A milestone legal challenge soon to be decided by the U.S. high court could severely limit how the U.S. government regulates the greenhouse gasses that cause climate change. The new Issue Backgrounder takes a look at West Virginia v. EPA, its legal implications, the politics behind it and what it would mean for efforts to curb future impacts of global warming.
"Democrats who control the [Virginia] state Senate thwarted a Republican effort on Tuesday to revive the Cabinet bid of former Trump administration official Andrew Wheeler, leaving Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s (R) embattled appointee in limbo."
"A state Senate committee on Tuesday rejected former Trump administration official Andrew Wheeler for Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s Cabinet — a rare snub that is not likely to end the Republican governor’s efforts to install Wheeler as secretary of natural and historic resources."
"Democratic state senators in Virginia are signaling that they have the votes to block Andrew Wheeler, Donald Trump’s controversial second head of the Environmental Protection Agency and a former coal lobbyist, from becoming the state’s top environmental official."
Offshore wind, which some see as a panacea in the search for climate-friendly energy solutions, is getting a push from the Biden administration. But as noted in this week’s TipSheet, part of our 2022 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment, there are numerous obstacles to the renewable power source, whether from states, coastal property owners and towns, fishing industry and even some environmentalists.
"A rare confirmation battle is brewing around the nomination of Andrew Wheeler, who ran the Environmental Protection Agency under President Donald J. Trump, to take a similar role in an incoming Republican state administration in Virginia."
"Andrew Wheeler, who served as head of EPA during the Trump administration, is returning to government service. Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin (R) announced today he chose Wheeler as his secretary of natural resources. Wheeler will be the state’s top environmental official and oversee five agencies focusing on the environment, natural resources and recreation."
"Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin is pledging to use executive action to pull Virginia out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a carbon market involving 10 other Mid-Atlantic and New England states."
The Mississippi River and its tributaries drain more than 40% of the continent, but most coverage of environmental stories within the Mississippi Basin is localized and siloed. The recently launched Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk hopes to help news outlets provide region-wide reporting that contextualizes issues like climate change-driven flooding and the Gulf of Mexico dead zone.
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