‘Green News Report’ – June 27, 2023

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Extreme heat and deadly storms spread across much of the U.S.; Train carrying hazardous chemicals derails into Montana’s Yellowstone River; PLUS: More EV carmakers adopt Tesla’s fast-charging standard… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Humans approaching limits of ‘survivability’ as sweltering heatwaves engulf parts of Asia; Vast fossil fuel and farming subsidies causing ‘environmental havoc’; Vast fossil fuel and farming subsidies causing ‘environmental havoc’; ‘Its absolutely guaranteed’: the best and worst case scenarios for sea level rise; Intensifying rains pose hidden flood risks across U.S.; Oil spill from Shell pipeline fouls farms and a river in a long-polluted part of Nigeria; Paris climate finance summit fails to deliver debt forgiveness plan; Samuel Alito’s wife leased land to an oil and gas firm while the justice fought the EPA; Giant wind farm takes root off coast of Massachusetts… PLUS: Wolves that nearly died out have recovered, now helping island’s ecosystem… and much, MUCH more! …

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

• Extreme heat wave expands from Texas to much of the U.S.:
• Heat wave affects 45 million people from Southwest to Miss. Valley (Axios)
• Hundreds of flights canceled as severe weather slams the East Coast, while Texas faces possibly record-breaking heat (NBC News)
• Deadly Texas heat is spreading, and it will only get hotter (CNN)
• Texas’ Brutal Heatwave Continues – Can the Grid Keep Up? (Climate Crocks)
• ‘Insane’, ‘astonishing’ jet stream leaves scientists ‘at a loss’ for words (Climate Crocks)
• VIDEO: Dr. Mann Discusses Climate Change, El Nino & Carbon Pollution (CNN)
• What is a heat dome? Scorching temperatures in Texas are expected to spread to the north and east (AP)
• Solar bails out Texas during heat wave, but trouble looms (E&E News)
• Historic Texas heat wave kills outdoor workers as Gov. Abbott rescinds protections:
• As Texas swelters, local rules requiring water breaks for construction workers will soon be nullified (Texas Tribune)
• West Virginia utility lineman dies while working in Marshall (KLTV-Tyler)
• Texas USPS workers start early to avoid heat after mail carrier’s death (San Antonio Express-News)
• Know your rights during this Texas heat wave. Here’s how outdoor workers are protected (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
• U.S. Supreme Court rules against Navajo Nation in water dispute:
• Supreme Court rules against Navajo Nation in Colorado River water rights case (AP):
  Gorsuch said one “silver lining” of the case may be that his colleagues in the majority recognized that the tribe may still be able to “assert the interests they claim in water rights litigation, including by seeking to intervene in cases that affect their claimed interests.”
• Supreme Court rules against Navajo Nation in water supply case (CNN)
• Supreme Court keeps the Navajo Nation waiting for water (High Country News)
• Biden triumphs over tribe in SCOTUS Colorado River fight (E&E News)
• VIDEO: Navajo Nation’s long quest for water — and for the federal government to keep its promises — ends up at Supreme Court (NBC News, 3/19/2023):
  The tribe says an 1868 treaty means the federal government has a duty to ensure its people have sufficient water on a reservation where thousands do not have running water.
• Montana: Train derailment dumps hazardous materials into Yellowstone River:
• Cleanup begins at the site of a Montana train derailment and Yellowstone River bridge collapse (ICNN)
• Train falls into Yellowstone River carrying molten sulfur and asphalt (Billings Gazette)
• A train carrying hazardous materials plunges into Yellowstone River after bridge fails (NPR)
The train cars were carrying hot asphalt and molten sulfur, Stillwater County Disaster and Emergency Services said. Officials shut down drinking water intakes downstream while they evaluated the danger after the 6 a.m. accident. An Associated Press reporter witnessed a yellow substance coming out of some of the tank cars.
• Oregon county sues Big Oil over historic, deadly 2021 heat wave:
• Oregon County Sues Fossil Fuel Entities and Enablers for Contributing to Deadly 2021 Heatwave (DeSmog County):
  The climate lawsuit filed by Multnomah County is the first to name consulting firm McKinsey & Company as a defendant.
• Oregon County Sues Big Oil and ‘Misinformation Agents’ Over Deadly 2021 Heatwave (Common Dreams):
  “This lawsuit is about accountability and fairness, and I believe the people of Multnomah County deserve both. These businesses knew their products were unsafe and harmful, and they lied about it,” said Jessica Vega Pederson, the county chair. “They have profited massively from their lies and left the rest of us to suffer the consequences and pay for the damages. We say enough is enough.”
• Rivian joins Tesla’s electric vehicle charging standard
• Tesla technology inches closer to becoming industry standard as Rivian joins its charging network (AP)
• VIDEO: Mary Barra on if she can trust Elon Musk as a partner (CNBC)
• US industry group to write standards for Tesla electric vehicle plug, stepping toward widespread use (AP)
• Rivian adopts Tesla charging standard, Cruise adds Android and Ford lands a $9.2B loan (Tech Crunch)
• Global investment in solar production outpaces investment in oil production:
• China’s dominance of solar poses difficult choices for the west (Graham Allison, Harvard Belfer Center)
• For the first time, global investment in solar power overtakes investment in fossil fuels, IEA report (Merco Press):
  Global investment in solar power is expected to overtake investment in oil production for the first time ever this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. The IEA projects investment in solar power to hit US$ 380 billion in 2023, compared to investments in oil exploration and extraction at US$ 370 billion.
• Solar power investment overtakes oil for first time (DW News)
• Green energy surges but fossil fuels still used for 80% of world power supply (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

• Humans approaching limits of ‘survivability’ as sweltering heatwaves engulf parts of Asia (CNN)
• Vast fossil fuel and farming subsidies causing ‘environmental havoc’ (Guardian)
• ‘It’s absolutely guaranteed’: the best and worst case scenarios for sea level rise (Guardian)
• Why Heat Pumps Are Such an Important Climate Solution (Distilled.Earth)
• Paris climate finance summit fails to deliver debt forgiveness plan (Guardian)
• After Death Threats, TV Met Lands New Climate Focused Gig (Climate Crocks)
• Samuel Alito’s Wife Leased Land to an Oil and Gas Firm While the Justice Fought the EPA (The Intercept)
• Tulare Lake: A Vast Lake Has Captivated California Where Farms Stood a Year Ago (NY Times)
• Here’s a Look at the Water Crises That Might Be Coming to You Soon (NY Times)
• UN Accord On Ship Recycling To Start 2 Years After More Countries Join (Reuters)
• Wolves That Nearly Died Out Recovered, Now Helping Island’s Ecosystem (AP)
• A Rule That Could Help Save Coal Miners’ Lives Is Mired in Red Tape (Grist)
• A Giant Wind Farm Is Taking Root Off Massachusetts (NY Times)
• Sick Sea Lions Washing Ashore In California Due To Algae Bloom (Reuters)
• Complete Series: Farmers Under Attack for Supporting Clean Energy (Climate Crocks)
• These are the places most at risk from record-breaking heat waves as the planet warms (CNN)
• 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)
• 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.