‘Green News Report’ – January 18, 2024

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: U.S. Supreme Court’s right-wing supermajority appears ready to gut federal agency authority on environmental regulations and more; Social media sites profiting off of a new breed of climate denial, new study finds; PLUS: Frigid Arctic air strands drivers of both electric and gasoline vehicles… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): An unprecedented flu strain is attacking hundreds of animal species. Humans could be next; ‘Control the narrative’: Alabama utility wields influence by financing news; EU bans ‘misleading’ environmental claims that rely on offsetting; Bird populations are declining. Some are in your neighborhood; Dr. Michael Mann’s defamation case over online attacks finally comes to trial… PLUS: These startups are teaming up to decarbonize cement and concrete… and much, MUCH more! …

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

• U.S. Supreme Court rightwing supermajorty poised to gut federal agency authority:
• The Supreme Court Is About to Seize Way More Power From Democratic Presidents (Slate):
  [T]he court’s right flank evinced little concern about tossing 40 years of stable law, encompassing more than 17,000 federal court decisions, in favor of the Federalist Society’s preferred regime…With Chevron, each new administration provides its own answer to these questions. If the people don’t like the answers, as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson noted, they can vote for a new president. Without Chevron, each administration is handcuffed to the federal judiciary’s answer, replacing a “democratic structure” with “judicial policymaking.”
• A Potentially Huge Supreme Court Case Has a Hidden Conservative Backer (NY Times):
  [T]he lawyers who have helped to propel their case to the nation’s highest court have a far more powerful backer: the petrochemicals billionaire Charles Koch.
• John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett are unsure if they should be in charge of everything (Vox)
• The Supreme Court cases asking the justices to put themselves in charge of everything, explained (Vox):
  [T]he Court appears to be barreling toward the conclusion that judges, and not federal agencies staffed by experts on topics like wastewater management or the economics of telecommunications, should have the final word on these and countless other difficult policy questions.
• Supreme Court conservatives signal willingness to roll back the power of federal agencies (CNN/MSN)
• Fight Over Fishing Regulation Could Help Tear Down the Administrative State (NY Times)
• AUDIO: Supreme Court hears case that could limit federal agencies from enforcing laws (PBS NewsHour)
• Social media sites profiting off a new breed of climate denial
• The New Climate Denial: How social media platforms and content producers profit by spreading new forms of climate denial (Center for Countering Digital Hate):
  Climate deniers can no longer pretend climate change isn’t happening – so they’ve changed their strategy…[T]he most common lies about climate change now have to do with denying the benefits of clean energy, attacking policies meant to slash planet-heating pollution from fossil fuels, and maligning scientists and advocates that push for change.
• A new kind of climate denial has taken over on YouTube (The Verge):
  Google’s policies against disinformation haven’t caught up to the latest brand of climate denial on YouTube, a new report says.
• YouTube making money off new breed of climate denial, monitoring group says (Reuters)
• While U.S. freezes, the planet is seeing warmest-ever January:
• US in deep freeze while much of the world is extra toasty? Yet again, it’s climate change (AP)
• Why we still have brutal cold snaps even as the planet warms to record levels (CNN)
• After the hottest year ever, January is on track to be so warm that for the first time a 12-month period will exceed the 1.5-degree Paris Accords threshold (Fortune)
• Greenland ice sheet losing 20 percent more ice than previously thought:
• Greenland losing 30m tonnes of ice an hour, study reveals (Guardian):
  Total ice loss is 20 percent higher than thought and may have implications for collapse of globally important north Atlantic ocean currents.
• Greenland is losing more ice than we thought. Here’s what it means for our oceans. (Washington Post)
• How Much Ice Is Greenland Losing? Researchers Found an Answer. (NY Times):
  The island is shedding 20 percent more than previously estimated, a study found, potentially threatening ocean currents that help to regulate global temperatures.
• Greenland Ice Sheet lost 20 percent more ice mass than thought, study says (Axios)
• Frigid Arctic air strands drivers of both electric and gas-powered cars:
• How Cold Snaps Affect Car Batteries; How To Prepare Your Car Ahead Of Time (KOTV-Tulsa)
• Watch out for these signs of car distress during extreme cold weather (KSAT-San Antonio)
• VIDEO: Why Teslas and other electric vehicles have problems in cold weather — and how EV owners can prevent issues (CBS News)
• Frigid weather can cut electric vehicle range and make charging tough. Here’s what you need to know (AP)
• It’s so cold, Teslas are struggling to charge in Chicago (NPR):
  “No struggles with starting or charging but I charged at home in our garage,” said Maslan, who moderates a Facebook group for Tesla owners in Chicago. “We do get less mileage on the battery in extreme temps which means we have to charge more often” in the cold, she added…To cope with extreme cold, Tesla recommends keeping the vehicle plugged in, and maintaining a charge of at least 20 percent.
• Hawai’i replaced its last coal plant with clean renewable energy and a big battery:
• A huge battery has replaced Hawaii’s last coal plant (Canary Media)
• Tesla Megapack battery turns on to replace Hawaii’s last coal plant (Electrek)
• Hawaii building huge new battery, bidding farewell to coal (8/18/2021)

‘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

• An unprecedented flu strain is attacking hundreds of animal species. Humans could be next. (Washington Post)
• ‘Control The Narrative’: Alabama Utility Wields Influence By Financing News (Guardian)
• EU Bans ‘Misleading’ Environmental Claims That Rely On Offsetting (Guardian)
• Analysis: Bird Populations Are Declining. Some Are In Your Neighborhood. (Washington Post)
• Scientist Dr. Michael Mann’s Defamation Case Over Online Attacks Finally Comes To Trial (Guardian)
• These Startups Are Teaming Up To Decarbonize Cement And Concrete (Canary Media)
• Markets And Forests: 7 Takeaways From Our Series On The Forest Carbon Trade (Mongabay)
• Record-Shattering 2023 Heat Has Scientists On Edge: Warming May Be Worsening (AP)
• How to electrify your life when you rent (The Verge)
• 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)
• Feeling Overwhelmed About Going All-Electric at Home? Here’s How to Get Started (Inside Climate News)
• Feeling Hopeless About the Climate? Try Our 30-Day Action Plan (The Revelator)
• 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)
• Project Drawdown: 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (Drawdown.org)
• An Optimist’s Guide to Solving Climate Change and Saving the World (Vice)