in 2010, and the district court allowed Sierra Club to intervene. After years of litigation, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a consent decree settling the 2010 enforcement filing. The consent decree required the utility to reduce emissions at the three coal plants, pay a $1.8 million civil penalty and replace municipal buses with lower emissions buses. But the Sierra Club reached a more aggressive agreement with the utility. It required the utility to fund $2 million in local environmental projects, improving energy efficiency at a public recreation center, electrifying city buses and retiring the offending plants. DTE agreed to both settlements, saying its agreement with Sierra Club was intended in part to “foster improved relations with Sierra Club and to provide benefits to a valued local community,” along with resolving claims in the case. But following Sierra Club’s settlement, the U.S. government filed with the Michigan court, accusing the Sierra Club of “compel[ling] a consent decree on their own terms.” Sierra Club argued its agreement was a separate, private settlement, and attorneys called the government’s objection to the settlement “unconscionable.” Ultimately, the court sided with Sierra Club. “[N]either the United States’ interests nor any of the terms of the consent decree are eroded or jeopardized as a consequence of the Separate Agreement,” Judge Bernard Friedman wrote. Further, he found the agreement “accomplishes an enormous environmental benefit that is fully consistent with the goals of the CAA.”
As government spending is cut to the bone, Wyoming is spending millions to promote coal. Will it pay off? –The bad news came on Nov. 16. Gov. Mark Gordon handed down $500 million in additional reductions across nearly every department that day. Funding for public services and K-12 education budgets shrunk by double digit percentages. For weeks, state agencies had been bracing for another round of budget cuts to drop. But two lines on Wyoming’s budget came out relatively unscathed from the austerity measures. They included a pair of programs aimed at saving the state’s struggling coal industry: a “clean coal marketing program” and an effort to sue the state of Washington for blocking a coal export terminal. The governor proposed funding both at or near pre-pandemic levels. It’s true, the total $3.45 million allocation for these pair of initiatives represents only a small fraction of a percent of the state’s overall budget. In comparison, the Department of Health will likely be reduced by $135.7 million. The University of Wyoming’s general fund budget could be cut by $62.5 million, according to the governor’s budget proposal. But the lack of cuts to coal underscores just how committed the state is in its fight to reverse the misfortunes of the state’s traditional industry, even amid an economic downturn partially driven by coal’s decline. Renny MacKay, a senior policy adviser to Gordon, defended the governor’s decision. Funding for the state’s coal programs was evaluated on similar criteria to other aspects of the budget: namely, the impact a reduction in funding would have, versus the potential payoff of keeping that line item in the budget, he said. Tourism funding, for example, was also left largely intact in the most recent round of budget reductions, MacKay noted. “Some of these programs don’t create revenue in the same way that coal does, but they create jobs and are very important to state and local economies,” MacKay said. “Those are the types of programs that will help us restart the economy after COVID-19.”
Ukrainian uranium mines shut down amidst protest wave, threatening radioactive contamination – Three uranium mines have been shut down in the Kirovohrad region of central Ukraine over disputed payments between the state nuclear energy company Energoatom and the state-owned enterprise operating the mine, Eastern Mining and Processing. As a result of the alleged nonpayment, approximately 5,000 miners have been placed on unpaid leave. They are still owed approximately $5 million in months of back pay. The shuttering of the mines could also lead to an ecological catastrophe if the mines lose power and water pumps fail to operate, creating a toxic mixture of radioactive uranium-contaminated groundwater that could spread throughout the vast river systems of central Ukraine. Eastern Mining and Processing maintains that the government nuclear energy monopoly still owes it approximately $5 million to keep mining operations running and pay workers. Energoatom has, for its part, disputed the company’s allegations, stating that it had already paid $92.5 million to the company, according to the terms of an agreement signed last year. As a state-owned monopoly, Energoatom is the country’s only buyer of uranium. The uranium is converted into nuclear fuel in Russia and then sent back for use in Ukraine’s nuclear power plants. Ukraine produced 801 tons of uranium last year, according to the World Nuclear Association. Since the destruction of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine’s mines, which during the Soviet Union employed hundreds of thousands and provided dependable jobs, have been left to deteriorate into extremely dangerous conditions. Agreed upon contracts are routinely violated by management, and workers in both the private and public sectors can go months without pay. According to the Independent Miners Union of Ukraine, the situation has deteriorated to such a point that miners working at state-owned mines are now owed over $60 million in unpaid wages.
