"EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler is rejecting a call by top House Democrats to formally scrap an opinion from the agency's top lawyer that limits the authority of an in-house watchdog."
"The Interior Department on Friday extended the appointment of William Perry Pendley to lead the Bureau of Land Management in an acting capacity until May 5."
"Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asking him to ensure that U.S. oil and gas companies can get federal loans provided for businesses in the coronavirus stimulus package."
"The U.S. government’s efforts to clean up Cold War-era waste from nuclear research and bomb making at federal sites around the country has lumbered along for decades, often at a pace that watchdogs and other critics say threatens public health and the environment."
"The Bureau of Land Management is considering industry-driven requests to lease tens of thousands acres for oil and gas development near Arches and Canyonlands national parks."
"A law firm that previously employed President Donald Trump’s interior secretary has, for several years, represented Saudi Arabia, the petroleum-rich nation that recently launched an oil price war that could bankrupt U.S. fossil fuel producers."
"A week after EPA issued a controversial enforcement policy, the agency declined to reveal how many companies sought waivers of noncompliance due to the novel coronavirus pandemic."
"After the first alarms sounded in early January that an outbreak of a novel coronavirus in China might ignite a global pandemic, the Trump administration squandered nearly two months that could have been used to bolster the federal stockpile of critically needed medical supplies and equipment."
The coronavirus pandemic has pushed climate change out of the headlines. But the two stories have much in common if journalists look beneath the surface. That was the consensus of expert panelists at an April 2 webinar organized by the Society of Environmental Journalists, who also had suggestions on how to cover both beats better. Read more, or check out video or audio.
While the COVID-19 outbreak may be absorbing most of the world’s attention, the latest TipSheet advises journalists not to back-burner climate-related energy reporting, as industries and activists continue lobbying for new energy stimulus measures from Congress. On the watch list: tax breaks, airline emission cuts, infrastructure, fossil fuel industry bailouts and more.
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