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Keeping It Green

(There's no Planet B)

Updated: Aug. 10, 2018

Environmental Politics

Newsworthy

• Attention Humanists:You Have a Role to PlayAsk What You Can Do for Your Climate(1)

  Apr. 18, 2017 -While the federal government is becoming a follower rather than a leader on climate change, humanists can fight on the state, local, and personal levels

  IF THE PERSONAL IS POLITICAL, then climate change is personal, too. As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump campaigned against the Paris Agreement negotiated in December 2015 at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. With President Trump signing an executive order to roll back federal efforts to reduce global warming, humanists must do more at the state and local levels to fight climate change. If you’re up for it, there are many things you can do to help.

  Click now if you’re ready to learn more.

• We Can Take Active Role in the Climate Crisis Ask What You Can Do for Your Climate<2>

  Join a Climate Reality Chapter,and be part of a sustainable future. You’ve heard about “the future.” It’s not that far away, and your children and grandchildren will be living in it, long after you’re gone.

  Chapters give you the opportunity to draw on Climate Reality’s support and expertise, while creating and executing plans for climate action that make the most sense for your community.

  Already, Climate Reality chapters have become a vital force for progress, helping expand clean energy alternatives, tackling the legacy of fossil fuels in low-income communities, and pushing for carbon pricing policies, to name just a few of the many campaigns underway across the US.

  Click now if you’re ready to take action too.

• Dems to Fossil Fuel Contributions: No Thanks DNC Votes to Ban Fossil Fuel Company Donations

  June 12, 2018 -The move is a step toward purging oil, gas and coal industry influence on the Democratic Party’s climate policies.

  The Democratic National Committee voted over the weekend to ban donations from fossil fuel companies, HuffPost has learned.

  The resolution — proposed by Christine Pelosi, a party activist and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s daughter — bars the organization from accepting contributions from corporate political action committees tied to the oil, gas and coal industries. The executive committee voted unanimously to approve the motion.

  Click now for more from the Huffington Post.

• Clean Energy Research Not a Priority White House Seeks 72% Cut to
  Clean Energy Research,Underscoring
  Its Preference for Fossil Fuels

  Feb. 1, 2018 -The Trump administration is poised to ask Congress for deep budget cuts to the Energy Department’s renewable energy and energy efficiency programs, slashing them by 72 percent overall in fiscal 2019, according to draft budget documents obtained by The Washington Post.

  Many of the sharp cuts would probably be restored by Congress, but President Trump’s budget, due out in February, will mark a starting point for negotiations and offer a statement of intent and policy priorities.

  Click now for the story
  from the Washington Post.

• No Lessons Learned From Deepwater Horizon Trump Plan Would Open Nearly All
  the Gulf of Mexico to Oil Drilling

  Jan. 4, 2018 - The Trump administration on Thursday (Jan. 4) announced plans for the largest expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling in U.S. history, putting up for lease federal waters in the Arctic, Pacific and Atlantic oceans and millions of acres in the Gulf of Mexico, including protected areas in the eastern Gulf.

  Click now for article from azCentral.

• Clean Energy and Electric Cars Hit By GOP Tax Overhaul Hammers
  Clean Energy and Electric Cars

  Dec. 8, 2017 - Legislators from both chambers are now hashing out their differences in the reconciliation committee in hopes of delivering a final bill to the White House before the end of the year. Clean-energy lobbyists are scrambling to push back on provisions they and others fear could stunt development or deployment of technologies needed to lower the nation’s greenhouse-gas emissions.

  Click now to read the M.I.T. Technology Review story.

• The Top Ten Toxic Threats The E.P.A.’s Top 10 Toxic
  Threats, and Industry’s Pushback

  Oct. 21, 2017 - The E.P.A.has published a list of 10 toxic threats it will evaluate first under a law passed last year intended to crack down on hazardous chemicals.

  They are among 90 chemicals identified by the agency that may harm children, damage nerve tissue, cause cancer, contaminate the environment, accumulate in the bloodstream or show up in consumer products. As the review begins, industry and other interest groups are urging the E.P.A. to limit any restrictions.

  Click for the list that should
  not be on your top ten.

• CC Advisory Committee Dropped Administration Disbands Climate
  Change Advisory Committee

  Aug 20, 2017 - The Trumpv administration of has decided to disband a federal advisory panel on climate change - in a further sign of the White House's view on environmental policy.

  The panel is part of the National Climate Assessment, a group aimed at helping officials and policy makers integrate the US Government's climate change analysis into their long-term planning.

• Climate Skeptic Heads Top Science Post New USDA Research Head
  Thinks Climate Science Is 'Junk'

  July 20, 2017 - President Trump has nominated a well-known climate change doubter to the top science job at the Department of Agriculture.

