In the news today and from the weekend…
Climate:
- American Thinker carries an article breaking down the Green New Deal to show it is unfeasible.
Op-eds:
- The Washington Post carries an op-ed from Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and West Virginia Rep. Joe Machin, in which they say it’s time to “responsibly” act on climate change
Coal:
- CNBC reports, while Trump has not revived the coal industry, employment for miners has held steady during the two years of his presidency, halting the employment drop over the past 30 years.
- Metro News WV reports coal miners gathered outside the Senate chamber Saturday morning to celebrate passage of two bills aimed at boosting the state’s coal industry.
- Wyoming Public Media reports lawmakers in Wyoming push for legislation to slow coal plant closures.
- WVPB reports a bipartisan group of West Virginia Senators has introduced a resolution that would task a legislative committee with studying the state’s black lung epidemic and why it is on the rise, especially in younger miners.
- E&E Climatewire reports on the struggle for rural electric cooperatives to transition away from coal. Part one of two.
- E&E Energywire reports Rep. Lizzie Fletcher fights to call for climate action while defending fossil fuel industries in Texas.
EPA:
- InsideEPA reports EPA has voluntarily withdrawn its appeals of federal district court rulings striking down its delay of the Obama-era Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction rule, cementing for now a nationwide “patchwork” of regulations on the law’s scope that will persist until the White House finalizes a policy to repeal or replace the 2015 jurisdiction rule.
- E&E News reports states will no longer have to require power plants and other large polluters to track their summertime releases of nitrogen oxides through “continuous emission monitoring systems,” under an EPA rule that takes effect today.
Government Agencies:
- E&E Daily News reports top officials from three federal agencies — the departments of Agriculture, Energy and the Interior — will testify tomorrow before a House Natural Resources subcommittee on the Trump administration’s wide-ranging “energy dominance” agenda.
Carbon Capture Technology:
- Inc. reports a new Texas power plant which will burn fossil fuels and emit zero carbon emissions, thanks to carbon capture and storage technology.
Energy Transition:
- Energy News Network reports plans to “re-energize” a coal mine in southwestern Virginia as a solar farm was accepted with the full $500,000 in federal funds requested last year
- WUSF reports a pair of bills have been filed in the Florida legislature that would mandate the state transition to renewable energy by 2050.
- Tampa Bay Times reports Tampa Electric is transitioning from coal power to natural gas, but environmentalists are pushing for a faster transition to renewables.