Top News

Energy Secretary: US Aims To Making Fossil Fuels Cleaner. According to the Washington Post, “The Trump administration is committed to making fossil fuels cleaner rather than imposing ‘draconian’ regulations on coal and oil, U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said Thursday at an energy conference in Salt Lake City. Perry previously said the administration wants to spend a half-billion dollars next year on fossil fuel research and development as demand plummets for coal and surges for natural gas. ‘Instead of punishing fuels that produce emissions through regulation, we’re seeking to reduce those emissions by innovation,’ Perry said at the conference. Fossil fuel emissions have been cited by scientists as a major source of global warming. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres recently said the world must change how it fuels factories, vehicles and homes to limit future global warming. Perry said the Trump administration has proven it can make energy cleaner, but he provided no details involving coal and other fossil fuels other than the closing of old, inefficient coal-burning power plants and exporting increasing volumes of natural gas, an alternative to coal.” [Washington Post, 5/30/19 (+)]

The State Of U.S. Emissions. According to Axios, “Economy-wide U.S. greenhouse gas emissions grew by between 1.5% to 2.5% in 2018, according to a just-published estimate from the Rhodium Group consultancy. Why it matters: The data underscores how the U.S. is off-track for meeting its pledge under the Paris Climate Agreement, which is to cut these emissions by 26%–28% below 2005 levels by 2025. The intrigue: While President Trump is pulling the U.S. out of the Paris agreement (more on that below), his Democratic challengers for 2020 would reverse that decision. But this new information highlights how difficult it would be to honor the goals. The big picture: The recent increase leaves total U.S. emissions at 10.7% to 11.6% below 2005 levels in 2018, the consultancy estimates. Their research note also shows that emissions ticked up in all the biggest categories: power (which has largely been declining for years), transportation (the biggest source), industry and buildings.” [Axios, 5/31/19 (=)]

Florida Senators Back Push For Federal Help With Red Tide. According to The Hill, “Florida’s senators are pushing the Commerce Department to issue a disaster declaration over Florida’s wildlife-killing red tide. Florida’s latest bout with red tide brought images from up and down the state’s Gulf Coast of dead fish washing ashore after being choked by a surge of oxygen-hogging algae. ‘Southwest Florida’s coasts have provided an important source of opportunity for generations of families who have built their livelihoods on these productive waters,’ Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, both Republicans, wrote in a Wednesday letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. ‘To best support these working families in their time of need following the recent significant and persistent red tide events, we ask for your assistance in promptly fulfilling the State of Florida’s request for a federal fishery resource disaster declaration.’ That type of declaration, requested by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) last week, is specifically designed to provide assistance to areas heavily reliant on fishing. Commerce determines if there is a disaster, though Congress must appropriate any financial relief the department may distribute. The Department of Commerce confirmed receipt of the letters. Florida has been denied help for red tide in the past.” [The Hill, 5/30/19 (=)]

Extreme Weather Is Pummeling The Midwest, And Farmers Are In Deep Trouble. According to the Washington Post, “In Kendell Culp’s corner of northwest Indiana, relentless rain began falling on his farm months ago, saturating the ground his family has nurtured for generations and delaying the start of their planting season by more than a week. It eased up briefly at the end of April, enough time to plant corn on about 350 of his 2,000 acres. Then the rain started falling all over again. ‘There’s just not a lot you can do,’ he said. Nearly 90 percent of his corn crop is already growing, as a result of a few dry days and long, strategic hours in the fields. But he has yet to plant a single soybean. Last year, he was done planting everything by the first week of May. ‘I’ve never had a yield where I couldn’t get my crop planted,’ Culp said, noting that his father, who is in his 80s, recalled the same. ‘This is unprecedented, what we’re facing.’ For months now, the Culps — and many farmers across wide swaths of the Midwest — have rarely seen days dry enough to work, leading to what agricultural experts are calling a historically delayed planting season that could exacerbate the economic and personal anxieties brought on by a multiyear slump in farm prices and the Trump administration’s trade war with China, the world’s largest soybean buyer.” [Washington Post, 5/30/19 (=)]

In Harvard Speech, Merkel Rebukes Trump’s Worldview In All But Name. According to the New York Times, “Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, recalling how the Berlin Wall’s destruction 30 years ago taught her that anything was possible, exhorted Harvard’s 2019 graduating class on Thursday to reject isolationism and nationalism, embrace the fight against climate change, see the world through other’s eyes and never ‘describe lies as truth and truth as lies.’ Ms. Merkel, in her 13th year as chancellor and widely regarded as the leader of Western Europe, never mentioned President Trump by name in the commencement keynote speech. But she laid out a worldview that showed her deep differences both with his administration and the forces of right-wing populism that have emerged in Europe and elsewhere. And she did so on America’s most prominent academic stage. Speaking mostly in German with a consecutive English translation, Ms. Merkel, 64, paused more than a dozen times for applause and received three standing ovations from the graduates and guests at Harvard’s commencement in Cambridge, Mass. Earlier in the day, Harvard’s president, Lawrence Bacow, awarded Ms. Merkel an honorary doctor of laws degree.” [New York Times, 5/30/19 (+)]

Editorial: Sea-Level Rise Could Be Even Worse Than We’ve Been Led To Expect. According to the Washington Post Editorial Board, “One thing scientists are sure will happen as the world warms is that the seas will rise, putting millions of people at risk of land erosion, flooding and permanent displacement. But ask experts exactly how far oceans will advance, and their answer gets far more qualified. A study published May 20 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that previous estimates of how bad sea-level rise could get were too conservative — and that coastal communities must contemplate more severe, long-term impacts from humans’ addiction to fossil fuels. Researchers asked leading experts on the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to provide their best updated estimates for the future of these frozen masses as temperatures spike. Aggregating these, the researchers concluded that the range of outcomes scientists now consider possible has shifted markedly toward more melting and, therefore, higher seas. For example, in a business-as-usual scenario, the median estimate from the United Nations’ last major climate report should have been more than doubled. In fact, the researchers found that it is unlikely, but plausible, that the oceans could rise a staggering 6½ feet by 2100 if emissions levels continue to be high. That would swamp roughly as much territory as is contained in all of Western Europe and make 187 million people homeless.” [Washington Post, 5/30/19 (+)]

Analysis: More Natural Gas Isn’t A “Middle Ground” — It’s A Climate Disaster. According to David Roberts in Vox, “Expert opinion on climate change policy has been evolving quickly. The opinion of policymakers has not always kept up. One area where this split is particularly notable is around the role of natural gas in a clean energy future. For Democrats, support for natural gas has always been a signifier of moderation on climate policy. President Obama encouraged natural gas production and proudly took credit for the emission reductions it produced when substituting for coal. It was en vogue during the Obama years to refer to natural gas as a ‘bridge fuel,’ a fossil fuel that could help reduce emissions while truly clean alternatives were developed. To this day, there are ‘centrist’ Democratic groups pushing the line that embracing natural gas (and nuclear, and carbon sequestration) is the ‘moderate’ road forward on climate change. No one knows yet what Joe Biden meant when he promised a ‘middle ground‘ on climate strategy a few weeks ago (he’s expected to release some policy shortly). But the first thing I thought of when he said it was natural gas. Biden is likely to try to signal that he’s a centrist by embracing natural gas’s role as a bridge fuel. It’s a beguiling strategy for Democrats who are fearful of being seen as too liberal. But I’m afraid it’s a dead end.” [Vox, 5/30/19 (=)]

EPA

Utility Regulators Split Over Charging Ratepayers For Coal Ash Cleanups. According to Inside EPA, “State utility regulators are split over whether to charge ratepayers for coal ash cleanups, with South Carolina’s Public Utility Commission (PUC) issuing a rare ruling that finds ratepayers not responsible while North Carolina’s PUC is forcing customers to pay for a power company’s cleanup costs except for mismanagement penalties. Whether, and how, to charge ratepayers for such cleanups is rising as a major question for states that are home to power plants that must clean up spills that have contaminated water. And it comes as EPA is reviewing applications from states to administer their own programs detailing coal ash disposal requirements, including cleanup provisions for accidental spills -- though its first-time approval of Oklahoma’s plan currently faces a lawsuit. The division among states is also teeing up a related emerging debate over when, or whether, to charge ratepayers to recover power companies’ investments in coal-fired power plants that retire ahead of schedule.” [Inside EPA, 5/30/19 (=)]

