Disasters

"This was going to be the year that offshore wind energy made a giant leap in the United States. Then the coronavirus arrived."

"The Energy Department is suspending its plan to buy low-priced oil to restock the nation’s emergency Strategic Petroleum Reserve after Congress chose not to provide funding for the purchase in its emergency pandemic relief package."

"Hours after Coconino County officials in Arizona, frustrated that Grand Canyon National Park is still open despite the worsening coronavirus pandemic, urged Interior Secretary David Bernhardt on Thursday to follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and close the park, the National Park Service announced some operational changes at the park."

"Congress is putting the finishing touches this week on a $2 trillion bill to fight the new coronavirus that would be the largest funding measure ever to clear Capitol Hill."

"The contrast could hardly be more stark. Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York has said that if all of his sweeping, expensive measures to stem the coronavirus saved one life, it would be worth it. President Donald Trump has another view: The costs of shutting down the economy outweigh the benefits, frequently telling Americans that 35,000 people a year die from the common flu."

"The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday announced a sweeping relaxation of environmental rules in response to the coronavirus pandemic, allowing power plants, factories and other facilities to determine for themselves if they are able to meet legal requirements on reporting air and water pollution."

"The plastic bag industry, battered by a wave of bans nationwide, is using the coronavirus crisis to try to block laws prohibiting single-use plastic."

"Nature is sending us a message with the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing climate crisis, according to the UN’s environment chief, Inger Andersen."