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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: March 2024 was the hottest March ever recorded, continuing a 10-month record hot streak; European court rules Switzerland’s climate inaction violates human rights; Norfolk Southern settles East Palestine lawsuits for $600 million; PLUS: EPA cracks down on airborne pollution from chemical plants and toxic ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!
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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): World Bank must take ‘quantum leap’ to tackle climate crisis, UN expert says; Russia and Kazakhstan evacuate tens of thousands amid worst floods in decades; FirstEnergy gave secret $1 to Ohio Lt. Governor campaign in scandal; Protesters slam gas group’s use of customers’ money to thwart climate efforts; US agrees with Native American tribe that Line 5 Pipeline is trespassing; How the essential, dirty steel industry is going green; Here’s how EVs could get 200 miles per gallon… PLUS: Big Oil could face homicide charges… and much, MUCH more! …
STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY’S ‘GREEN NEWS REPORT’…
- March 2024 was the hottest March ever recorded:
- Broken record: March is 10th straight month to be hottest on record, scientists say (AP)
- VIDEO: March marks yet another record in global heat (Reuters)
- European court rules Switzerland’s climate inaction violates human rights:
- European court rules human rights violated by climate inaction (BBC)
- Verdict saying Switzerland violated rights by failing on climate action could ripple across Europe (AP)
- European court ruling on climate may affect pending cases, including in U.S. (Axios):
The court held for the first time that a government has a duty under human rights law to protect individuals from serious climate change impacts…Of particular focus may be net zero emissions plans for individual countries. Switzerland has such a goal enshrined into law following a nationwide vote.
- European court rules Switzerland climate inaction violated human rights (Washington Post)
- VIDEO: ‘Only the beginning’: Greta Thunberg reacts to court ruling on Swiss climate inaction (Guardian)
- East Palestine train derailment: Norfolk Southern settles lawsuits for $600 million:
- Railroad agrees to $600 million settlement for fiery Ohio derailment, residents fear it’s not enough (AP):
“It’s not nowhere near my needs, let alone what the health effects are going to be five or 10 years down the road,†said Eric Cozza, who lived just three blocks from the derailment and had 47 family members living within a mile (1.61 kilometers)…The settlement, which doesn’t include or constitute any admission of liability, wrongdoing or fault, represents only a small slice of the $3 billion in revenue Norfolk Southern generated just in the first three months of this year.
- Norfolk Southern settles East Palestine lawsuit: What to know (Columbus Dispatch)
- EPA issues first-ever rules limiting toxic PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water:
- Biden administration sets first-ever limits on ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water (AP)
- VIDEO: What new EPA limits on ‘forever chemicals’ mean for U.S. drinking water (PBS NewsHour):
[T]he cost of not taking action is more people getting sick and ultimately more people losing their lives. And so, for decades, the public has been bearing the cost of exposure to these chemicals in the form of illness, in the form of medical cost, in the form of social cost and anxiety around being exposed to these chemicals and watching their friends and family get sick…[T]he resources will come. But what is really important is to acknowledge the tremendous cost that comes from not taking action and how important it is that the EPA is now finally taking action, because the results of that action will be lives saved.
- Biden EPA limits toxic forever chemicals in drinking water for the first time (Chicago Tribune/MSN):
Following through on a campaign promise, President Joe Biden’s administration is limiting toxic forever chemicals in drinking water for the first time, a sweeping policy change intended to protect Americans from widespread threats to human health and the environment. New regulations announced Wednesday will require every U.S. water utility to begin routinely testing for several of the chemicals. Any that exceed federal limits will get five years to overhaul their treatment plants to reduce, if not eliminate, alarming concentrations of the compounds in tap water.
- VIDEO: EPA sets first national limits on PFAS in drinking water (WRAL)
- Why is the EPA regulating PFAS and what are these ‘forever chemicals’? (AP)
- PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ Are Pervasive in Water Worldwide, Study Finds (NY Times)
- EPA cracks down on toxic air pollution from chemical plants:
- New EPA rule says 218 US chemical plants must reduce toxic emissions that are likely to cause cancer (AP)
- More than 200 chemical plants must reduce toxic emissions under new EPA rule (AP)
- EPA limits toxic air pollution from chemical plants (Washington Post):
The final rule, the biggest change in two decades, aims to prevent cancer in nearby low-income and minority communities .
- AUDIO: For communities near chemical plants, EPA’s new air pollution rule spells relief (NPR):
The Denka plant is located next to a predominantly Black elementary school where hundreds of students attend. Robert Taylor, who also lives near the plant, has pushed to close it for nearly a decade. “We couldn’t believe the statement that they were being exposed at over 400 times what EPA has set as a safe level of exposure at that time,” Taylor said.
Earth sees hottest-ever March, the 10th record-breaking month in a row (Washington Post/MSN):
Fueled by a mix of human-caused warming and the El Niño climate pattern, the all-time monthly highs were observed both in the air and in the ocean’s waters, the Copernicus report said. The heat over the past 12 months has pushed global average temperatures to an unprecedented 1.58 degrees Celsius (2.84 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than preindustrial levels, and the hotter air over the Atlantic Ocean in particular could lead to an especially intense hurricane season, scientists warned.
The ruling said Switzerland has failed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions fast enough to meet its own targets. The European Convention on Human Rights “encompasses a right to effective protection” by national authorities “from the serious adverse effects of climate change on lives, health, well-being and quality of life,” it said.
‘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
- World Bank must take ‘quantum leap’ to tackle climate crisis, UN expert says (Guardian)
- Russia and Kazakhstan evacuate tens of thousands amid worst floods in decades (Guardian)
- Big Oil Could Face Homicide Charges (Newsweek)
- FirstEnergy Gave Secret $1 Million To Ohio Lt. Gov. Campaign in Scandal (Floodlight)
- Protesters slam gas group’s use of customers’ money to thwart climate efforts (Guardian)
- Trump Appointees Barred EPA Staff From Warning Senate About PFAS Loophole (The Hill)
- Wisconsin Gov. Evers vetoes a Republican-backed bill targeting PFAS chemicals (AP)
- Here’s how EVs could get 200 miles per gallon (Washington Post)
- US Agrees With Native American Tribe That Line 5 Pipeline Is Trespassing (The Hill)
- How The Essential, Dirty Steel Industry Is Going Green (Canary Media)
- The Oceans We Knew Are Already Gone (The Atlantic)
- ‘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 (This Is Not Cool blog)
- 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)
That should be “hot” streak.
Good eye Desi!