OIG Touts $295 Million Savings For EPA But Sees No Environmental Gains. According to Inside EPA, “EPA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) says that at the halfway point of fiscal year 2019 it has more than tripled its target for annual ‘return on investment’ by producing $295 million in cost savings, monetary benefits and additional fines for the agency, but achieved no environmental improvements or regulatory changes in the same period. The findings, in the OIG’s semiannual report to Congress released May 30, could complicate the office’s push for Congress to reject President Donald Trump’s proposed $2.3 million cut to its budget in FY20. While the results underscore top OIG officials’ long-running claims of its monetary benefits for the agency, the lack of any rule changes or environmental benefits due to its work might give fodder to those supporting the funding cut. ‘Despite continuing budget strains -- including a lapse in federal appropriations that forced us to suspend operations for 35 days -- our auditors, investigators and mission support staff rallied with ingenuity and flexibility,’ Acting Inspector General Charles J. Sheehan writes in his introduction to the report.” [Inside EPA, 5/30/19 (=)]

Flurry of OMB Meetings On ACE Suggests EPA Nearing Final Regulation. According to Inside EPA, “The White House regulatory officials are hosting a series of meetings for outside groups to make one last pitch for changes they would like to see in EPA’s forthcoming final Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule to limit coal power plants’ greenhouse gases, suggesting the final rule could be signed by the end of June as EPA has planned. The meetings, hosted by Office of Management & Budget (OMB) and other administration officials, could wrap up as soon as June 6, though one source notes that several groups that have requested meetings have not yet received dates. In recent days, OMB and EPA officials have met with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the Clean Air Task Force (CATF), the American Lung Association (ALA), the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the National Climate Coalition (NCC) and the American Forest & Paper Association (AFPA). The agency is also confirming that the final ACE rule will ‘subsume’ a separate proposal to repeal the Obama-era Clean Power Plan (CPP), which was a much more ambitious GHG reduction program for the power sector. EPA’s latest Unified Agenda, released May 22, notes that the CPP repeal plan was issued in October 2017, and the proposed ACE replacement rule was released in August 2018.” [Inside EPA, 5/30/19 (=)]

Pruitt

IG Ends Inquiry Into Pruitt Meeting With Mining Group. According to E&E News, “The EPA inspector general has completed its inquiry into a controversial meeting between former Administrator Scott Pruitt and the National Mining Association. The April 2017 gathering attracted criticism because Pruitt reportedly urged the trade group’s members to advocate for U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate change accord, which President Trump later did. Democrats alleged Pruitt’s actions could violate the ban on using government resources for lobbying purposes. The agency’s internal watchdog today released its latest semiannual report, which disclosed that it had provided its findings on the meeting to Congress as part of the review. In the report, the IG noted it received a congressional request to create a ‘comprehensive factual record’ for the Government Accountability Office on whether Pruitt and his staff violated the Antideficiency Act or anti-propaganda and lobbying provisions. ‘There were concerns that violations may have occurred during an April 2017 meeting between Administrator Pruitt and the National Mining Association. The OIG conducted multiple interviews during this inquiry and provided its fact-finding results to Congress,’ said the report. EPA IG spokeswoman Tia Elbaum said, ‘The OIG completed its fact-finding work related to the meeting.’” [E&E News, 5/30/19 (=)]

Wehrum

Watchdog Seeks Ethics Probe Of Air Chief. According to E&E News, “After previously seeking an investigation into the conduct of EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, a liberal-leaning watchdog group has now requested a probe into whether agency air chief Bill Wehrum crossed an ethical line through contacts with both his former law firm and past clients. Wehrum appeared to have violated his recusal obligations, in part by giving a presentation on ‘regulatory developments’ at the office of the firm, now known as Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, a few weeks after taking the EPA job in late 2017, according to a 14-page letter sent yesterday by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) to acting EPA Inspector General Charles Sheehan. The audience for that presentation included people tied to a utility trade group and a power company that Wehrum had previously represented while a partner at the firm, the group said in the letter. Following the lead of Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and two other Democratic lawmakers in urging a separate inspector general’s inquiry earlier this year, CREW also alleged that Wehrum was improperly involved around the same time in a change to an air permitting program of high importance to Detroit-based DTE Energy Co., which Hunton had represented in litigation over the policy.” [E&E News, 5/30/19 (=)]

Wheeler

Wheeler's Cost-Benefit Memo Fulfills Industry Request. According to E&E News, “Industry groups see another wish about to come true under President Trump. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler released a memo last week urging the agency’s top officials to revise the way EPA weighs the costs of regulating pollutants against the benefits of limiting their release for public health and the environment. Instead of drafting an agencywide rulemaking as initially projected last year, the offices of Air and Radiation, Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, Land and Emergency Management, and Water are being asked to make their approach to cost-benefit analysis more consistent. The planned changes follow years of industry requests. Industry wants EPA to draft rules by first assessing whether benefits outweigh the costs, and it wants regulations that are least burdensome while still providing environmental protection, groups say. ‘We are very excited about the potential of this regulatory effort,’ said Ross Eisenberg, vice president of energy and resources policy at the National Association of Manufacturers.” [E&E News, 5/31/19 (=)]

White House

Trump's Paris Decision 2 Years Later. According to Axios, “Saturday marks 2 years since Trump announced he would pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement — and the chasm between scientific findings and political action is only growing, Axios’ Andrew Freedman and Amy Harder report. Why it matters: Science is now clearer than ever about the damage that climate change is causing. But many countries aren’t on track to meet their Paris emissions targets — and now there’s no U.S. federal leadership to push them to try harder. Where it stands: Scientists tell Axios they now have... More confidence in the observed amounts of global warming, showing the planet has been heating up faster than previously thought, from the poles to the depths of the seas. Clear evidence that virtually all of the observed warming since 1950 is due to human activities. Robust data showing that limiting global warming to the Paris targets of 1.5°C or 2°C would have significant, tangible benefits. The big picture: Since Trump promised to withdraw from the deal... Global GHG emissions reached a record high, while America’s emissions ticked back up after declining a few years.” [Axios, 5/31/19 (=)]

Trump Was Briefed On Plan To Review Climate Science. According to E&E News, “A White House initiative to scrutinize climate science appears to be making headway. Will Happer, the senior director for emerging technologies at the National Security Council, met with President Trump earlier this month to brief him on the plan, according to two sources. The initiative is expected to highlight uncertainties in climate research and downplay the threat of global warming to national security. Happer, an emeritus physics professor at Princeton University, has said that the world is experiencing a carbon dioxide ‘drought’ and that the planet would benefit from burning more fossil fuels. The shape of the plan is unclear, though it’s expected to question scientific elements of the National Climate Assessment, three people with knowledge of the plan told E&E News. In recent weeks, Happer has discussed his ideas with people associated with think tanks that reject established climate science, including the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the CO2 Coalition, which Happer founded. Some White House officials, including Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, and science adviser Kelvin Droegemeier, have privately voiced opposition to the review, according to sources.” [E&E News, 5/31/19 (=)]

Trump Administration Takes Major Step Toward USMCA Ratification. According to Politico, “The Trump administration has taken a step toward ratification of the new North American trade agreement, sending a draft statement to Congress that puts the legislative body on notice the pact could be coming soon. The White House is planning to send the draft of the ‘Statement of Administrative Action’ to Capitol Hill later today, one Hill aide and one administration official confirmed to POLITICO. The move represents a procedural step forward on the path to approve the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and starts a 30-day window that must pass before the Trump administration is allowed to submit the full implementing legislation to Congress.” [Politico, 5/30/19 (=)]

National

New Earthjustice VP Aims To Maintain Winning Streak. According to E&E News, “Earthjustice lawyer Jill Tauber was drawn to environmental law after working with New Orleans public housing residents devastated by Hurricane Katrina. ‘It was a really impactful experience to see who was bearing the brunt of that devastation,’ she said, recalling her past work at the Advancement Project. ‘It became clear to me that protecting people and protecting our planet is a justice issue. It really was a significant experience for me in my career.’ Tauber is now the vice president of litigation for climate and energy at Earthjustice, the powerful nonprofit law firm that advocates for environmental protection across the country. She previously led the organization’s Clean Energy Program and was promoted to the new role this spring — a move that was formally announced this week. The Queens native has a broad portfolio, overseeing the group’s climate and energy litigation at the federal and state levels and abroad. Earthjustice has more than 300 staffers — almost half attorneys — fighting the federal government in court, defending environmental policies, and pushing state and federal lawmakers to do more. Tauber is filling the role left by Abigail Dillen, who became Earthjustice’s president last year.” [E&E News, 5/30/19 (=)]

