‘Green News Report’ – March 14, 2019

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: GAO report warns Trump Administration’s climate policy rollbacks will waste billions in taxpayer dollars; Experts warn repeal of air pollution standards could increase autism; Climate change is already eroding coastal property values; PLUS: Is climate activism pushing a shift in the fossil fuel industry?… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): The ‘ecological foundations of society’ are in peril, a massive UN report warns; US official reveals Atlantic drilling plan while hailing Trump’s ability to distract public; Shell Oil urges Trump Administration to tighten methane rules; Rain is triggering more melting on the Greenland Ice Sheet, in winter; Students across the world to strike on Friday for climate action; Trump administration concedes coal is collapsing on its watch as renewables soar; Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) makes rare break with Trump, says ‘Climate change is real’; Interior hid scientists’ criticism of ANWR drilling; DOE Sec. Perry says federal coal and nuke bailout not dead, as Ohio weighs nuclear plant bailout … PLUS: Tiny Costa Rica has a Green New Deal, too. It matters for the whole planet…. and much, MUCH more! …

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

• Rollback of air pollution standards could increase risk of autism in U.S. children:
• Experts warn Trump’s EPA policies mean more cases of autism (Climate Progress):
  Small particles of air pollution can travel directly from the nose to the brain, causing damage…[T]hese scientists and doctors cite “mounting evidence linking air pollution to neurodevelopmental disorders in children, like autism, ADHD, memory deficiencies and reduced IQ.”
• Healthy Air, Healthy Brains: Advancing Air Pollution Policy to Protect Children’s Health (American Journal of Public Health)
• It’s Fair to Compare Denver’s Air Pollution to Beijing (Denver Streetsblog)
• Study Finds Racial Gap Between Who Causes Air Pollution And Who Breathes It (NPR)
• Trump DOE proposes rolling back lightbulb energy efficiency standards:
• Trump’s repeal of light bulb standards will increase pollution, cost billions (Salon):
  Despite the energy and cost efficiency of LED light bulbs, the Trump administration appears to be acting at the behest of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, which The Hill reported sued the federal government over the rule but later withdrew their lawsuit when the Trump administration agreed to review the rule in 2017.
• How many Trumps does it take to not change a lightbulb? (Washington Post):
  OF ALL the counterproductive policy campaigns conservatives have waged in recent years, among the most irrational has been their war on the federal government’s efforts to update the lightbulb.
• Deregulation Nation: More efficient light bulbs? Trump administration would rather not (Quartz)
• Industry launches assault on Obama’s lightbulb rules (E&E News)
• GAO report warns Trump’s climate rollbacks threaten to waste taxpayer dollars:
• Green New Deal Too Expensive? New GAO Report Details Hundreds of Billions in Climate-Related Damage (Common Dreams):
  According to the GAO, taxpayer funds spent on disaster relief could be saved if more effort and spending went into mitigating the climate crisis that is intensifying the frequency of extreme weather events and natural disasters…”The federal government must invest ahead of time to help communities prepare instead of just picking up the pieces after disasters strike.”
• Government watchdog to State Department: quit ignoring climate change (Vox)
• GAO Report: U.S. Government Has Regressed on Managing Climate Change Risks (Center for Climate and Security):
  “In the 2 years since our last High-Risk Report, three areas-NASA Acquisition Management, Transforming EPA’s Process for Assessing and Controlling Toxic Chemicals, and Limiting the Federal Government’s Fiscal Exposure By Better Managing Climate Change Risks – have regressed in their ratings against our criteria for removal from the HighRisk List”.
• Substantial Efforts Needed to Achieve Greater Progress on High-Risk Areas [PDF] (Goverment Accountability Office)
• Rising sea levels already eroding coastal property values:
• Rising Seas Erode $15.8 Billion in Home Value from Maine to Mississippi (First Street Foundation):
• Property Value as Sea Level Rises. That’s Bad News for Cities. (Inside Climate News):
  The loss in property values points to a compound problem for coastal communities: Just as accelerating sea level rise forces governments to build flood walls and repair infrastructure more often, it may also eat away at the property tax base that provides many cities’ primary revenue stream for funding that very work.
• Norway to divest from some – but not all – oil companies:
• Norway’s $1 trillion fund to cut oil and gas investments (BBC)
• Norway’s $1tn wealth fund to divest from oil and gas exploration (Guardian UK):
  The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, which manages $1tn (£770bn) of Norway’s assets, is to dump investments in firms that explore for oil and gas, but will still hold stakes in firms such as BP and Shell that have renewable energy divisions…It will retain stakes in fossil fuel companies as long as they have some involvement in renewable energy.
• All the oil and gas companies Norway plans to dump from its trillion-dollar fund (Quartz)
• Shell Oil invests in renewable energy and battery companies:
• Shell aims to become world’s largest electricity company (Financial Times):
  Royal Dutch Shell, one of the world’s biggest oil and gas groups, is aiming to become the largest electricity company by the 2030s, as it prepares for a fundamental shift in global energy supplies towards lower-carbon sources. Maarten Wetselaar, Shell’s director of gas and new energies, told the Financial Times that the group could develop a power business, including supplying customers, trading and providing equipment, that was the same size as its oil or gas operations.
• Oil Supermajor Shell Acquires Sonnen for Home Battery Expansion (GreenTech Media)
• Shell leads big oil in clean energy shift (Axios)
• Shell Urges Trump White House to Tighten Methane Leak Rules (Reuters)
• BP CEO warns fossil fuel industry it must ‘evolve’ to addess climate ‘issues’:
• VIDEO: Dinner & Dialogue with BP CEO Bob Dudley (CERA Week)
• BP CEO: The world is not on a sustainable path (Houston Chronicle):
  The world is moving in the wrong direction in its fight against climate change, and BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley said Tuesday that energy companies must step up and play their part to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Talk to ‘Green New Deal’ backers, BP CEO tells oil industry (Reuters):
  “We need to demonstrate that we share the common goal of a low-carbon future and that we are in action toward it,” Dudley said in the speech at the CERAWeek conference…”Our focus has to be on developing an energy system that is cleaner, better and kinder to the planet,” Dudley, a U.S. citizen, said.
• BP Brings Climate Action Call to Oil Country: CERAWeek Update (Bloomberg)
• Teens around the world stage global Climate Strike on March 15:
• FridaysForFuture: global Climate Strike rally maps and information (Fridays For Future)
• Youth climate strikers: ‘We are going to change the fate of humanity’ (Guardian UK)
• Students in 90+ countries will go on strike this Friday to demand climate change action (Quartz)
• It’s the Green News Report’s 10th anniversary!
• Thank you for keeping the Green News Report alive on your public airwaves by supporting our work!