  The nomination, which had been expected, was announced in a statement by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. Sam Clovis, an early campaign adviser to Trump, will serve as undersecretary for research, education and economics.t

• The Great Lakes a State Problem? Trump Says 'Yes' - Congress Says 'No'

  July 14, 2017 - Together, the five lakes hold nearly one-fifth of the earth’s surface freshwater. They’re home to 3500 species of plants and animals, including 170 species of fish. Not to mention the drinking water for about 35 million people, in eight states plus Canada. They have been a major highway for transportation, trade and migration. And more than 1.5 million jobs are directly connected to the lakes.

  But the Trump administration views the health of the Great Lakes as a local issue. Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow and budget director Mick Mulvaney squared off at a budget hearing a couple months ago on the topic. You can watch the exchange here:

Newsworthy

• Shades of White House Climate Denial 5 Shades of Climate Denial,
  All on Display in the White House

  June 9.2017 - - From ‘it’s not real’ to ‘it’s not urgent,’ take a tour through the many shades of climate change denial wielded by Donald Trump's administration.

• LCV Scorecard How Congress
  Voted on Environmental Issues

  The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) keeps track of how our elected officials are (or not) protecting us.

  Click now to catch up.

• Bi-Parisan Climate Solutions CaucusRepublicans Who
  Care About climate change:
  'They are done with the denial'

  Apr. 27, 2017 - The failure of American politics to deal with, or even coherently discuss, climate change was perhaps best illustrated when James Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma, took to the floor of the US Senate in February 2015 with a Ziploc bag and a mischievous grin.

• Pruitt's Climate Data Is 'WRONG'So Called EPA Chief
  Gets Climate Change Completely Wrong

  May 25, 2017- A group of prominent climate scientists have written a study explicitly refuting statements made by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt on climate data. During his Senate confirmation hearing, Pruitt claimed in a written response that satellite data shows a "leveling off" of warming over the past two decades.

  The study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, takes Pruitt's claim to task by examining three sets of satellite data since 1979, concluding that "temperature measurements do not support" Pruitt's statement.

• Temporary EPA Grant Ban LiftedThe Admin. Lifts Temporary
  Freeze on EPA Grants

  Jan. 30, 2017- The Trump administration has lifted a temporary freeze on billions of dollars of grants from the Environmental Protection Agency, saying the programs will continue as planned.

  An email sent late Friday from the EPA’s acting administrator, career official Catherine McCabe, informed staffers that officials had completed a review of the agency’s extensive list of grants and that all "are proceeding normally, and nothing has been delayed," including revolving grants to states and Native American tribes.

• Make Your Voice Heard in Washington5 Ways to Make Your Voice
  Heard, and 2 That
  Are Not Worth Your Time

  Jan. 30, 2017- As a new era in American politics begins, citizens across the political spectrum may find themselves engaging in some collective hand-wringing. No matter your political leanings, times are changing, and many people are clamoring to make their voices heard.

• Mr. Trump - Are You Listening? Trade Group Outlines
  Benefits of Geothermal in
  Paper for Trump Administration

  Jan. 23, 2017 - In the paper, “Geothermal is Good for America,” GEA said that there are 104 operating geothermal plants in the U.S. with a capacity of 3.7 GW, and there are more than 80 new projects in development.

  ”Geothermal delivers a triple bottom line to our energy system: It is an abundant domestic energy source, it brings economic benefits in the form of taxes and long-term, high-paying jobs, and it has one of the lowest Levelized Costs of Energy of all power sources in the United States,” the paper said.

• Sen. Inhofe and Big Oil Only a Slight Conflict?

  Senator James Inhofe is Chair of the Energy Committee. We should question how he can serve the best interests of the people he is supposed to be protecting, while his camaigns have been mostly funded by the fossil fuel industry.

  Click now to see what we mean.

• Trump’s EPA Has a Problem With Emissions StandardsTrump Administration Clashes on
  Vehicle Emissions Standards Rollback

  July 31, 2018 -"The rollback, one of the most consequential proposals of the Trump administration, not only would permit more planet-warming pollution from cars, it would also challenge the right of California and other states to set their own, more restrictive state-level pollution standards," reports Coral Davenport, energy and environment reporter for The New York Times, on July 27.

  On one side is the Environmental Protection Agency’s acting chief, Andrew Wheeler, who has tried to put the brakes on the plan, fearing that its legal and technical arguments are weak and will set up the Trump administration for an embarrassing courtroom loss. Mr. Wheeler inherited the proposal from his predecessor, Scott Pruitt, who resigned on July 5 under a cloud of ethics investigations.

  Click now to read the whole
  story from Planetizen.

• This is How Donald Trump Drains the Swamp?From Dow’s ‘Dioxin Lawyer’ to
  Trump’s Choice to Run Superfund

  July 28, 2018 -The lawyer nominated to run the Superfund toxic cleanup program is steeped in the complexities of restoring polluted rivers and chemical dumps. He spent more than a decade on one of the nation’s most extensive cleanups, one involving Dow Chemical’s sprawling headquarters in Midland, Mich.

