‘Green News Report’ – April 23, 2024

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Europe is the fastest-warming continent on the planet, new study warns; Plastics manufacturers are big contributors to man-made global warming; PLUS: Biden Administration unveils Solar For All program, American Climate Corps, and sweeping new actions on conservation… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Here’s how to apply for Biden’s Climate Corps job; Oil companies must set aside more money to plug wells, but it won’t be enough; Ohio Gov. DeWine got secret $2.5 million boost from power company; World ‘losing the battle’ against electronic waste, UN finds; Net zero has become unhelpful slogan, says outgoing head of UK climate watchdog; Communities fight the last toxic battery recycling plant in CA; Don’t flush trees down the toilet. Use sustainable toilet paper instead… PLUS: Earth Day: A senator more than 50 years ago got people fighting for the planet… and much, MUCH more! …

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

• Copernicus: Europe’s is fastest warming continent on the planet:
• Europe is warming up faster than any other continent, and the heat is deadly (NPR)
• VIDEO: Heatwave-linked deaths in Europe reported up 30% over past 20 years (EuroNews)
• Heat-related deaths in Europe increased by 30% in last 20 years (Irish Examiner):
  Three warmest years on record for Europe all occurred since 2020. Heat-related deaths have increased in 94% of European regions over the last two decades, according to a new report. The latest European State of the Climate report from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Service, published today, also highlighted an extreme marine heatwave off the Irish coast last year.
• Plastics manufacturing a big contributor to global warming:
• Plastics industry heats world 4 times as much as air travel, report finds (The Hill):
  The industry releases about four times as many planet-warming chemicals as the airline industry, according to the paper from scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Its emissions are equivalent to those of about 600 coal plants — about three times the number that exist across the U.S.
• Polluters Pay: EPA puts PFAS chemicals under Superfund law:
• E.P.A. Will Make Polluters Pay to Clean Up Two ‘Forever Chemicals’ (NY Times):
  The new rule announced on Friday empowers the government to force the many companies that manufacture or use perfluorooctanoic acid, also known as PFOA, and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, known as PFOS, to monitor any releases into the environment and be responsible for cleaning them up. Those companies could face billions of dollars in liabilities.
• The EPA Is Cracking Down On PFAS — But Not In Fertilizer (Grist)
• Biden Admin. goes big on new conservation initiatives:
• Biden administration restricts oil and gas leasing in 13 million acres of Alaska’s petroleum reserve (AP)
• Biden Shields Millions of Acres of Alaskan Wilderness From Drilling and Mining (NY Times):
  The Biden administration expanded federal protections across millions of acres of Alaskan wilderness on Friday, blocking oil, gas and mining operations in some of the most unspoiled land in the country.
• Reports: Biden administration set to deny 200-mile Ambler mining road through Alaska wilderness (Anchorage Daily News):
  The Trump administration had approved the right-of-way permit in 2020. Conservation groups and Alaska tribal entities, including the Tanana Chiefs Conference, sued to overturn the decision. The Biden administration also said it identified legal flaws in the process related to subsistence impacts and tribal consultation. The new look at the project led to the suspension of the permit and the supplemental environmental review that’s now underway.
• The U.S. just changed how it manages public lands (Washington Post):
  The Interior Department rule puts conservation and clean energy development on par with drilling, mining and resource extraction on federal lands for the first time.
• Interior Said to Reject Industrial Road Through Alaskan Wilderness (NY Times)
• Biden unveils Solar For All, American Climate Corps, and more:
• VIDEO: Biden marks Earth Day by going after GOP, announcing $7 billion in federal solar power grants (AP):
  President Joe Biden marked Earth Day by announcing $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects serving 900,000-plus households in low- and middle-income communities — while criticizing Republicans who want to gut his policies to address climate change.
• On Earth Day, Biden launched a new site to apply for Climate Corps jobs (NPR)
• Biden uses executive power to create a New Deal-style American Climate Corps (AP):
  After being thwarted by Congress, President Joe Biden will use his executive authority to create a New Deal-style American Climate Corps that will serve as a major green jobs training program.
• Transcript: Remarks By President Biden on Earth Day and at Signing of an Executive Order Strengthening the Nation’s Forests, Communities, and Local Economies (White House)
• VIDEO: Biden marks Earth Day with new grants for solar power (PBS NewsHour/Twitter)
• Green Groups Cheer $7 Billion in ‘Solar for All’ Grants (Common Dreams)
• American Climate Corps website (American Climate Corps)

‘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

• Here’s how to apply for Biden’s Climate Corps jobs (NPR)
• Oil Companies Must Set Aside More Money to Plug Wells, But It Won’t Be Enough (Pro Publica)
• Ohio Gov. DeWine Campaign Got Secret $2.5 Million Boost From Power Company (Floodlight)
• A Web Of Front People Conceals Environmental Offenders In The Amazon (Mongabay)
• World ‘losing the battle’ against electronic waste, UN finds (Reuters)
• Net zero has become unhelpful slogan, says outgoing head of UK climate watchdog (Guardian)
• CA Communities Fight The Last Toxic Battery Recycling Plant In The West (Grist)
• How European Trash Illegally Ends Up In Southeast Asia (DW News)
• Pennsylvania’s First Proposed Chemical Recycling Plant Cancelled (Environmental Health News)
• Earth Day: A Senator More Than 50 Years Ago Got People Fighting For Planet (AP)
• Don’t flush trees down the toilet. Use sustainable toilet paper instead (gift link, Washington Post)
• VIDEO: Buttigieg on New High Speed Rail (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Top Louisiana University Lets Oil Firms Influence Research – For A Price (Guardian)
• VIDEO: Biden warns climate change deniers are ‘condemning’ Americans to ‘dangerous future’ during Earth Day event (Fox News/MSN)
• VIDEO: A Brief But Spectacular take on giving climate activism a shot (PBS NewsHour)
• Drought Pushes Millions Into ‘Acute Hunger’ in Southern Africa (NY Times)
• The harms of plastics are getting personal (op-ed, The Hill)
• How To Spot 5 Of The Fossil Fuel Industry’s Biggest Disinformation Tactics (Guardian)
• 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)