‘Green News Report’ – April 3, 2025

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Amid mass layoffs, federal weather forecasters still working to keep Americans safe, as extreme storms again strike across U.S.; Massive cuts at federal agencies halt research into health impacts of pollution and climate change; PLUS: Trump Administration freezes funds intended to plug America’s abandoned oil and gas wells… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): ‘Fossil fuels are killing us: Scientists publish sweeping review of industry harms; ‘A health hazard:’ Oregon flooding damages a city’s sewer system; Tesla reports 13% drop in sales from a year ago; What is causing US oil production to drop?; Trump fires TVA board chair, stripping power from governing body of largest US public utility; Edison CEO: It’s ‘certainly possible’ utility sparked Eaton fire. But climate change made it worse… PLUS: E.P.A. hunt for shady deals and ‘gold bars’ comes up empty… and much, MUCH more! …

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

• NOAA/NWS issue dire warnings of new extreme storms, floods, tornadoes:
• Millions Across U.S. at Risk for Significant Tornadoes and ‘Generational’ Flooding This Week (NY Times):
  Forecasters issued some of their rarest and most extreme alerts on Wednesday as they warned a powerful storm system would stall over the central part of the country.
• Live updates: Tornadoes devastate central US as threat of historic flooding ramps up (CNN):
  Areas from Arkansas to Kentucky could record historic amounts of rain this week that trigger once-in-a-generation flooding. Flooding has already begun in some areas, but it’s expected to get much worse through Saturday. Some of the predicted rainfall amounts are so off the charts, forecasters need another way to put them into perspective. That’s when you start to hear about 1-in-25-year or 1-in-100-year or even 1-in-1000-year rainfall events…That’s because it’s a measure of probability, not frequency.
• NOAA layoffs threaten weather, climate forecasts (Axios)
• New analysis finds extreme rainfall increasing due to climate change:
• Rainstorms are getting more intense amid climate change (Axios):
  The researchers divided each location’s total annual rainfall by its total hours of annual rainfall, using NOAA weather station data. That approach quantifies how much rain fell for each hour it was raining in a given year — in other words, rainfall intensity.
• Heavier Rainfall Rates in U.S. Cities (Climate Central)
• HHS cuts halt research halts research on pollution impacts:
• Trump Staff Cuts Hollow Out Extreme Heat Programs (Scientific American)
• ‘It’s a bloodbath’: Massive wave of job cuts underway at US health agencies (CNN)
• RFK Jr., Onetime Environmentalist, Kills NIH Climate Change Programs (Mother Jones):
  A recent fact sheet prepared by the program notes that it has funded projects that study the long-term health impacts of wildfires; develop strategies for combating malaria (an increasing threat in the United States as temperatures rise); assess plans for addressing children’s asthma following hurricanes (which cause the spread of mold and mildew, exacerbating the disease); examine how common medications can make older adults more sensitive to heat; research how best to deal with gastrointestinal injury caused by heat-related algae blooms; and explore the the connection between heart health risks and drought. It has also sponsored projects that seek to predict the spread of Lyme disease, reduce the exposure of schoolchildren to wildfire smoke, and use urban planning to make cities more flood resistant.
• A city responding to a lead crisis in schools reached out to the CDC for help. The agency’s lead experts were just fired (CNN)
• CDC Layoffs Deliver Devastating Blow to Respiratory Health (Asthma and Allergy Foundation)
• NIH cuts funding of public health impacts from climate change:
• NIH Ends Future Funding to Study the Health Effects of Climate Change (Pro Publica):
  “This is an administration where industry voices rule and prevail,” said Dr. Lisa Patel, executive director of The Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, a coalition of medical professionals that raises awareness about the health effects of climate change. “This is an agenda item for the fossil fuel industry, and this administration is doing what the fossil fuel industry wants.”
• Trump Administration guts LIHEAP program:
• Entire staff responsible for utility assistance included in HHS cuts, sources say (NBC News):
  The Trump administration on Tuesday eliminated the entire staff of a federal program that helps low-income households pay utility bills, sources said….”Ultimately, I believe the program will crumble from within without the federal office there to manage it,” said Andrew Germain, who was director of fiscal operations and accountability for the Administration for Children and Families, the HHS division that leads dozens of programs from welfare assistance to child-abuse prevention.
• HHS Fires Entire Staff That Helps Low-Income People Afford Heat, AC (The Hill)
• Trump Administration freezes funds intended to plug America’s abadoned oil/gas wells:
• Trump Halts Historic Orphaned Well-Plugging Program (High Country News):
  The billions of dollars approved by Congress to clean up abandoned oil and gas wells have been frozen as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping cuts to government spending, creating concerns that the cleanup will be halted just as it’s getting started.
• VIDEO: PBS Newshour on Pennsylvania’s Orphaned Wells (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Uncertainty over federal money to plug PA’s dangerous wells plagues contractors (PA Spotlight)
• Arctic sea ice extent hits new record low:
• Arctic Sea Ice Winter Peak In 2025 Is Smallest In 47-Year Record (Carbon Brief):
  Dr Julienne Stroeve, a senior scientist at the NSIDC, tells Carbon Brief that such a small winter peak “doesn’t mean a record-low” summer minimum will necessarily follow in September. But, she adds, it does “continue the overall long-term decline in the ice cover.”
• Arctic sea ice hits record low for its usual peak growth period (AP)
• Thinner Arctic sea ice may affect the AMOC, say scientists (Phys.org)
• The Arctic is in trouble. The consequences will be felt around the world (CNN)
• Naperville IL election halts coal plant:
• White, Gibson, Holzhauer, Syed headed to victory in Naperville City Council race (Daily Herald):
  All the candidates in the race listed public safety and infrastructure among their top concerns. They also agree the city should not be forced to renew an electricity contract with an agency that has minority ownership stakes in two coal-fired power plants.
• Will Naperville, St. Charles, and Winnetka “Say No to Coal”? (Prairie Rivers Network):
  What’s at stake? These three municipalities—and 29 others—co-own the massive Prairie State Coal Plant, one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters in the country. Their involvement stems from long-term contracts with the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency (IMEA), which have kept them locked into coal dependency. Now, IMEA is pushing for a 20-year extension on these contracts—binding these communities to coal power until 2055.

‘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

• ‘Fossil fuels are killing us: Scientists publish sweeping review of industry harms (Common Dreams)
• ‘A health hazard:’ Oregon flooding damages a city’s sewer system (Washington Post)
• Tesla reports 336,000 vehicle deliveries in first quarter, 13% drop from a year ago (NBC News)
• VIDEO: What is causing US oil production to drop? (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Trump fires TVA board chair, stripping power from governing body of largest US public utility (Knoxville News-Sentinel)
• The data center bubble is filled with methane and the Senate is going nuclear (Hill Heat)
• Some SMR nuclear plants could bypass environmental review step under Arizona bill (Utility Dive)
• E.P.A. hunt for shady deals and ‘gold bars’ comes up empty (NY Times)
• Edison CEO: It’s ‘certainly possible’ utility sparked Eaton fire. But climate change made it worse (LA Times)
• Flood Risks Getting Worse Along U.S. Coastlines, New Analysis Shows (Floodlight)
• U.S. Honeybee Deaths Soar, And Grocery Store Bills Could Take The Hit (NBC News)
• Trump Said Auto Emissions Don’t Affect the Environment. That’s Not True. (NY Times)
• A guide to the 4 minerals shaping the world’s energy future (Grist)
• 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)