Environment &amp; Climate News

New York Adopts State ‘Green New Deal’

August 15, 2019

By Bonner R. Cohen

New York state has adopted what Gov. Andrew Cuomo has dubbed the Green New Deal of New York, the most aggressive carbon-emissions-reduction goals in the nation.

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Wisconsin Supreme Court Rejects Special Requirements for Pipeline Expansion

August 15, 2019

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled Dane County cannot force Enbridge Inc. to purchase special environmental liability insurance as a condition of permission to expand its oil pipeline.

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U.S. Methane Emissions Much Lower than Previously Estimated, Study Finds

August 13, 2019

By H. Sterling Burnett

A finds methane emissions from U.S. oil and natural gas production over the past decade are “an order of magnitude lower” than what has been reported by previous studies.

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California Slow-Walks Compensation for Farmers, Ranchers

August 12, 2019

By Kenneth Artz

California landowners who had their land seized years ago through eminent domain for the state’s high-speed rail project are still waiting to be paid for the expenses owed them, for land the state might never even get around to using.

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Climate Conference Keynote Speakers, Award Winners Defend Climate Realism

Transportation

August 7, 2019

By Tim Benson

Keynote speakers at ICCC 13 said the high costs of policies proposed to fight climate change weren't justified by a scientific understanding of the purported risks.

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Speakers at Climate Conference Flood Washington, D.C. with Facts

August 6, 2019

By H. Sterling Burnett

Speakers at the 13th International Conference on Climate Change discussed climate science, energy and climate economics, and whether various policy options were likely to harm or promote economic prosperity while maintaining a healthy environment.

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President Signs Executive Order to Speed Biotech Development

August 6, 2019

By Christopher Talgo

President Donald Trump signed an executive order (EO) to streamline the process for developing, testing, and gaining approval of genetically modified crops in order to reduce costs and encourage development.

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Court Throws Out Lawsuit Blocking Keystone XL Construction

August 5, 2019

By Bonner R. Cohen

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court’s decision blocking completion of the Keystone KL oil pipeline.

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Supreme Court Allows Fast Tracking of Property Rights Cases

August 2, 2019

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled property owners may immediately file suit in federal court to challenge state or local government actions that restrict their property rights, without first going through the state court system.

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Legislative Pulse: Defending Constituents’ Climate Interests in Oregon

August 2, 2019

By H. Sterling Burnett

Oregon state Sen. Alan Olsen (R-Canby) says Senate Republicans walked out of the Senate to prevent a vote on climate legislation in which they were allowed to have not input, that would have harmed their constituents interests.

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More Federal Lands to Be Opened to Hunting, Fishing

August 1, 2019

The U.S. Department of the Interior announced it is significantly revising rules for hunting and fishing on federal wildlife refuges across the nation.

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Maine Enacts Sweeping Renewable Energy Mandates

August 1, 2019

Gov. Janet Mills of Maine signed into law several energy measures she has pushed as part of her commitment to fight purported human-caused climate change by reducing fossil fuel use.

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Commerce Department Urges ‘Unprecedented Action’ to Secure Critical Mineral Supplies

July 31, 2019

By Bonner R. Cohen

The United States must embark on an effort to expand and secure its sources of critical minerals outside of its current supply chain, the U.S. Department of Commerce says in new report.

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New Mexico Sets State Oil Production Record

July 23, 2019

By Kenneth Artz

New Mexico produced nearly 246 million barrels of oil in 2018, up more than 40 percent from the previous year, setting a new record for oil production in the state.

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Federal Coal Sales Won’t Impact Climate, Trump Administration Says

July 22, 2019

By Kenneth Artz

A federal district judge in Montana delivered a partial victory to the plaintiffs in a lawsuit calling for a halt to the Trump administration’s resumption of federal coal sales.

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New Hampshire Senate Rejects Plastic Bag, Soda Straw Bans

July 18, 2019

By Kelsey Hackem

New Hampshire will not ban thin-film plastic bags or limit restaurants’ use of plastic soda straws this year.

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Montana Utility Requests Solar Rate Change to Cover Costs

July 11, 2019

By Kelsey Hackem

NorthWestern Energy, Montana’s largest electric utility, has requested a rate review for its net-metering residential customers.

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Legislative Pulse: Examining Climate Change, Coal, and Environmental Protection in Pennsylvania

July 10, 2019

By H. Sterling Burnett

State Sen. Dave Argall explains how he is trying to promote sound science and economic analysis to energy and climate matters in Pennsylvania.

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Maine Legislature Considers Creating Statewide Electricity Monopoly

July 10, 2019

By Bonner R. Cohen

Lawmakers in Maine are considering a proposal to combine the state’s two investor-owned electric utilities into a single, monopoly, nonprofit utility.

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Interior Department Takes Steps to End Sue-and-Settle Agreements

July 9, 2019

The U.S. Department of Interior has identified the steps it is taking to improve transparency and public input for legal settlements it is considering.

