TOP HEADLINES

 

Pruitt's Gone. His Stuff Isn't.

 

EPA Faces 'Firestorm' After Sudden Removal Of Children's Health Chief.

 

Murkowski Vows Congress Will Do More To Tackle Warming.

 

Major Traders Are Talking About $100 Oil Again.

 

Macron: France Could Support Small-Scale Trade Deals With U.S.

 

UN Chief Blasts Lack Of ‘Strong Leadership’ On Climate.

 

 

 

White House and Diplomacy

 

World 'Nowhere Near On Track' To Avoid Warming Beyond 1.5C Target. According to The Guardian, “The world’s governments are ‘nowhere near on track’ to meet their commitment to avoid global warming of more than 1.5C above the pre-industrial period, according to an author of a key UN report that will outline the dangers of breaching this limit. A massive, immediate transformation in the way the world’s population generates energy, uses transportation and grows food will be required to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5C and the forthcoming analysis is set to lay bare how remote this possibility is. ‘It’s extraordinarily challenging to get to the 1.5C target and we are nowhere near on track to doing that,’ said Drew Shindell, a Duke University climate scientist and a co-author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, which will be unveiled in South Korea next month. ‘While it’s technically possible, it’s extremely improbable, absent a real sea change in the way we evaluate risk. We are nowhere near that.’ … ‘The penetration rate of new technology historically takes a long time,’ Shindell said. ‘It’s not simple to change these things. There aren’t good examples in history of such rapid, far reaching transitions.’ … ‘Every country must increase the ambition of their existing targets,’ said Hilde Heine, president of the Marshall Islands, which announced a plan to reach net zero emissions by 2050 at the UN general assembly in New York this week. ‘If we can do it, so can everyone else.’” [The Guardian, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

AP | UN Chief Blasts Lack Of ‘Strong Leadership’ On Climate. According to The Washington Post, “United Nations secretary-general blames lack of leadership for the world’s failure to take tough decisions needed to stop runaway climate change. Antonio Guterres bluntly told leaders in New York Wednesday that unless current emission trends of greenhouse gases are reversed by 2020, it will be impossible to meet the goal of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). The target was set in the 2015 Paris climate accord, but the U.N. says government commitments so far only achieve a third of cuts needed. Guterres said ‘we still lack strong leadership to take the bold decisions needed to put our economies and societies on the path of low-carbon growth and climate-resilience.’ He called for ending fossil fuel subsidies, a shift toward renewable energy and realistic carbon pricing.” [The Washington Post, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Macron: France Could Support Small-Scale Trade Deals With U.S. According to Politico, “French President Emmanuel Macron clarified on Tuesday that he could support small-scale deals on industrial goods and regulations between the U.S. and EU. Macron backpedaled from comments made earlier in the day that France would not support trade agreements with countries that are not part of the Paris climate accord — a clear signal aimed at excluding the U.S. after President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the pact last year. ‘There may be agreements that can be found, for example, on industrial issues,’ Macron said during a press conference after his remarks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. ‘We need to find solutions where we can have an equalization of tariffs, an improvement of our common rules: That is not a major trade treaty, it helps to pacify the situation, it goes in the right direction,’ he said, adding that ‘if it is climate-neutral or goes in the right direction, I am in favor.’ Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker agreed in July to start talks aimed at reducing trade barriers across the Atlantic. Both leaders pledged not to impose new tariffs on each other’s goods as long as those negotiations were making progress.” [Politico, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Macron Says Paris Climate Deal Lives On Despite ‘One Decision.’ According to Bloomberg, “French President Emmanuel Macron, who emerged as Trump’s biggest antagonist this week at the United Nations, didn’t mention him by name Wednesday at the One Planet Summit to rally support for the Paris agreement. But no one missed the reference when he said the accord has survived despite ‘one decision.’ ‘The Paris agreement was supposed to be dead because of one decision,’ Macron told an audience that included heads of state, the chief financial officer for Alphabet Inc.’s Google, former New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who’s the United Nations Special envoy for climate change, and World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. ‘Climate change is not an agreement or a decision made by heads of states and governments.’ … ‘We are not here just to speak but to be accountable,’ Macron said. ‘Here we will see what is working and what is not working. What we need is action.’ Macron told the UN General Assembly Tuesday that trade pacts shouldn’t be signed with countries that don’t respect the 2015 Paris treaty. Macron has in the past called for putting carbon-reducing standards in trade pacts but hasn’t linked such accords to the climate treaty.” [Bloomberg, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Don't Greenwash Climate Fund — Macron. According to E&E News, “French President Emmanuel Macron called for more climate-related financing yesterday at the One Planet Summit in New York City. He also said ‘concrete’ adaptation projects need to be identified and funded more quickly. The world should shift about a third of its global financing to climate action in order to meet the Paris Agreement demand to hold warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, Macron said. ‘This is our job; now we have to deliver,’ he said. Macron spoke one day after he drew headlines by saying that the Paris Agreement should be a condition of future trade deals. It was a reference to President Trump’s plans to remove the United States from the climate pact. Macron’s call for more financing came two days after he met Trump in a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly. French diplomats said the one-on-one with Trump did not include discussions about rising temperatures. CNN reported that Trump pressured Macron on Europe’s trade practices. … Macron warned yesterday that the funding promise must not fall victim to ‘greenwashing,’ but must be genuine. ‘The famous $100 billion could be pure bullshit,’ he said to applause.” [E&E News, 9/27/18 (=)]

 

Federal Agencies

 

EPA

 

Deregulation & Regulatory Reform

 

Pruitt's Gone. His Stuff Isn't. According to E&E News, “Nearly three months after Scott Pruitt’s sudden departure from EPA, he still hasn’t picked up his belongings. About a dozen boxes brimming with the ex-EPA administrator’s personal items — including frames he had hanging on the wall and items adorning his desk — are being stashed in a storage room at EPA headquarters, according to an agency employee who has seen the boxes. Pruitt left EPA in a hurry July 5 as he faced a barrage of allegations about excessive spending and mismanagement of the agency. He had tested the patience even of his fellow Republicans in Congress with his first-class travel, his expanded security entourage and the $43,000 ‘privacy booth’ installed in his office. He left behind an agency dogged by low morale, a reduced workforce and a stack of investigations for EPA’s inspector general. And a bunch of boxes of stuff. As the boxes gather dust, they’ve become a topic of conversation among EPA staffers. Some longtime employees say it’s a situation EPA staff have never found themselves in before. Some staffers wonder why someone who was so diligent about privacy has been so cavalier about retrieving his personal possessions. Pruitt has kept a low profile since his abrupt exit. He was reportedly spotted at a Washington, D.C., restaurant and a hotel in Maui, Hawaii, since then.” [E&E News, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Foreign Fellows Got $14.5M From Agency — IG. According to E&E News, “During an 11-year period, EPA spent more than $14 million on fellowships for foreign nationals that could have been used for U.S. citizens or permanent residents, the agency’s inspector general said in a report released this morning. The report, spanning from late 2006 through last year, looked at 166 fellows hosted at EPA laboratories under cooperative agreements awarded to the National Academy of Sciences. Of those, 107, or almost two-thirds of those awards, went to foreign nationals, the report found. Although EPA requires U.S. citizenship or permanent resident status for research fellowships that it awards directly, no such requirement is in place for fellowships awarded through agreements with other organizations, according to the inspector general. In a written response attached to the report, Donna Vizian, a senior official in EPA’s Office of Administration and Resources Management, said the agency would require citizenship or permanent resident status for fellowships covered by future cooperative agreements, but added that it ‘would be inappropriate for EPA to unilaterally revise the terms and conditions of current agreements.’” [E&E News, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Andrew Wheeler & EPA Leadership

 

