‘Green News Report’ – May 14, 2024

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Canada’s fire season erupts, forcing evacuations, as wildfire smoke chokes U.S. Upper Midwest; Record-breaking increase in carbon dioxide levels in the world’s atmosphere; PLUS: Michigan is newest state to sue Big Oil for mounting climate damages… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Biden’s EV tariffs give U.S. automakers a fleeting chance; FERC shakes up power industry with landmark grid rule; El Niño to end by June, La Niña seen in second half of 2024; Cloud brightening study in CA halted by local officials; Greenhouse gas milestone; CO2 levels set record; Alabama uses deed covenants to ward off flooding claims from black residents; Why you CAN recycle pizza boxes, and other recycling myths debunked; World’s top climate scientists expect global heating to blast past 1.5C target… PLUS: Where will you go if your town disappears into the ocean?… and much, MUCH more! …

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

• Global atmospheric CO2 levels mark record-breaking annual increase:
• Record-breaking increase in CO2 levels in world’s atmosphere (Guardian):
  The largest ever recorded leap in the amount of carbon dioxide laden in the world’s atmosphere has just occurred, according to researchers who monitor the relentless accumulation of the primary gas that is heating the planet.
• Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory just captured ominous signals about the planet’s health (Washington Post):
  Carbon dioxide is accumulating in the atmosphere faster than ever.
• Unprecedented weather disasters strike around the world:
• Foreboding preview: Global spate of weather extremes precedes risky summer (Axios)
• VIDEO: Children pulled from mud as hundreds die in severe flooding in Afghanistan (CNN)
• Flash floods in northern Afghanistan sweep away livelihoods, leaving hundreds dead and missing (AP):
  “I hope someone has found my daughters alive,” he said, holding back tears. “Just in the blink of an eye, I lost everything: family, home, belongings, now nothing is left to me.”
• Death toll from floods in Indonesia’s West Sumatra rises to 50 (Reuters)
• As Asia sweats through a heatwave, experts say it’s not sunburn you need to worry about (ABC Australia)
• From flooding in Brazil and Houston to brutal heat in Asia, extreme weather seems nearly everywhere (AP)
• Canada grapples with early, intense fire season, triggering air quality alerts:
• Drought Fuels Wildfire Concerns As Canada Braces For Another Intense Summer (Yale Climate Connections):
  As widespread drought raises expectations for a repeat of last year’s ferocious wildfire season, response teams across Canada are grappling with the rapidly changing face of fire in a warming climate.
• VIDEO: Officials warn next 48 hours ‘challenging’ as thousands are evacuated amid Canadian wildfires (AP)
• VIDEO: Canadian town bracing for its last stand against out-of-control 13,000-acre wildfire (CBS News)
• Conditions improve for crews battling Fort Nelson, B.C., wildfire (CBC)
• Dozens of blazes burning in Canada are sending smoke to the US. Several major fires have forced hundreds of evacuations (CNN/MSN)
• Minnesota and Wisconsin Under Air Quality Warnings From Canada Wildfires (NY Times),/li>
• This city currently has the worst air quality in America: Kansas City (Washington Post)
• FTC says fracking CEO conspired with OPEC in price-fixing scheme:
• The Mega-Donor Who Colluded With OPEC (The American Prospect):
  Pioneer Natural Resources CEO Scott Sheffield was banned from ExxonMobil’s board after a merger for conspiring to keep gas prices high.
• American oil tycoon accused of trying to conspire with OPEC to inflate prices (CNN)
• Fracking Bigwig Barred from Exxon Board Amid Price-Fixing Allegations (The Energy Mix):
  OPEC members have historically controlled global oil prices by cooperating to collectively increase or decrease production. But it is illegal for U.S. producers to do this under federal legislation, the Sherman and Clayton Acts, preventing anti-competitive business practices.
• An Oil Price-Fixing Conspiracy Caused 27% of All Inflation Increases in 2021 (BIG by Matt Stoller):
  The FTC just found evidence that American oil companies colluded with the Saudi government to hike gas prices, costing the average family $3,000 last year. The question is, what can we do about it?
• Trump solicits Big Oil campaign cash in blatant quid-pro-quo:
• Trump, Big Oil eye post-Biden era (Axios)
• What Trump Promised Oil CEOs As He Asked Them For $1 Billion To His Campaign (Washington Post):
  Trump…stunned several of the executives in the room…You all are wealthy enough, he said, that you should raise $1 billion to return me to the White House. At the dinner, he vowed to immediately reverse dozens of President Biden’s environmental rules and policies and stop new ones from being enacted…Giving $1 billion would be a “deal,” Trump said, because of the taxation and regulation they would avoid thanks to him, according to the people.
• ‘A little bold and gross’: Oil industry writes executive orders for Trump to sign (Politico)
• Michigan A.G. to sue Big Oil for climate damages:
• AG Nessel plans to sue oil and gas companies over Michigan’s changing climate (Detroit News):
  The oil and gas industry profited while knowingly selling products that cause climate change, Nessel’s office said in a document disclosing the coming lawsuits. The industry also deceived the public about climate change, Nessel alleged, leaving the state with the expenses of adapting to and recovering from the effects of warming.
• Michigan plans to sue oil industry over climate change (E&E News)
• VIDEO: AG Nessel looking for attorneys/law firms… [to focus] on legal action related to climate change impacts from the fossil fuel industry on Michigan’s behalf (MI AG Dana Nessel/Twitter)

‘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

• Tariffs Give U.S. Automakers a Fleeting Chance (The American Prospect)
• FERC Shakes Up Power Industry With Landmark Grid Rule (E&E News)
• El Niño To End By June, La Niña Seen In Second Half Of 2024: NOAA (Reuters)
• FERC: Will New Rules Break Transmission Logjam? (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Where will you go if your town disappears into the ocean? (Washington Post)
• Greenhouse gas milestone; CO2 levels set record (AP)
• Cloud Brightening Study in California Is Halted by Local Officials (NY Times)
• Biden Signs Bipartisan Bill Banning Imports Of Russian Uranium (Guardian)
• Alabama Uses Deed Covenants to Ward Off Flooding Claims From Black Residents (Inside Climate News)
• The kids think Biden’s all right (on climate) (Axios)
• Why you CAN recycle pizza boxes, and other recycling myths debunked (Washington Post)
• World’s top climate scientists expect global heating to blast past 1.5C target (Guardian)
• 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)