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Mexican Gray Wolf Livestock Kills Are Rising Rapidly in Arizona and New Mexico

July 8, 2019

By Kenneth Artz

Endangered Mexican gray wolves, reintroduced by the federal government to parts of the Southwestern United States, have killed nearly as many cows and calves in the first four months of 2019 as they did all of last year.

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Justice Department Appeals Court Ruling Rejecting Road Through Alaskan Wildlife Refuge

July 5, 2019

By Kelsey Hackem

The U.S. Justice Department is appealing a decision by the Federal District Court of Alaska blocking the federal government from exchanging land with the state and an Alaskan Native Corporation to build a road through the Izembek Wildlife Refuge.

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Climate Models Overstate Temperature Impact of Carbon Dioxide, Study Confirms

July 4, 2019

By Bonner R. Cohen

A new study demonstrates climate models consistently overstate the warming effect of increasing carbon dioxide concentrations on climate.

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Liberal Party Unexpectedly Wins Australian Elections Focused on Climate Change

July 3, 2019

By H. Sterling Burnett

In an election focused on climate change, a coalition of two of Australia’s right-of-center parties unexpectedly won the national election, emerging with more seats in Parliament than they had before the elections.

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New Nevada Law Mandates Costly 100 Percent Carbon-Dioxide-Free Electricity

July 2, 2019

By Kenneth Artz

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak signed a bill requiring 50 percent of the electricity utilities in the state provide come from renewable resources by 2030.

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The Misleading Conclusions from the 4th National Climate Assessment

July 1, 2019

By Stan Liebowitz

Despite all the doomsday descriptions, the projected costs of climate change found in Volume 2 of the Fourth National Climate Assessment are actually paltry in the big picture of things.

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House Moves to Block President from Leaving Paris Climate Agreement

July 1, 2019

By Bonner R. Cohen

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to block President Donald Trump’s decision to take the United States out of the Paris climate agreement.

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Study: Fracking Isn’t Causing Health Problems for PA School Children

June 28, 2019

By H. Sterling Burnett

A new study of natural gas production near two schools in Washington County, Pennsylvania finds no evidence emissions pose a health risk to the kids attending the schools.

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House Bill to Reduce Wildfires Held Up by Committee Chair

June 28, 2019

Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR), Congress’ only professional forester, has introduced the 2019 Resilient Federal Forests Ac, to improve forest management and reduce the economic and environmental damage caused by wildfires.

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Interior Department Acts to Expedite Some Federal Facility Title Transfers

June 27, 2019

In an effort to boost water development and the maintenance of water projects on federal lands, the U.S. Interior Department has taken steps to make it easier to transfer water projects on federal land to users of the water.

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Issues New Clean Air Rule

June 26, 2019

By H. Sterling Burnett

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it has formally replaced the prior administration’s Clean Power Plan, to reduce power plant greenhouse gas emissions, with the Affordable Clean Energy rule.

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Regulatory Science 101: Risk Assessments vs. EU-Style Hazard Assessments

June 23, 2019

By Jeff Stier

Allowing European style hazard assessments of chemicals to replace risk assessments used in the United States for regulatory decisions will make people less healthy and less safe.

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New York City Mayor de Blasio Vows to Ban Glass and Steel Skyscrapers

June 19, 2019

By Kenneth Artz

New York City’s iconic and historic glass and steel skyscrapers have no place in the city under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Green New Deal, unless they undergo extensive and expensive retrofitting

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Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Another Attempt to Regulate Refrigerants for Climate Reasons

June 17, 2019

By Kenneth Artz

The United States D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in April struck down another attempt to restrict the use of hydrofluorocarbons, a refrigerant, based on its being a greenhouse gas.

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U.S. Transition to 100 Percent Renewable Energy ‘Would Lead to Catastrophe,’ Study Says

June 13, 2019

By Kenneth Artz

Any effort to require that 100 percent of the electric power supply in any one state or for the United States as a whole come from renewable power energy sources would lead to extremely high costs and power shortages.

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Washington State to Allow Composting of Human Corpses

June 11, 2019

By Kenneth Artz

Washington State became the first state in the nation to legalize an accelerated decomposition method to transform deceased persons into soil after Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill passed by state legislators.

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Federal Court Rejects Northeastern States Bid to Expand Ozone Regulations to Other States

June 10, 2019

By Kenneth Artz

The District of Columbia Appeals Court rejected North East states efforts to force the Environmental Protection Agency to include more states in a regional ozone organization.

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South Dakota’s Governor Gets Bill to Punish Violent Pipeline Protests

June 6, 2019

By H. Sterling Burnett

South Dakota's legislature adopted a legislative package, aimed at preventing the kind of violent protests that delayed and raised the costs of the Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota.

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FERC Approves New Natural Gas Pipeline Expansion in the Northeast

June 5, 2019

By H. Sterling Burnett

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission concluded a proposed pipeline project carrying natural gas from the shale fields of Pennsylvania connecting to utilities throughout the Northeast was in the public interest and approved its construction.

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