Climate and Energy News 3/17/2018

Les Grady is away. This week’s roundup has been compiled by Joy Loving.

We headline this week’s roundup with some words from the late Stephen Hawking, who died March 14:

A Call to Care and Do Something: “Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.”
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/mar/14/best-stephen-hawking-quotes-quotations

Caring for the Planet: “Perhaps in a few hundred years, we will have established human colonies amid the stars, but right now we only have one planet, and we need to work together to protect it,” he wrote. “To do that, we need to break down, not build up, barriers within and between nations.”
https://www.ecowatch.com/stephen-hawking-climate-change-2547368270.html

POLITICS & POLICY

1. The current Administration appears to be of multiple minds on whether and how to address risks from our warming climate.

Recently George David Banks, former Special Assistant to the President for International Energy and Environment, discussed the decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord. Although he advised against this action, he “personally thought the Obama administration’s pledge was just unattainable, and would have required burdensome regulations across their economy.” http://energypolicy.columbia.edu/us-climate-policy-under-trump-administration

Some current actions within the Administration point to a serious lack of interest in environmental protections and even active collaboration with fossil fuel interests:
Industry—https://thinkprogress.org/scott-angelle-meets-almost-exclusively-with-industry-f2e52ffb4a69/
Lobbyists—http://augustafreepress.com/groups-sue-for-information-about-heartland-institutes-involvement-in-epa-climate-science-decisions/
Conflicts of Interest—https://grist.org/briefly/the-epa-is-riddled-with-conflicts-of-interest-according-to-new-analysis/
Crank Bloggers—https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/interior-climate-change-crank-blogs_us_5aa2df63e4b086698a9da922

The Interior Department (DOI) gives its employees easy-to-follow directions about presenting its initiatives: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2018/03/16/the-energy-202-interior-agency-gives-employees-vision-cards-depicting-oil-rigs/5aaaadcd30fb047655a06cbf/

Actions by DOI and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) point to a move away from both mitigation and adaptation strategies:
DOI plans to accelerate its plans for Utah’s Grand Staircase, following the recent decision to greatly reduce the protected area. https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/03/report-trump-administration-making-controversial-expedited-plans-for-utahs-grand-staircase/
FEMA’s strategic plan no longer mentions “climate change”. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/15/594140026/fema-drops-climate-change-from-its-strategic-plan

On the other hand, within the President’s party there are proponents of a more climate-and-environment-friendly approach:
Young Republican campus push for a “carbon tax”—https://www.facebook.com/republicen/videos/1155782204565099/
https://www.wired.com/story/thank-colleges-for-imminent-carbon-taxes-no-seriously-thank-them/

However, there is also debate about whether such a tax will come about:
What’s certain besides Taxes–https://grist.org/article/nothing-is-certain-but-death-and-maybe-carbon-taxes/

2. The Administration is facing several challenges to its policies and actions.

From the judiciary: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-epa-ozone/federal-court-orders-epa-to-implement-smog-rules-idUSKCN1GO2RB

From citizen groups: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article204217279.html

From the states: https://www.utilitydive.com/news/new-york-petitions-epa-to-force-emissions-reductions-in-9-states/519057/ This New York State action is of particular interest because Virginia is one of nine states whose emissions New York says are contributing to its pollution, despite its efforts to curb them. The others are Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

From shareholders: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/07032018/shareholder-resolutions-climate-change-2-degrees-methane-lobbying-trump-administration

From environmental and social justice activists: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-climatechange-lawsuit/u-s-government-sued-after-failing-to-submit-climate-change-report-idUSKCN1GP25H ; https://grist.org/article/koch-brothers-preached-the-fossil-fuel-gospel-in-virginia-then-black-churches-fought-back/

From within the Administration itself:

Climate Change Report— https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/03/12/the-government-is-close-to-finishing-a-climate-change-report-trump-wont-like-it/

Some officials Fighting Global Warming—https://www.reuters.com/article/us-trump-effect-climatechange/weathering-trumps-skepticism-u-s-officials-still-fighting-global-warming-idUSKCN1GR0F5

EPA and Coal Ash– https://insideclimatenews.org/news/15032018/epa-regulations-coal-power-plant-waste-ash-ponds-toxins-health-jeremy-orr-water-testing

EPA versus Chief of Staff Kelly–https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/09/climate/pruitt-red-team-climate-debate-kelly.html?mtrref=t.co

CLIMATE

1. What History Tells Us

Mass Extinction and Coal—Can It Happen Again? https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/mar/12/burning-coal-may-have-caused-earths-worst-mass-extinction

What Do the Oceans Tell Us? https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/when-it-comes-to-climate-change-the-ocean-never-forgets/

2. What about the Future?