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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: EPA chief Pruitt launches sweeping overhaul restricting EPA’s use of science; French President Macron criticizes Trump’s inaction on climate change; Vast majority of Americans prefer renewable energy to fossil fuels; PLUS: Global warming is transforming the Great Barrier Reef, potentially forever… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!
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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): How Scott Pruitt plans to defend himself on Capitol Hill — spread the blame; ‘Don’t gut coal ash rules’, communities beg EPA at hearing; Trump plan to tackle lead in drinking water slammed as ’empty exercise’; Climate change will leave many Pacific islands uninhabitable by 2065; U.S. will eventually return to Paris Accord, Macron predicts; Energy Sec. Perry’s son owns an energy investment company; How California water suppliers are getting earthquake-ready; Windmills as wide as jumbo jets are making clean energy mainstream; Winter Olympians give Congress an economics lesson on climate change; EPA website removed references to climate change from its international… PLUS: Pruitt’s friends became lobbyists, handed clients biomass policy win… and much, MUCH more! …
STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY’S ‘GREEN NEWS REPORT’…
- EPA chief Pruitt launches sweeping overhaul restricting EPA’s use of science:
- AUDIO: Rebecca Leber on Pruitt’s deceptive ‘secret science’ initiative (The BradCast)
- This Might Be Scott Pruitt’s Most Destructive Move Yet (Rebecca Leber, Mother Jones):
“He’s changing the internal rules of the game by which EPA plays in order to rig it.”…For years, EPA critics have pushed Congress to forbid the agency from relying on the studies that comprise the bulk of the independent research on fossil fuels on public health. Their strategy aims to sow doubt about the health effects of air pollution, while slowing down or weakening future rules targeting particulate matter and ozone.
- Scott Pruitt Announces EPA to Be More Transparent, Doesn’t Invite Press (Earther)
- E.P.A. Announces a New Rule. One Likely Effect: Less Science in Policymaking. (NY Times)
- Pruitt wants EPA to stop basing rules on what he calls ‘secret science’ (ABC News)
- VIDEO: Administrator Pruitt Proposes [Deceptive] Rule To Strengthen Science Used in EPA Regulations (EPA, YouTube)
- Republicans Are Using Big Tobacco’s Secret Science Playbook to Gut Health Rules (The Intercept, 2/5/2017):
What’s new is that this upside-down environmental attack, in which those who benefit directly from polluting industries are policing the independent scientists who can show the harms of their products, could now succeed.
- French President Emmanuel Macron criticizes Trump’s anti-climate action policies:
- Macron climate change appeal uses Trump’s words (AP)
- VIDEO: France’s President Macron addresses joint session of Congress (PBS NewsHour)
- Macron: The US will come back to the Paris climate pact (The HIll)
- Global warming has transformed the Great Barrier Reef, perhaps irreversibly:
- Global warming transforms coral reef assemblages (Nature)
The increasing prevalence of post-bleaching mass mortality of corals represents a radical shift in the disturbance regimes of tropical reefs, both adding to and far exceeding the influence of recurrent cyclones and other local pulse events, presenting a fundamental challenge to the long-term future of these iconic ecosystems.
- Global Warming Has Changed Great Barrier Reef ‘Forever,’ Scientists Say (Washington Post)
- Since 2016, Half of All Coral in the Great Barrier Reef Has Died (The Atlantic):
A new study warns it has become a “highly altered, degraded system.”…After inspecting every one of its reefs, and surveying them on an almost species-by-species basis, the paper reports that vast swaths of the Great Barrier Reef were permanently transformed in the summer of 2016.
- Half of the Great Barrier Reef has died since 2016 – here’s what happens if all coral reefs on Earth die off (Business Insider)
- Gallup Poll: Americans prioritize environmental protection over fossil fuels:
- U.S. Energy Concerns Low; Increasing [Fossil Fuel] Supply Not a Priority (Gallup):
Gallup’s annual Environment survey yields two broad conclusions about Americans’ views on the U.S. energy situation. First, Americans’ concern about energy, based on multiple measures, is at or near its lowest level in two decades or more. Second, Americans continue to voice preferences for environmental protection, energy conservation and developing alternative energy over producing more traditional energy supplies.
- Americans Want Government to Do More on Environment
- Global Warming Concern Steady Despite Some Partisan Shifts (Gallup)
- In the Trump era, Republicans get even dumber on climate change (Salon):
Republicans no longer just deny that climate change is real – now they deny that scientists agree it’s real.
- Americans are demanding clean energy, better vehicles – Trump is pushing the opposite (Op-ed, The Hill)
‘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
- How Scott Pruitt Plans to Defend Himself on Capitol Hill: Spread the Blame (NY Times)
- Trump Plan To Tackle Lead In Drinking Water Slammed As ‘Empty Exercise’ (Guardian UK)
- U.S. Will Eventually Return to Paris Accord, Macron Predicts (Weather Channel)
- Climate Will Leave Many Pacific Islands Uninhabitable by 2065: Study (Inside Climate News)
- Don’t Gut Coal Ash Rules, Communities Beg EPA at Hearing (Inside Climate News)
- Energy Sec. Perry’s Son Owns An Energy Investment Company. A Problem? (McClatchy DC)
- Pruitt’s Friends Became Lobbyists, Handed Clients Biomass Win (Inside Climate News)
- Dem Senators Scrutinize Koch Brothers’ ‘Infiltration’ Of Trump Team (Guardian UK)
- How California Water Suppliers Are Getting Earthquake-Ready (Water Deeply)
- How Windmills as Wide as Jumbo Jets Are Making Clean Energy Mainstream (NY Times)
- Official Appeared To Delay Protecting Endangered Species For Oil Group (Guardian UK)
- Winter Olympians give Congress an economics lesson on climate change (Climate Progress)
- EPA website removed references to climate change from its international priorities (Climate Progress)
- Here’s what happens when you tell people the scientific consensus on climate change: You can turn red states green (Climate Progress)
- Limiting global warming to 1.5C would have ‘significant economic benefits (GreenBiz)
- 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
Hi Brad and Desi:
I see you were wondering why National Arbor Day isn’t mentioned much or honored in the US. Part of the reason could be that, because of the growing seasons and the ideal time to plant trees, it is honored at different times in different states. The same is true globally. Here is info about the international dates is various countries: https://www.arborday.org/celebrate/world-dates.cfm
I am currently living in Georgia where mid-February is the ideal time to plant trees, so that is when we do Arbor Day. I went to a tree planting on Feb 15th this year at the Botanical Garden of GA. Here is a map of the US with the various dates for their celebrations: https://www.arborday.org/celebrate/dates.cfm
The Arbor Day Foundation is a very active group which has chapters and members all over. Anyone can join: https://www.arborday.org
Hi. I discovered today looking at regulations gov and noticed a rural change for Flint Hills Resources in Minnesota in the EPA. Flint Hills Resources is a Koch Company. I have contacted The Minnesota Democratic Party. Here is the link. https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-R05-OAR-2017-0099-0001
The new TEOS-10 standard for thermodynamics of seawater is rarely being used (Questionable “Scientific” Papers – 18).
Thanks, Sue! Always wondered about that…