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Fracking Once Lifted Pennsylvania. Now It Could Be a Drag.

Fracking Once Lifted Pennsylvania. Now It Could Be...

www.nytimes.com 7 mins read Supported by Continue reading the main story Natural-gas companies operating in the state were looking shaky before the coronavirus hit. Local economies are now at risk. A fracking site owned by EQT, a pioneer in Marcellus Shale gas extraction, near Rose Friend’s farmhouse in Marianna, Pa.Credit…Ross Mantle for The New York Times CARMICHAELS, Pa. — The last time the global economy was in...
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Inside Clean Energy: 7 Questions (and Answers) About How Covid-19 is Affecting the Clean Energy Transition

Inside Clean Energy: 7 Questions (and Answers) Abo...

From EV sales to the solar market to states’ commitments to clean energy, the coronavirus pandemic is turning everything on its head. The coronavirus pandemic will affect every aspect of the clean energy transition. For example, a significant amount of rooftop solar installations have been canceled or postponed. Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images I’m exhausted and I bet you are too. As we enter another month of the...
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3 States Pass Anti-Pipeline Protest Bills in Two Weeks

3 States Pass Anti-Pipeline Protest Bills in Two W...

In just two weeks, three states have passed laws criminalizing protests against fossil fuel infrastructure. Between March 16 and March 25, the governors of Kentucky, South Dakota and West Virginia all signed laws designating oil and gas pipelines and facilities “critical” or “key” infrastructure and imposing new penalties for anyone caught tampering with them, HuffPost reported Friday. The laws came...
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EV groups brace for phase 2 of Trump fuel standards expected to decrease efficiency mandates

EV groups brace for phase 2 of Trump fuel standard...

Dive Brief: The Trump Administration is set to release phase two of its fuel standard rollbacks this week in a move electric vehicle advocates fear could hinder the United States’ progress on EV deployment. In September, the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued part one of its Safer Affordable Fuel Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule, which prohibits...
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Trump could roll back Obama mpg rules as soon as Tuesday

Trump could roll back Obama mpg rules as soon as T...

Washington — The Trump administration is expected to finalize its plan to roll back stringent gas-mileage rules enacted by the Obama administration as soon as Tuesday. The administration’s plan is expected to call for reducing the required annual fleetwide average mpg increases for carmakers for model years 2021-2026 from the original 5% that would have required under the Obama-era rules, to a less-stringent 1.5%. The...
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‘Why have carbon dioxide levels risen and fallen in the past?’

‘Why have carbon dioxide levels risen and fa...

Answers to reader questions about climate science. Dear readers, This is not the column I planned to publish this month. I wrote another one several weeks ago in answer to a reader’s question about tourism in Europe. As you might imagine, that column was swiftly rendered out of date, becoming nothing more than a time capsule of life before COVID-19 became a global pandemic. Like many of you, I have spent recent weeks feeling...
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Causes of global warming: How scientists know that humans are responsible

Causes of global warming: How scientists know that...

It’s a conclusion shared by the world’s most respected scientific organizations. Hurricane Dorian as seen from the International Space Station on Monday, September 2, 2019. (Photo credit: NASA) You likely have heard about global warming in the news, at school or from a friend. And so you probably have questions such as, “What is causing this warming?” and “What role do humans play in that warming?” and “What’s...
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Judge Orders Full Environmental Review of Dakota Access Pipeline

Judge Orders Full Environmental Review of Dakota A...

Nearly four years after massive protests drew worldwide attention to the struggle of indigenous peoples to protect their land from fossil fuel projects, a federal judge has ordered a full environmental review of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). Wednesday’s ruling is a long-deferred victory for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, who have been concerned the pipeline will leak where it runs below the Missouri...
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TVA burns last coal at 1,150MW Paradise plant

TVA burns last coal at 1,150MW Paradise plant

President Donald Trump tried to stop it from happening. The top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, did too. Despite their best efforts to make good on Trump’s campaign promise to save the beleaguered coal industry, including an eleventh-hour pressure campaign, the Tennessee Valley Authority power plant at Paradise burned its last load of coal last month. The plant’s closure — in a county that once mined more coal...
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The Rich Are to Blame for the Climate Crisis, International Study Finds

The Rich Are to Blame for the Climate Crisis, Inte...

A new international study has pinpointed an enormous chasm in the amount of resources the rich use versus the poor — both within their own countries and compared to an international population, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Energy. The researchers found that the wealthiest tenth of people use up about 20 times more overall energy than the bottom ten percent, no matter where they are, according to...
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The Great U.S. Shale Decline Has Already Begun

The Great U.S. Shale Decline Has Already Begun

U.S. shale companies are moving quickly to ax their budgets, hoping to staunch the bleeding as the oil market continues to melt down. It has only been a few days after the OPEC+ debacle, but with oil trading at around $30 per barrel, and with good odds of falling even lower, the entire energy industry has little option but to make deep cuts to their operations. “Most companies will go into maintenance mode,” Pioneer Natural...
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Good News Alert: A Huge Win for Ohio’s National Forest!

Good News Alert: A Huge Win for Ohio’s National Fo...

With all the troubling news recently about the coronavirus (COVID-19), it’s been easy for good news to get lost in the fray. That’s why I couldn’t wait to tell you that we just achieved one of the most significant conservation victories in Ohio history!  The OEC just won its three-year legal battle to protect the Wayne National Forest, Ohio’s only national forest located in Southeast Ohio, by stopping fracking in its...
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100% Renewable Energy in Virginia? It Is the First Southern State to Commit

100% Renewable Energy in Virginia? It Is the First...

Virginia, which now has a Democrat as governor and Democrats in control of the statehouse, has followed the lead of several other blue states and committed itself to transition away from fossil fuels to a clean, renewable, carbon-free energy, as Vox reported. It makes Virginia the first state in the South to commit to 100 percent clean energy. Last September, Gov. Ralph Northam signed an executive order for the state to run...
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An Emerging Threat to Conservation: Fear of Nature

An Emerging Threat to Conservation: Fear of Nature

What do we lose when natural spaces and species disappear? Increasingly, research has shown that as species and ecosystems vanish, it also chips away at our ability to preserve what remains — because we no longer understand what we’re losing. You probably see it all the time. The neighbor who puts pesticides on his lawn rather than deal with pesky bees. The kid who squirms and runs at the sight of a harmless garter...
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With ‘solutions journalism,’ reporters cover more than just bad news

With ‘solutions journalism,’ reporters...

Under this approach, journalists rigorously report on potential solutions to society’s problems. Whether reporting on sea-level rise, crop failures, or natural disasters, journalists are often the bearers of bleak news about global warming. But Liza Gross of the Solutions Journalism Network says that the bad news on climate is not the only news. And she says that unrelenting negative coverage can turn viewers and readers off...
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