Wheeler Says EPA Helping Boost Production. According to E&E News, “Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler says his agency’s work in rolling back rules is helping to expand the country’s energy mix. Wheeler, speaking today at the National Press Club as part of the policymakers symposium for National Clean Energy Week, said EPA will stay within the law and provide regulatory certainty to those affected by the agency. ‘We will not transgress the bounds that Congress has given us,’ Wheeler said. The acting EPA chief ticked off a number of energy sources, noting how his agency is helping them to bolster their expansion. Wheeler criticized the Clean Power Plan, the Obama-era climate change rule that EPA is seeking to repeal under Trump. He praised the Trump administration’s replacement, the Affordable Clean Energy rule, which he said would keep coal power plants functioning and still reduce carbon emissions. He said EPA won’t stand in the way of new technologies, noting that biomass will be treated as carbon-neutral and toxic waste sites managed under the Superfund program are being redeveloped into sources of renewable energy. Wheeler described his recent visit to New Bedford, Mass., where he visited a Superfund site. ‘It’s really amazing to go to a Superfund site that was full of industrial waste that is now a solar farm producing energy for people in that community,’ he said.” [E&E News, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Meetings and Communications

 

Acting EPA Administrator Wheeler To Speak At 2018 Shale Insight Conference. According to Pittsburgh Tribune Review, “Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler will be the keynote speaker for the 2018 Shale Insight conference in Pittsburgh on Oct. 24. His speech, sometime between 9-10:45 a.m., is titled ‘The New EPA: Fostering Responsible Environmental Protection with American Business.’ ‘Wheeler will discuss his effort to bring clarity and predictability to EPA policy actions and share his plans to foster economic development while streamlining the regulatory process,’ Shale Insight organizers said. ‘(He) has a deep understanding of the importance of balancing regulations designed to protect the environment with the need for economic stability.’ … The Shale Insight conference, scheduled for Oct. 23-25 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, bills itself as the foremost gathering on shale development and public policy in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer was the keynote speaker in 2017. Then-presidential nominee Donald Trump spoke at the conference in 2016.” [Pittsburgh Tribune Review, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Confirmation

 

Trump’s Corn-State Promise Puts Wheeler In A Jam. According to E&E News, “President Trump is expected to follow through soon on a big promise to Corn Belt states, leaving his EPA chief to broker a politically risky deal with the oil industry. The Trump administration is likely to announce a new policy in the coming weeks to allow gasoline blended with more ethanol to be sold year-round, several sources told E&E News. It’s a move that’s long been pushed by biofuel makers and GOP lawmakers from corn-growing states, many of whom are facing tough re-election races in the fall. The likely change has thrown acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler into the middle of a battle between the oil and agriculture industries at a time when Wheeler is rumored to be looking for a nomination that would allow him to shed his temporary title. ‘Any EPA administrator is going to be trying to find a delicate balance between two interests that can’t both be accommodated,’ said Janet McCabe, who led EPA’s air office at the end of the Obama administration. Corn growers and biofuel makers have long advocated for allowing retailers to sell gasoline that contains 15 percent ethanol during the summer months, when fuel demand is highest. But oil companies oppose the move mainly because it would reduce gasoline sales and point to the potential for so-called E15 to damage some types of engines and increase smog. Trump, however, has already made clear to corn-loving Iowa voters where he stands on the issue.” [E&E News, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Leadership

 

EPA Faces 'Firestorm' After Sudden Removal Of Children's Health Chief. According to Inside EPA, “The Trump EPA’s decision to suddenly dismiss children’s health office chief Ruth Etzel days before the start of children’s health month and weeks before a meeting of its top advisors, is drawing shock and dismay from the office’s supporters, with many warning that the agency is now scrambling to determine how to proceed. ‘They obviously didn’t plan what to do to replace her … or to demonstrate they care about children’s health,’ says Tracey Woodruff, director of the University of California San Francisco’s Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (PRHE). And environmentalists are urging acting EPA chief Andrew Wheeler to explain why he dismissed Etzel and reaffirm his commitment to the Office of Children’s Health Protection (OCHP) and its efforts to address a range of environmental hazards that children face. Wheeler needs to ‘explain why he’s removed Dr. Etzel from her position and, on the eve of Children’s Health Month confirm his commitment to [OCHP],’ says Kathleen Rest, executive director of the Union of Concerned Scientists and a former acting head of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. ‘Young children are especially vulnerable to both short- and long-term risks posed by pollution and environmental hazards. Without strong and expert leadership, [OCHP] will be hard-pressed to carry out its vital work. This office provides information on issues like lead exposure and cancer risks, and children’s health providers across the country depend on its research and data.’” [Inside EPA, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Children's Health Director Abruptly Put On Leave. According to E&E News, “EPA has put the director of its children’s health protection office on administrative leave. Ruth Etzel, a career employee who joined the agency in 2015, was put on leave yesterday, sources told E&E News. The agency declined to provide details about the decision, and it’s unclear whether or when she’ll return. The abrupt move has alarmed some agency employees and children’s health experts. Caroline Cox, a member of EPA’s Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee, called it ‘very concerning’ that Etzel has been put on leave. Cox, a senior scientist at the California-based nonprofit Center for Environmental Health, told E&E News today that the panel’s chairwoman notified her and other members of the advisory committee via email yesterday of Etzel’s status. ‘She is a person with just an amazing reputation and some stellar credentials in the field of pediatrics,’ Cox said. The loss is ‘huge,’ she added. Etzel is a senior EPA official with a career of more than 30 years as a pediatrician and a public health expert, according to EPA. Her office works on protecting children from environmental dangers through EPA rulemaking, policy and enforcement. Etzel is listed among the key staff for the EPA administrator’s office, according to the agency’s website.” [E&E News, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

EPA Puts Top Children’s Health Official On Leave. According to The Hill, “The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday placed Office of Children’s Health Protection Director Dr. Ruth Etzel on administrative leave without explanation in a move critics warn could be part of an effort to shut the office down, an effort that the EPA denies exists. The New York Times reports that Etzel was placed on leave and asked to hand over her badge, keys and cellphone, according to an EPA official who was familiar with the decision but would not speak publicly. An EPA spokesman says that the agency does not comment on personnel matters and would not confirm nor deny the reports of Etzel’s employment status to The Hill. The spokesman did however unequivocally deny comments that the agency was shutting down the Office of Children’s Health Protection, which is situated under EPA’s Office of the Administrator. ‘EPA Headquarters has a number of specialty focused offices including the children’s health, environmental justice, civil rights, and small business offices and these offices will continue to be a part of headquarters and regional organizations,’ John Konkus, EPA spokesman said in a statement. ‘Children’s health is and has always been a top priority for the Trump Administration and the EPA in particular is focused on reducing lead exposure in schools, providing funds for a cleaner school bus fleet, and cleaning up toxic sites so that children have safe environments to learn and play.’” [The Hill, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Children's Health Office On The Ropes? According to Politico, “The ousted head of EPA’s Office of Children’s Health Protection wrote in an email to the leader of a nonprofit obtained by BuzzFeed News that ‘I appear to be the ‘fall guy’ for their plan to ‘disappear’ the office of children’s health.’ Ruth Etzel, a pediatrician and epidemiologist, was put on administrative leave late Tuesday, for reasons she said in the email were not disciplinary. ‘It had been apparent for about 5 months that the top EPA leaders were conducting ‘guerrilla warfare’ against me as the leader of OCHP, but now it’s clearly official,’ Etzel wrote, according to BuzzFeed. An EPA reorganization chart recently shared with regional offices eliminated regional children’s health coordinator positions - a move that some public health advocates saw as an opening gambit in a bid to shut down the office. The office, which was created under the Clinton administration, and has the right to formally weigh in on all of the major regulatory actions taken by the agency, including Trump administration rollbacks that EPA’s experts estimate will harm human health.” [Politico, 9/27/18 (=)]

 

The Agency Declined To Comment On Personnel Matters. According to Politico, “The agency declined to comment on personnel matters, but spokesman John Konkus said in a statement that ‘EPA Headquarters has a number of specialty focused offices including the children’s health, environmental justice, civil rights, and small business offices and these offices will continue to be a part of headquarters and regional organizations.’ Real world example: Less than 24 hours after Etzel’s removal, a top federal toxicologist told senators that research has found children to have higher levels of exposure to perfluorinated compounds, the nonstick chemicals tainting water supplies across the country, than their parents. EPA, which is in the process of developing an action plan for dealing with the chemicals, has been criticized by public health advocates for not lowering its safety threshold as new research has indicated the compounds can pose dangers at even lower levels.” [Politico, 9/27/18 (=)]

 

