‘Green News Report’ – July 18, 2024

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Toronto crippled by extreme storms and floods; Economic losses from extreme heat escalate in U.S.; More frequent severe floods raise concerns over 4,000 aging dams across the country; PLUS: Marathon Oil to pay record fine for oil and pollution in violation of the Clean Air Act… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): ‘We built our world for a climate that no longer exists’; With sewage gushing into sea, US and Mexican border towns plead for help; Prisoners are uniquely vulnerable to extreme heat and flooding; Biden BLM to add protections against drilling in Alaska Petroleum Reserve; Record salmon migration runs into hot water — literally; Deadly floods engulf parts of South Asia… PLUS: Britain faces ‘age of trade-offs’, warned new climate adviser… and much, MUCH more! …

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

• Toronto crippled by extreme rain, floods
• Toronto just saw record rainfall. Why wasn’t it more prepared? (CBC)
• VIDEO: Flooding closes major Toronto-area roads amid torrential downpour (CBC)
• 2nd major flooding in 11 years a sign Toronto is not adapting quickly enough, say climate experts (CBC):
  “Every dollar that you put into place for adaptation, on average, saves $3 to $8 in cost avoidance over a 10-year period. So it’s a more cost-effective strategy to become resilient and adapt to these extreme weather events now, rather than waiting in the future.”
• Flooding raises questions about Toronto’s vulnerability to large storms (CP-24)
• Drake shows video of flooded mansion as torrential rain batters Toronto (CNN)
• Definition of 100-year storm ‘seems to have flown right out the window’: Toronto official (Global News)
• VIDEO: ‘The city is not designed to handle this amount of water:’ Official says little could have been done to prevent Toronto flooding (CP-24)
• Illinois storms generate tornadoes, dam failure:
• Powerful derecho blasts Midwest, swarming Chicago with tornadoes (Washington Post)
• At least eight tornadoes touched down across the Midwest — one in downtown Chicago (NBC News)
• A dam fails after rain, wind, tornadoes pound the Midwest. The Chicago area is cleaning up (AP)
• VIDEO: Scared Passengers Tweet From O’Hare Tarmac During Derecho (Weather Channel)
• Risk of Illinois dam breach is under control after once-in-a-century rainfall, officials say (CNN)
• Vermont floods raise concerns about future of state’s hundreds of aging dams (AP):
  There are roughly 90,000 significant dams in the U.S. At least 4,000 are in poor or unsatisfactory condition and could kill people or only harm the environment if they failed, according to data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They need inspections, upgrades and even emergency repairs.
• Economic losses from extreme heat escalate :
• Extreme Heat Is Causing Billions in Damages That Insurers Won’t Cover (no paywall, Wall St. Journal):
  Standard insurance policies are designed for sudden and accidental damages, such as those caused by fires, storms and theft, and often don’t cover the effects of intense heat, which can be gradual.
• Increasingly costly heat waves present insurance challenges (Axios):
  Heat waves are unlike other extreme events such as hurricanes and floods. They alter the built environment silently, and their impacts can compound over time…Their greatest impacts are to industries dependent on outdoor workers. This affects everything from package delivery services to the construction industry.
• Clean energy stabilizing California’s electric grid:
• Houston, Chicago, Toronto, Climate Crushing Grids. California a Battery Powered Bright Spot (This Is Not Cool blog):
  California’s power grid emerged from a nearly three weeklong record-setting heat wave relatively unscathed, and officials are crediting years of investment in renewable energy — particularly giant batteries that store solar power for use when the sun stops shining.
• VIDEO: California Grid Breezes Through Heat Wave due to Renewables, Batteries (NBC-San Francisco)
• Shuttered auto factories to get funding to transition to EVs:
• White House Unveils $1.7B To Convert Factories For EV Production (E&E News)
• Shuttered auto plants will become EV factories thanks to $1.7 billion Biden program (The Verge):
  The president has made EVs a central piece of his climate platform, approving billions of dollars in new spending on consumer incentives for car shoppers and charging station installations. Former President Donald Trump has promised to hit the brakes on Biden’s EV spending if he wins in November, and House Republicans have passed numerous bills to scrap the administration’s EV tax credit program.
• Marathon Oil pays record fine for Clean Air Act violations:
• Marathon Oil agrees to record penalty for oil and gas pollution (Washington Post)
• Marathon Oil reaches $241 million settlement with EPA for environmental violations in North Dakota (AP):
  The agencies said the case is the first of its kind against an oil and gas producer for “violations of major source emissions permitting requirements under the Clean Air Act’s Prevention of Significant Deterioration program.” They also said the $64.5 million civil penalty Marathon must pay is the largest-ever penalty imposed for “stationary source violations,” which include facilities such as oil and gas tank systems.

‘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

• Opinion: We built our world for a climate that no longer exists (CNN)
• With Sewage Gushing Into Sea, US and Mexican Border Towns Plead For Help (Reuters)
• Prisoners Are Uniquely Vulnerable to Extreme Heat and Flooding (Sierra Magazine)
• Biden BLM To Add Protections Against Drilling In Alaska Petroleum Reserve (Phys.Org)
• Record Salmon Migration Runs Into Hot Water (E&E News)
• ‘Oven On Wheels’: US Amazon Drivers Roast Before ‘Prime Day’ Rush (Thompson Reuters Foundation)
• Sandstorms: What Are They, And Why Are They More Frequent? (DW News)
• Britain faces ‘age of trade-offs’, warned new climate adviser (Carbon Brief)
• Deadly floods engulf parts of South Asia as extreme weather devastates vulnerable region (CNN)
• Flood emergency hits Arkansas after months of rain falls in a few hours (CNN)
• California needs a million EV charging stations — but some say that’s ‘unlikely’ and ‘unrealistic’ (AP)
• How to power your home through an outage without a gas generator (Washington Post)
• VIDEO: John Oliver on Trump’s Project 2025: Blueprint for the Death of Democracy (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Is the Atlantic Overturning Circulation Approaching a Tipping Point? (The Oceanography Society)
• How Oil Companies Manipulate Journalists (Drilled)
• How To Spot 5 Of The Fossil Fuel Industry’s Biggest Disinformation Tactics (Guardian)
• The Oceans We Knew Are Already Gone (The Atlantic)
• 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)
• 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)
• Project Drawdown: 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (Drawdown.org)