  The lawyer, Peter C. Wright, was nominated in March by President Trump to be assistant administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency overseeing the Superfund program, which was created decades ago to clean up the nation’s most hazardous toxic waste sites.

  Click now to see what’s wrong with
  this picture from NY Times Climate Forward.

• Rising Pollution Resulting From Relaxed Economy Standards5 Things to Watch as the Trump
  Administration Weakens Car Rules

  July 20, 2018 -With the Trump administration set to weaken Obama-era fuel economy standards for passenger cars and trucks, a chasm is opening between red and blue states.

  EPA is expected to propose a rule in the coming days to prevent the standards from rising past the 2020 levels established under former President Obama, who hailed those increases as a major step toward addressing rising temperatures.

  Click now to read more
  from Scientific American.

• Can Young Activists Do What Older Adults Can’t? Young Activists Want to Make
  Climate Change A Political Priority

  July 20, 2018 -Standing in the middle of a grassy field just outside Pittsburgh, Anaïs Peterson recalled the years she spent playing soccer here.

  A mile beyond that goalpost in Indiana Township lies a natural gas well pad that didn’t exist during her soccer days.

  Click now to read their plan,
  brought to you by  the Allegheny Front.

• Trump Would Protect Ground Water - or Wouldn’t? Trump Administration Rolls Back Coal Ash Rules Aimed at Groundwater Protection

  July 20, 2018 -Environmental groups say a Trump administration rollback of Obama-era coal ash rules could threaten Pennsylvania groundwater. The new rules, finalized on Tuesday, loosen requirements on utilities for disposing the coal ash left after burning.

  Coal-fired power plants often dispose of their coal ash in ponds, or landfills. But the waste contains mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and other pollutants that can foul waterways, groundwater, and air, according to the EPA.

  Click now to learn more from
   The Allegheny Front.

• Environmental Rules - Do We Really Need them? 76 Environmental Rules on
  the Way Out Under Trump

  July 6, 2018 -Since taking office last year, President Trump has made eliminating federal regulations a priority. His administration, with help from Republicans in Congress, has often targeted environmental rules it sees as overly burdensome to the fossil fuel industry, including major Obama-era policies aimed at fighting climate change.

  To date, the Trump administration has sought to reverse more than 70 environmental rules, according to a New York Times analysis, based on research from Harvard Law School’s Environmental Regulation Rollback Tracker, Columbia Law School’s Climate Tracker and other sources.

  Click now to learn more
  from The NY Times Climate Forward.

• Conservatives Push Trump to Get Onboard on Climate A Climate Policy Even Trump Can Support?

  June 20, 2018 - This is not something you see every day: Over the past month, a growing chorus of Senate Republicans, conservative taxpayer groups and corporate executives has been urging President Trump to implement a major Obama-era policy to tackle climate change.

  Click now to read more
  from The NY Times Climate Forward.

• Getting Environmentalists to Show Up on Election Day Environmental Voter Project Gets
  Environmentalists to the Polls

  June 19, 2018 - On Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s June 2018 national call, they welcomed guest speaker Nathaniel Stinnett, the founder and executive director of the Environmental Voter Project. Sharing the sentiments of CCL, Nathaniel is passionate about building the political will for politicians to act on climate change. Unlike many, he has also been recognized as a “visionary” by The New York Times for his work with the Environmental Voter Project.

  Click now to read more
  from Citizens’ Climate Lobby .

• Is Virtual Power a “Virtual” Reality? Cities Look to “Virtual Power” to Reach Climate Goals

  June 15, 2018 -Corporate America has emerged as a leading buyer of renewable energy in recent years. Now, U.S. cities are getting in on the act.

  Boston Mayor Martin Walsh announced an initiative last week aimed at bolstering municipal renewable procurements nationwide. By working together to purchase large amounts of renewable energy, Walsh hopes cities can cut the costs of wind and solar, stimulate the economy, and meet the terms of the Paris climate accord.

  Click now for more from Scientific American.

• How Conservative Media Protects EPA Chief Conservative Paper Reporter Says EPA Put
  “extreme pressure” on Him to “be their lickspittle”

  June 12, 2018 - Right-wing media outlets The Daily Caller and the Washington Free Beacon have often acted as de facto press offices for Scott Pruitt's Environmental Protection Agency.

  Media Matters has documented how the two publications have defended Pruitt in the face of his many scandals and tried to discredit sources of information about his misdeeds. Now we learn from Washington Examiner reporter John Siciliano, who covers energy and environment for the conservative-leaning newspaper, that the EPA's press office tried to strong-arm him into writing flattering pieces about the agency and complained to his editors when he refused.

