‘Green News Report’ – April 10, 2018

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Rising tide of ethics scandals continue to engulf EPA chief Scott Pruitt; Canadian Trans Mountain pipeline’s future in doubt amid relentless opposition; November’s Keystone pipeline spill was twice the size of previous estimates; PLUS: Michigan gives Nestle the greenlight to pump groundwater, while it ends bottled water deliveries to Flint… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Scott Pruitt’s civilization-threatening lie; How “effective” is Scott Pruitt, really?; VA Gov. Northam vetoes bill opposing cap-and-trade plan; Hog waste in NC has been an untapped fuel resource, until now; Shell knew fossil fuels created climate changer risks back in the 1980s; California could back some emissions rule changes, with pre-conditions; Energy Sec. Perry declines to declare ‘grid emergency’ to save coal, nuclear plants — for now; Interior Sec. Zinke sees ‘little’ demand for new U.S. offshore drilling; Indonesia seizes illegal fishing boat with 18 mile-long nets; Good news and bad news for 2018 hurricane season… PLUS: The US is winning the climate fight in electricity — and losing it just about everywhere else… and much, MUCH more! …

STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY’S ‘GREEN NEWS REPORT’…

• Rising tide of etchis scandals continue to engulf EPA Chief Pruitt:
• In Letter to E.P.A., Top Ethics Officer Questions Pruitt’s Actions (NY Times):
  Most disturbing, Mr. Apol said, were the reports in The Times that agency staff may have been punished after raising concerns about Mr. Pruitt’s actions. “If true, it is hard to imagine any action that could more effectively undermine an agency’s integrity than punishing or marginalizing employees who strive to ensure compliance with the laws and regulations that safeguard that integrity,” the letter says.
• Federal Ethics Office Says Scott Pruitt’s Actions Need To Be Reviewed (Buzzfeed):
  “Consequently, in an instance in which the EPA ethics office lacks sufficient evidence to assess fully an ethics matter, we have a long-standing practice of referring it to the EPA’s Inspector General (IG) for investigation,” Kevin Minoli, EPA’s top ethics official, wrote in an April 9 letter. “Consistent with our practice, we referred your letter to the EPA IG.”
• EPA chief Scott Pruitt faces renewed pressure despite Trump’s support (Guardian UK)
• VIDEO: FNC’s Ed Henry Grills EPA Chief Pruitt: You Don’t Know Who Authorized Raises For Your Top Staffers? (Real Clear Politics)
• Scott Pruitt’s bizarre condo scandal and mounting ethics questions, explained (Vox.com)
• Exclusive: Scott Pruitt, Trump’s embattled EPA chief, involved in shady 2011 real estate deal (Salon)
• An Internal Email Contradicts Scott Pruitt’s Account of Controversial Raises (The Atlantic)
• E.P.A. Officials Sidelined After Questioning Scott Pruitt (NY Times)
• Pruitt Denies His Landlord’s Clients Had Business Before EPA. They Did. (Daily Beast)
• AP Sources: EPA Chief Spent Millions On Security And Travel (AP)
• Why Trump Has Scott Pruitt’s Back: The embattled EPA chief and the president have a lot in common. (The New Republic)
• Canadian Trans Mountain pipeline’s future in doubt, amid relentless opposition:
• Kinder Throws Pipeline Into Doubt, Dealing Major Blow to Oil Sands (Bloomberg):
  The project was approved by the federal government in late 2016 but suffered a setback this year when the British Columbia government proposed limiting any increase in shipments of diluted bitumen amid concerns about spills.
• B.C. could face budgetary backlash for Kinder Morgan stance (Vancouver Sun):
  “It would be inappropriate I believe for the federal government to threaten or try to coerce B.C.,” said Environment Minister George Heyman.
• Canada explores options as Kinder Morgan halts pipeline work (Reuters)
• VIDEO: B.C. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip: “Yesterday, Kinder Morgan blinked.” (Coast Protectors)
• VIDEO: The Day Kinder Morgan Blinked (YouTube)
• VIDEO: After relentless protests, Kinder Morgan slams brakes on spending for Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (National Observer)
• How Trans Mountain Project Will Pump Profits to Its Texas Owners (Op-ed, The Tyee)
• ‘A lot of strategic stupidity.’ Experts not surprised by pipeline pull back (Vancouver Star)
• Keystone pipeline spill in South Dakota double previous estimates:
• Keystone pipeline leak in South Dakota about double previous estimate: paper (Reuters):
  The spill gave further ammunition to environmental groups and other U.S. opponents of another pipeline the company has proposed, the long-delayed Keystone XL…Keystone has leaked substantially more oil, and more often, in the United States than the company indicated to regulators in risk assessments before operations began in 2010, according to documents reviewed by Reuters.
• Nebraska Supreme Court to hear landowners’ Keystone Pipeline challenge (FencePost)
• Michigan ends bottled water deliveries to Flint, MI:
• State of Michigan: No more free bottled water for Flint residents (Detroit Free Press):
  “It’s too quick,” Flint activist Melissa Mays told the Detroit Free Press. “They’re putting dollars and cents ahead of Flint residents, which is how we got here in the first place.”…”This is not what I want for our city and I stand by my position that free bottled water should be provided to the people of Flint until the last-known lead-tainted pipe has been replaced,” [Flint Mayor Karen] Weaver said in the letter.
• Michigan Will No Longer Provide Free Bottled Water to Flint (NY Times)
• Flint Kids Exposed To Lead Will Get State-Funded Developmental Tests (Buzzfeed)
• Michigan gives greenlight to Nestle despite public opposition:
• Michigan OKs Nestlé Water Extraction, Despite 80K+ Public Comments Against It (NPR)
• State approves Nestle’s water withdrawal permit (Michigan Public Radio):
  “We cannot base our decisions on public opinion because our department is required to follow the rule of law when making determinations.”
• Michigan approves controversial Nestle water pumping permit (MLive.com):
  Liz Kirkwood, executive director for Traverse City nonprofit For Love of Water (FLOW), questioned whether the decision sets a dangerous precedent that places the interests of a private company over the best interest of Michigan’s natural resources.
• More pumping could harm wetlands, suggests Nestle’s own study (MLive.com)
• Nestlé Makes Billions Bottling Water It Pays Nearly Nothing For (Bloomberg):
  The company’s operation in Michigan reveals how it’s dominated the industry by going into economically depressed areas with lax water laws.

‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (Stuff we didn’t have time for in today’s audio report)…

For a comprehensive roundup of daily environmental news you can trust, see the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Daily Headlines page

• Scott Pruitt’s Civilization-Threatening Lie (Op-ed, Justin Gillis, NY Times)
• How “Effective” Is Scott Pruitt, Really? (The New Republic)
• VA Gov. Northam vetoes bill opposing cap-and-trade plan (AP)
• Hog Waste In NC Has Been A Relatively Untapped Fuel Source. Until Now. (WUNC, North Carolina Public Radio)
• The US is winning the climate fight in electricity — and losing it just about everywhere else (Vox)
• Shell Knew Fossil Fuels Created Climate Change Risks Back in 1980s, Internal Documents Show (Inside Climate News)
• California’s air regulator says state could back some emissions rule changes (Reuters)
• Energy Secretary Perry: Declaring a grid emergency may not be the way to save coal and nuclear (The Hill)
• Senators ask Trump to suspend EPA’s use of biofuel waivers (Reuters)
• Interior’s Zinke Sees ‘Little’ Demand For New U.S. Offshore Drilling (Reuters)
• Senate Dem vows to confirm climate-denying coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler as EPA No. 2 (Huffington Post)
• Indonesia Seizes Illegal Fishing Boat With 30-Km Nets (Reuters)
• How Busy Will Hurricane Season Be In 2018? Good News And Bad News (Miami Herald)
• New Jersey Shore Sees Sea Level Change — And It Can’t Be Denied (Press of Atlantic City)
• Limiting global warming to 1.5C would have ‘significant economic benefits’ (Carbon Brief)
• Limiting global warming to 1.5C would have ‘significant economic benefits (GreenBiz)
• Univ. of New South Wales launches ‘world-first’ e-waste microfactory (ZDNet)
• Tougher Climate Policies Could Save 150 Million Lives, Researchers Find (Washington Post)
• AUDIO: An Inconvenient ‘BradCast’ with Al Gore (The BRAD BLOG):
  Guest Host Angie Coiro’s exclusive interview with the former Vice President on elections, pollution, persuasion, activism, and hope…
• The Climate Risks We Face (NY Times):
  To stabilize global temperature, net carbon dioxide emissions must be reduced to zero. The window of time is rapidly closing to reduce emissions and limit warming to no more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit or 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, the goal set in the Paris climate accord. The further we push the climate system beyond historical conditions, the greater the risks of potentially unforeseen and even catastrophic changes to the climate – so every reduction in emissions helps.
• The Uninhabitable Earth: When will climate change make earth too hot for humans? (New York Magazine):
  Famine, economic collapse, a sun that cooks us: What climate change could wreak – sooner than you think.
• A beginner’s guide to the debate over 100% renewable energy (Vox):
  Clean-energy enthusiasts frequently claim that we can go bigger, that it’s possible for the whole world to run on renewables – we merely lack the “political will.” So, is it true? Do we know how get to an all-renewables system? Not yet. Not really.
• No country on Earth is taking the 2 degree climate target seriously (Vox):
  If we mean what we say, no more new fossil fuels, anywhere.

FOR MORE on Climate Science and Climate Change, go to our Green News Report: Essential Background Page

• NASA climate change video: This is the U.S. in 2100 (NASA).