Trump’s EPA Makes ‘Sneaky’ Move To Hamstring Its Children’s Health Office. According to Think Progress, “Wheeler has put the Director of the Office of Children’s Health Protection (OCHP), Dr. Ruth Etzel, on administrative leave without explanation. Etzel, as the EPA’s website notes, is an award-winning pediatrician and public health expert whose career ‘to protect children from hazards in the environment’ spans three decades. ‘This seems like a sneaky way for the E.P.A. to get rid of this program and not be upfront about it,’ as Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha told the New York Times. Dr. Hanna-Attisha is the pediatrician whose tests of children’s blood revealed elevated lead levels in Flint Michigan’s water. And a former EPA official called the move ‘highly unusual.’ … What’s especially worrisome with this is that children are much more vulnerable to pollution and toxins than adults because key organs are still developing, they put things in their mouth (like lead paint), and ‘they eat more, drink more, and breathe more in proportion to their body size,’ as the OCHP website explains. This special vulnerability is why President Bill Clinton and then EPA-Chief Carol Browner created the office in the first place in 1997. It was given an explicit mission ‘to make the protection of children’s health a fundamental goal of public health and environmental protection in the United States.’ But under Trump, this goal appears to no longer be a priority. In 2017, for example, Pruitt rejected a ban on the organophospate pesticide chlorpyrifos, which paralyzes the nervous system of insects — and which has been linked directly to fetal brain damage. Indeed, one study found that ‘US children born in 2010 lost 1.8 million IQ points and 7,500 children had their IQs shifted into the intellectual disability range as a result of prenatal organophosphate exposures.’” [Think Progress, 9/26/18 (+)]

 

DOE

 

Perry Says Resilience Decision Rests With White House. According to E&E News, “Energy Secretary Rick Perry said yesterday that the disposition of possible aid to coal and nuclear power plants deemed critical to national security rests with the White House. ‘I don’t have anything new to report from four or five months ago. It’s still being talked about, it’s still being bandied around the White House,’ he said during a roundtable with reporters in his office. ‘We’ve given them all the information that we have, showed them where the potential for challenges are, and we’re waiting for them to make a decision as to which direction they want to go,’ he said. Asked whether the Department of Energy’s work is done on the resilience issue and identifying power plants for possible support, Perry replied, ‘Pretty much.’ … Perry also said the administration has no plans to draw down crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to mitigate a possible increase in world oil prices as a result of sanctions on Iran taking effect in early November. Twice Perry replied ‘no’ when asked about using SPR. ‘If you look at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and if you were to introduce it into the market, it has a fairly minor and a short-term impact,’ he said.” [E&E News, 9/27/18 (=)]

 

SPR In The Spotlight. According to Politico, “Global markets are still jumpy as they try to figure out exactly how to replace Iran’s shipments of 2 million barrels per day that are disappearing because of the President Donald Trump’s decision to re-impose sanctions on Tehran. Those worries, plus the Federal Reserve’s rate decision that kept the U.S. dollar fairly steady, could mean oil prices will be strong for the coming weeks and that’s got the industry looking over its shoulder at the possibility that Trump could tap into oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to push prices lower. Driving prices: DOE Secretary Rick Perry told reporters such a release isn’t in the cards, for now at least, according to media reports. That didn’t exactly calm the waters — his comments lifted oil prices by 50 cents/bbl. There’s also plenty of time to change his mind. Republicans could have to deal with higher gasoline prices going into the November midterms even as the administration tries to talk up its energy production policy. Boppin’ on OPEC: Trump, who has ramped up his criticism of OPEC after the cartel declined to raise its output, could release as much as 500,000 barrels per day from the SPR, though market experts say the price impact would be limited, and might simply widen the spread between U.S. and Brent prices. ‘It won’t drop oil from $80 to $65, and any effect would be short-term,’ Hess Corp. President Greg Hill told Bloomberg News this week.” [Politico, 9/27/18 (=)]

 

Congress

 

Senate

 

Murkowski Vows Congress Will Do More To Tackle Warming. According to E&E News, “Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said Congress will do more to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, even as the Trump administration spurns climate science and rolls back regulations on planet-warming gases. ‘Our emissions have declined in seven of the past 10 years. We’re now 14 percent lower than in 2005,’ Murkowski said this morning at National Clean Energy Week’s annual Policy Makers Symposium. ‘That’s progress, but of course we know that we need to do more,’ she added. ‘We can and should and will do more.’ In Congress, Murkowski said that means passing bills to prop up renewable energy — particularly nuclear and hydropower — as well as funding energy research programs at the Department of Energy. For one thing, she hasn’t given up on the sweeping energy reform package that passed the Senate easily but sputtered out before the end of the last Congress. She introduced a new version of that legislation, S. 1460, with Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) last year, but its future appears bleak in this session. ‘We are not there yet,’ Murkowski said. ‘I am one who doesn’t give up easily, and I have continued to urge my colleagues, our leadership to make sure that were doing all that we can within the Congress to really bring our energy policies up to speed.’” [E&E News, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

House of Representatives

 

Republican Introduces Sea-Level-Rise Resolution. According to E&E News, “Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Fla.) yesterday introduced a resolution stating the need to prepare for sea-level rise and more destructive hurricanes. The nonbinding measure would express the need to better plan for future risks posed by climate change, which Rooney said are especially prevalent in his home state. ‘Sea-level rise and flooding, amplified by devastating hurricanes such as Hurricane Irma that ravaged our community one year ago, are an urgent concern to our many coastal communities in Florida,’ Rooney said in a statement. ‘This requires proactive planning in our state, and by our tourism-based economy, to mitigate future costly damages to our infrastructure.’ Rooney is also a co-sponsor of H.R. 6463, the carbon tax bill introduced by fellow Florida Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo. His office did not provide a copy of the resolution, but Rooney said he introduced it to ‘fire up necessary conversations about this pressing situation.’” [E&E News, 9/27/18 (=)]

 

Shutdown Averted, But Interior And EPA Still In Limbo. According to E&E News, “President Trump won’t force a government shutdown when the new fiscal year begins next week, but EPA, the Interior Department and a host of other agencies aren’t likely to have funding finalized until December. Trump told reporters after a meeting with international leaders in New York yesterday, ‘We’re going to keep the government open.’ He has for weeks toyed with a possible shutdown because Congress has yet to fully fund his plans for a U.S.-Mexico border wall. The president is now expected to sign spending legislation to avert a break in federal funding that the House overwhelmingly backed yesterday, 361-61. The Senate easily approved it last week. That so-called minibus includes the fiscal 2019 Defense, Labor-Health and Human Services, and Education spending bills. It also has a continuing resolution for other agencies through Dec. 7. Energy and water programs got money in a separate minibus. Without the latest legislation, much of government would have to shut down Monday. Both parties have warned for weeks the decision would be a huge political gamble with the midterm elections less than 50 days away. Top appropriators in both the House and Senate said yesterday they were about out of time to move another minibus by Monday that would contain the Interior-EPA, Transportation-Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, and Financial Services spending bills.” [E&E News, 9/27/18 (=)]

 

Elections

 

Scorecard: Debate Moderators Should Be Asking Climate Change Questions. Are They?. According to Media Matters For America, “Less than one quarter of the debates in competitive Senate and governors’ races in 2016 featured a question about climate change, according to tracking by Media Matters. Moderators need to do better in 2018, but so far, they’re doing worse. Only 1 of 12 debates Media Matters has analyzed thus far this election season included a question about climate change. Climate change is a crisis that’s now affecting all Americans, and debate moderators should be asking candidates what they plan to do about it. In 2017, climate and extreme weather disasters cost the U.S. at least $306 billion in damages -- an all-time record. Extreme weather exacerbated by climate change is taking a big toll on the U.S. this year too, from heat waves to wildfires to hurricanes, with localized effects that candidates for statewide offices need to address. On this scorecard, Media Matters is tracking debates in close Senate and gubernatorial races. For upcoming debates, we’ll provide information about how the public can suggest questions and watch the events. For past debates, we’ll note whether moderators asked climate questions, and if they did, we’ll post a transcript of questions and answers as well as video or audio clips. We are focusing on competitive races -- those ranked by the Cook Political Report as being a ‘toss-up’ or ‘lean R’ or ‘lean D’ as of September 19.” [Media Matters For America, 9/25/18 (+)]