  Click now to read more
  from Media Matters.

• China’s Surprise Decision to Slash Solar Installations China's Solar Cutback Is Wiping Out Trump Bump

  June 7, 2018 -President Donald Trump said imposing solar tariffs would help domestic companies. But China’s surprise decision to slash installations is negating those gains, and shares of U.S. manufacturers are plunging.

  First Solar has lost almost a quarter of its market value in the past week. SunPower is slumping too, as are the big Chinese solar companies that trade in the U.S. and Asia.

  The industrywide slide shows that trade barriers designed to protect specific companies or industries can be overpowered by the global forces that drive the markets. Slower demand in China will increase competition, exacerbate a panel glut and drag down prices. That will mirror the conditions that prompted some struggling U.S. panel makers to seek tariffs last year.

  Click now to learn more from 
  from Renewable Energy World.

• Not All Republicans Hate Climate Change Discussion New poll: Republican Concern
  About Climate Change Bounces Up

  June 6, 2018 - Republicans are becoming more convinced of climate change. While many Democrats are already on board with the scope and urgency of this problem, the shifting tides of Republicans opinions means climate change is becoming a less partisan, polarized issue. The further we get from extremes and polarization, the more progress we can make.

  A recent public opinion poll from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, conducted in March and released in May, reveals that Republican voters are 4% more convinced that global warming is happening than they were in fall of 2017. Digging further, the poll revealed that belief in human-caused global warming has increased 9% since last fall. Republican voters’ concern about global warming has also increased 5 percentage points in that same time period.

  Click now to read the
  more from Citizens' Climate Lobby.

• Bailing Out Dying Energy Is Now a Taxpayer Burden? Taxpayers to Bail Out a Dying Industry

  June 2, 2018 -The Trump administration is considering a plan that would order utility companies to purchase electricity from coal and nuclear generating plants even though the cost of that electricity will be higher than what they pay natural gas facilities and renewable suppliers. In other words, the Trump administration wants to force you to buy more expensive, dirtier electricity that is more likely to cause you health problems and perhaps even premature death.

  Click now for the the story
  from CleanTechnica.

• Influencing the EPA is a “Craft” Scott Pruitt’s Cozy Ties With a Billionaire Coal Baron

  June 2, 2018 -In one of the biggest games of the U. of Kentucky basketball season. Scott Pruitt had scored two of the best seats in the arena: a few feet from the action, sitting next to the EPA Chief in a section reserved for season-ticket holders, was Joseph W. Craft III, who had donated at least $1 million to the university

  A major contributor to Mr. Pruitt’s campaigns when Pruitt served as Oklahoma’s Attorney General, Mr. Craft saw Mr. Pruitt at least seven times during his first 14 months at the E.P.A., agency records and emails show, and they were scheduled to appear together on at least two other occasions. That is more than Mr. Pruitt has met with representatives of any environmental group.

  Click now to read more from The New York Times.

• Halting the Nuke and Coal Plant Shutdowns Trump Orders Energy Secretary Perry to Halt Shutdown of Coal and Nuclear Plants

  June 1, 2018 -President Trump on Friday ordered Energy Secretary Rick Perry to halt the shutdown of ailing coal and nuclear power plants that he said were needed to maintain the nation’s energy mix, grid resilience and national security.

  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, an independent agency, unanimously rejected an earlier proposal by the Energy Department that would have favored coal and nuclear plants.

  Click now to read the more
  from The Washington Post.

• The Koch Brothers' Web of Deceit Democrats Speak Out Against
  the Koch Influence on Policy-Making

  May 11, 2018 -As close ties between fossil fuel billionaires Charles and David Koch and the Trump Administration come more to light, Democratic Senators are demanding answers about how much influence the Koch brothers have had in shaping key federal policies, including the decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement, and the shrinking of national monuments. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) speaks with Host Steve Curwood about the stranglehold he says the climate change denying Koch network has on Republican lawmakers as well.

  Click now for a transcript
  from the Living On Earth podcast.

• Podcast: Renewable Industry and Mid-Terms To the Elections and Beyond

  May 9, 2018 -In this podcast episode, guest Joel Stronberg gives a U.S. midterms election update, and outlines what might happen in Washington D.C. before November and what the renewables industry should be thinking about beyond election day.

  Click now to listen
  to the podcast from Resilience.

• Not All GOP Congressmen Hate the Environment Two Caucus Republicans Introduce Resolution
  on Climate Change and Outdoor Recreation

  Apr. 1, 2018 -Last week, two Republicans on the Climate Solutions Caucus introduced a bipartisan resolution in the House of Representatives to acknowledge the impact that climate change is having on outdoor recreation and support policies to address the problem.

  Reps. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) and Mia Love (R-UT), both caucus members, joined with Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Suzan DelBene (D-WA) to introduce H.Res. 825, which was referred to the Energy and Commerce Committee.