Congress

Democrats In Trump Districts Face Split-Screen Reality On Impeachment. According to the Washington Post, “While Washington was in a frenzy Wednesday over special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s first public comments about his investigation and President Trump, 800 miles away, in rural central Illinois, Democratic Rep. Cheri Bustos navigated an alternative political universe. […] Two committee chairmen, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) of the Rules panel and Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) of Homeland Security, backed an inquiry in the immediate aftermath of Mueller’s televised appearance. On Thursday, Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, joined them, saying in a statement that Congress “must use all means necessary” to protect the Constitution and the rule of law. […] During a 90-minute town hall there Tuesday night with Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria, constituents asked about veterans issues, gun control measures and climate change. The word ‘impeachment’ wasn’t uttered once. ‘It has not been something that’s been brought up a lot,’ Luria, a freshman who ousted a GOP incumbent last year, said in an interview. ‘We are carrying on our job in Congress and doing the things that people need in the community and are very focused here on constituent services.’ Speaking to the crowd in her military-heavy district, Luria touted newly passed legislation she sponsored offering tax relief to Gold Star families receiving benefits after the death of loved ones in the military.” [Washington Post, 5/30/19 (=)]

Audio: Climate Wars Heat Up In Washington. According to Science Friday, “A green wave is sweeping through Washington, and it’s picking up Republicans who are eager to share their ideas on clean energy and climate change. Tennessee senator Lamar Alexander has talked about launching a ‘Manhattan Project for Clean Energy.‘ Oklahoma representative Frank Lucas, ranking member of the House Science Committee, has said, ‘we know the climate is changing and that global industrial activity has played a role in this phenomenon,’ and says it’s ‘critical’ that the United States lead the way on developing new clean energy technologies. Florida representative Matt Gaetz has said ‘History will judge harshly my Republican colleagues who deny the science of climate change,’ and Louisiana representative Garret Graves is the top Republican on a new House climate change committee. But even as Republican lawmakers turn to shaping climate policy, the White House is doubling down on climate denial, forming a ‘climate review panel’ to vet and discredit the already peer-reviewed science on climate change. The panel’s leader is William Happer, a 79-year-old physicist who once went so far as to say, ‘the demonization of carbon dioxide is just like the demonization of the poor Jews under Hitler.’ So where will climate science end up?” [Science Friday, 5/31/19 (+)]

GOP Delays Disaster Aid But Allows Flood Insurance Extension. According to E&E News, “Another House conservative blocked a $19.1 billion disaster aid package yesterday, but lawmakers did approve a two-week extension of an expiring federal flood insurance program just as hurricane season begins. Rep. John Rose (R-Tenn.) became the third Republican lawmaker in recent days to object to quick House passage of the Senate-backed legislation. The House is now poised to approve the disaster bill on a roll call vote shortly after it returns next week from Memorial Day recess. Rose, a freshman who previously served as the Volunteer State’s agriculture commissioner, called it an ‘irresponsible act of big government’ to move a multibillion-dollar package without the full House voting. ‘Every single member could board a plane today and this issue could be voted on in the next 12 hours’ if it were so urgent, said Rose, who added that the bill would only add to the soaring federal debt. House Democrats have criticized Republicans for delaying a package that has taken months to draft. It includes aid to farmers, and water and climate resilience projects (E&E News PM, May 23). The legislation also would extend the National Flood Insurance Program through the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30. It’s currently due to expire tomorrow.” [E&E News, 5/31/19 (=)]

House To Start Floor Debate Of Spending Bills June 12. According to Politico, “The House plans to start debating fiscal 2020 spending bills on the floor June 12, Democratic leaders announced this afternoon. The chamber plans to hold votes late into the evening when appropriations bills are being debated, marking an intense start to a month of appropriations work. Congressional leaders have yet to strike an agreement with the White House on a deal to set budget caps for fiscal 2020. So the House is working with tentative totals that will either change once a bipartisan deal is struck or be scrapped altogether if lawmakers fail to reach a broader agreement. In that case, they would have to resort to a stopgap spending bill to extend funding at current levels beyond the Sept. 30 end of fiscal 2019. In the absence of a cross-party accord, Senate leaders have decided to hold off on appropriations work so far. But the Senate Appropriations Committee tentatively plans to start marking up bills in June.” [Politico, 5/30/19 (=)]

Markey Fears 'Political Interference' On Assessment. According to E&E News, “Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is demanding information about the Trump administration’s attempts to obscure federal climate science, particularly its ongoing efforts to discredit the National Climate Assessment. In a letter dated yesterday to Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Kelvin Droegemeier, Markey said he was concerned with ‘political interference’ in climate science by the Trump administration. The missive follows a New York Times report that the Trump administration wants to exclude worst-case, long-term projections from the National Climate Assessment and other federal climate reports. The White House is also plotting an ‘adversarial review’ of the science to be spearheaded by William Happer, a physics professor not trained in climate science who has compared the ‘demonization’ of carbon dioxide to the genocide of Jews in Nazi Germany. ‘Any political interference into the climate science that underpins this report could have a chilling effect on scientific research going forward and could potentially put American lives and property at increased risk by understating the urgency of climate action,’ Markey wrote.” [E&E News, 5/30/19 (+)]

Former Sen. Cochran Remembered As 'True Gentleman'. According to E&E News, “Former Republican Sen. Thad Cochran, who represented Mississippi in Congress for more than half a century and chaired the powerful Appropriations Committee, has died. The 81-year-old Cochran, who stepped down from his Senate seat last year after struggling with health issues for years, ‘passed away peacefully’ early this morning in Oxford, Miss., according to a statement from his successor, GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) praised Cochran as a ‘legendary legislator, principled leader and true gentleman.’ ‘Thad will be first remembered as a tireless champion of his fellow Mississippians. He took great pride in keeping promises to the people he represented — ensuring veterans’ access to care, improving educational opportunities, and continuing a record of stellar constituent service for every single Mississippian,’ said McConnell’s statement, which noted that Cochran hired the first African-American congressional staffer in Mississippi since Reconstruction and was a longtime supporter of historically black colleges and universities. Born and raised in Mississippi, Cochran spent two years on active duty in the Navy after graduating from the University of Mississippi in 1959. He later became a lawyer, before being elected to the House in 1972.” [E&E News, 5/30/19 (=)]

Green New Deal

Democrats Bridging The Gaps In The Green New Deal. According to The Globe Post, “When New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced her resolution for a Green New Deal, a manifesto of ambitious goals to combat climate change, she sparked heated debate in Washington and drew sharp criticism from her Republican colleagues. According to a 2018 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, if humans keep global warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius, the planet will still experience warming of extreme temperatures, increased frequency and severity of heavy precipitation and droughts. Not only that, but rising sea levels will rise by up to 0.77 meters by the end of the century, which would impact tens of millions of people in vulnerable communities with increased saltwater intrusion, flooding, and damage to infrastructure. Keeping global warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius would require emissions reductions of 40 to 60 percent by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050, according to the report. This is our best case scenario. Meanwhile, Americans are becoming increasingly concerned with climate change, as 66 percent believe global warming is caused by human activities and 44 percent now say they worry a great deal about global warming, according to a March Gallup poll.” [The Globe Post, 5/30/19 (+)]

Election 2020

2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates Hope To Strike Gold In California. According to ABC News, “When 14 Democratic presidential candidates descend on California this weekend, they’ll mine for gold in a left-leaning state with a large share of delegates and, ultimately, electoral votes that could help hand a candidate an Oval Office jackpot. Top-tier candidates, including Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg are speaking at California’s Democratic Convention in San Francisco, hoping to nab some of the 416 delegates up for grabs when California voters go to the ballot box on Super Tuesday next year. The new March 3 date is months earlier than recent presidential elections. And mail-in-voting for the state starts a month before: the same day as the Iowa Caucus. ‘You can come in third [in California] and leave with more delegates than you had if you won New Hampshire or Iowa,’ said Roger Salazar, a spokesperson for the California Democratic Party. Also in San Francisco, starting Friday and through the weekend, with several candidates in attendance is MoveOn’s ‘Big Ideas Forum,’ an event aimed at progressives. And a number of the Democratic hopefuls also plan to attend the Unity and Freedom Presidential Forum on immigration in Pasadena on Friday in an appeal to Latino voters -- a group that, as of the 2020 cycle, will become the largest minority voting bloc.” [ABC News, 5/30/19 (=)]