Arizona utility increases its share of nuclear power plant (AP) – An Arizona public utility is increasing its ownership share in the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station located west of Phoenix. The Salt River Project announced that its board has approved the purchase of part of Public Service Co. of New Mexico’s ownership along with some transmission assets for about $70 million plus the unspecified cost of the plant’s associated nuclear fuel inventory. When the deal is completed, SRP’s ownership share will be about 20% of the plant’s total capacity, up from 17.5%, SRP said in a statement. SRP said its purchase of 114 megawatts of Palo Verde’s output from PNM will increase access to “safe, reliable and zero-carbon emitting energy” needed to serve increasing customer demand. According to SRP, the practice is attractive economically because it would have cost much more to build a new generating facility, as it has long planned to do. The purchase of most of the power is expected to be completed in January 2023, followed by the remainder in 2024. The three-reactor plant is located about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of downtown Phoenix.
Lawmaker calls for repeal of nuclear surcharges | The Blade – A Richland County lawmaker on Tuesday argued that the General Assembly should pass his bill to outright repeal consumer surcharges to bail out two struggling nuclear power plants instead of embracing a temporary delay “kicking the can down the road.””Are these charges needed to simply keep the lights on? Absolutely not …,” Rep. Mark Romanchuk (R., Ontario) said during a tele-town hall hosted by AARP Ohio, an opponent of the bailout law, House Bill 6.”The fact is these plants are no longer needed,” he said. “They’re very old. They’ve run their useful life, and this is simply money that is being charged on people’s electric bills to benefit the owners of these plants.” House Bill 6 is at the center of an alleged $61 million scheme characterized by federal investigators as the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history.Former House Speaker Larry Householder (R., Glenford) faces a federal racketeering charge that he led a scheme to disguise “dark money” from Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. and related entities. The money was used to help elect representatives loyal to Mr. Householder in 2018 and helped elect him speaker in 2019.The scheme continued to then pass House Bill 6 and kill a subsequent effort to ask voters to repeal the law. Among other things, the law promises $1 billion over seven years to Energy Harbor, the post-bankruptcy successor to FirstEnergy Solutions, to subsidize the operation of the Davis-Besse nuclear plant near Oak Harbor and the Perry plant east of Cleveland.Two other alleged participants in the scheme – lobbyist and former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges and powerful Columbus lobbyist Neil Clark – have also pleaded not guilty. But two others – political consultant Jeff Longstreth and lobbyist Juan Cespedes – have entered guilty pleas and are cooperating with the investigation. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said he personally believes others will yet be charged. He has filed a civil racketeering lawsuit that, among other things, seeks to stop the nuclear surcharges from taking effect as scheduled in January.
Ohioans must know | Toledo Blade – The latest twist in the investigation of the unseemly activities leading to the passage of the state’s nuclear bailout came with the resignation of Samuel Randazzo, Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. The bailout had merits without the schemes allegedly put into motion to aid its passage.Now, it seems those schemes included criminal activity – two guilty pleas have followed from indictments against several of those charged.Mr. Randazzo resigned after the FBI searched his home – that happened just after the federal guilty pleas. There are no charges pending against Mr. Randazzo. The only charge that can be made against him is that he followed in the footsteps of PUCO tradition by being a patsy of industry, rather than its watchdog. This investigation must be followed to a conclusion aimed at rooting out corruption in state government. Ohioans must know exactly what transpired in the passage of the bailout bill, House Bill 6, a move which before 2019 was declared dead on arrival in the General Assembly. Only when then – Speaker Larry Householder became involved was the proposal resurrected like some Frankenstein, not by a mad doctor but by political chicanery. Mr. Householder now faces federal charges in an investigation of a bribery and racketeering scheme tied to the bill. The allegations against Mr. Householder involve the transfer of campaign funds to loyalists from a nonprofit called Generation Now.Once the investigation is concluded, authorities and the courts should release the evidence, including documents in the case and grand jury transcripts, to public review. The public’s right to know should take precedence over the secrecy of the grand jury system.Then legislators and election regulators must act to stymie schemes utilizing campaign funds as political perks. The easy transfer of campaign monies must be subject to scrutiny and public review.The issue does not rest with criminal convictions alone – that is not enough. The pattern and process of corruption must be rooted out to prevent future wrongdoing. Even before crimes were charged, something tawdry and wrong about the nuclear bailout was evident – it all too easily went from nonstarter to the next great idea.Tighter campaign finance laws and monitoring of potential shenanigans involving passing around those monies to other candidates should be implemented. Simply:
- â—Follow the investigation wherever it leads, prosecute criminal charges vigorously.