  Click now for the story from
  The Citizens’ Climate Lobby.

• More Environmental Harm From Washington Trump Administration Sued for
  Suspension of Clean Water Rule

  Feb. 7, 2018 - Multiple states and conservation groups are legally challenging the Trump administration's decision to delay the Obama-era Clean Water Rule.

  Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) put a two-year suspension on the rule, also known as Waters of the United States (WOTUS), which protects large water bodies like lakes and rivers but also listed smaller waterways such as streams, ponds and wetlands for federal protection.

  New York A.G. Eric Schneiderman is leading a coalition of 11 Democratic attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia to block the move.

  Click now for more from EcoWatch.

• Climate Not Mentioned in S.O.U. Address Trump Fails to Mention Climate
  in His State of the Union Address

  Jan. 31, 2018 -As was widely expected, President Trump didn’t say anything about climate change in his 2018 State of the Union addres. And why would he? It’s clear by now that the issue simply isn’t a priority for him.

  Click now for more from NY Times Climate Forward.

• Did Trump Get Anything Environmentally Right? Trump’s Five Biggest Energy Blunders in 2017

  Dec. 27, 2017 - Before Donald Trump had even unpacked at the White House, his administration was making it clear he intended to follow through on campaign pledges to unravel climate regulations.

  In the nearly one year since, He and his cabinet appointees have worked diligently to fulfill that vow, stunting burgeoning efforts to cut the greenhouse-gas emissions fueling global warming.

  Click now to read the
  story from M.I.T. Technology Review.

• Carbon Pricing Proposals for 2018 Washington State Democrats
  Propose Carbon Pricing

  Dec. 4, 2017 -arly in the new year, Democrats in the Washington State Senate intend to leverage their newly won majority to push hard on a climate policy that no U.S. state has managed to pass so far: a carbon tax.

  “We fully intend to introduce a carbon tax and an investment strategy,” said Senator Reuven Carlyle, who became chairman of the energy committee following the November election, in an interview with MIT Technology Review. He hasn’t specified an intended fee yet, but said he’d like to see the tax revenue dedicated to renewable energy sources, grid modernization, transportation electrification, and climate mitigation for low-income communities, among other areas.

  Click to read the article in
  the M.I.T. Technology Review.

• GOP Congressman Urges Trump to Ban Lion Trophies Presented by the National Snow & Ice Data Center

  Dec. 4, 2017 -From his perch as co-chairman of the Animal Protection Caucus in Congress, a Florida Republican is urging President Donald Trump to restore the ban on allowing African lion trophies to be brought into the United States. 

  Noting there are less than 20,000 African lions, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., called on Trump to overturn the U.S. Interior Department’s decision to allow these trophies. The Interior Department’s decision has allowed hunters to collect lion trophies from Zambia and Zimbabwe as opposed to just managed lands in South Africa. 

  Click for the article in the Sunshine State News.

• December in DC Is Critical to the Future of Renewables GOP Congress is Making It
  Tax-Wise Tough on Renewable Energy

  Dec. 1, 2017 - Coming into December 2017, the U.S. government is still wrangling with many important decisions that could have far-reaching consequences for the future of renewable energy in the nation, specifically in the solar and wind arenas. Other countries have stepped up their investment in these renewable sources of energy, but many government leaders campaigned on promises of oversight and reduction of expenditures.

  Click to read the article in Renewable energy World.

• Bi-Partisan Climate Caucus Now Numbers 62 The Caucus Now Numbers
  31 Republicans and 31 Democrats.

  Nov. 17, 2017 - The bipartisan House Climate Solutions Caucus recently added two more members, bringing the total to 62—31 Republicans and 31 Democrats. The new members are New Jersey Democrat Rep. Josh Gottheimer and Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz.

  Click now for the whole story.

• Oil & Gas Interests Win in Natural Resources Dispute Backed by Industry Cash, the House
  Committee On Natural Resources Hands the
  Public Lands to Oil And Gas Interests

  Nov.16, 2017 - Nineteen Republicans voted the Secure American Energy Act out of committee this month. They've collectively received millions from oil and gas interests.

  Click to read story from the Pacific Standard.

• Trump Sells Coal and Nuclear at Bonn Climate Summit But the People Aren't Standding For It

  Nov.16, 2017 - Communities in the U.S. are standing up. Despite Trump’s disastrous climate decisions, at the UN Climate Talks, the U.S. People’s Delegation spotlighted the solutions we need, showcased what climate leadership needs to look like and strongly resisted fossil fuel cronies' efforts. Watch what the People’s Delegation accomplished over the past two weeks at COP23. #USPeoplesDelegation

  Click to read comments from 350.org.

