‘Green News Report’ – March 18, 2025

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Tornadoes, wildfires, and dust storms wreak havoc across Central and Southern US; Trump Administration mass firings endanger accuracy of weather forecasts; PLUS: Trump EPA rescinds vital permits for New Jersey offshore wind project… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): ‘We don’t have anywhere to go.’ In Ghana, rising seas, powerful waves sweep away homes; Environmental groups sound alarm as fossil fuel lobby pushes for immunity; Hope for a Trump energy boom is marred by anxiety about tariffs; Climate scientist Dr. Michael Mann targeted again in court; Want cheap power, fast? Solar and wind farms have a suggestion… PLUS: Trump halted Agent Orange cleanup, putting hundreds of thousands at risk… and much, MUCH more! …

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

• Tornadoes, wildfires, dust storms wreak havoc across Central, Southern US states:
• 42 dead in severe storms and tornadoes that swept across U.S. (ABC News)
• Far-flung outbreak of extreme weather kills at least 42 (Yale Climate Connections)
• In the Missouri Ozarks, residents struggle to rebuild after tornadoes (NNPR)
• Arkansas Neighborhood Hit by a Tornado for the 2nd Time in a Year: ‘This Is Not Good’ (Yahoo News)
• VIDEO: Survivors of deadly tornadoes share stories of making it through the extreme weather: “We wouldn’t be alive” (CBS News)
• At least 8 dead in Kansas dust storm as 55 vehicles crash during interstate pile-up (CBS NEws)
• Texas Panhandle dust storm leads to 42 crashes, 4 fatalities, pileups (Amarillo Globe-News),/li>
• At least 4 dead, hundreds of homes destroyed after wildfires sweep across Oklahoma and Texas (AP)
• Climate change is turbocharging extreme weather outbreaks:
• At least 40 killed as tornadoes, severe weather threaten multiple states (Axios):
  The storms had prompted the National Weather Service to issue a rare “high risk” threat designation for Mississippi and Alabama on Saturday, as multiple rounds of intense thunderstorms swept across these states…Climate change is altering the environment in which severe thunderstorms and tornadoes form.
• Climate change and tornadoes: Any connection? (Yale Climate Connections):
  As greenhouse gases shuffle the atmospheric deck, where and when twisters happen is changing./div>
• Is tornado frequency increasing in parts of the U.S.? (National Weather Service)
Their findings include a decrease in the traditional “Tornado Alley” of the Great Plains and an increase in the Southeast’s “Dixie Alley”.
• What we know about how climate change affects tornado outbreaks (Axios, 4/3/2024)
• New round of cuts at NOAA, NWS will harm forecast accuracy:
• NOAA lays off another 1,000 employees as President Trump escalates federal cuts (USA Today)
• A second round of NOAA layoffs leaves it 20% leaner than before (USA Today)
• Expert issues urgent warning following significant cuts to national services: ‘What’s at risk is our safety’ (The Cool Down)
• VIDEO: Dr. Rick Spinrad, Job cuts at NOAA drive concerns about extreme weather forecasts, as climate change worsens natural disasters (CBS News)
• Trump team urges more big cuts to NOAA weather agency. What will it mean for Louisiana forecasts? (NOLA)
• Experts warn against Trump Administration cuts to science agencies:
• Insurance sector warns against NOAA cuts (Financial Times)
• Trump administration’s NOAA cuts could cost insurers (Insurance Insider):
  The agency collects gold standard data and conducts research. Without that, there’s more uncertainty.
• Trump has fired scientists who monitor the ocean. It comes at the worst possible time (CNN)
• Trump EPA to close Environmental Justice offices:
• E.P.A. Plans to Close All Environmental Justice Offices (NY Times):
  An internal memo directs the closure of offices designed to ease the heavy pollution faced by poor and minority communities.
• EPA eliminating environmental justice jobs (CBS News)
• Trump Admin. denied Asheville, NC disaster request over ‘DEI’:
• Trump admin makes Asheville remove ‘DEI’ language to access hurricane relief aid (MSNBC/Yahoo):
  The Trump administration recently denied a funding request from the city of Asheville, North Carolina, to help its recovery from Hurricane Helene, telling the city it must cut a program meant to aid female and minority contractors. The mayor said the city has cut the reference to the program and now expects the plan to win approval. During the presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly used the devastation Helene wrought on North Carolina to spread lies and conspiracy theories about the Biden administration’s recovery efforts.
• Disaster Blackmail: Forcing MAGA Values on Struggling Communities (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Trump EPA effectively cancels NJ offshore wind project:
• EPA pulls permit from New Jersey offshore wind project (WHYY-New York):
  After Trump issued an executive order to pause offshore wind, the EPA pulled Atlantic Shores’ air permit. The company argues the permit was final and not up for review.
• Permit for Offshore Wind Farm Voided After Trump Opposed Project (Bloomberg)

‘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

• ‘We don’t have anywhere to go.’ In Ghana, rising seas, powerful waves sweep away homes (AP)
• Environmental groups sound alarm as fossil fuel lobby pushes for immunity (Guardian)
• Hope for a Trump energy boom is marred by anxiety about tariffs (NY Times)
• Trump halted Agent Orange cleanup, putting hundreds of thousands at risk (Pro Publica)
• Ohio Supreme Court weighs high-stakes solar permitting case (Canary Media)
• Line 5, a Trump donor, is profiting off a pipeline deal threatening pollution (Guardian)
• A famous climate scientist won a $1M verdict. Then his case took a turn. (Washington Post)
• Trump Says He’s Authorizing Administration to Produce Coal Power (Bloomberg)
• Want Cheap Power, Fast? Solar and Wind Firms Have a Suggestion. (NY Times)
• Wall Street Journal: Clean energy transition is unstoppable (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Can we avoid the enshittification of clean-energy tech? (David Roberts, Volts)
• Stop emissions, stop warming: A climate reality check (Dr. Andrew Dessler, Climate Brink)
• The Climate Fight Will Continue (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Who Will Care for Americans Left Behind by Climate Migration? (Pro Publica)
• Is the Atlantic Overturning Circulation Approaching a Tipping Point? (The Oceanography Society)
• How Oil Companies Manipulate Journalists (Drilled)
• Abrupt reduction in shipping emission as an inadvertent geoengineering termination shock produces substantial radiative warming (Nature)
• 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)