- â—Release the evidence to the public.
- â—Legislators and regulators must take steps to prevent future schemes of corruption tied to moving big money moving from one campaign fund to those of various politicians.
The people of Ohio deserve no less.
How a longtime critic of clean energy became Ohio’s top utility regulator – One year into his first term, Ohio’s top utility regulator, Samuel Randazzo, has signaled that winning approval to build and operate wind and solar projects in the state could be even more difficult in the future. At the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and the Ohio Power Siting Board, which Randazzo also chairs, recent decisions have blocked a new solar development and imposed new restrictions on wind energy – moves consistent with Randazzo’s longtime criticism of renewables as a registered lobbyist and lawyer representing heavy industry before the utilities commission. Also, the commission is now defending Ohio’s decision to subsidize coal and nuclear power plants in a filing before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission – an about-face from its stance in 2017 opposing a federal bailout of old coal and nuclear plants. Gov. Mike DeWine’s 2019 appointment of Randazzo, a veteran energy lawyer and lobbyist, followed a rapid and opaque approval process that overlooked two of Randazzo’s ongoing small consulting companies, both of which have done business with FirstEnergy subsidiary FirstEnergy Solutions, (now Energy Harbor), federal bankruptcy records show. Randazzo declined an interview request to comment on the companies or to elucidate what he sees as the PUCO’s mission. Ohio Consumers’ Counsel Bruce Weston, the state’s voice for residential utility consumers, has been pushing to reform the nomination process for the PUCO, noting that the majority of commission members are either former employees of power companies or have represented them. And while Randazzo has not always been at odds with consumer advocates, his long opposition to renewable energy is making its mark in Ohio regulatory decisions. Randazzo told state lawmakers during his 2019 confirmation hearing that as a commissioner he would have no view for or against any particular technology – despite a pattern of publicly criticizing renewable energy. As chair of the Public Utilities Commission, he testified before lawmakers last year on Ohio House Bill 6, which authorized subsidies for nuclear and coal generation but basically gutted the state’s renewable energy and energy efficiency standards. His comments stressed the cost of the standards but not their benefits. In his introduction to the February 2018 report on Ohio utility rate plans prepared for the Industrial Energy Users-Ohio, Randazzo characterized renewable energy as unreliable and government mandates as a waste of money.
Governor was warned of would-be regulator’s ties to utility (AP) – Gov. Mike DeWine disregarded cries of alarm in early 2019 from consumer and environmental advocates, concerns echoed in a previously undisclosed last-minute plea from GOP insiders, when he was selecting the state’s top utility regulator – a man now under scrutiny as a wide-ranging bribery and corruption investigation roils Ohio. Nearly two years later, the Republican governor continues to defend his choice of Samuel Randazzo as the powerful chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, and many of those early critics insist it was a mistake to disregard their concerns. “We understood that he had worked for manufacturing companies; we also understood that he had done work for FirstEnergy,” DeWine said this week in an interview with Associated Press reporters. “Those were all things that we knew. He was picked because of his expertise and vast knowledge in this area. So that’s pretty much what we knew, so there was no secret.” Randazzo, 71, had deep business ties with the state’s largest electric utility and had long been hostile to the development of wind and solar power, making him unsuitable for the role, critics warned early on. In mid-November, FBI agents searched Randazzo’s home in Columbus. The utility, FirstEnergy Corp., revealed several days later in a quarterly report that it was investigating a payment of about $4 million that top executives made to the consulting firm of an Ohio government official meeting Randazzo’s description. DeWine said this week that Randazzo did not disclose, and the governor did not know of, the FirstEnergy consulting payment until the company reported it to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. FirstEnergy’s quarterly report said it had not determined if the funds “were for the purposes represented within the consulting agreement.” The first-term governor’s latest comments are largely in line with his initial reaction to FBI interest in Randazzo. A day after federal agents searched Randazzo’s home Nov. 16, DeWine told reporters: “I hired him. I think he’s a good person. If there’s evidence to the contrary, we’ll act accordingly.”
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