‘Green News Report’ – March 24, 2022

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Deadly tornadoes leave trail of destruction in New Orleans and Texas; Ukraine’s nuclear agency warns forest fires around Chernobyl could release plumes of radiation; Biden warns of potential Russian cyberattacks on critical U.S. energy infrastructure; PLUS: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is spurring Europe to abandon fossil fuels even faster… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): ‘OK Doomer’ and the climate advocates who say it’s not too late; Shifts in El Niño may be driving climate extremes in both hemispheres; European gas prices jump after Putin says ‘unfriendly’ countries must pay in rubles; U.S. oil drillers on hook for vehicle emissions in new SEC rule; MN groundwater damaged by Line 3 pipeline construction; U.N. sets goal to broaden climate early warning systems in developing countries; No country met W.H.O. air quality standards in 2021; BLM grazing permits renewed without NEPA review; CA moves to limit ‘Erin Brockovich’ chemical… PLUS: Bitcoin miners want to recast themselves as eco-friendly… and much, MUCH more! …

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

• Deadly tornadoes leave trail of destruction in Texas and New Orleans:
• New Orleans East reels again after second tornado since 2017; ‘We’re always in that cone of uncertainty’ (NOLA)
• VIDEO: NOLA Tornado Nightmare (Climate Crocks)
• VIDEO: Houses, buildings destroyed after deadly tornadoes tear through New Orleans area: “It pulled the roof off” (CBS News)
• New Orleans multi-vortex tornado rated ‘at least’ EF3, strongest since 2017 (Washington Post)
• VIDEO: After deadly Louisiana tornado, John Bel Edwards declares state of emergency (NOLA)
• In Texas, Raging Fire has Climate Connection (Climate Crocks)
• How did man-made climate change influence this tornado outbreak?:
• Tornadoes, climate change and why Dixie is the new Tornado Alley (The Conversation):
  Studies do show tornadoes getting more frequent, more intense and more likely to come in swarms…All of this unfolds under the umbrella of global warming. While it’s still hard for climate models to assess something as small as a tornado, they do project increases in severe weather.
• Deadly tornados are shifting into the Southeast. They’re more likely to strike at night. (AP):
  “The Mid-South does get a lot of tornadoes, but in the Mid-South we have more things to hit. We have more bull’s eyes on the dartboard. We have more cities. We have more weak frame housing stock. Tornadoes happen more often there at night, which is exactly what we saw last night.”…The West is getting drier because of human-caused climate change, which makes it harder for the air to become moist and unstable, which is crucial for tornado formation…Climate models predict this type shift 50 years in the future or so, yet it appears to be happening now.
• New Orleans-area tornadoes are not unusual, but warnings are improving, experts say (NOLA)
• Ukraine nuclear agency warns of new dangers at the Chernobyl nuclear site:
• Forest fires near Russian-held Chernobyl nuclear plant raise radiation fears, Ukraine says (Washington Post):
  Research from the Center for Security Studies published last year found that the smoke from forest fires can carry radioactive material, presenting a “cause for international concern.”
• Wildfires break out in Chernobyl amid a non-functioning radiation-monitoring system (The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
• Russia destroys Chernobyl radiation monitoring lab, says Ukraine (CNN):
  The government agency also reported that samples of radionuclides — unstable atoms that can emit high levels of radiation — had been removed from the lab. It said it hoped Russia would use the samples to “harm itself, and not the civilized world.”
• Chernobyl Exclusion Zone radiation monitoring system not working, firm says (The Hill)
• Biden pushes Europe to cut Russian energy imports, warns of cyberattacks:
• Biden and Europeans to announce major plan to redirect gas to Europe (Washington Post)
• VIDEO: Russia exploring options for potential cyberattacks on U.S. energy sector, FBI warns (CBS News)
• Russia is exploring options for cyberattacks, and companies must be ready, says Biden (CNBC)
• Russian Hackers Are Coming for U.S Companies (The Street/MSN)
• ‘Evolving Intelligence’ Puts U.S. Energy Industry On High Alert (E&E News)
• VIDEO: Russia exploring options for potential cyberattacks on U.S. energy sector, FBI warns (CBS News)
• Russia’s war pushing Europe to abandon fossil fuels faster:
• European Union to Impose a Tax on Imported Carbon (Treehugger)
• Germany backs phasing out combustion engine cars by 2035 (Politico Europe)
• Swiss Re joins the exodus from Russia (Business Day)
• Swiss Re to Reduce Cover for Oil, Gas Operations (Insurance Journal)
• Netherlands ramps up plan for doubling offshore wind capacity by 2030 (Reuters)
• France end subsidies gas heaters, end Russian imports by 2027 (Reuters/MSN)
• Laggard French oil major Total finally winds down new Russian oil/gas projects
• TotalEnergies: Oil Majors’ Exit From Russia Easier Said Than Done (Oil Price International):
  “Do you want me to abandon assets in Russia to enrich Russians whom we have placed under sanctions? I won’t give in to it, because that’s demagogy,” said Pouyanne, as quoted by Bloomberg.
• French energy giant Total to stop buying Russian oil (CBS News)
• Who is still buying Russian crude oil (Reuters)