• NJ Election Could Be Positive for Wind New Democratic Governor in New Jersey Could
  Ignite State’s Offshore Wind Sector

  Nov.8, 2017 - Control of the governor’s seat in New Jersey is moving to a Democrat — a shift that could be a big win for wind power in the state’s waters. Phil Murphy won the New Jersey gubernatorial election yesterday over Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno.

  Despite having legislation in place since 2010 calling for mechanisms to support offshore wind development, including authorization of offshore wind energy credits, New Jersey never achieved any progress on that front.

  Click to read more from Renewable Energy World.

• GOP Congressman Defends Wind Power 'Wind Champion' Jodey Arrington
  Will Defend Wind on Capitol Hill

  Nov.8, 2017 - Congressman Jodey Arrington, a republican member of congress from Texas, recently received the American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA's) “U.S. Wind Champion Award” at Southern Power’s Bethel Wind Farm. AWEA hasn’t given out the award in more than five years.

  AWEA said that recipients of the U.S. Wind Champion Award are leaders who support adding more affordable and reliable renewable energy to the grid; and, oppose any effort to inhibit the reasonable growth of wind energy.

  Click to see why you
  shouldn't judge a politician by its cover.

• Geoengineers and the Republicans Do Not Agree GOP Embraces Geoengineering ...
  Terrifying Geoengineering Researchers

  Nov. 9, 2017 - Congressman Lamar Smith, who has relentlessly disputed the science behind climate change, now argues there may be ways to avoid the dangers of rising temperatures without overhauling America’s energy system.

  “As the climate continues to change, geoengineering could become a tool to curb resulting impacts,” the Texas Republican said in his prepared opening remarks for a Wednesday subcommittee hearing on geoengineering, a blanket term for various technological means of deliberately altering the climate to offset the risks of global warming..

  Click to read why this is such a bad idea.

• House Tries to Tax Clean Energy Out of Existence The House Tax Bill: An All-Out Attack on Clean Energy

  Nov.5, 2017 - Congress is threatening the progress we’ve made on electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy. The House tax reform bill is a dangerous blow to growing industries that reduce global warming emissions, clean our air, create jobs, and save consumers money.

  In addition to cutting taxes for the wealthy at the expense of middle class and low-income families, the bill includes energy provisions that are nothing but a blatant handout to the fossil fuel industry.

  Click to read the article by
  The Union of Concerned Scientists.

• Maybe Repealing Clean Power Plan Not a Smart Idea? The Flawed Analysis Behind the
  Proposed Repeal of the Clean Power Plan

  October 23 - The Trump Administration’s proposal to repeal the Clean Power Plan (CPP) is based on flawed analysis that understates its benefits. This action is part of this administration’s unfortunate pattern of dismantling sensible policies and rejecting the underlying science of climate change. Repealing the CPP would remove another federal protection meant to help Americans avoid damages from a changing climate.

  Click to read the Renewable Energy World article.

• Another Administration Enviornmental Slap in the Face The E.P.A.'s Shift on Toxic Chemicals?
  An Industry Insider Helps Call the Shots

  Oct. 21, 2017 - For years, the E.P. has struggled to prevent an ingredient once used in stain-resistant carpets and nonstick pans from contaminating drinking water.

  The chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, has been linked to kidney cancer, birth defects, immune system disorders and other serious health problems.

  Click to see how this appointment kills
  that process, and who knows what else?

• We Don't Need No Stink'n Wildlife Preserve Democrats Fail to Block
  Arctic Reserve Oil Drilling

  Oct. 19, 2017 - U.S. Senate Democrats on Thursday failed to pass a measure to block oil and gas drilling in part of the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, losing to Republicans who believe production there would provide jobs and wealth.

  Click to read the Reuters article

• What's Next For Trump? The Dirty Power Plan? What Is the Clean Power Plan,
  and How Can Trump Repeal It?

  Oct. 10, 2017 - The Clean Power Plan was President Obama’s signature policy on climate change, and it represented one of the strongest actions ever taken by the U.S. to combat global warming. But it has never taken effect, and the Trump administration hopes to repeal it before it does.

  Click for the NY Times story.

• Court Prevents Trump From Geting His Way Courts Thwart Administration’s Effort
  to Rescind Obama-Era Environmental Regulations

  Oct. 6, 2017 - The rapid-fire push by the Trump administration to wipe out significant chunks of the Obama environmental legacy is running into a not-so-minor complication: Judges keep ruling that the Trump team is violating federal law.

  Click to read the NY Times article.

• U.S. & Syria - Only Non-Paris Accord Nations Nicaragua Will Join Paris Accord

  Sept 21, 2017 - Nicaragua has decided to join the Paris climate accord, and President Daniel Ortega has told state media that his government will “soon” sign on to the landmark agreement. Ortega initially refused to join the deal in 2015, claiming it did not mandate enough sacrifices from wealthier countries. It isn’t yet clear what changed Ortega’s mind. In any case, that leaves the U.S. and Syria as the only two nations that have refused to support the agreement to combat global warming. President Donald Trump has said it creates too many restrictions on U.S. companies.

