‘Green News Report’ – April 6, 2023

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Oil prices spike after OPEC+ announces surprise production cuts; Good news and bad news with CA’s record snowpack; More deadly tornadoes strike Midwest; PLUS: Biden Admin boosts clean energy in Coal Country, clean manufacturing, and cracks down on toxic mercury and lead water pipes… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): ‘Scary’ new data on the last ice age raises concerns about future sea levels; Walmart will add thousands of EV charging stations to stores by 2030; Biden Interior announces $585 million for water infrastructure projects; Montana repeals state energy policy as climate trial nears; Study: Even a small increase in pollution raises risk for dementia; Melting Antarctic ice may strangle vital ocean currents; Bangladesh needs $1.7 billion a year for green energy transition; China slowly squeezing global carmakers out of its massive markets; N.Y. governor walks back push to ‘weaken’ climate law after uproar… PLUS: A push to turn farm waste into fuel… and much, MUCH more! …

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

• More train derailments in Montana and Minnesota:
• Montana Train Derailment Spills Hundreds of Boxes of Coors Light and Blue Moon Into Clark Fork River (Tequila Raiders)
• Minnesota train derailment – latest: Governor visits Raymond after ethanol in cars catch fire (Independent UK/Yahoo News)
• Officials say water and air are safe after train carrying highly flammable ethanol derails in Minnesota (CNN)a
• Why train derailments involving hazardous chemicals keep happening (Vox):
  Human error and track defects are two of the biggest causes of derailments, for example. In cases involving hazardous chemicals, equipment failures have also played a role in the past. These issues, broadly, may be compounded by staffing cuts railroads have made in recent years and their resistance to more costly equipment upgrades.
• Another deadly tornado outbreak strikes the U.S.:
• 5 million Americans are under tornado watches as a rash of storms that killed 5 people in Missouri threatens more states (CNN)
• Missouri tornado kills 5 in latest wave of severe weather (AP):
  Midwest tornadoes have typically occurred later in the spring, but this year’s early spate of severe weather continues a trend seen over the past few years.
• Tornado updates: At least 5 dead in Missouri as storms tear across US (ABC News):
  There have been at least 11 tornadoes reported across Iowa, Illinois and Missouri since an outbreak of severe storms began on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
• Bad tornado season in US is getting worse: More danger in forecast after Friday’s destruction. (USA Today)
• What we know about how climate change affects tornado outbreaks (Axios)
• The US leads the world in weather catastrophes. Here’s why (AP)
• DOJ sues Norfolk Southern in East Palestine, Ohio over chemical train disaster:
• DOJ sues Norfolk Southern for alleged environmental violations in East Palestine derailment (ABC News)
• 7 CDC workers fell ill investigating train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio (USA Today)
• DOJ sues Norfolk Southern over toxic train derailment in Ohio (Washington Post):
  The lawsuit could be costly to the railroad, seeking damages for a fiery disaster that prompted evacuations in East Palestine, killed fish and prompted a huge cleanup.
• California’s record snowpack is both good news and bad news:
• California’s snowpack is among the deepest ever. Now get ready for the perilous ‘big melt’ (LA Times)
• Officials: Epic California snowpack among biggest on record (AP)
• VIDEO: April 2023 Snow Survey at Phillips Station (California DWR/Youtube)
• Record snowpack in California poses severe flood risk, officials warn (CNBC/MSN)
• Stunning before-and-after images: California reservoir goes from almost empty to 100% full (Yahoo News)
• Oil prices spike after OPEC+ announces surprise production cuts:
• Saudis, other oil giants announce surprise production cuts (AP)
• Oil jumps as OPEC and its allies announce a surprise output cut (CNBC)
• US Gasoline Prices Could Hit $4 a Gallon Thanks to Surprise OPEC+ Oil Cut (Bloomberg):
  For pump prices, the move could add more than 50 cents a gallon to the US average, said Kevin Book, managing director of ClearView Energy Partners. The national average is now at about $3.50. A rally now would come just ahead of the busy summer driving season, when demand typically peaks.
• Brace for a ‘bump at the pump’ as OPEC’s surprise output cut could send gas prices above $4 a gallon, say analysts (Markets Insider)
• VIDEO: OPEC’s surprise – Oil prices surge following production cut (CNBC)
• Biden EPA approves CA’s heavy truck emissions rules:
• EPA approves California rules phasing out diesel trucks (AP)
• California to Require Half of All Heavy Trucks Sold by 2035 to Be Electric (NY Times):
  The state is setting strict limits to try to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from transportation, the sector of the American economy that generates the most greenhouse gases.
• EPA approves California phasing out diesel trucks, replacing them with electric vehicles (Sacramento Bee)