‘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

• Climate study warns of vanishing safety window-here’s why (National Geographic)
• The ‘ecological foundations of society’ are in peril, a massive UN report warns (CNN)
• US official reveals Atlantic drilling plan while hailing Trump’s ability to distract public (Guardian UK)
• Shell Urges Trump White House to Tighten Methane Leak Rules (Reuters)
• Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) makes rare break with Trump: ‘Climate change is real’ (The Hill)
• Senate GOP expected to force vote on Green New Deal in March (The HIll)
• Rain Is Triggering More Melting on the Greenland Ice Sheet – in Winter, Too (Inside Climate News)
• Students Across the World Are Protesting on Friday. Why? (NY Times)
• Perry says federal coal and nuke bailout not dead, but encourages states to act (Utility Dive)
• VIDEO: Green New Deal architect: Details on cost, policy are coming (MSNBC)
• Brazil’s right-wing government puts gag order on environment agency (Reuters)
• Trump administration concedes coal is collapsing on its watch as renewables soar (Climate Progress)
• Large-Scale Solar Power Set For Double-Digit Growth: Goldman Sachs (Reuters)
• Tiny Costa Rica Has a Green New Deal, Too. It Matters for the Whole Planet. (NY Times)
• Trump Says Budget Has More Money For Wildfire Prevention. It Doesn’t. (McClatchy DC)
• Interior hid scientists’ criticism of ANWR drilling: report (E&E News)
• Ohio Weighs a Nuclear Plant Bailout at FirstEnergy’s Urging (Inside Climate News)
• Former rancher calls for government intervention on meat labeling (The HIll)
• Utility-Scale Solar Projections Now Exceed Pre-Tariff Forecasts (GreenTech Media)
• SEJ Backgrounder: Green New Deal Proposes Sweeping Economic Transformation (Society of Environmental Journalists)
• Explainer: The ‘Green New Deal’: Mobilizing for a just, prosperous, and sustainable economy (New Consensus)
• What genuine, no-bullshit ambition on climate change would look like: How to hit the most stringent targets, with no loopholes. (David Roberts, Vox)
• A Global Shift To Sustainability Would Save Us $26 Trillion (Vox)
• Project Drawdown: 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (Drawdown.org)
• An Optimist’s Guide to Solving Climate Change and Saving the World (Vice)
• The great nutrient collapse: The atmosphere is literally changing the food we eat, for the worse. And almost nobody is paying attention. (Politico)
• The world’s bleak climate situation, in 3 charts: We’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there. (Vox)
• 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.

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).