  Even North Korea is on board.

• GOP Senator Endorses 'Price on Carbon' Lindsey Graham Endorses 'Price on
  Carbon' to Fight Climate Change

  Sept. 20, 2017 - Speaking at a climate change conference held by former Secretary of State John Kerry at Yale University, the South Carolina Republican called for a "price on carbon," saying he would take the idea to the White House for consideration.

  "I'm a Republican. I believe that the greenhouse effect is real, that CO2 emissions generated by man is creating our greenhouse gas effect that traps heat, and the planet is warming," said Graham. "A price on carbon—that's the way to go in my view."

• Climate-change Skeptic Lined Up to Run NASA Nominee Wants to Study Climate
  Change on Mars—But Not on Earth

  Sept. 20, 2017 - President Donald Trump this month nominated US House Rep James Bridenstine (R-OK) to be the next NASA administrator.

  America's space agency has been without a top boss since Charles Bolden resigned on January 20, and the organization has had to deal with proposed major cuts to its funding since then. While Bridenstine is a strong proponent of space technology, he does have a problem with one part of NASA's remit – keeping an eye on climate change.

• Clean Energy Careers for Fossil Fuel Workers New Legislation Could Support the Idea

  August 30, 2017 - Support for workers seeking to transition from jobs in the fossil-fuel industry to the clean energy sector could be coming in the form of new federal legislation.

  U.S. Congressman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) yesterday said he will develop legislation to help displaced fossil-fuel industry workers.

  “For too long, American workers have been subject to the ebbs and flows of production in the fossil fuel sector,” Pallone said in an Aug. 29 statement. “When production is down, jobs go away, and economic uncertainty follows. Clean energy jobs have grown at a rate of 6 percent annually in recent years, while fossil fuel jobs have shrunk. There ought to be a pathway to consistent employment in the renewable energy sector, and I look forward to introducing a plan to do just that, in consultation with a wide array of experts.”



• Trump Admin: Don't Make Efficiency Standard Worse Four Big Things to
  Know About Fuel Economy

  Aug. 29, 2017 - Before 2007, US fuel economy standards for passenger vehicles hadn’t changed all that much for more than two decades.

  Because these standards play a big part in pushing automakers to innovate and make their vehicles more efficient, the net effect was that even as technology was improving by leaps and bounds, the average car rolling off the lot in 2005 still got pretty much the same miles per gallon (mpg) as the average car in 1975.

  Click to get educated.

• A Rich Trump Advisor Tries Getting Richer Carl Icahn’s Failed Raid on Washington

  Aug. 28, 2017 - One day in August, 2016, the financier Carl Icahn made an urgent phone call to the Environmental Protection Agency. Icahn is one of the richest men on Wall Street, and he has thrived, in no small measure, because of a capacity to intimidate.

  A Texas-based oil refiner in which he had a major stake was losing money because of an obscure environmental rule that Icahn regarded as unduly onerous.

  Icahn is a voluble critic of any government regulation that constrains his companies. So he wanted to speak with the person in charge of enforcing the policy: a senior official at the E.P.A. named Janet McCabe.

• EPA Budget Cuts Impact Waste Cleanup Proposed EPA Budget Cuts
  Will Impact Waste Cleanup in PA

  Aug. 26, 2017 - Pennsylvania could lose millions of dollars in federal funds to clean up hazardous waste. That’s if budget cuts favored by the Trump administration get through Congress.

  The Environmental Defense Fund released a report this week detailing how proposed budget cuts at the Environmental Protection Agency could be particularly hard on Pennsylvania because of its manufacturing and industrial past.

• Pruitt and Monsanto Partnership - How Convenient Records Show EPA Slowing Herbicide Review
  Came in Coordination With Monsanto

  Aug. 17, 2017 - Newly released government email communications show a persistent effort by multiple officials within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to slow a separate federal agency’s safety review of Monsanto’s top-selling herbicide. Notably, the records demonstrate that the EPA efforts came at the behest of Monsanto, and that EPA officials were helpful enough to keep the chemical giant updated on their progress.

  Click to see who the EPA really works for.

• Democrats: Tax Overhaul Includes Taxing Carbon Some Democrats See Tax Overhaul
  as a Path to Taxing Carbon

  Aug. 17, 2017 - With a sweeping overhaul of the tax code on the horizon, two Senate Democrats believe this is the moment to broach the third rail of climate change policy: a carbon tax.

  Click to read the NY Times story.

• Pruitt Says "Screw It" to Fuel Standards Administration Takes Key Step to
  Rolling Back Auto Fuel Standards

  August 14, 2017 - The Trump administration has begun the process of rolling back tough fuel standards for America’s car and light truck fleet.What else is new?