 

Michael Avenatti For President? Climate Tops His Agenda. According to E&E News, “Attorney Michael Avenatti has hit President Trump on extramarital affairs, hush money and sexual assault. Next up, climate change? Avenatti, who’s talking up his prospects as a 2020 presidential contender, pinned to his Twitter profile a list of his positions on 20 issues. The first words are climate change. ‘Climate change is an urgent threat. I believe America should be a leader in taking bold steps to tackle climate change, including rejoining the Paris Agreement, investing heavily in renewable energy, reducing oil consumption, and setting more ambitious targets for cutting carbon pollution. I believe that America should be the world’s leader in clean energy,’ he wrote. The list is alphabetical, so it’s hard to say how much the political newcomer might lean on climate if he runs for the Democratic presidential nomination. He also lists vague support for progressive items like universal Medicare coverage and banning assault rifles. Avenatti spent the summer casting himself as Trump’s chief antagonist. He leveraged his clients’ lawsuits against the president into frequent cable news appearances, and he has traveled to Iowa to glad-hand local officeholders. Now he has inserted himself into the fall’s biggest fight: the sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. ‘He’s making a splash. ... This is the kind of thing that’s certainly well-received [among Democrats] here in Iowa,’ said Timothy Hagle, a political science professor at the University of Iowa.” [E&E News, 9/27/18 (=)]

 

Judiciary And Legal

 

Appeals Court Hears Johns Hopkins Black Lung Lawsuit. According to Associated Press, “A federal appeals court heard arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by the families of coal miners who were denied benefits for black lung disease after a Johns Hopkins doctor insisted their X-rays did not show the disease. A federal judge in Maryland dismissed the lawsuit in 2017, finding that Dr. Paul Wheeler had immunity as an expert witness for coal companies under Maryland and federal law. During arguments before a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday, the families’ lawyer, Jonathan Nace, said Wheeler and the Johns Hopkins black lung unit ‘believed they were above the law’ when Wheeler disregarded federal regulations on how to interpret X-rays to diagnose black lung disease. ‘Now they are asking the court to confirm that for them,’ Nace said. Nace said Wheeler failed to follow the regulations outlined in the Black Lung Benefits Act for years, causing two West Virginia coal miners — Michael Day and Junior McCoy Barr — to lose significant amounts of money in compensation.” [Associated Press, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Coal Miners Head To Washington To Protect Their Pensions. According to WTRF, “West Virginia coal miners are in Washington this week in an effort protect their pensions. They want Congress to act to protect the pensions of not only miners, but also more than a million other workers in multi-employer pension plans. Their benefits may face severe cuts if Congress doesn’t act soon, which is something miners say simply can not happen. ‘My pension is not that big,’ explained Ohio coal miner Tom Kacsmar. ‘I went through prostate cancer and a lot of extra expenses, so I can’t handle a cut. We know that the Pension Guaranty Corporation is having financial troubles and they need to fix that but fix our pension problems. It’s very important to us.’ Other miners said that they have done their jobs for decades and now it is time for Congress to do theirs and come up with a solution.” [WTRF, 9/25/18 (=)]

 

Supreme Court

 

Kavanaugh Fight Has Big Consequences For Climate Law. According to E&E News, “If Senate Republicans plow ahead and confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, the longtime jurist could have near-term impact on a slew of environmental cases. Among the disputes the high court has agreed to hear this fall: a case that pits villagers from India against the World Bank in a fight over a coal plant. If the villagers prevail, it could have worldwide economic and political repercussions. Several other climate-related issues have a decent shot, too, of getting a future date with the Supreme Court, including one closely watched fight — the ‘kids’ climate case’ — that makes the far-reaching argument that the government must take action on global warming so as not to imperil future generations. Kavanaugh — currently a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit — would replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who retired in July after three decades of service and dozens of landmark decisions. Kennedy was often a swing vote on the ideologically divided court, and he played a key role in several major environmental cases. In 2007, for example, he sided with the court’s liberal wing in the case Massachusetts v. EPA, which granted EPA the authority to regulate greenhouse gases. A year later, he joined with the court’s conservatives to limit the financial damages against Exxon Mobil Corp. for its role in the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989, which coated miles of Alaska coastline with oil.” [E&E News, 9/27/18 (=)]

 

 

Allies and Activism

 

Obama Jabs At Trump's Lack Of 'Commitment' On Climate Change. According to The Hill, “Former President Obama slammed the Trump administration on environmental sustainability on Wednesday. While delivering remarks to business leaders in Oslo, Norway, Obama said the world needs ‘political and social commitment’ in order to achieve sustainability, The Associated Press reported. ‘Unfortunately we have a U.S administration that deals differently around these issues,’ he reportedly said to a crowd of laughter at the Oslo Business Forum. ‘The single highest priority that I see globally at this point is the issue of environmental sustainability,’ he continued, while also adding that the Paris climate agreement is ‘a first step in the right direction. But only the first step.’ Obama went on to say that environmental sustainability can only be achieved when leaders adopt new technologies. ‘But that takes political and social commitment that right now is not forthcoming,’ Obama added. The AP reported that Obama did not use President Trump’s name.” [The Hill, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Obama Takes Swipe At Trump Over Environment. According to E&E News, “Former President Obama took a swipe at President Trump’s attitude to the environment today, saying the world needs ‘political and social commitment’ to achieve sustainability. ‘Unfortunately, we have a U.S administration that deals differently around these issues,’ he said to laughter from the audience as he addressed business leaders in the Norwegian capital, Oslo. In a wide-ranging talk, Obama outlined the need for a higher global focus on the environment, greater diversity in business and more technology to solve global problems. ‘The single highest priority that I see globally at this point is the issue of environmental sustainability,’ he said, adding that the Paris Agreement’s global climate targets were ‘a first step in the right direction. But only the first step.’ He said environmental sustainability would only come when leaders adopted new technologies. ‘But that takes political and social commitment that right now is not forthcoming.’ The Obama administration ratified the Paris Agreement in September 2016. Trump dumped the U.S commitment in June 2017. Obama made no mention of his successor by name but told the audience at the Oslo Business Forum in the Norwegian capital that he feared ‘rising protectionism and authoritarianism’ in the U.S since he left office.” [E&E News, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Greens Sue Over Cement Industry Standards. According to E&E News, “Two environmental groups are challenging EPA’s decision to leave hazardous air pollutant emissions standards for the portland cement industry unchanged following a legally required review. The lawsuit, brought by the Texas-based group Downwinders at Risk and the Sierra Club, does not spell out the grounds for the challenge, but environmental organizations had previously argued that tighter emission limits were warranted to fully take advantage of developments in pollution control technology. EPA had published the final rule incorporating the results of the residual risk and technology review this summer (Greenwire, July 30). Under the Clean Air Act, the agency is supposed to use the reviews to consider technological developments that could further curb releases of air toxics, as well as new evidence of the health effects of specific pollutants. The agency had originally adopted the standards, which cover some 95 plants nationwide, in 1999 and amended them several times since. The suit, filed Friday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, was slow to show up in the federal courts’ online record system.” [E&E News, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Industry and Finance

 

Major Traders Are Talking About $100 Oil Again. According to Bloomberg, “Major oil trading houses are predicting the return of $100 crude for the first time since 2014 as OPEC and its allies struggle to compensate for U.S. sanctions on Iran’s exports. With Brent crude already jumping to an almost four-year high on Monday, that’s exactly the kind of price surge President Donald Trump has been seeking to prevent by pressuring the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to raise production. Yet the cartel and its allies gave mixed signals at a meeting in Algiers on Sunday, ultimately showing little sign they would heed U.S. demands to rapidly push down crude prices. OPEC’s reticence, combined with signs of accelerating supply losses from Iran, created a bullish mood the annual gathering of the Asian oil industry, traders, refiners and bankers in Singapore on Monday. ‘The market does not have the supply response for a potential disappearance of 2 million barrels a day in the fourth quarter,’ Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. co-founder Daniel Jaeggi said in a speech at the S&P Global Platts Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference, knows as APPEC. ‘In my view, that makes it conceivable to see a price spike north of $100 a barrel.’” [Bloomberg, 9/24/18 (=)]