The 2020 Race Is Testing Progressives’ Power. They’re Pushing Back. According to the New York Times, “Optimism filled the Prospect Park air as more than 100 supporters of Senator Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign gathered last week for an organizing event called ‘How to Be All In for Elizabeth.’ But as dusk approached, the final ‘She Has a Plan’ button was handed out, and the crowd of mostly millennial Brooklynites began to disperse, hope gave way to skepticism. Michael Rose, 36, expressed concern that a candidate like former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. would earn the party’s nomination, and that Democrats, faced with a historically diverse field, would choose ‘an old white guy that appeals to moderates.’ Amelita Lijek, 31, said the primary represented a crossroads for the party. ‘We have this choice here: to go positive and go with what feels inspiring, or to live in doubt and cower,’ Ms. Lijek said. ‘It’s terrifying.’ After months of liberal senators dominating the Democratic presidential primary, and leftist ideas such as the Green New Deal and ‘Medicare for All’ getting significant national attention, Mr. Biden’s entrance into the race last month has swung the conversation back toward the center.” [New York Times, 5/30/19 (=)]

Climate Change Seen As Hot Topic For Democrats In 2020. According to Morning Consult, “Climate and energy issues are having their time in the sun in U.S. politics, with Democratic presidential candidates releasing multitrillion-dollar climate platforms, contenders promising not to take fossil fuel donations to power their campaigns and senators and candidates calling for a climate-focused presidential debate. Political strategists say they expect climate change to be more of a focus in the upcoming congressional and presidential elections than in years past. However, while the Democratic Party may have an opportunity in 2020 to capitalize on a voter population that places more faith in them on energy and environmental issues, some observers say Democrats could alienate potential voters if their climate platforms’ scopes are too broad and if price tags rise too high. ‘We have a perfect confluence of both political and real-world events’ for climate to play a bigger role in the next major national election, said Josh Freed, senior vice president of the Clean Energy Program at the Washington-based think tank Third Way. Candidates, select political leaders and activists are all underlining the issue just as the country experiences extreme weather events worsened by a changing climate, Freed said.” [Morning Consult, 5/30/19 (+)]

New Democratic Debate Rules Will Distort Priorities, Some Campaigns Say. According to the New York Times, “The Democratic Party’s new directive that candidates must have at least 130,000 donors to qualify for the third primary debate in September arrived virtually without warning on Wednesday morning, and immediately sent shock waves through presidential campaigns worried that it would distort their priorities and affect the way they operate. Two-thirds of the sprawling field of 23 candidates are probably at risk of falling short of that threshold, and news of the more stringent rules set off a flurry of frustrated early-morning text messages, emails, calls and meetings as campaigns reassessed the path forward, according to multiple 2020 campaign officials. While the Democratic National Committee had long intimated it would raise the bar to qualify for later debates, many 2020 strategists were stunned by the 130,000-donor threshold, which doubles the requirement for the first two debates in June and July and which few are close to hitting. Some candidates questioned whether the party’s new donor threshold would winnow the field too severely, before most voters even tune in to the race. Most declined to discuss their frustration with the D.N.C.’s rules on the record or to indicate how exactly they would shift tactics, saying their campaign plans were confidential.” [New York Times, 5/30/19 (=)]

Biden At Bottom Of List In Environmental Group's Climate Rankings. According to The Hill, “Former Vice President Joe Biden is trailing most of his Democratic presidential competitors in a newly released ranking of climate records. Biden tied for last place with former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) and Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) with a grade of D-minus, putting him behind other White House hopefuls such as Sens. Kamala Harris (Calif.), Cory Booker (N.J.) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.). The rankings, released by Greenpeace on Thursday, took into consideration factors such as statements, legislative records, published plans and responses to a survey. The report card looked at the 19 candidates who have so far qualified for the first Democratic primary debate in June. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) took the top position with an A-minus. Inslee is running primarily on climate action as his presidential platform. Booker and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) both earned grades of B-plus, putting them just behind Inslee to round out the top three spots. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who came in fourth place, said in her survey response that she would champion transitioning the U.S. to 100 percent clean energy in 10 years by 2030. Her 10-year plan would include decarbonizing buildings, the industrial sector and the transportation industry. It’s the first timeline commitment from Gillibrand, who has not released a comprehensive climate plan.” [The Hill, 5/30/19 (=)]

Greenpeace Ranks Inslee High, Biden Near Bottom On Climate. According to E&E News, “Greenpeace USA is giving Washington Gov. Jay Inslee high marks for his climate change platform in the 2020 presidential primary, while putting former Vice President Joe Biden, the front-runner, near the bottom of its ranking of the Democratic field. The activist environmental group rolled out its scorecard today of the 19 Democrats who have qualified for next month’s first primary debate, as well as Republicans President Trump and former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, assigning each a letter grade for their adherence to the group’s climate priorities. Inslee, the self-styled climate candidate who has put out two pieces of what promises to be an extensive multisector climate plan, got an A-. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas were all in the B- to B+ range. At the bottom of the scale were Weld and Trump, both with an F. But Biden, Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper were close by at D-.” [E&E News, 5/30/19 (=)]

Pledge Against Fossil Fuel Donations Gains Traction. According to E&E News, “The No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge, in which candidates promise not to accept donations from leaders in the oil, natural gas and coal industries, is catching on in the Democratic Party presidential primary. Fourteen candidates — more than half of the Democrats running for the 2020 nomination to take on President Trump — have signed the pledge, which is maintained by Oil Change U.S. and a variety of green groups. Other candidates are either considering signing on or have indicated they might. The most recent signature came last week from former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, whose roots in oil-rich Texas made him a key target for the pledge’s organizers. Castro sent out a tweet saying he signed on to the campaign ‘so you know my priorities are with the health of our families, climate and democracy.’ The pledge is characterized in part by the showy nature in which climate activists try to get candidates to commit. Often young, the activists frequently approach candidates during appearances and immediately ask them to take the pledge, while someone records the signing or the reaction.” [E&E News, 5/30/19 (=)]

Courts and Legal

'All Eyes Of The World Are On Juliana'. According to E&E News, “The 21 youth plaintiffs of Juliana v. United States are days away from another milestone in their climate case against the government, a hearing that will determine whether their case gets back on track for what they call ‘the trial of the century.’ A three-judge panel from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments at the Hatfield Courthouse in Portland, Ore., on Tuesday, the culmination of multiple attempts by government lawyers from both the Obama and Trump administrations to have the case scrapped. The hearing was originally scheduled for a 40-person courtroom at Pioneer Courthouse but has since been moved to the larger Hatfield venue. Our Children’s Trust, the organization behind the 21 plaintiffs, says it’s expecting more than 1,000 participants at a rally and livestream of the hearing in Portland’s Director Park. ‘All eyes of the world are on Juliana,’ Our Children’s Trust attorney Andrea Rodgers said. ‘So we’re expecting a sizable audience who will be both in the courtroom and also gathering to support the plaintiffs before and after the arguments.’ The kids filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon in 2015, arguing that the feds violated their constitutional right to a safe climate by approving oil and gas production and other development — despite knowing for years that extracting and burning fossil fuels contributes to rising global temperatures.” [E&E News, 5/31/19 (=)]

N.Y. Challenges FERC Approval Of Northern Access. According to E&E News, “New York is challenging federal authorization of an Empire State natural gas pipeline. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission missed the mark last summer when it trumped state officials and allowed the 99-mile Northern Access project to move forward, Attorney General Letitia James (D) wrote in a court challenge yesterday. FERC’s orders — which overrode New York’s denial of Clean Water Act authorization for the project — ‘should be set aside in whole as illegal, unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious,’ James wrote in her filing with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The attorney general’s petition fulfills a promise by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation that the state would bring a legal challenge against FERC for overturning New York’s decision (Energywire, Aug. 7, 2018). FERC last year sidelined state officials by issuing a ‘waiver’ to approve the project, which is designed to transport natural gas from northern Pennsylvania to New York’s Southern Tier. During FERC proceedings, developers National Fuel Gas Supply Corp. and Empire Pipeline Inc. told federal regulators that DEC had missed its deadline to act on the pipeline’s Clean Water Act application.” [E&E News, 5/31/19 (=)]

