‘Green News Report’ – February 29, 2024

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Historic winter heat smashes records across U.S., sparks massive wildfires in Texas; Groundbreaking Colorado lawsuit seeks to force oil companies to clean up abandoned wells; PLUS: Shifting to EVs and clean electricity will dramatically improve children’s health, study finds… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Exxon CEO blames public for failure to fix climate change; Marine heat wave kills thousands of humpback whales in the North Pacific; Boiling tap water may be solution to microplastics; Microplastics found in every human placenta tested in study; ‘Nobody really knows what you’re supposed to do’: Leaking, abandoned wells wreak havoc in West Texas… PLUS: The Butterfly Redemption: How scientists, volunteers, and incarcerated women are finding hope through supporting a struggling butterfly… and much, MUCH more! …

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

• Historic winter heat smashes records across U.S.:
• Historic winter heat wave smashes records in central U.S., fuels tornadoes (Washington Post/MSN – no paywall):
  The central United States has just witnessed what was probably its most significant February heat wave on record, after scores of records were not just broken, but demolished.
• “Insane”: Historic winter heat wave smashes records across U.S. (Axios)
• Night Time Tornado Threat Tonight (This Is Not Cool blog)
• VIDEO: Weather Whiplash: From Record February And Winter Warmth To Cold And Snow In Plains, Midwest (Weather Channel)
• Wild weather threatens much of U.S. with snow, tornadoes, heat and fires (Axios)
• 3 reasons why so much of the US is unseasonably hot (AP)
• Extreme heat and high winds spark massive wildfires in Texas Panhandle:
• A massive Texas wildfire is now the largest on record in the state (Washington Post/MSN – no paywall)
• Deadly Texas wildfire torches 1 million acres – the largest blaze in state history – as more infernos rage out of control (CNN):
  The fire has cause widespred destruction in northern Texas, where 83-year-old Joyce Blankenship was killed by the inferno in Hutchinson County, her family said. “The house was gone,” her grandson, Nathan Blankenship, said. “There was no way she could’ve gotten out.”
• Wildfire in Texas Panhandle explodes into state’s second-largest blaze (Axios)
• nuclear
• VIDEO: In two days, the Smokehouse Creek Fire has grown to be the second-largest in Texas history (CBS News)
• Antarctica sea ice hits alarming new low:
• Antarctica sea ice reaches alarming low for third year in a row (Guardian):
  The extent of ice floating around the continent has contracted to below 2 million sqare kilometers for three years in a row, indicating an ‘abrupt critical transition’.
• VIDEO: Antarctic Sea Ice Reaches “Alarming” Low (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Study says 2023’s crazy Atlantic ocean heat, low Antarctic sea ice give glimpse of much hotter world (AP)
• New Research from Antarctica Affirms The Threat of the ‘Doomsday Glacier,’ But Funding to Keep Studying it Is Running Out (Inside Climate News)
• Colorado landowners sue oil companies over abandoned wells:
• US landowners sue to force oil company clean-up of abandoned wells (Financial Times):
  Plaintiffs accuse HRM of knowing when it transferred the assets that the company would go bankrupt and foist the clean-up costs on either private landowners or the government…”The defendants kept the profits obtained from operating the oil and gas wells while jettisoning the liabilities, leaving Colorado plaintiffs with unplugged, dangerous wells and simultaneously saddling taxpayers . . . with cleaning up the mess,” the plaintiffs allege.
• Colorado landowners sue oil company over clean-up of ‘orphaned’ wells (Guardian):
  The lawsuit alleges that HRM Resources then committed fraud by transferring nearly 200 wells to Painted Pegasus Petroleum, a Texas-based shell company designed for bankruptcy…offloading well decommissioning costs on to private landowners or the state…”If this case is successful, it could be a huge step in ensuring that the costs of cleaning up these wells are paid by the oil and gas companies who profited from them while empowering local communities against the polluters that have run roughshod over their land and health,” said Camille Sippel, an attorney at ClientEarth.
• Methane-Spewing Gas and Oil Drillers Owe the US Billions—in Theory (Mother Jones)
• Transition to EVs and clean electricity will dramatically improve children’s health:
• Switching to electric vehicles could prevent millions of illnesses in US children by 2050, report estimates (CNN)
• Switching to electric vehicles would be fantastic for kids’ health (The Verge)
Fewer asthma attacks, less bronchitis, and healthier lives for millions of kids…A wholesale switch to electric vehicles would be a tremendous boon to the health of many people around the world. But a new report from the American Lung Association highlights the particular advantages for children, especially those vulnerable to respiratory illness.
• Air pollution tied to signs of Alzheimer’s in brain tissue, study finds (Washington Post/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

• Marine heat wave kills thousands of humpback whales in the North Pacific (CBS News)
• Boiling tap water may be solution to microplastics (The Hill)
• Exxon CEO blames public for failure to fix climate change (The Hill)
• ‘Nobody Really Knows What You’re Supposed to Do’: Leaking, Abandoned Wells Wreak Havoc in West Texas (Inside Climate News)
• N.Y. State Sues JBS, the Brazilian Beef Giant, Over Its Climate Claims (NY Times)
• Harmful Waste Generation Set To Jump, U.N. Warns (Reuters)
• After Fighting a Landfill Expansion, Houston Residents Await Methane Rules (Inside Climate News)
• Greens To Petition Biden For Cleanup Rules For Offshore Oil Infrastructure (The Hill)
• EPA Offers Another $1B For Superfund Cleanups (E&E News)
• Microplastics Found In Every Human Placenta Tested In Study (Guardian)
• Grease-Proof Food Packaging Containing PFAS Is No Longer Being Sold: FDA (The Hill)
• The Butterfly Redemption: How scientists, volunteers, and incarcerated women are finding hope and metamorphosis through supporting a struggling butterfly. (Hakai Magazine)
• Conservatives Gear Up For EPA Revamp In 2025 (E&E News)
• ‘In A Word, Horrific’: Trump’s Extreme Anti-Environment Blueprint (Guardian)
• Plug-in hybrids vs. electric cars: We did the math on which is better for you (Washington Post)
• 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)