 

Central Bank Chief Fears The Return Of $100 Oil. According to E&E News, “Talk of a return to $100 oil has the central bank chief of western Europe’s largest petroleum producer worried. A recovery in the oil price to $80 a barrel has been a boon for the Norwegian economy, helping to narrow a widening budget gap and fueling activity. It even this month triggered the first rate increase in seven years. But the nation’s central bank governor is now warning that too high an oil price could again release undue euphoria in the petroleum industry. ‘There could be a danger that when the oil price gets too high we’ll end up back in the situation where there’s too little cost awareness in the industry,’ Governor Øystein Olsen said in an interview yesterday. ‘The Norwegian petroleum sector would benefit from less volatility over time.’ Norway was hit hard by a crash in oil prices in 2014, which saw unemployment soar and slowed revenue to state coffers. A massive injection of fiscal and monetary stimulus saved the economy from an outright recession as the central bank cut interest rates to record lows and the government dipped into its $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund for the first time. Now, with the oil price recovering, cash is again flowing back into the wealth fund, unemployment is back under 4 percent and inflation is once again close to target. The central bank has little interest in seeing a return to spiraling costs in the petroleum sector that would hamper the bank’s strategy to hold the krone in check as it carries out its plan to tighten monetary policy. But Olsen is encouraged by oil executives who seem intent on maintaining the lower costs that were needed to survive the downturn.” [E&E News, 9/27/18 (=)]

 

Climate Is 'Mainstream' Risk In Banks, Regulator Says. According to E&E News, “One of the world’s top banking regulators said yesterday that climate change is becoming a ‘mainstream’ concern in financial markets. Speaking at the One Planet Summit in New York City, Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, said banks increasingly see climate change as a financial hazard. ‘This is about moving climate to the mainstream of finance,’ Carney said. ‘And it’s happening quite quickly.’ A Bank of England survey that reached 90 percent of the United Kingdom’s banking sector found that 70 percent of banks consider climate change a financial risk. Those findings were included in a report released yesterday. ‘So this is moving very fast,’ Carney said. Still, the report found that just 10 percent of banks are planning for ‘catastrophic’ effects of climate change. Since he became Britain’s central banker in 2013, Carney has made the examination of climate change and its economic ramifications a central theme. A separate group, a Group of 20 task force created to prod private companies to disclose how climate change affects them, recently released a separate report with similar findings.” [E&E News, 9/27/18 (=)]

 

Climate-Related Financial Disclosure Becoming More Mainstream: G20 Task Force. According to Reuters, “Climate-related disclosure is becoming mainstream as more firms support and align their financial reporting to recommendations by a global task force though few disclose the financial impact on the company, a survey shows. The Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) was set up by the G20’s Financial Stability Board at the end of 2015 to develop a voluntary framework for companies to disclose the financial impact of climate-related risks and opportunities. This was partly in response to concerns in the financial community that assets are being mispriced because the full extent of climate risk is not being factored in, threatening market stability. The framework, launched in June last year, applies to a wide range of sectors, including financial sector organizations, banks, insurance companies, asset managers and asset owners. In its first status report, the TCFD surveyed the disclosures of 1,700 companies and found that most were revealing information which was aligned with at least one of the task force’s recommendations. ‘Today’s announcement shows that climate disclosure is becoming mainstream. Over 500 companies are now supporters of the TCFD, including the world’s largest banks, asset managers and pension funds, responsible for assets of nearly $100 trillion,’ Mark Carney, chair of the Financial Stability Board, said in a statement.” [Reuters, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

BOE Warns Of Banks Doing Too Little, Too Late On Climate Change. According to Bloomberg, “When it comes to planning for climate change, most U.K. banks are taking a relatively narrow, short-term approach, according to the Bank of England. A majority of lenders are beginning to treat the consequences of climate change like other financial risks, rather than simply a corporate social responsibility. Still, only about 10 percent are taking a long-term ‘strategic’ approach to the issue, while 60 percent are looking just three to five years ahead, the BOE found in a survey. ‘A ‘too little, too late’ scenario, where significant action is taken -- but too late to achieve climate goals -- could result in the most severe financial risks crystallizing in the banking sector,’ the BOE said. ‘Financial risks from climate change will be minimized if there is an orderly market transition to a low-carbon world, but the window for an orderly transition is finite and closing.’ Climate change could affect the financial system both physically -- through droughts, storms and rising sea levels -- and as a result of the costs and opportunity from the transition to a low-carbon economy. For example, policy, technology and sentiment changes may alter the valuations attached to a range of assets, leading to both winners and losers in the banking sector. Ninety percent of banks said climate change is likely to pose a credit risk, with borrowers or counterparties defaulting on their obligations. Twenty percent highlighted the risk of losses from adverse movements in the market prices of assets such as securities. And six in 10 banks identified climate change as a factor that could increase their operational risk profile.” [Bloomberg, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Solar Trade Groups Roll Out Tool To Streamline Permitting, Interconnection. According to Utility Dive, “Two national solar groups on Monday launched a new campaign aimed at streamlining the permitting and inspection process, which they say adds approximately $1/watt to the cost of a typical residential solar energy installation. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and The Solar Foundation (TSF) teamed up on the proposal to replace the current ‘patchwork’ of rules and regulations with ‘standardized online permitting and interconnection’ tools they say could save $7,000 on the average rooftop installation. The groups say a move its Solar Automated Permit Processing (SolarAPP) could mean the development of an additional 1.1 million residential solar systems and 30,000 jobs over a five year period.” [Utility Dive, 9/25/18 (=)]

 

Bill Gates-Led Fund Unveils Its First Investments. According to E&E News, “A $1 billion energy fund led by Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates disclosed investments this morning in seven companies aiming to find ‘breakthroughs’ in slashing greenhouse gas emissions. The action is the first time to date investments have been made public by the Breakthrough Energy Ventures fund, which Gates, Amazon.com Inc. CEO Jeff Bezos and other billionaires formed two years ago to fight climate change and bring emissions to ‘near zero.’ … The new investments are supporting: CarbonCure, a Canadian-based manufacturer of technology using recycled carbon dioxide in fresh concrete. Along with sequestering greenhouse gas, the concrete blocks are designed to be stronger than traditional concrete so builders can use less of the substance. Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a Cambridge, Mass., company harnessing superconductors to develop new nuclear fusion technology. QuantumScape, a California startup developing solid-state batteries. DMC Biotechnologies Inc., a Boulder, Colo., firm engineering microbes to develop biofuels and chemical products. Fervo Energy, a company founded by Stanford University researchers aiming to cut the costs of geothermal power to 5 to 7 cents per kilowatt-hour using horizontal drilling and other methods. Pivot Bio Inc., a California developer of a nitrogen fertilizer alternative that aims to be less polluting by ‘reawakening’ microbes that can convert nitrogen. Zero Mass Water Inc., which developed panels that can harness only sunlight and air to provide clean drinking water.” [E&E News, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Utilities Helped Puerto Rico Fix Its Power Grid. Now They Face Hefty Tax Bills. According to The New York Times, “When nearly the entire power grid of Puerto Rico was knocked out by a pair of ferocious hurricanes last year, utility companies from across the United States sent crews and equipment to help. It was a power emergency on a scale rarely seen before, and companies spent tens of millions of dollars to mobilize. The utility in Sacramento, Calif., sent 30 workers and a dozen trucks. Ameren, which serves over two million customers in Missouri and Illinois, sent 225 workers. New York dispatched workers on at least five deployments to repair power lines and assess damaged substations. Florida Power & Light sent more than 100 trucks, several tons of equipment and 800 employees, many of whom spent Thanksgiving and the winter holidays working 16-hour days. Though their costs are expected to be reimbursed by the federal government, the companies were not earning a profit. So it was with astonishment that, over the summer, some of the utility companies that had sent aid crews opened letters from the towns where they had worked in Puerto Rico: bills demanding millions of dollars in license and construction taxes. Florida Power & Light was given five days to pay the first $2 million, and 30 days for $333,000 more in taxes, fees, penalties and interest. Ameren and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District received bills for nearly $3 million. ‘The honor and humanity of your city’s people stands in striking contrast to the inappropriate monetary demands,’ the Florida utility’s chief executive, Eric Silagy, wrote in a letter to the mayor of Bayamón.” [The New York Times, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Opinion Pieces