Citing Unintended Effects, Industry Sues Over EPA's Methylene Chloride Ban. According to Inside EPA, “A chemical industry trade association is suing EPA over its first-time Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ban on consumer uses of paint-strippers containing methylene chloride, charging the measure goes too far by unintentionally limiting access to some commercial uses even though it does not intend to. The Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance, Inc. (HSIA) filed May 24 a petition for review of EPA’s partial ban of methylene chloride-containing paint-stripping products with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. ‘HSIA is not challenging the consumer ban but rather the unintended impact of the rule on sources of supply for commercial use,’ a May 24 statement from the trade association states. HSIA’s suit follows two petitions for review filed in April by labor and environmental groups seeking review of EPA’s rule by the 2nd Circuit. These include one filed April 19 by the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and another filed April 18 by Vermont Public Interest Research Group, Safer Chemicals Healthy Families and the mothers of two men who died after workplace exposures to the substance.” [Inside EPA, 5/30/19 (=)]

9th Circuit Tees Up RCRA Suit Over USFS Lead Bullet Disposal Liability. According to Politico, “A federal appellate court is teeing up a potentially precedential lower court ruling on whether the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) can be held liable under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for contributing to the disposal of solid waste through spent lead ammunition used by hunters in a national forest in Arizona. The case presents ‘questions of first impression pertaining to contributor liability’ under RCRA, according to a U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit summary of the ruling. The appellate court’s May 30 decision reinstated litigation in Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), et al. v. USFS, reversing a district court ruling that had dismissed the suit for lack of jurisdiction and remanded it to the lower court for additional briefing on the merits. The lower court had dismissed the suit for lack of jurisdiction on the basis that the plaintiffs were seeking an advisory opinion, but the appellate court remanded the suit -- which was brought under RCRA’s citizen suit provision -- back to the lower court. ‘The Center’s suit satisfies the two requirements that distinguish justiciable controversies from request for advisory opinions,’ the 9th Circuit finds.” [Inside EPA, 5/30/19 (=)]

Court Won't Block Obama Rule In Okla. According to E&E News, “A federal court yesterday refused to block the Obama administration’s Clean Water Rule in Oklahoma. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma rejected a request from the Sooner State and business groups opposed to the EPA-Army Corps of Engineers regulation designed to clarify which wetlands and waterways are subject to the Clean Water Act. Also known as the Waters of the U.S., or WOTUS, rule, the 2015 regulation is under review by Trump officials. They plan to officially scrap it this summer and finalize a replacement version later this year. In the meantime, the Obama-era program is in effect in nearly two dozen states and sidelined by court orders in the others. Oklahoma had asked the federal district court to add it to the latter list of states where WOTUS is not in effect. Judge Claire Eagan declined, finding that alleged harm from the Obama rule — including administrative costs from increased permit applications and uncertainty among landowners about permitting — was vague and speculative, falling short of the high legal bar for a preliminary injunction.” [E&E News, 5/30/19 (=)]

Trump Appeals Injunction; Greens Push To Block More Work. According to E&E News, “The Trump administration is gearing up to fight a federal court’s decision to freeze emergency funding for certain border wall projects, just as environmentalists are seeking to broaden the construction freeze. The Justice Department yesterday filed a speedy challenge of last week’s preliminary injunction that bars the Trump administration from implementing its plan to divert certain money from military accounts to pay for stronger border barriers near Yuma, Ariz., and southern New Mexico. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California agreed with the Sierra Club and other litigants who said construction should stop until the courts have time to analyze whether President Trump’s emergency order funding scheme was legal (Greenwire, May 28). The Trump administration wants the court to lift the preliminary injunction while it asks the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the issue. ‘Unless stayed, the Court’s injunction will irreparably harm the Government (and the public) by prohibiting the Government from taking critical steps to stop the flow of illegal drugs from entering the country through the southern border,’ the Justice Department told the lower court yesterday.” [E&E News, 5/30/19 (=)]

Industry and Business

Facebook To Run Data Center Using First Solar Project. According to E&E News, “Facebook Inc. has agreed to power its Eagle Mountain Data Center in Utah with electricity from a solar farm being developed by First Solar Inc. The 122-megawatt Cove Mountain 2 project will be built in Iron County, Utah, and is expected to open in 2020, First Solar said in a statement yesterday. Facebook will buy the power through an agreement with PacifiCorp, a unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Facebook already agreed to buy power from First Solar’s 58-megawatt Cove Mountain power plant. Cove Mountain 2 is expected to generate enough electricity to power about 36,000 homes, First Solar said.” [E&E News, 5/31/19 (=)]

Research and Analysis

How Climate Change May Be Linked To A Puffin Mass Die-Off. According to Earther, “Puffins’ bright beaks and black and white coats make them look like a tropical penguin, but they favor cold coastal waters and cliffs. However, climate change is threatening their chill life by the seashore. A new study published Wednesday in the PLOS ONE journal links a mass die-off of tufted puffins to climate change. Between October 2016 and January 2017, more than 350 dead birds washed ashore on St. Paul Island, Alaska, located in the Bering Sea. Their ranks included puffins, as well as the crested auklet, a stunning black seabird with a signature black mohawk. The team of scientists estimates that up to 8,800 birds actually likely died due to starvation. The researchers point to warm sea surface temperatures that made zooplankton scarce in the Bering Sea, causing a cascade effect down the food chain. When the plankton disappear, so does the fish and marine invertebrates that the seabirds feed on. And it’s no secret that climate change is warming Arctic waters, which led the team of researchers to partially attribute the mass seabird dieoff to climate change, too.” [Earther, 5/30/19 (=)]

12 Free Reports On Climate Change And The Economy. According to Yale Climate Connections, “The significant transformations required to meet the challenges posed by climate change are also, from an entrepreneurial perspective, tremendous opportunities. Inventors, business strategists and, of course, far-sighted entrepreneurs appreciated this perspective for years. Their activities have since been chronicled and analyzed by reporters, researchers, and, in some cases, the entrepreneurs themselves. For this month’s bookshelf on climate change and business, Yale Climate Connections has assembled two different lists. This one covers recent reports from international organizations, trade associations, and research centers. A companion Bookshelf feature compiles 12 full-length hard-cover and paperback books on this subject. The books range from 200 to 704 pages and cost between $18 and $140. The descriptions of the twelve reports listed below are drawn from copy provided by organizations that released them.” [Yale Climate Connections, 5/30/19 (+)]

Report: D.C.'S Tidal Basin At Risk. According to E&E News, “The Trump administration risks the future of one of the nation’s most-visited public sites if it doesn’t invest at least $500 million to counter rising sea levels and unstable sea walls at the National Mall’s Tidal Basin, a national preservation group warned today. The National Trust for Historic Preservation included the Tidal Basin on the newest iteration of its annual list of ‘America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.’ The nonprofit group, which aims to inspire ‘broad public support’ for ‘significant places,’ has now identified more than 300 architecturally or culturally important locations. ‘For over 30 years, our 11 Most Endangered Historic Places list has called attention to threatened one-of-a-kind treasures throughout the nation and galvanized Americans to help save them,’ the National Trust Interim Chief Preservation Office Katherine Malone-France said in a statement. She added: ‘This year’s list reflects both the diversity of America’s historic places and the variety of threats they face. As it has over the past three decades, we know that this year’s list will inspire people to speak out for the cherished places in their own communities that define our nation’s past.’” [E&E News, 5/30/19 (=)]

Extreme Weather

Why Are There So Many Tornadoes Right Now? According to Earther, “This has been a spring of angry weather across the U.S. as heat, flooding, and hail pummel the eastern half of the country. But along with the garden variety suffering, devastating tornadoes have also spread across the U.S. from Texas to Pennsylvania. Twisters have ripped through communities across the U.S., killing at least three in Missouri last week, injuring nearly 100 on Monday in Ohio, and upending thousands of people’s lives. On Thursday, nearly 78 million Americans still faced increased odds of tornadoes touching down, according to the Storm Prediction Center, including major metro areas like New York, Washington, D.C., and Nashville. The outbreak of twisters over the past two weeks has already put U.S. tornado numbers well above average for this time of year. And the same pattern that has helped spawn so many tornadoes could still be with us through the end of the week. Though they didn’t see exactly where each tornado would touch down, researchers have been eyeing this pattern weeks ahead of time thanks to an area of strong thunderstorms thousands of miles away in the tropical Pacific.” [Earther, 5/30/19 (+)]

Threat Of Costly Storm Surge Rises Along Coasts. According to E&E News, “Development along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts is inflating both the number and value of U.S. homes exposed to storm surge from hurricanes and tropical storms, a new analysis has found. According to the 2019 Storm Surge Report, which real estate analytics firm CoreLogic Inc. has published annually for a decade, the total value of at-risk properties from the leading edge of a hurricane is now $1.8 trillion, a slight increase from last year. Storm surge exposure is especially high in major U.S. metropolitan areas in low-lying coastal zones. New York and Miami are most at risk with a combined 1.5 million homes that could be damaged or destroyed by walls of water carried onshore by a major storm. Miami leads in the total number of threatened homes, at nearly 792,000 properties, while New York leads in the value of exposed real estate, at $283 billion. When factoring for adjoining counties, the Greater Miami and New York regions have roughly the same number of surge-exposed homes — around 830,000 properties — but the value of New York’s at-risk properties is roughly double Miami’s, at $330 billion.” [E&E News, 5/31/19 (=)]

