‘Green News Report’ – May 16, 2024

Follow @GreenNewsReport…




(Or use “Click here to listen…” link below.)

IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Canada wildfires expand, threaten oil industry town of Fort McMurray, again; Climate change made extreme heat in Asia significantly worse; PLUS: Broadcast media ignored Donald Trump’s blatant, billion-dollar quid pro quo offer to Big Oil… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

Click here to listen or download MP3 (6 mins)…

Link:
Embed:

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): DeSantis signs law deleting climate change from Florida policy; A Trump win puts $1 Trillion in US energy investments at risk; How Alabama turned to restrictive deed covenants to ward off flooding claims from black residents; Oakland is now first in the US to have a 100% electric school bus fleet – and it’s V2G; Impunity and pollution abound in DRC mining of critical minerals; Persistent Brazil floods raise specter of climate migration… PLUS: Don’t fall for ‘climate-friendly’ beef… and much, MUCH more! …

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

• Canada wildfires expand and threaten Alberta’s Fort McMurray, again:
• Fire threat eases near Canada’s oil sands hub, but a long, hot summer looms (AP/MSN)
• Over 6,000 Fort McMurray residents under evacuation (Edmonton News)
• VIDEO: 2nd out-of-control wildfire approaches Fort Nelson, B.C. (CTV News)
• 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.
• Canadian Wildfires Could Exceed Last Year (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Fire-threatened Fort McMurray: Why is it so important to Canada’s oil industry? (Reuters)
• Climate change made relentless extreme heat across Asia significantly worse:
• Study: Climate change significantly worsened Asia heat waves (Axios):
  In West Asia, climate change made the heat about five times more likely and 1.7°C (3.06°F) hotter, the study concluded. In the Philippines, heat waves such as these are about 1-in-10-year events during El Niño years, but less common when that climate cycle is not present. Given its magnitude and longevity, the brutal heat in the Philippines, which set all-time national temperature records, would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change, the study found, even when accounting for El Niño.
• Climate change made the deadly heatwaves that hit millions of highly vulnerable people across Asia more frequent and extreme (World Weather Attribution)
• Summer 2023 was hottest summer in at least 2000 years:
• Hot history: Tree rings show that last northern summer was the warmest since year 1 (AP):
  A study Tuesday in the journal Nature uses a well-established method and record of more than 10,000 tree rings to calculate summertime temperatures for each year since the year 1. No year came even close to last summer’s high heat, said lead author Jan Esper, a climate geographer at the Gutenberg Research College in Germany.
• Summer 2023 Was the Northern Hemisphere’s Hottest in 2,000 Years, Study Finds (NY Times)
• 2023 summer warmth unparalleled over the past 2,000 years (Nature)
• Another barge collides with a bridge, causing oil spill:
• Barge Hits Galveston Bridge, Causing Partial Collapse And Oil Spill (AP):
  A barge slammed into a bridge pillar in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, spilling oil into waters near busy shipping channels and closing the only road to a small neighboring island. No injuries were reported.
• Video shows aftermath after barge hits bridge in Texas (CNN)
• WV coal baron, Gov. Jim Justice, wins GOP Senate nomination:
• West Virginia governor with heavy debts wins Republican nomination to US Senate (Essa News)
• Jim Justice criticizes EPA over new rules for coal, gas power plants (Hampshire Review):
  In a sprawling speech painting a near-apocalyptic image of West Virginia’s future if the policies stand, Gov. Jim Justice last week doubled down on his vow to fight new federal rules meant to limit pollution and emissions from coal-fired power plants across the nation.
• DOJ sues Jim Justice’s coal empire over unpaid fines for mining violations (Politico, 5/1/2023)
• WVa governor’s family coal firm agrees to reclaim mines (AP, 1/20/2023):
  Justice’s businesses have faced several other woes, including millions of dollars in penalties from the federal government and court fights over claims his companies failed to deliver coal, pay tax debts owed to counties or contribute toward monthly premiums on employee benefit plans.
• W. Va. AG known for opposing Obama and Biden policies wins GOP primary for governor (NPR)
• Broadcast media ignored Trump’s blatant solicitation for Big Oil campaign cash:
• National TV news, with the exception of MSNBC, failed to cover Trump’s scandalous Big Oil proposition (Media Matters):
  [O]ver a four-day period, TV news broadcast and cable networks – with the exception of MSNBC – did not cover Trump’s proposition to oil executives. From May 9 through May 12, MSNBC spent 48 minutes discussing Trump’s proposition to Big Oil, with nearly 40% of the coverage airing on Velshi.
• House Democrats launch probe of Trump’s dinner with oil executives (Washington Post/MSN)
• What Trump Promised Oil CEOs As He Asked Them For $1 Billion To His Campaign (Washington Post)
• ‘A little bold and gross’: Oil industry writes executive orders for Trump to sign (Politico)
• Trump vows to destroy the U.S. offshore wind industry:
• Trump pledges to scrap offshore wind projects on ‘day one’ of presidency (Guardian):
  Trump repeated false accusations about wind projects as being lethal to whales during a rally on Saturday in Wildwood, a resort city on New Jersey’s coast, promising to stamp out an industry that has been enthusiastically backed by Joe Biden.
• VIDEO: Former President Trump Campaigns in Wildwood, New Jersey (C-SPAN)
• Biden slaps major tariffs on imports of Chinese EVs and solar cells:
• Tariffs Give U.S. Automakers a Fleeting Chance (The American Prospect):
  div class=”mediagreen”>The industry has to cooperate in its own survival, of course. U.S. automakers have lobbied for protection from Chinese competition and relaxation of federal requirements to transition to EVs. They got both, but neither relieves the pressure to move toward cleaner engines.