 

Editorial: Trump Should Defend Rule That Protects Coal Miners. His Deputies Are Weakening It. According to Lexington Herald Leader, “The Trump administration is weakening a safety rule that was dearly bought with coal miners’ blood. The federal mine safety agency, now under the leadership of a former chairman of the Kentucky Coal Association, is backing off penalizing mines that have an established pattern of serious safety violations. A recent settlement with Pocahontas Coal Co. is bad news for miners if, as many fear, it signals a return to allowing coal companies to repeatedly endanger miners more or less with impunity. It’s also bad news for mining companies that follow safety rules. They are put at a disadvantage when regulators allow their competitors to save money by shortchanging safety. From Scotia in 1976, when 26 men died in preventable explosions, to Upper Big Branch in 2010, when 29 miners died in a preventable explosion, it was obvious in retrospect that repeated safety violations had merited mining shutdowns until the dangers were corrected. Congress gave the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, an arm of the Labor Department, the authority to temporarily shut down mines that are repeat safety offenders in 1977 after Scotia, the disaster in Letcher County that killed 26 miners and inspectors in two explosions over several days. But not until 2013, in the wake of West Virginia’s Upper Big Branch disaster, did MSHA put in place a rule unleashing its own authority and start penalizing patterns of violations. Now that critical safety tool is at risk, despite evidence that it is keeping miners safer.” [Lexington Herald Leader, 9/26/18 (+)]

 

Q&A: 'No Such Animal As Clean Coal': Mayor Of Texas City Powered By Solar And Wind Pokes The Bear. According to CBC, “Despite being a Republican, the mayor of a Texas city that runs fully on renewable energy is taking on Donald Trump’s pro-coal policies. Georgetown, with a population of almost 70,000, is perhaps the largest city in the United States to look solely to wind and solar to keep the lights on and is the first city in the Lone Star State to do so. Mayor Dale Ross is in Calgary speaking at the 2018 Alberta Climate Summit this week and stopped in to share the story with CBC’s The Homestretch. … Q: You are a Republican in a traditionally conservative state. Why are you such a strong supporter of this? A: I am a fact-based decision maker. My daytime job is being a Certified Public Accountant and we make our decisions based on facts. In Georgetown, we put silly national partisan politics to the side and we just do what’s good for the voters and citizens that put us into office. In our situation, you can’t go wrong with renewable energy. Q: You are in the heart of oil country. What kind of response or resistance have you received from this? A: The fossil fuel industry doesn’t like any more competition, so they like to point out all of the deficiencies of wind and solar, and I like to point out all the deficiencies when it comes to fossil fuels. I am not saying it’s going to work for every city, but we had to do what was right for our community.” [CBC, 9/25/18 (+)]

 

Q&A: The Sun Sets. The Wind Dies. But Energy Data Is Relentless. According to The New York Times, “Q. A lot of alternative energy is basically technology. What are some of the most unusual ideas around alternative energy you’ve seen break out over the years? A. Much of the energy sector these days focuses on energy storage — that’s where a lot of innovation is taking place. Because solar and wind energy are intermittent, utilities look for ways to capture the unused power for when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow. Lithium-ion batteries are commonly known, but engineers are also working on storing compressed air generated by using excess solar and wind and releasing it later to power a turbine. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power proposes to turn Hoover Dam into a giant battery by making it a hydro-pumped storage plant. The dam already generates electricity, but the utility wants to pump water back into the upper reservoir to produce more electricity using solar and wind electricity to power the pump — another form of storage. But storage isn’t the only focus. Engineers continue to study other forms of energy, like capturing the power of ocean waves. And some countries are using the internet for peer-to-peer electricity trading of the solar power they generate.” [The New York Times, 9/26/18 (+)]

 

Research And Analysis

 

Half Of Tri-State Wetlands May Be Underwater By 2100. According to E&E News, “Almost half the wetlands in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut could be underwater by 2100 because of climate change, according to a new report. Sea-level rise will force the wetlands to migrate, but because of development in the urbanized region, the wetlands ‘simply have nowhere to go,’ according to the report released yesterday by the Regional Plan Association, an organization that focuses on research in the tri-state area. The report used studies and models to conduct a spatial analysis of potential pathways for the wetlands. It found that of the 70,000 acres of tidal wetlands in the New York region, nearly half have at least a 50 percent chance of submerging by 2100. It identified almost 100,000 acres that wetlands could shift into, but it found another potential 95,000 acres that were blocked by roads and other developments or that weren’t close enough to existing wetlands. ‘With climate change and sea level rise threatening communities adjacent to tidal marshes, the areas become more important than ever,’ the report said. These ecosystems provide habitat for wildlife, filter stormwater runoff and mitigate the effects of flooding. The report recommended adapting management to promote wetland migration, discouraging infrastructure and other developments in priority wetland pathways through zoning and other regulations, and integrating wetlands into developed areas through innovative policy and design.” [E&E News, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

 

Hurricane Florence

 

AP | Florence Floods Breed Large, Aggressive Mosquitoes. According to CBS, “A North Carolina city dealing with fallout from Hurricane Florence has been swarmed by aggressive mosquitoes nearly three times larger than regular mosquitoes. North Carolina State University entomology professor Michael Reiskind tells The Fayetteville Observer that Florence’s floodwater has caused eggs for mosquito species such as the Psorophora ciliata to hatch. These mosquitoes, often called ‘gallinippers,’ are known for their painful bite and often lay eggs in low-lying damp areas. The eggs lie dormant in dry weather and hatch as adults following heavy rains. Reiskind says the state has 61 mosquito species, and ‘when the flood comes, we get many, many billions of them.’ He says a silver lining is the mosquitoes aren’t transmitting many diseases, but resident Robert Phillips still describes their rise as ‘a bad science fiction movie.’” [CBS, 9/27/18 (=)]

 

Florence Floodwaters Total Thousands Of Cars, Stranding Locals. According to NPR, “The first thing that hit Ashley Simpson when she opened her car door was the smell: a rotten, stale, mold smell, leftover from the sewage-contaminated floodwaters that engulfed her silver 2010 Chevrolet HHR Cruiser during Hurricane Florence. The next thing to hit her were the gnats flying out that had been breeding amid the mold for nearly a week. Simpson returned to her home in New Bern, N.C., after evacuating during the storm to find that her house, flooded with 18 inches, was trashed, and her car was ruined. Her car will join an estimated thousands of others in the Carolinas that have been flooded out by Florence. Those vehicles are now scattered among the streets waiting to be towed, sitting in salvage lots to be auctioned off for parts, or potentially being resold under an illegal guise to trick buyers into purchasing duds. These cars may look fine on the outside, like Simpson’s did. But, signs of damage inside and underneath were apparent when her car wouldn’t start. The car was considered a total loss by her insurance company. She had just finished paying it off over the summer.” [NPR, 9/27/18 (=)]

 

Florence’s Slow-Motion Havoc Leaves Thousands Of Evacuees In Limbo. According to The New York Times, “Felicia Brewington has not seen even a cellphone picture of her home in Lumberton, one of North Carolina’s flooded cities. She does not know just how high the waters rose during Hurricane Florence, or whether the house was damaged, or whether her family will have anywhere to stay once they finally make the 126-mile drive back. It has been that way — waiting and worrying — for about two weeks, since she and her family fled the looming storm. ‘You feel helpless, in a sense, and you feel like you’re imposing,’ Ms. Brewington said on Tuesday afternoon at an American Red Cross shelter at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ‘You just want to get back home.’ With the storm still wreaking slow-motion havoc long after its winds dwindled away, Ms. Brewington and thousands of other evacuees across the Carolinas are in an exhausting, dispiriting limbo — a sad staple of most natural disasters but with a pace that seems particularly cruel this time.” [The New York Times, 9/26/18 (+)]

 

