‘Green News Report’ – March 29, 2022

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: U.S. and EU unveil new plan to wean Europe off of Russian fossil fuels; Huge ice shelf collapses following Antarctic heat wave; PLUS: New NYT analysis reveals how Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) used his public office for personal financial gain… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Europe grapples with 2 crises connected to gas: War, warming; Can Biden expand gas and zero out emissions?; US seeks new lithium sources as demand for batteries grows; The battle to clean up Bitcoin; New double-duty heat pumps can warm both air and water; Environmental organizations unveil ‘Green New Deal pledge’ for 2022 candidates; Misinformation is derailing renewable energy projects across the US… PLUS: The rise of off-grid living and its consequences… and much, MUCH more! …

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

• U.S. and E.U. unveil joint task force to wean Europe off Russian fossil fuels:
• As Biden Promises U.S. LNG Exports, Gulf Coast Enviros Say Whoa (Inside Climate News)
• Biden, E.U. announce plan to reduce Europe’s reliance on Russian energy (Washington Post):
  Though the arrangement likely requires new infrastructure, including pipelines to import the gas, the two leaders said the partnership aims to reduce the demand for natural gas in the long term and to shift toward renewable energy. Officials said they would work to expedite planning and approval for new clean energy projects and to advance the production and use of clean and renewable hydrogen.
• VIDEO: President Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen Make a Joint Press Statement (White House)
• Transcript: Remarks by President Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Joint Press Statement (White House)
• VIDEO: Full transcript of President Biden’s speech in Warsaw on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (ABC News)
• Biden Eyes Long-Term Hydrogen Breakthrough in Plan to Send Gas to EU (Bloomberg/Yahoo News):
  In the short term, the pipelines, tanks and terminals could expand the use of liquefied natural gas and encourage more production in the U.S., drawing the ire of environmentalists who want to wean the world from fossil fuels. But under the vision outlined by the U.S. and the European Union, the equipment could eventually be re-purposed to transport hydrogen.
• Russia’s invasion has made energy security a hot topic. The U.S. thinks hydrogen could be the answer (CNBC/MSN):
  Jafar made the case for gas’ importance in the years ahead, calling it “a fundamental enabler of renewables” because it backed up their intermittent supply. It was also, he claimed, “the path to future technologies like hydrogen.”
• G7 countries reject Russian demands pay in rubles for fossil fuels:
• Russia Threatens G7 Nations As Ministers Reject Gas-For-Rubles Scheme (Oil Price)
• Germany: G7 rejects Russia’s demand to pay for gas in rubles (AP)
• Samual Ramani, Oxford Univ.: “A senior Russian Federation Council member warns that if EU countries don’t buy gas in rubles, gas supplies will be terminated.” (Twitter)
• European gas prices jump after Putin says ‘unfriendly’ countries must pay in rubles (The Hill)
• What would paying for natural gas in rubles mean? (AP/Stars and Stripes)
• Ice shelf collapse in East Antarctica alarms scientists:
• Ice shelf collapses in previously stable East Antarctica (AP):
  An ice shelf the size of New York City has collapsed in East Antarctica, an area long thought to be stable and not hit much by climate change, concerned scientists said Friday. The collapse, captured by satellite images, marked the first time in human history that the frigid region had an ice shelf collapse.
• Satellite data shows entire Conger ice shelf has collapsed in Antarctica (Guardian UK):
  “We will see more ice shelves break up in the future with climate warming,” King said. “We will see massive ice shelves – way bigger than this one – break up. And those will hold back a lot of ice – enough to seriously drive up global sea levels.”
• Ice Shelf Collapses Following Antarctic Heat Wave (Climate Crocks)
• VIDEO: Update on Antarctic Shelf Collapse (Climate Crocks)
• Shifts in El Niño May Be Driving Climates Extremes in Both Hemispheres (Inside Climate News)
• Analysis finds Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) used public office for self-enrichment:
• How Joe Manchin Aided Coal, and Earned Millions (NY Times):
  At every step of his political career, Joe Manchin helped a West Virginia power plant that is the sole customer of his private coal business…Mr. Manchin supplied a type of low-grade coal mixed with rock and clay known as “gob” that is typically cast aside as junk by mining companies but can be burned to produce electricity. In addition, he arranged to receive a slice of the revenue from electricity generated by the plant — electric bills paid by his constituents.
• How Joe Manchin Aided Coal, and Earned Millions [no paywall] (NYT/Yahoo News)
• Joe Manchin’s Dirty Empire (The Intercept):
  The West Virginia senator reaps big financial rewards from a network of coal companies with grim records of pollution, safety violations, and death.

‘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

• Europe grapples with 2 crises connected to gas: War, warming (E&E News)
• Can Biden expand gas and zero out emissions? (E&E News)
• Ukraine’s pipelines are still carrying Russian gas to Europe (Washington Post/MSN)
• US seeks new lithium sources as demand for batteries grows (AP)
• The rise of off-grid living and its consequences (Slate)
• Michael Brune’s next battle: Clean up bitcoin (E&E News)
• These new double-duty heat pumps can warm both air and water (Canary Media)
• Environmental organizations unveil ‘Green New Deal pledge’ for 2022 candidates (The Hill)
• Biden’s proposed budget includes nearly $45B for climate and clean energy, 7 percent increase for DOE (Utility Dive)
• Egypt: Soaring Wheat Prices Turn Food Security Into A Priority (Deustche-Welle)
• Large Fires Becoming Even Larger, More Widespread (Washington Post)
• 1,000-Year-Old Oaks Used To Create ‘Super Forest’ (BBC)
• The World’s Forests Do More Than Just Store Carbon, New Research Finds (Guardian UK)
• Misinformation Is Derailing Renewable Energy Projects Across The U.S. (NPR)
• Turning Cities Into Sponges to Save Lives and Property (NY Times)
• Egypt: Soaring Wheat Prices Turn Food Security Into A Priority (Deustche-Welle)
• 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.