Gas Industry Is Under Fire. It’s Hiring Democratic Politicians To Help.
"Gas companies have enlisted prominent Democrats to convince liberal voters that the fuel is climate-friendly, documents show".
Source: Washington Post, 02/02/2023
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"House Republicans Blast Environmental Rules In First Energy Meeting"
"House Republicans took aim at the country’s bedrock environmental policy in their first meeting in charge of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday, painting a bleak picture of the energy sector under President Biden and pushing for sweeping action to boost gas production."
Source: The Hill, 02/02/2023"Lawmakers Clash Over Allowing Guns In Natural Resources Committee"
"Lawmakers on the House Natural Resources Committee had a heated debate Wednesday about whether to allow guns into the committee room."
Source: The Hill, 02/02/2023"Judge: Defiant NJ Beach Town Can Sue For $21M In Dune Costs"
"A New Jersey beach town that defied state environmental authorities and fixed its dunes that were seriously eroded by a storm can proceed with a lawsuit seeking to recover $21 million it spent bulking up its shoreline, but cannot build a bulkhead to permanently thwart the waves, a judge ruled Wednesday."
Source: AP, 02/02/2023"That Dreamy Haze In Monet’s Impressionist Paintings? Air Pollution."
"Claude Monet was “terrified.” He looked outside and saw a scene across the London landscape that worried him: no fog, clear skies.” ... "Then, he writes in translated letters shared by the Tate art museum, gradually fires were lit, and smoke and a haze of industrial pollution returned to the skies. His work continued."
Source: Washington Post, 02/02/2023"Punxsutawney Phil Is Wrong: Spring Is Arriving Early In Some Places"
"The South is experiencing its earliest spring in 40 years of records, while spring is days to weeks early across the East Coast and Pacific Northwest".
Source: Washington Post, 02/02/2023"Administration Expected to Endorse Limited Drilling in Alaska Project"
"The Biden administration is expected to propose a scaled-down version of a sprawling oil drilling project in the North Slope of Alaska, according to two people familiar with the decision. The proposal would allow drilling to proceed on a limited basis as part of an $8 billion project known as Willow that climate activists have criticized for years."
Source: NYTimes, 02/01/2023Pressure Builds As States Miss Deadline In Colorado River Water Crisis
"The seven states that depend on the Colorado River have failed to meet a Tuesday deadline for agreeing on a water-use reduction plan, raising the likelihood of more friction as the West grapples with how to manage the shrinking river."
Source: LA Times, 02/01/2023"Shell Is Selling ‘Carbon Neutral’ Fossil Fuels Again"
"Emboldened by new industry guidelines, natural gas companies are renewing their efforts to sell “carbon neutral” fossil fuels, a controversial practice of offsetting a shipment’s emissions to shrink its environmental impact."
Source: Bloomberg Green, 02/01/2023"White House Blasts Exxon Over Historical $56 Billion Annual Profit"
"The White House on Tuesday expressed outrage on Tuesday at Exxon Mobil Corp's record net profit in 2022 of $56 billion, a historical high not just for the company but for the entire Western oil industry."
Source: Reuters, 02/01/2023"Climate Disinfo Surges In Denial, Conspiracy Comeback"
"False information about climate change flourished online over the past year, researchers say, with denialist social media posts and conspiracy theories surging after US environmental reforms and Elon Musk's Twitter takeover."
Source: AFP, 02/01/2023How Does The Deadly Nipah Virus Spill From Bats To Humans?
"It's dusk in central Bangladesh, in a community within the district of Faridpur. A 50-year-old man sits outside his home beside a rice paddy. His name is Khokon. A fiery beard, dyed a bright orange, rings his chin. He says the procession of disease and death all started in the spring of 2004."
Source: NPR, 02/01/2023"Maine Regulators Allow Wind, Utility Project To Move Forward"
"Maine utility regulators on Tuesday gave final approval to a wind power project that would provide enough electricity for at least 450,000 New England homes along with construction of a new transmission corridor in northern Maine to get the electricity to the regional power grid."
Source: AP, 02/01/2023Brazil Readies Task Force To Expel Miners From Yanomami Lands: Officials
"Brazil is preparing a task force of armed forces, police and government agencies to soon launch an operation to expel illegal gold miners who invaded the Yanomami indigenous reservation, officials said on Tuesday."
Source: Reuters, 02/01/2023US Emissions of Most Potent Greenhouse Gas 56% Higher Than Estimates
"While emissions of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), the world’s most potent greenhouse gas, have fallen sharply in the U.S. in recent decades, actual emissions are significantly higher than the official government estimates, a new study concludes."
Source: Inside Climate News, 02/01/2023
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