• Biden touts clean manufacturing in Minnesota:
• VIDEO: Biden trumpets his economic plans in Minnesota after Cummins announces $1 billion investment (CNBC/MSN):
  Cummins intends to invest the money in Indiana, North Carolina and New York, focusing on creating low-to-zero-carbon engines. More than half of medium and heavy-duty trucks in the U.S. use Cummins engines, and the upgraded facilities aim to decarbonize shipping vehicles across the country.
• Biden tours Cummins facility in Minnesota as company announces $1 billion investment in engine manufacturing network (Energy Central)
• President Biden Continues “Investing in America” Tour with Visit to Minnesota (Biden White House)
• Biden Administration announces clean energy funding for former coal sites:
• Biden offers $450M for clean energy projects at coal mines (AP):
  President Joe Biden’s administration is making $450 million available for solar farms and other clean energy projects at the site of current or former coal mines, part of his efforts to combat climate change.
• Biden administration pushes to revitalize coal communities with clean energy projects (CNBC/MSN)
• EPA tightens limits on toxic mercury pollution from coal plants:
• EPA tightens mercury emissions limits at coal power plants (AP):
  The new rule aims to eliminate up to 70 percent of mercury emissions and other toxic pollutants such as lead, nickel and arsenic, while also reducing fine dust from coal plant emissions…The mercury rule “is one piece of a larger agenda to force retirements of well-operating coal plants,” said Conor Bernstein, a spokesman for the mining group.
• Biden EPA cracks down on mercury pollution from power plants (CNBC)
• EPA to Tighten Limits on Mercury and Other Pollutants From Power Plants (NY Times)
• EPA unveils billions for water upgrades, first-ever tally of lead water pipes:
• EPA estimates 9.2 million lead water pipes in US, doles out funding to replace some of them (The Hill)
• In a first, EPA survey puts a number on lead pipes around US (AP):
  Some 9.2 million lead pipes carry water into homes across the U.S., with more in Florida than any other state, according to a new Environmental Protection Agency survey…The survey released Tuesday was the first time the agency asked about lead pipes and gave the best count yet of how many are underground….Previously, a state’s share of lead pipe funds was based on its general infrastructure need and didn’t consider how many lead pipes the state had.
• EPA finds more than 9 million lead pipes supplying drinking water throughout the U.S. (CBS News)
• EPA: Texas in top 5 nationally for states with most lead pipes (Houston Chronicle/MSN)

‘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

• ‘Scary’ new data on the last ice age raises concerns about future sea levels (Washington Post)
• Walmart will add thousands of EV charging stations to stores by 2030 (CNBC)
• Biden DOI Announces $585 Million For Water Infrastructure Projects (The Hill)
• Montana Repeals State Energy Policy as Climate Trial Nears (DeSmog Blog)
• Study: Even a small increase in pollution raises risk for dementia (Grist)
• Melting Antarctic ice may strangle vital ocean currents (Grist)
• China Slowly Squeezes Global Carmakers Out of Its Massive Market (Bloomberg)
• Bangladesh Needs $1.7 Billion a Year for Green Energy Transition (Bloomberg)
• Climate whiplash — wildfires, flash floods, landslides — leaves a corner of L.A. County reeling (LA Times)
• New Mexico Governor Signs Bill To Limit Prescribed Fires (AP)
• N.Y. Governor Walks Back Push to ‘Weaken’ Climate Law After Uproar (NY Times)
• India’s Power Output Grows At Fastest Pace In 33 Years, Fuelled By Coal (Reuters)
• Brazil Court Backs Crackdown On Illegal Gold Mining In Amazon (Reuters)
• In Pristine Alaska, an Oil Giant Prepares to Drill for Decades (NY Times)
• After Growing GM Corn For Decades, Some US Farmers Open To Mexican Ban (Reuters)
• Banks Pledged Emissions Cuts – But Still Invest Billions On US Gas Exports (Guardian)
• Gulf Drilling Safer 13 Years After BP Spill, But Major Gaps Remain: Report (NOLA)
• A Push to Turn Farm Waste Into Fuel (NY Times)
• New climate paper calls for charging big US oil firms with homicide (Guardian)
• Why It’s Time to Officially Get Over Your EV Range Anxiety (Inside Climate News)
• Building Steam in Lithium Valley (The American Prospect)
• Feeling Overwhelmed About Going All-Electric at Home? Here’s How to Get Started (Inside Climate News)
• VIDEO: See what three degrees of global warming looks like (The Economist/YouTube)
• The 7 climate tipping points that could change the world forever (Grist)
• The 1977 White House climate memo that should have changed the world (Guardian UK)
• Four solutions to mitigate climate change, from the IPCC (Dr. Michael Mann, Penn Today)
• UN warns Earth ‘firmly on track toward an unlivable world’ (AP)
• Environmental Sacrifice Zones: 8 Places We’ve Given Up-Probably Forever (Environmental Health Network)
• Feeling Hopeless About the Climate? Try Our 30-Day Action Plan (The Revelator)
• VIDEO: 2050: what happens if we ignore the climate crisis (Guardian UK)
• 99.9 percent Of Scientists Agree Climate Emergency Caused By Humans (Guardian UK)
• 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)
• 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.