Florence Is Gone. Here Come The Scams. According to CNN, “It’s a sad reality: After natural disasters, there will always be those who want to prey on the displaced, the down-and-out and the desperate. These scams can come in the form of financial investment offers, loan schemes, charitable crowdfunding pages or countless other predatory tactics hidden beneath a veneer of altruism. State and federal officials are warning Hurricane Florence survivors, and those who want to help them, about scams. Here’s their advice. ‘We know from experience that financial predators often take advantage of disasters to peddle their schemes and profit from the misfortune of others,’ Ronald W. Thomas, the director of the Virginia State Corporation Commission’s Division of Securities and Retail Franchising said in an SCC release. ‘Red flags of hurricane-related scams include unsolicited email, social media messages, crowdfunding pitches or telephone calls promoting investment pools or bonds to help storm victims, water-removal or purification technologies, electricity-generating devices and distressed real estate remediation programs,’ the release reads. The SCC also recommends that people: Delete unsolicited emails or messages Watch out for calls or solicitations that promise quick payouts or results” [CNN, 9/27/18 (+)]

 

When Flood Waters Subside, Termite Troubles Can Rise. According to Nexus Media, “As floodwaters brought by Hurricane Florence subside, homeowners, businesses and the government face the long task of cleaning up. But as the crews do their work, there is a little-talked-about danger in the aftermath of severe storms like this one — Formosan termites. This invasive species is a plague on homes and structures across the southeast, where decades-long efforts to exterminate and contain them can be undone when the bugs hitch a ride with cleanup crews hauling away storm debris. Some termites — metaphorically speaking — can ‘hold’ their breath underwater for nearly 20 hours, making them uniquely equipped to survive hurricane-induced floods. The Eastern subterranean termite, for example, can last 19 hours, nearly twice as long as the Formosan termite (at 11 hours), or the Southern subterranean (14 hours). They can drown if flood water persists for several days, but most won’t. To be sure, technically, termites don’t breathe the way humans do. Tiny holes in their bodies allow oxygen to come in and carbon dioxide to exit. While underwater, they’re really in a state of suspended animation. The rest of the time, they dwell in soil, tree limbs, tree holes, and in the walls of houses, happily munching on cellulose — in wood, clothes, paper and furniture — and slowly inflicting lots of damage. A flood or other natural disaster provides more food — from downed trees — and the opportunity to relocate to new homes if the bugs are washed up in soil, if infested wood is transported far away, or if people use it to repair their damaged homes.” [Nexus Media, 9/26/18 (+)]

 

EPA Urges SC Families To Leave Homes After Finding Industrial Poisons Post-Florence. According to The State, “The federal government has asked four families to leave their homes in Cheraw after finding industrial poisons spread from a contaminated Superfund cleanup site during Hurricane Florence. In a statement Wednesday night, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the storm washed sediment polluted with toxic PCBs into the living areas of four houses and into the crawl space of a fifth home. Test results showed ‘detectable concentrations’ of PCBs, according to the EPA’s statement. PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, have been linked to cancer in people exposed to the toxin. The EPA tested five homes Saturday, received sample results late Tuesday afternoon, and took ‘immediate action’ to notify residents, the statement said.” [The State, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Wash Your Hands If You Touch The Ocean In NC – And Forget Swimming, Experts Warn. According to Charlotte Observer, “Waters off much of the North Carolina coast are no longer safe for swimming or even wading due to Hurricane Florence runoff, according to a warning posted by the North Carolina Coastal Federation. Go in and you could risk ‘severe’ illness, including ‘bacterial infections, earaches, hepatitis, skin rashes and respiratory issues,’ said the release posted Wednesday. ‘We need to be loud and clear that swimming in coastal waters is currently a threat to public health, safety and welfare,’ said a statement issued by Todd Miller, executive director of the nonprofit federation. Waters off much of the North Carolina coast are no longer safe for swimming or even wading due to Hurricane Florence runoff, according to a warning posted by the North Carolina Coastal Federation. Go in and you could risk ‘severe’ illness, including ‘bacterial infections, earaches, hepatitis, skin rashes and respiratory issues,’ said the release posted Wednesday. ‘We need to be loud and clear that swimming in coastal waters is currently a threat to public health, safety and welfare,’ said a statement issued by Todd Miller, executive director of the nonprofit federation.” [Charlotte Observer, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Lawmakers Pass Florence Aid, Bipartisan Disaster Mitigation. According to E&E News, “The House yesterday voted to provide $1.68 billion in aid for victims of Hurricane Florence, as well as to enact a comprehensive set of reforms to federal disaster law, sending both to the Senate for final approval. Both measures passed 398-23 as part of H.R. 302, a compromise bill to re-up the Federal Aviation Administration, whose authorization expires at the end of the month. Lawmakers said the action marks only the first installment of supplemental funding for Florence, on top of the fresh money the Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to get for its disaster coffers as a result of the stopgap spending measure voted out of the House yesterday (see related story). North Carolina Republican Rep. George Holding called the supplemental money ‘a much-needed first step.’ Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) similarly called the $1.68 billion a ‘down payment,’ adding that there will likely be more in the weeks ahead. ‘It’s obviously incredibly large and of a scale that will require additional action down the road,’ Thune said of Florence. Also included in the package is a set of reforms aimed at addressing rising costs of disasters and changing federal programs to better prepare communities for hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, wildfires and other disasters.” [E&E News, 9/27/18 (=)]

 

New Way Of Life In N.C.: 'Mother Nature, Man, She's Crazy'. According to E&E News, “In eastern North Carolina’s farms and forests, the debate over climate change sounds less like an argument and more like a fact of life. From the blackened cotton fields to the crumbling shoreline at Croatan National Forest on the Neuse River near the Atlantic coast, farmers and foresters say the signs are clear that storms are becoming more frequent — and the region has to find a way to live with them. With Hurricanes Floyd in 1999, Matthew in 2016 and now Florence in the record, destructive storms have become historical markers for many people, said Lorenda Overman, a livestock and row crop farmer here. ‘They’ll tell what time it is by the hurricanes,’ she said. Precautions and preparations are critical and may be hard for some people to accept — or may be financially burdensome — agriculture experts say. Hog farms may need to be coaxed out of business in floodplains where manure lagoons are more likely damaged by heavy rain, spilling contents into waterways (Greenwire, Sept. 24). Certain crops, like cotton, that can’t handle floods may become nonviable where they once generated profits (Greenwire, Sept. 25). Farm buildings may have to relocate to higher ground, if a farmer is lucky enough to have that in this relatively flat region. Overman, whose family has been farming for six generations, saw 500 acres of soybeans go underwater. Even with federally subsidized crop insurance to cover some of the loss, she said, the damage will cost tens of thousands of dollars.” [E&E News, 9/26/18 (+)]

 

Greens See 'Tale Of Two Utilities' In Florence Response. According to E&E News, “When Hurricane Matthew hit the Carolinas two years ago, floodwaters threatened all coal ash pits along the Waccamaw and Neuse rivers. But the utilities that owned the Grainger Generating Station and H.F. Lee Plant responded very differently. Coal ash can contain mercury, cadmium and arsenic, and Santee Cooper had already been working to remove it from its Grainger site near Conway, S.C., when Matthew hit. After the storm, the utility sped up the process, which will be completed by the end of the year. And knowing the site would likely flood again with Hurricane Florence, the utility deployed additional tools to help stanch rising river waters. Duke Energy Corp., however, stuck to its excavation schedule at the H.F. Lee Plant near Goldsboro, N.C., where no coal ash has been removed to date. Prior to Florence, the utility didn’t deploy tools like AquaDams or sandbags, counting instead on vegetation to hold the ash in place. Environmental groups say the utilities’ responses to both storms are indicative of their overall approach to coal ash removal. While Santee Cooper and Duke are both working under settlement agreements, Santee Cooper, environmentalists say, has been proactive, while Duke had been sluggish. ‘It’s a tale of two utilities,’ Southern Environmental Law Center attorney Frank Holleman said” [E&E News, 9/26/18 (+)]

 