Perfect Storm Tests City: Hurricane And Hackers. According to E&E News, “Baltimore’s city government suffered a crippling ‘ransomware’ attack earlier this month. Hackers held key databases hostage, from water billing to email, costing the city close to $20 million to recover. While Baltimore officials were still reeling from the May 7 cyberattack, municipal employees in Charleston, S.C., were rehearsing how they would handle a similar ransomware strike. But organizers of the May 22 cybersecurity workshop in Charleston added a twist: The simulated cyberattack hit immediately after a major hurricane. ‘We’re starting to see cities incorporating cyber incident response in their emergency management plants — but not always,’ said Rich Johanning, critical infrastructure preparedness specialist at AECOM, which is supporting the ‘Jack Voltaic 2.5’ workshop series under a Department of Defense contract. ‘We’re finding that municipalities aren’t necessarily thinking from a cyber perspective. ... That’s why we’re here, to educate and inform them on the impacts.’ The one-two punch of a hurricane and a cyberattack isn’t such a far-fetched scenario, as South Carolina’s northern neighbor can attest. In early October last year, days after Hurricane Florence brought devastating floods to the area, a small water utility in North Carolina reported being ‘specifically targeted’ by cyber criminals who were out to inflict maximum damage with the Ryuk ransomware.” [E&E News, 5/31/19 (=)]

Calif. Leaders Won't Change Utilities' Liability For Now. According to E&E News, “A California commission set up to study wildfire issues recommended yesterday that the state change a liability standard imperiling major utilities, but Democratic leaders immediately said they won’t tackle the hot-button topic for now. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and the Legislature’s two leaders said they will push for other changes outlined in the commission report that would make it easier for utilities to recover their wildfire costs if regulators determine they acted responsibly. They did not immediately take a position on two other controversial recommendations that would limit or tax new construction in wildfire-prone areas. Commissioners said new development should be restricted to areas that firefighters can reach ‘within a certain maximum time,’ and proposed a new development fee without providing many details on either proposal. ‘New development that will put more lives and property at risk, ought to pay a development impact fee to the State of California to help find risk reduction efforts that will benefit the new development,’ said a draft report commissioners plan to vote on next week.” [E&E News, 5/30/19 (=)]

Internal Email: Tree Growth Funds Going Toward Wildfires. According to E&E News, “A disaster aid bill that’s supposed to replenish Forest Service accounts for planting trees and fighting bugs would be used mostly to fight wildfires this summer. That’s the message from an internal Forest Service email, and a reality of Forest Service budgeting in the final year before a wildfire funding fix enacted by Congress takes full effect. At issue is $720 million in a supplemental spending bill that’s moving — slowly — through Congress, intended to replenish non-fire-related accounts the Forest Service raided to fight wildfires in California and elsewhere last year. The agency borrowed that sum from various program accounts, including about half from the Knutson-Vandenberg trust fund, a timber revenue account Congress created in 1930 to pay for reforestation and other improvements in national forests. In theory, the money Congress slated would make up for what was taken away from those types of projects. In urging lawmakers to make the accounts whole, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen have cited the need for critical maintenance in national forests, in part to reduce wildfire risk.” [E&E News, 5/30/19 (=)]

Other Agencies

Energy

DOE Sees Path To A Geothermal Boom. According to E&E News, “The Department of Energy outlined steps yesterday for the federal government to get as much as a twenty-sixfold increase in the deployment of geothermal energy. With strategies for reducing technology costs and changing permitting, DOE’s ‘GeoVision’ report estimates geothermal has the potential to reach as much as 60 gigawatts by 2050 — or 3.7% of total U.S. installed capacity in 2050 and as much as 8.5% of all U.S. electricity generation. Expanded geothermal in electricity generation would also offset carbon dioxide emissions, equaling up to 516 million metric tons of avoided CO2 equivalent emissions through 2050. ‘There is enormous untapped potential for geothermal energy in the United States,’ Energy Secretary Rick Perry said in a statement. ‘Making geothermal more affordable can increase our energy options for a more diverse electricity generation mix and for innovative heating and cooling solutions for all Americans.’ Geothermal energy currently makes up about 0.4% of the nation’s generated electricity, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That number places it far behind other renewable resources like hydropower, wind and solar that make up the bulk of the 17.6% share of electricity generated by renewables in 2018, EIA says.” [E&E News, 5/31/19 (=)]

DOE, Utilities Seek The Ultimate Shield Against Hackers. According to E&E News, “A blue icon with a cannon in the center is floating on Rita Foster’s computer screen at the Department of Energy’s technology lab in the Idaho desert. The icon looks like a piece from the board game Stratego, and it stands for the malicious strain of Russian malware called CrashOverride that blacked out parts of Kiev, Ukraine, in 2016. More icons on Foster’s screen represent other elements of CrashOverride, including a description of tactics used by the hacker group behind the blackout in Eastern Europe. For a utility operator in the United States, accessing the information behind the icon could be the difference between suffering a major breach at the hands of a sophisticated hacking group and stopping the hackers cold. This is no board game, Foster explained, but rather a first-of-its-kind program that allows utility operators to display and analyze threats on their computer screens. It emerged from a $33 million, five-year research project that teamed DOE national laboratories and private cybersecurity firms with California’s three largest investor-owned utilities, Pacific Gas and Electric Co., Southern California Edison Co., and San Diego Gas & Electric Co.” [E&E News, 5/31/19 (=)]

Protesters Bash Perry's 'Innovation' Talk. According to E&E News, “Energy Secretary Rick Perry pledged cleaner fossil fuels today at an event in Utah that was briefly interrupted by protesters. Perry delivered the keynote speech at the annual Governor’s Energy Summit in Salt Lake City, where he told conference attendees that the Trump administration aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions without penalizing oil, gas and coal energy companies. ‘Instead of punishing fuels that produce emissions through regulation, we’re seeking to reduce those emissions by innovation,’ Perry said, according to the Associated Press. ‘We have proved that we can make our energy cleaner without surrendering one, single fuel, one bit of growth, one iota of opportunity.’ After the speech, Perry and Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) sat onstage and discussed the benefits of innovation and free markets in the energy sector transition. The sit-down was interrupted by about 15 protesters with Wasatch Rising Tide who took to the stage holding long banners that read ‘Invest in Our Future, Not Climate Chaos,’ according to a Facebook video that was posted online by the group. The protesters were booed by some in the crowd and ushered offstage, and Herbert said he appreciated their ‘youthful enthusiasm,’ according to AP.” [E&E News, 5/30/19 (=)]

US Energy Department Rebrands Gas Exports 'Molecules Of Freedom'. According to the BBC, “The US Department of Energy said the expansion of a Texas facility meant more ‘molecules of US freedom’ could be produced and exported worldwide. The facility, based in Quintana, produces liquified natural gas (LNG). The move was a clear indication of US commitment to promoting clean energy, the statement said. But the rebranding comes amid a Trump administration push to roll back climate change legislation introduced by Mr Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, which targeted vehicle emissions. Shortly after taking office, Mr Trump announced the US would withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate change agreement, saying that he wanted to negotiate a new ‘fair’ deal that would not disadvantage US businesses and workers. The move was decried by climate change scientists and campaigners, and Mr Trump has faced accusations of hampering global efforts to cut carbon emissions. Wednesday's announced expansion of the facility on Quintana Island will support some 3,000 new jobs in the area, according to the Department of Energy statement.” [BBC, 5/30/19 (=)]

FERC

Chatterjee Jumps Aboard #Freedomgas! Train. According to E&E News, “It should come as no surprise that Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Neil Chatterjee is expressing enthusiastic support for the Trump administration’s touting of U.S. liquefied natural gas exports as #freedomgas! Before noon yesterday, Chatterjee retweeted an Axios story on U.S. natural gas exports with the commentary ‘Facts are facts. @ENERGY is right — it is #FreedomGas! #LNG is good for the American people, our allies abroad & for U.S. geopolitical interests. #FredomMolecules #Energytwitter #FERC.’ Chatterjee’s tweet was not the first time he’s cast FERC as an arm of the administration’s foreign policy apparatus. His sentiments echoed past comments by Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Undersecretary of Energy Mark Menezes, who as recently as this week praised the nation’s exporting of ‘freedom gas’ around the world (Energywire, May 30). On Tuesday, DOE Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg called LNG ‘molecules of U.S. freedom.’ At the April 18 monthly FERC meeting, where the commission approved two LNG export projects, Chatterjee characterized FERC’s action as a ‘geopolitical’ victory for the Trump administration.” [E&E News, 5/31/19 (=)]

