"Former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and other top agency officials were closely involved with reviving a private equity-owned oil refinery that went bankrupt last year and is now shutting down after a fiery explosion last week."

"The Trump administration has enlisted the help of two private fireworks firms to put on an extended pyrotechnics display as part of the president’s overhaul of the nation’s Independence Day celebration on the Mall."

"Those hoping for political leadership in the face of the climate emergency are in for yet more disappointment, with the G20 group of powerful nations possibly set to avoid strong commitments to tackling the issue."

"US senators have pushed solar incentives into the spotlight one year ahead of the presidential election, urging policymakers to extend federal support."

"A new International Monetary Fund (IMF) study shows that USD$5.2 trillion was spent globally on fossil fuel subsidies in 2017. The equivalent of over 6.5% of global GDP of that year, it also represented a half-trillion dollar increase since 2015 when China ($1.4 trillion), the United States ($649 billion) and Russia ($551 billion) were the largest subsidizers."

"The Trump administration's much-anticipated rule to replace the Obama-era Clean Power Plan may not be the long-term lifeline for coal that some hoped it would be, analysts say."

"A top financial regulator is opening a public effort to highlight the risk that climate change poses to the nation’s financial markets, setting up a clash with a president who has mocked global warming and whose administration has sought to suppress climate science."

"The devastating flooding that has submerged large parts of the Midwest and South this spring has also brought barge traffic on many of the regions’ rivers to a near standstill. ... Shipments of grains, fertilizers and construction supplies are stranded."