  Click to read the complete article.

• Some Republicans Do Believe in Climate Change South Carolina Republican Former
  Congressman Bob Inglis for Example

  Aug. 11, 2017 - A recent Pew study found that these lawmakers reflect the attitude of many of the constituents they represent. Only 11 percent of conservative Republicans say climate scientists understand the causes of climate change very well.

  Trust in climate scientists is low among Republicans; considerably higher among liberal Democrats. Can anything change their minds? One conservative says ‘yes’. Bob Inglis is a former South Carolina Republican congressman who now heads a group called republicEN.org which aims to promote ‘free market’ solutions to climate change.

• Cap & Trade Extended in California (Where Else?) California Legislature Passes 10-Year
  Extension to Cap and Trade

  August 4, 2017 - After weeks of negotiations in the California legislature, the Senate and Assembly passed an extension to cap and trade on July 17.

  This is a win for California’s climate leadership and for green building. USGBC actively supported the cap-and-trade extension, as one of the state’s key strategies to reach its SB 32 goal to reduce emissions by 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2030.

• States Sue E.P.A. Over Ozone EPA Caves the Day After Pennsylvania
  and Other States Sue Over Ozone

  August 4, 2017 - The day after Pennsylvania and 14 other states sued the Environmental Protection Agency over its plan to delay implementation of new clean air standards, the EPA reversed course and cancelled the delay.

  The EPA has issued a statement which it says “replaces” its earlier decision to delay the designation of areas that don’t meet new tougher standards for ozone pollution.

  That means those areas will be identified this fall as planned, and state and local authorities will have to come up with plans to make their air cleaner.

• Politics Could Kill Tangier Island The inconvenient Science of Tangier Island

  Aug. 3, 2016 - Tangier Island Mayor James “Ooker” Eskridge’s 15 minutes of fame went into overtime this week when he appeared on a CNN town hall to tell former Vice President Al Gore that it isn’t sea-level rise but erosion that is destroying his Chesapeake Bay island. Mr. Gore, the nation’s best-known climate change talking head, was left with the thankless task of explaining how the two things aren’t mutually exclusive without being unsympathetic to a lifelong waterman’s point of view.

  Click for the Baltimore Sun article.

• Biodiversity Threatened in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Drilling Would Also Harm the Cultural
  and Religious Core of Natives

  August 2, 2017 - Buried in the recently proposed congressional budget for 2018 is a partially cleared path for oil and gas drilling in one of North America’s last truly wild environments: the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

  If passed, the budget would allow the House Natural Resources Committee to permit fossil fuel development in an untamed, 20-million-acre wildlife sanctuary that’s historically been off limits to human activity. The budget says drilling in the refuge is projected to raise $1.8 billion.

• Gov. Brown: Trump is Fueling California’s Climate Push As Trump Doubles Down on His
  Anti-Climate Views, Brown, Vows to
  Aggressively Battle Climate Change

  Aug 2, 2017 - When President Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris climate agreement, it stunned the world. But it also had a less predictable effect: turning California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) into Trump’s antithesis and furthering his own climate-crusading agenda.

• Monsanto and the EPA - the New Partnership Just Released Docs Show Monsanto
  'Executives Colluding With Corrupted EPA
  Officials to Manipulate Scientific Data'

  Aug 1, 2017 - Four months after the publication of a batch of internal Monsanto Co. documents stirred international controversy, a new trove of company records was released early Tuesday, providing fresh fuel for a heated global debate over whether or not the agricultural chemical giant suppressed information about the potential dangers of its Roundup herbicide and relied on U.S. regulators for help.

  Click to learn more.

• Pruitt Repealing Clean Water Rule? Pruitt's Case for Repealing Clean Water Rule
  Does it Hold Water?

  July 10, 2017 - On June 27, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt signed a proposed rule rescinding the Obama administration’s “Clean Water Rule.” This regulation is designed to clarify which streams, lakes, wetlands and other water bodies fall under the protection of the Clean Water Act.

• States Unite to Fight Pact Withdrawal California, New York, Washington
  Unite To Back Climate Pact

  6/1/17 - Three Democratic governors said Thursday they won’t let the United States back away from a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, despite President Donald Trump decision to withdraw from an international pact.

• Trump's Richest Advisor Tries to Get Richer Carl Icahn's Call to the E.P.A.

  Aug. 20, 2017 - Icahn is one of the richest men on Wall Street, and he has thrived, in no small measure, because of a capacity to intimidate. A Texas-based oil refiner in which he had a major stake was losing money because of an obscure environmental rule that Icahn regarded as unduly onerous. Icahn is a voluble critic of any government regulation that constrains his companies. So he wanted to speak with the person in charge of enforcing the policy: a senior official at the E.P.A. named Janet McCabe.t

  Click to read the New Yorker story.