Interior

Zinke Props Door Open For Possible D.C. Return. According to E&E News, “Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke apparently retains an itch for service somewhere in the federal government. While traveling in Texas this week, where he’s been speaking about U.S. energy security, Zinke allowed in a telephone interview with a Houston Chronicle reporter that a return to power could be in the cards. ‘The president didn’t want me to leave,’ Zinke told Chronicle reporter James Osborne. ‘I may or may not go back into the administration at a later time.’ Zinke added that ‘I believe in the president’s vision of making sure America is strong and not held hostage.’ President Trump announced via Twitter last Dec. 15 that Zinke would be resigning. Their last meeting together in the White House was closed to the press. After formally departing in early January amidst multiple ethics investigations conducted by Interior’s Office of Inspector General, Zinke has been piecing together a hodgepodge of gigs including with a gold-mining company and a small, low-profile firm involved with blockchain. As a U.S. Gold Corp. consultant, Zinke is making $90,000 per year, split between cash and stock, with the company reimbursing him for up to $120,000 a year in ‘reasonable expenses,’ according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing (Greenwire, April 16).” [E&E News, 5/30/19 (=)]

Ex-Interior Secretary Zinke Hasn't Ruled Out A Return To Politics: Report. According to The Hill, “Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is not ruling out a return to politics despite leaving the Trump administration marred by ethical issues. ‘The president didn’t want me to leave. I may or may not go back into the administration at a later time,’ Zinke told the Houston Chronicle. ‘I believe in the president’s vision of making sure America is strong and not held hostage. The world is a lot safer when America is strong.’ Zinke told the Chronicle he was open to returning to Washington after the 2020 elections. The former Navy SEAL and Montana congressman announced he would leave his post at the Department of the Interior in December of last year, following a string of ethics investigations. Zinke’s behavior spurred more than a dozen investigations into his conduct in office, including probes into whether he improperly blocked an American Indian casino project after a competitor’s lobbying and scrutiny over a land deal involving a foundation he led and a company backed by David Lesar, chairman of oilfield services company Halliburton. Interior’s Office of Inspector General also found that Zinke violated department policies by letting his wife travel in government vehicles, but the office cleared him of potential violations related to his official travel, including flying on a jet owned by an oil executive and using a private plane on a trip that included a political fundraiser.” [The Hill, 5/30/19 (=)]

Solicitor Nominee Defends Reversing Legal Opinions. According to E&E News, “Interior solicitor nominee Daniel Jorjani has advised senators he’s theoretically prepared to continue reversing his predecessors’ legal opinions, as he has already done seven times during his service as the department’s top lawyer. Challenged by critics over his willingness to upend prior opinions on key issues including the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Jorjani told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in written answers to questions that precedence is not inviolate. ‘While legal precedent is given considerable weight in American jurisprudence, it is not irrefutable,’ Jorjani wrote, in response to a pointed question by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). Jorjani explained that in deciding whether a prior legal opinion should be ‘corrected,’ as he put it, several elements should be weighed, ‘including the text and purpose of the statute or statutes upon which the opinion is based, legislative history, current underlying facts and legal doctrines, and reliance on and workability of the opinion.’ Jorjani’s written reply marked his most fulsome explanation for his record as Interior’s top lawyer, in which the legal reversals have accounted for most of the opinions that have appeared under his name.” [E&E News, 5/30/19 (=)]

Opinion Pieces

Op-Ed: Democrats Should Pay Attention To Europe's 'Green Wave'. According to an op-ed by Jiore Craig in The Hill, “This past weekend, Green parties in several European countries outperformed expectations and offered an antidote to the pro-populist narrative the far-right hoped for from the elections for European Parliament. Climate policy debates fueled election agendas across the political spectrum and topped political programs of mainstream leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance movement. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of climate change activists, galvanized by 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, rallied in Europe to call for more climate action from governments. As a result, Green issues turned out new and unexpected voters, and gave voters frustrated with mainstream politics a productive way to use their vote. In the U.S., climate change is an increasingly important part of the Democratic Party agenda. A recent poll suggests addressing climate change is a top issue for Democratic primary voters, senior Democrats continue to be confronted by young environmental activists, and 2020 candidates are weighing in with climate change proposals, including the Green New Deal. Though Europeans are generally more likely than Americans to see climate change a serious threat, Democrats hoping to win in 2020 should consider whether lessons from Europe’s ‘green wave’ could help them expand their own appeal.” [The Hill, 5/31/19 (+)]

Op-Ed: The Green New Deal Can’t Be Anything Like The New Deal. According to an op-ed by Samuel Miller McDonald in The New Republic, “The decade from 1929 to 1939 was hell. The Great Depression ravaged the country, leaving 15 million Americans jobless—a 25 percent unemployment rate. Industrial production fell by half. Bank panics led thousands of them to fail, wiping out their customers’ savings. When we look back on that period, we see soup lines stretching for blocks and desperate migrant families. What we don’t see are the tens of thousands of people who took their own lives, as suicides hit an all-time high. In response, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proposed the most ambitious economic recovery plan the country has ever seen. Within six years, the New Deal’s sixty programs touched every corner of society, employing 11 million Americans and aiding six million farmers. A crisis of unimaginable magnitude was solved, and capitalism was saved. Democrats including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hope to replicate the New Deal’s success with a plan to address a different catastrophe: global warming. The Green New Deal, like its namesake, promises a massive economic transformation that would touch every corner of society. But that is where the comparisons should end. The climate crisis is much bigger than the Great Depression, for the very fate of humanity is at stake.” [The New Republic, 5/30/19 (=)]

Op-Ed: The Europeans Have A Different, Darker Green New Deal. According to an op-ed by Markos Kounalakis in the Miami Herald, “Continental elections last weekend gave anti-nuclear Green Parties a huge boost, installing the Greens into a European Parliament kingmaker role. As a result, the rest of Europe is likely to follow the lead of Germany’s environmental party and movement, turning further against civilian nuclear energy and, especially, against coal-fired plants. The effect will be not only to clean up local air, but also to hand over Europe’s hard-earned cash and hard fought independence to Russia — a nearby nation with abundant and available natural gas. Tragically, a Europe without nuclear power plants and absent dirty, polluting coal-fired plants is a geopolitically weakened Europe dependent on Russia. No sooner had the Green Party sealed its European Parliament victory this week than the German state announced that it was shutting down every single one of its coal-fired plants. A great move as far as meeting its COP21 climate goals — maybe even making amends for its Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal — but a horrible reality for geopolitics. The highly desirable cutting of greenhouse gases from Bavaria to Schleswig-Holstein, unfortunately, makes everyone more susceptible to state-sponsored Russian interference and Moscow meddling.” [Miami Herald, 5/30/19 (=)]

Op-Ed: Republicans Are Living On Borrowed Time. According to an op-ed by Jennifer Rubin in The Washington Post, “Pew Research finds: ‘Midterm voter turnout reached a modern high in 2018, and Generation Z, Millennials and Generation X accounted for a narrow majority of those voters.’ In raw numbers, that means: ‘The three younger generations — those ages 18 to 53 in 2018 — reported casting 62.2 million votes, compared with 60.1 million cast by Baby Boomers and older generations.’ However, before Democrats start celebrating on the presumption that they do better with young voters, they should remember: ‘It’s not the first time the younger generations outvoted their elders: The same pattern occurred in the 2016 presidential election.’ The number of older voters continues to grow, but at a slower rate than for younger generations. Republicans are sustained in part by greater turnout that compensates for mortality. In other words, ‘the number of votes cast by Boomer and older generations increased 3.6 million. Even this modest increase is noteworthy, since the number of eligible voters among these generations fell by 8.8 million between the elections, largely due to higher mortality among these generations.’ Fewer older voters but higher turnout means Republicans are living on borrowed time.” [Washington Post, 5/30/19 (+)]