‘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

• ‘OK Doomer’ and the Climate Advocates Who Say It’s Not Too Late (NY times)
• Shifts in El Niño May Be Driving Climates Extremes in Both Hemispheres (Inside Climate News)
• European gas prices jump after Putin says ‘unfriendly’ countries must pay in rubles (The Hill)
• U.S. oil and gas companies on hook for vehicle emissions in new SEC rule (Reuters)
• A disease more lethal than covid-19 has nearly wiped out northern long-eared bats (Washington Post)
• MN DNR: More Groundwater Damaged By Line 3 Pipeline Aquifer Ruptures (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
• UN Sets 5-Year Goal To Broaden Climate Early Warning Systems (AP)
• Bitcoin Miners Want to Recast Themselves as Eco-Friendly (NY Times)
• EPA Eyes New Rule For Gas-Fired Power Plants (E&E News)
• CA Takes First Moves To Limit ‘Erin Brockovich’ Chemical (E&E News)
• Many BLM Grazing Permits Renewed Without NEPA Review, Group Says (E&E News)
• No Country Met WHO Air Quality Standards In 2021, Survey Shows (Reuters)
• Multiyear Ice Thinner Than Thought As Arctic Sea Ice Reaches Winter Max (Mongabay)
• Egypt Erects Sand Barriers As Rising Sea Swallows The Nile Delta (Thompson Reuters Foundation)
• Scott Pruitt Called Two Fossil Billionaires While Weighing Senate Run (Washington Post)
• Environmental Sacrifice Zones: 8 Places We’ve Given Up-Probably Forever (Environmental Health Network)
• “Rare Earths” from Coal Waste (Climate Crocks)
• Feeling Hopeless About the Climate? Try Our 30-Day Action Plan (The Revelator)
• Green Upheaval: The New Geopolitics of Energy (Foreign Affairs)
• VIDEO: 2050: what happens if we ignore the climate crisis (Guardian UK)
• Guilt, grief and anxiety as young people fear for climate’s future (Reuters)
• 99.9 percent Of Scientists Agree Climate Emergency Caused By Humans (Guardian UK)
• An Empire of Dying Wells: Old oil and gas sites are a climate menace. Meet the company that owns more of America’s decaying wells than any other. (Bloomberg)
• Climate Fund Choices for Investors Are Multiplying (Bloomberg/Yahoo)
• How climate change could undo 50 years of public health gains (Grist)
• Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration (Pro Publica)
• Exxon’s Snake Oil: 100 years of deception (Columbia Journalism Review)
• What Does ’12 Years to Act on Climate Change’ (Now 9 Years) Really Mean? (Inside Climate News)
• VIDEO: A Message From the Future With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (The Intercept)
• 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.