‘Green News Report’ – May 8, 2025

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Trump EPA to reportedly kill off money-saving, energy-saving Energy Star program; Trump’s cuts to science funding are hurting the U.S. economy; Most Americans rely on federal science every day, but don’t realize it; PLUS: Republican-controlled Congress targets California’s clean air standards and more… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Land under the country’s largest cities is sinking. Here’s where – and why; Water a weapon in India/Pakistan conflict; Anti-government group threatens crucial weather radars, NOAA warns; Congress asks whether FEMA is ready for hurricane season amid cuts; 17 states sue Trump Admin for blocking funds for electric vehicle charging; Trump Admin. decommissions sea ice data that warned of climate change… PLUS: Coal ash waste could be a rare earth reservoir… and much, MUCH more! …

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

• Trump EPA to kill off popular Energy Star program:
• E.P.A. Plans to Shut Down the Energy Star Program (NY Times):
  “The Energy Star program and all the other climate work, outside of what’s required by statute, is being de-prioritized and eliminated,” Paul Gunning, the director of the E.P.A. Office of Atmospheric Protection, told employees during the meeting, according to the recording obtained by The New York Times. Mr. Gunning’s office itself is also slated for elimination…In March, dozens of companies and trade organizations, including the United States Chamber of Commerce, implored Lee Zeldin, the E.P.A. administrator, to protect Energy Star.
• Trump administration plans to eliminate the 3-decade-old Energy Star program (CBS News)
• Trump admin. plans to shut down money-saving Energy Star program soon, sources say (CNN):
  “Eliminating the Energy Star program would directly contradict this administration’s promise to reduce household energy costs,” said Paula Glover, president of the nonprofit coalition Alliance to Save Energy.
• Energy Star, efficiency program that has steered consumer choice, targeted in cuts AP)
• Trump admin announces plans to shut down the Energy Star program (Engadget):
  It’s technically illegal for a presidential administration to end this program without Congress, but the same goes for many of Trump’s pronouncements and executive orders.
• Appliance Makers Are Fighting the EPA’s Reported Plan to End Energy Star Labeling (NOTUS)
• EPA ‘reorganization’ to eliminate multiple climate programs:
• Trump EPA Reorganization Signals End to Climate Work (E&E News):
  EPA is getting rid of the two offices that are primarily responsible for regulating climate and air pollution…”When they have a choice between using a scalpel or a laser on the one hand, or a sledgehammer and a meat cleaver on the other, they’ll choose the sledgehammer and the meat cleaver,” Goffman said.
• Shake-up at EPA threatens Energy Star, climate offices (Yahoo News)
• E.P.A. Plans to Shut Down the Energy Star Program (NY Times):
  A chart obtained by The New York Times indicates that other programs on the chopping block include the E.P.A.’s work on climate economics, climate science, climate policy, greenhouse gas reporting, and a voluntary program in which industries work with the agency to slash emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
• What EPA’s reorganization could mean for its climate staff (E&E News):
  Administrator Lee Zeldin plans to shrink the workforce as he tries to free the agency from the statutory obligation to regulate climate pollution.
• GOP-controlled Congress attacks CA’s clean air standards and much more:
• Republicans in Congress Use Obscure Law to Roll Back Biden-Era Regulations (NY Times):
  As G.O.P. lawmakers have largely ceded power to President Trump, they are also pushing the bounds of a little-known statute to undo federal rules — and potentially undermining the filibuster.
• Senate overturns EPA rule on seven highly toxic air pollutants (Washington Post):
  If also passed by the House as expected, the action will be the first time Congress has weakened protections under the Clean Air Act.
• Senate votes to overturn EPA rule that limits 7 hazardous air pollutants (CBS News)
• US House votes to block California’s nation-leading vehicle emissions rules (AP):
  [T]he Senate Parliamentarian, who sides with the U.S. General Accountability Office in saying California’s policies are not subject to the review mechanism used by the House.
• AUDIO: The House strikes a blow against California in a fight over EVs (NPR)
• Poll: Most Americans rely on federal science but don’t realize it:
• New ASTC survey shows gaps between public support for science and understanding of how science is impacted by federal actions (Association of Science and Technology Centers)
• Your weather forecast depends on federal research. (The Verge)
• Most Americans use federal science information on a weekly basis, a new poll finds (NPR)
• Trump Admin. destruction of federal science will cause long-term economic harm:
• Preliminary Estimates of the Macroeconomic Costs of Cutting Federal Funding for Scientific Research (American University)
• Trump’s Cuts to Science Funding Could Hurt U.S. Economy, Study Shows (NY Times):
  U.S. gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, would be 3.8 percent smaller in the long term — a decline similar in magnitude to that in the Great Recession, which ended in 2009. The drop in output would be much more gradual than that downturn, taking place over years rather than months. But it would also be more lasting. Cuts to scientific research would sap innovation, leading to slower productivity growth and, as a result, permanently lower economic output. “It is going to be a decline forever,” said Ignacio Gonzalez, one of the study’s authors. “The U.S. economy is going to be smaller.”
• Study: Cuts to Science Funding Will Yield Great Recession-Level Economic Hit (Splinter)
• VIDEO: Gov. Pritzker blasts Republicans and ‘do-nothing Democrats’ in fiery speech (FULL) (YouTube)
• Transcript: JB Pritzker’s speech in New Hampshire, April 27, 2025 (Eric Zorn):
  If the best and the brightest around the world no longer flock to this shining city on a hill, then the U.S. economy is likely to fail. But failure, it’s starting to look like that’s the point of all this, doesn’t it?

‘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

• Land under the country’s largest cities is sinking. Here’s where – and why. (Washington Post)
• Water a weapon in India/Pakistan conflict (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Even as Trump vows tech upgrade, FAA’s leaders are fleeing via DOGE cuts (Washington Post)
• Anti-government group threatens crucial weather radars, NOAA warns (Washington Post)
• Congress asks whether FEMA is ready for hurricane season amid cuts (Inside Climate News)
• Trump Administration is said to target park service grants (NY Times)
• 17 states sue Trump Admin for blocking funds for electric vehicle charging (AP)
• Trump Admin. decommissions sea ice data that warned of climate change (Inside Climate News)
• House Republicans push to sell 100,000s of acres of public lands in the West (AP)
• Study on air pollution and racial inequities caught in NSF funding freeze (Inside Climate News)
• More on Coal Ash as Rare Earth Reservoir (This Is Not Cool blog)
• 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)