Donald Trump to scrap rule to protect roads and in...

Republican Carlos Curbelo condemns President’s plans as ‘irresponsible’ and ‘not fiscally conservative’, saying it will lead to taxpayers’ money being wasted. Overshadowed by his decision to describe some of those who took part in the far-right rally in Charlottesville as “very fine people”, Donald Trump announced plans to scrap regulations designed to protect roads and other...

Why Plan? Articles by Jurgen Pape – January ...

Why Plan? February 2017 This is a continuation of my previous editorials from several years ago, then called “Why Plan?” My emphasis now is on the environment. Mahatma Gandhi made many profound statements. One can be applied to the environment: “The future depends on what we do today!” Since water is crucial to everyone (more so than oil), the use or mis-use of it is becoming more of a major factor. Already wars have been...

Court Tosses an Obama-Era Climate Rule That Trump ...

The Trump administration’s attempt to defend one aspect of Barack Obama’s climate agenda failed as a federal court tossed a regulation to limit harmful chemicals used in air conditioners and refrigerators. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, in a 2-1 decision, ruled Tuesday the Environmental Protection Agency overstepped its authority in prohibiting the use of certain refrigerants that are potent greenhouse gases. In...

Read the Draft of the Climate Change Report

A final draft report by scientists from 13 federal agencies, which has not yet been made public but was obtained by The New York Times, concludes that Americans are feeling the effects of climate change right now. The report was completed this year and is part of the National Climate Assessment, which is congressionally mandated every four years. Source: New York Times Test of full draft only —...

Leakers Drop Climate Change Report To New York Tim...

Armageddon is upon us. A study warning of the supposedly dire effects of man-made climate change was leaked to The New York Times out of fear that the Trump administration would suppress it. The study was conducted by scientists from 13 federal government agencies as part of the required National Climate Assessment every four years, and it requires permission from the Trump administration to be officially released, which is...

Al Gore’s ‘An Inconvenient Sequel̵...

At the end of An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth To Power, the audience is asked to take the pledge to #BeInconvenient—to keep demanding schools, businesses and towns invest in clean, renewable energy. “If President Trump refuses to lead, Americans will,” the call to action reads, encouraging viewers who want to fight climate change to use “your choice, your voice, your vote.” Feel-good cheers in the...

What’s missing from the 100% renewable energ...

Media coverage of a scholarly feud over fuel mix transition misses the broader implications of cross-sector decarbonization The news media can be distracted by stories that seem more important than they are. The recent furor over the best energy resource mix for 2050 provides an example. A debate between Stanford professor Mark Jacobson and former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientist Christopher...

50% Rise in Renewable Energy Needed to Meet Ambiti...

States are powerful forces for renewable electricity. About half the growth since 2000 has come from their Renewable Portfolio Standards, a national lab finds. Renewable electricity generation will have to increase by 50 percent by 2030 to meet ambitious state requirements for wind, solar and other sources of renewable power, according to a new report from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The report looked at Renewable...

UK to ban gas and diesel cars by 2040

Electric cars will soon be as cheap as gas ones, “signaling economic turmoil for oil-exporting countries.” The UK will ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2040 to reduce pollution and improve public health, its government is announcing Wednesday. The UK joins a growing list of countries — including India, France, and Norway — with similar plans to phase out fossil fuel-burning cars. Peak oil demand is now...

Minneapolis Joins Other Cities In Posting Deleted ...

 MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Minneapolis officials announced Thursday that the city is joining other cities across the country in posting deleted climate change data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Officials say the city is making sure people have access to information on climate change, so they posted a snapshot of the EPA site before it was removed. “[Minneapolis] is committed to taking action to adapt to climate...

Investors Grow Wary of Big Oil

 Three years into an oil-price slump, investors want the world’s biggest oil companies to do something they have historically struggled with: Maintain some financial discipline. The companies are under pressure to show they are continuing to move on from budget-busting projects once common in the industry, as they head into second-quarter financial disclosures that begin on Thursday with Royal Dutch PLC and Total SA. Shell,...

Like Exxon, Utilities Knew about Climate Change Ri...

A study issued Tuesday by an energy watchdog group offers important new insights into the fossil fuel industry’s extensive early understanding of climate change and the risks it poses. This time, it’s the electric utility sector that’s under the microscope. The detailed study, backed up by reams of archival documents, was issued by the Energy and Policy Institute, an environmental advocacy and research...

In Cleveland, climate change isn’t about ris...

More than 250 mayors from around the country convened in Miami Beach this week at the annual United States Conference of Mayors and vowed to buck President Donald Trump’s inaction on climate change. The mayors, a mix of Democrats and Republicans, signed a resolution to increase efforts to combat climate change and commit to transitioning to renewable energy. Cities have been pushing for stronger action on climate...

Colorado signs on to U.S. Climate Alliance, joinin...

Gov. Hickenlooper orders statewide greenhouse gas emissions cut Colorado on Tuesday joined the growing number of states and cities committed to meeting or exceeding greenhouse gas reduction targets set in the international Paris climate agreement that President Donald Trump rejects. Gov. John Hickenlooper issued an executive order compelling a greenhouse gas emissions cut before 2025 by at least 26 percent below 2005 levels....

Shrinking greenhouse gas emissions is all about ec...

WEC Energy Group Inc. president and CEO Allen Leverett enjoys reading biographies of America’s “conservationist president” Theodore Roosevelt, but it’s not environmentalism that’s igniting Leverett’s drive to reduce his company’s greenhouse gas emissions. For Leverett, the even-keeled CEO of Wisconsin’s largest electric utility, it’s all about economics — not ecology. And definitely not politics. Specifically, what Leverett...