Op-Ed: Take A Big, Deep Whiff Of Those Molecules Of Freedom. According to an op-ed by Alexandra Petri in the Washington Post, “Do you smell that? That aroma, like many spoiled eggs congregating in a hot locker room? That is the wonderful, pleasing scent of American freedom! A statement from the Energy Department, which I am not making up because satire has been overfished and is now extinct, described natural gas as ‘molecules of freedom.’ In the statement, Undersecretary of Energy Mark Menezes noted that ‘increasing export capacity . . . is critical to spreading freedom gas throughout the world by giving America’s allies a diverse and affordable source of clean energy.’ The statement also included the profound remark from Steven Winberg, the assistant secretary for fossil energy, that he was happy ‘the Department of Energy is doing what it can to promote an efficient regulatory system that allows for molecules of U.S. freedom to be exported to the world.’ So inhale fearlessly! Feel free, too, to light some of that freedom on fire, if you want. Nothing says freedom like setting something dangerously ablaze. Four cheers for CH4! Whenever methane gas is released, that smell, that aroma, is — freedom. Specifically, American freedom, the best kind that there is.” [Washington Post, 5/30/19 (+)]

Op-Ed: Disasters Are Getting Worse And We Need A New Plan. According to an op-ed by Josh Sawislak in The Hill, “I couldn’t seem to turn on the TV this week without being inundated with coverage of the ongoing floods and tornadoes in the Midwest. The dearth of other content is not just due the doldrums of the sports and political seasons — things are genuinely getting worse on the disaster front. Much worse. The horrible scenes of twister damaged homes across the Midwest and continuing flooding along the entire Mississippi River merely displaced the stories on recovery efforts from the Hurricanes Maria, Irma, Harvey, Michael as well as the Camp Fire and other drought enflamed disasters in California and the Western U.S. The Fourth National Climate Assessment predicts more frequent and severe storms, longer and more severe droughts, and the continued and likely accelerating rise of sea levels. All of this will only add to the challenges faced by states, counties and municipalities that are on the front lines of these disasters and to the taxpayers who foot the bill for the hundreds of billions in recovery and rebuilding costs. The Government Accountability Office found that the increasing frequency and scale of disasters as well as the federal government’s role in funding recovery and flood and crop insurance, make climate disaster a high risk for federal fiscal exposure.” [The Hill, 5/30/19 (+)]

Op-Ed: Iran Can Rattle Sabers But Not Oil Prices. According to an op-ed by Merrill Matthews in The Hill, “The Iranian government is rattling sabers once again, and the Trump administration is rattling back. In years past those tensions would have sent world oil markets into a panic. Not so this time around — at least not yet. And one important reason is the U.S. has become so dominant in crude oil and natural gas production and export. In response to the escalating tensions between Iran and the U.S., some Iranian officials have threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz. It’s not the first time the country has made the threat; it happened in December 2011. About 18 million barrels of crude oil per day pass through the Strait of Hormuz — about 30 percent of the world’s sea-born oil in 2016. The Strait is a roughly 21-mile wide passage separating the Persian Gulf from the Arabian Sea. However, the shipping lane is reportedly only about two miles wide. That’s why the Strait is often referred to as one of the world’s most important chokepoints. The United Arab Emirates and Oman are on the south side of the Strait, Iran sits on the north, giving it easy access to tankers entering and leaving the Strait.” [The Hill, 5/30/19 (=)]

States

Fearing Bottlenecks, States Eye New Transmission Options. According to E&E News, “Offshore wind — the East Coast’s newest renewable industry — might face bottlenecks if states don’t change current models for bringing power ashore, according to some key industry officials. The problem stems from how states have so far attracted turbine developers, promising both the rights to generate power as well as to transmit it to the grid. That approach sufficed early on, simplifying the first offshore wind deals. But as states commit to buying larger and larger amounts of power, officials are signaling they may want to pursue common transmission lines that would deliver electricity from multiple wind farms. Few countries in Europe, the offshore wind industry’s cradle, have done that. But Kent Herzog, a transmission expert at engineering consultancy Burns & McDonnell who has advised federal and state authorities on the issue, said such arrangements might be the only way to keep U.S. transmission costs from spiraling as the number of suitable East Coast points where offshore turbines could connect to the grid — usually at retired coal or nuclear plants — is limited. ‘It could make the whole industry nonviable,’ he said.” [E&E News, 5/31/19 (=)]

Alaska

4th Dead Gray Whale Found Along Shoreline. According to E&E News, “Marine mammal officials say a fourth gray whale has been found dead along Alaska’s shore. NOAA says a young gray whale was spotted north of the Clam Gulch State Recreation Area on the Kenai Peninsula. A family fishing for herring discovered the whale May 22 and reported it Friday. Officials estimate the length at 20 to 24 feet. Gray whale calves are born at about 15 feet. Pathologist Kathy Burek Huntington of Alaska Veterinary Pathology Services called it a ‘small, super skinny whale.’ NOAA hopes to perform a necropsy. Gray whale carcasses this year also have come ashore at Kodiak Island, near Cordova and south of Anchorage. More than 60 dead gray whales have been found from Mexico to Alaska.” [E&E News, 5/30/19 (=)]

Colorado

Polis Signs Series Of Climate Bills. According to E&E News, “Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed seven bills yesterday aimed at greening Colorado’s economy, capping off what environmentalists called one of the most active legislative sessions for climate policy in state history. At first glance, the legislative package is notable for what is not included: a 100% renewable mandate, a signature promise of Polis’ gubernatorial campaign last fall. But what the bills lack in symbolism they make up for in policy heft. Taken together, the legislation makes a series of technical changes that give Colorado regulators considerable power to green the state’s economy. The laws call on regulators to design a comprehensive strategy to reduce emissions, give the Public Utilities Commission oversight over a coal-reliant electric power cooperative and require a social cost of carbon be incorporated into power-sector planning. Polis is not done yet. He will sign six more bills today, including an extension of the state’s electric vehicle tax credit and a measure that would allow utilities to invest in EV charging stations. ‘This is our plan for creating a pathway to 100 percent renewable energy in our state, creating good green jobs that can never be outsourced, and saving people money on electricity,’ Polis said in a statement.” [E&E News, 5/31/19 (+)]

Florida

Homes Evacuated As Wildfire Ignites In Ocala National Forest. According to E&E News, “Officials say 50 homes have been evacuated as a 750-acre wildfire burns in a Florida national forest. Marion County Fire Rescue posted on Facebook that the blaze started yesterday afternoon in the Ocala National Forest. Water drops were being conducted by five helicopters and a fixed-wing tanker. Officials say no structures were damaged as of yesterday evening, but they were evacuated as a precaution. Federal, state and local firefighters have responded. Officials haven’t said what caused the fire.” [E&E News, 5/30/19 (=)]

Fla. Senators Seek Aid For Damage Caused By Red Tide. According to E&E News, “Republican Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott want the federal government to come to the rescue of fisheries harmed by red tide in southwest Florida. In a letter yesterday, the Florida senators asked Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to formally declare a federal fishery resource disaster. That would help pave the way for federal aid for damages caused by red tide, which scientists call harmful algal blooms, or HABs. The senators said that successive red tide events in Florida in recent years ‘have destroyed valuable fisheries stocks and depressed interest in guided angling and charter fishing opportunities.’ Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis first sought the disaster declaration in a letter to Ross on Friday. In his letter, DeSantis called the most recent red tide event ‘one of the most persistent and impactful red tides in modern history.’ ‘Like those in the recreational fishing industry, numerous commercial fishermen and wholesale dealers reported that the recent red tides caused them to go out of business,’ DeSantis wrote, adding that the red tides have killed ‘millions of fish.’ The senators told Ross they were in ‘full support’ of the governor’s request.” [E&E News, 5/30/19 (=)]

Maine

Maine Lawmakers Say Whale Protection Must Protect Lobstering. According to the Associated Press, “The four members of Maine's congressional delegation are urging the federal government to make sure its effort to save a rare whale doesn’t jeopardize the health of the state’s lobster industry. A team organized by the federal government recommended in April that the number of vertical trap lines in the water be reduced by about half to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale. Maine’s Sens. Susan Collins (R) and Angus King (I) along with Reps. Chellie Pingree (D) and Jared Golden (D) sent a letter to acting Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere Neil Jacobs on Tuesday calling on the feds to protect the whales ‘without unfairly or disproportionately burdening the Maine lobster industry.’ The lawmakers say one of the potential problems with the government’s approach is that it assumes the whales face the same risk in American and Canadian waters.” [AP, 5/30/19 (=)]

Chad Ellwood

Research Associate

cellwood@cacampaign.com

202.448.2877 ext. 119