Florence Flooding Slowly Envelops S.C. Homes. According to E&E News, “The last community in the way of Hurricane Florence’s floodwaters as they slowly flow to the sea got some good news today — the predictions aren’t as dire as they once were. Officials originally expected flooding in the worst areas of Georgetown County, S.C., to be from 5 to 10 feet. But the latest forecast lowered that estimate to 2 to 4 feet, according to the county’s Facebook page. Twelve days after the once-fierce hurricane arrived on the coast, and more than a week after it blew north and dissipated, rivers swollen by its relentless rains are still flooding homes and businesses in their paths as they make their way to the sea. The death toll from the storm is still adding up. North Carolina officials blamed the death of a 67-year-old man who fractured his neck cleaning up storm debris Sept. 18 in Craven County on the storm. Florence has killed at least 47 people: 36 in North Carolina, nine in South Carolina and two in Virginia. The newest predictions from South Carolina officials moved back the peak of the flooding from tomorrow to Friday in Georgetown County, where the most swollen waterways — the Waccamaw and Pee Dee rivers — meet three other rivers on their way to the Atlantic Ocean.” [E&E News, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Arizona

 

California Billionaire’s Renewable Energy Initiative Makes Arizona Ballot. According to The Heartland Institute, “Arizona voters will be considering a ballot initiative to require Arizona utilities to generate 50 percent of their electricity through renewable energy sources such as solar and wind by 2030 this November. Proposition 127, a ballot initiative to require Arizona utilities to generate 50 percent of their electricity through renewable energy sources such as solar and wind by 2030, will appear on the ballot this November after the Arizona Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to the signatures gathered for the petition. Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona, an organization funded almost entirely by activist California billionaire Tom Steyer, gathered and submitted 480,000 signatures in support of Prop. 127, well above the state’s 225,000-signature threshold. Arizonans for Affordable Electricity (AAE), a group opposing the ballot initiative, challenged the validity of many of those signatures. AAE, which formed ‘No on 127,’ a coalition of more than 60 members, including business groups, agricultural interests, local chambers of commerce, labor unions, and think tanks, to fight Prop. 127, expressed disappointment with the court’s decision. ‘The outcome of the legal challenge is disappointing, but we always knew it would be an uphill fight to get the initiative’s invalid petitions thrown out,’ said Matthew Benson, a spokesman for AAE.” [The Heartland Institute, 9/26/18 (-)]

 

Maine

 

LePage Says Fast-Tracked Wind Permitting Should Be Repealed. According to Associated Press, “Maine Republican governor says his secretive Maine Wind Energy Advisory Commission will move on despite recent departures. Gov. Paul LePage told The Associated Press Tuesday that he thinks Maine’s fast-tracked wind permitting law should be repealed. He said he hopes his wind commission will hold a meeting. A LePage executive order in January said his administration was putting a hold on new wind energy projects in western and coastal Maine. But his administration later told a judge that it was ignoring LePage’s order. LePage also created a commission exempt from public records law charged with issuing a report on wind projects’ impacts. The Portland Press Herald reports that a critic of wind turbines is the commission’s third member to depart. Maine generates more wind power than New England states combined.” [Associated Press, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

New Group Calls For Dialogue Around Maine Energy Policy. According to Portland Press Herald, “A diverse group of 20 organizations on Wednesday released a set of guiding principles it says Maine should follow to take advantage of expanding clean-energy technologies, while protecting the environment and strengthening the economy. The six principles are contained in a document called Energy Pathway for Maine. … The six principles read: * Maine must act to benefit from significant energy transitions underway around the world. * Maine’s economy is tied to its environment, a connection that is part of our history and the opportunities ahead. * Climate change is causing Maine people to experience significant disruptions in their daily lives and bottom line. They want practical ways to do their part to ensure a safe climate for Maine people today and in the future. * Innovation and competitive markets offer the fundamental solutions to our energy challenges and take advantage of Maine’s entrepreneurial and resourceful spirit. * Maine needs a long-term energy plan that benefits all Mainers, rural and urban, and across income levels. * Mainers are concerned about the cost of energy. Reducing energy costs is one of many important objectives for greater prosperity and quality of life in Maine.” [Portland Press Herald, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Montana

 

Coal Train Derails In Southern Montana. According to Associated Press, “Montana Rail Link officials say about 40 cars of a coal train derailed in south-central Montana, closing the main rail line. The derailment happened at about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday at Columbus. Montana Rail Link spokesman Jim Lewis says the cars that derailed were carrying a total of 4,720 tons (4,282 metric tons) of coal. The train was traveling just under 40 mph (64 kilometers per hour) when it went off the tracks. Officials say no one was injured and there is no health risk. The cause of the derailment is under investigation. Heavy equipment was brought in to right the cars and remove debris. KULR-TV reports train cars initially blocked a crossing in Columbus, but the crossing was cleared Wednesday morning. Lewis said they expect to have the main rail line open by Thursday morning.” [Associated Press, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Ohio

 

Q&A: Green Energy Ohio Leader On Its 2018 Energy Tour And The Road Ahead. According to Midwest Energy News, “Q: Why should people take part in the tour? In a nutshell, it’s a chance to visit places in your neighborhood and community that are using clean energy technologies and learn more about them. We have more sites than we had last year. Q: Why isn’t it enough that if you’ve seen one solar panel or wind turbine you’ve seen them all? Nothing is really a substitute for visiting with the people who are using these technologies. There’s a lot of questions people have that they are more comfortable asking a neighbor or community member than they would be asking a company in the business or an installer. Many people don’t just want a sales pitch. They want information from people who’ve been through it. What are the different types of systems? Who did they use for their installation? What are the costs? How long does it take to recover the cost, in terms of the savings in energy usage? And how much energy are you generating? Q: What’s new on the tour this year? We have five or six university campuses that are featuring various technologies. Miami University has a geothermal unit. Also, the two oldest dormitories have been completely renovated and are now the most energy efficient buildings on campus. This shows you can maintain historic aspects of a building and still bring it into the 21st century.” [Midwest Energy News, 9/26/18 (+)]

 

Wisconsin

 

Wis. Greens Hope Fourth Time The Charm Against Scott Walker. According to E&E News, “Both of Walker’s general-election wins, however, came in terrible midterm cycles for Democrats. He now faces a drastically changed political landscape. Democratic enthusiasm is up, and President Trump’s high negatives present a challenge for prominent GOP incumbents, including Walker. … A new Marquette University Law School poll conducted Sept. 12-16 shows Walker trailing Evers 49 to 44 percent, and the RealClearPolitics average shows the Democrat ahead by a similar margin. This comes on the heels of several prominent ex-Walker officials voicing support for Evers. They allege Walker instructed them to destroy documents, meet with payday loan lobbyists and hinder public records laws. Two of these aides appear in ads for the Evers campaign. … Environmental groups have joined the fight. The race appears on the League of Conservation Voters’ priority list, to which it will devote at least $25 million this fall nationwide (Greenwire, Sept. 13). Evers was among the most prominent names on an LCV pledge to back policies toward 100 percent clean energy by 2050 (E&E News PM, Sept. 12). ‘If the federal government won’t act, then the states must act’ on climate change, Mandela Barnes, Evers’ running mate, said on a press call earlier this month. The Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters will use the funds for digital advertising and a door-knocking campaign, but it has not disclosed expected spending figures.” [E&E News, 9/26/18 (=)]

 

Policies Hamper Solar In Wisconsin. According to Shepherd Express, “Wisconsin lags other states in solar energy production. According to Peter Murphy of MREA, Wisconsin has a lot to gain from solar-friendly policies in place in other states. ‘Policy truly is the only thing—not technology and not financials—that stands in the way of solar deployment in Wisconsin,’ he says. ‘Two easy policies that Wisconsin could enact, following the states of Minnesota and Illinois, are community solar and third-party financing.’ Community solar (sometimes referred to as ‘community solar gardens’) involves a large solar array—a small power plant, in effect—which serves multiple households, businesses and institutions. Third-party financing is an arrangement in which someone other than the property owner owns the solar array and charges the consumer less than what the utility charges. ‘If we had community solar and third-party financing like other states, Milwaukee and surrounding areas would experience a solar boom that would likely include options to help low-to-moderate income families reduce their electric bills. And renters, not just property owners, would be able to access the benefits of solar. There is no good reason why we don’t have these solar-friendly policies here,’ Murphy says.” [Shepherd Express, 9/25/18 (+)]

 

We Energies Supports Solar. According to Shepherd Express, “WEC Energy Group, Inc. (We Energies) is committed to working with individuals and businesses who want to go solar says Amy Jahns, senior communications specialist at We Energies. According to her, We Energies has more than 300 small commercial and industrial customers and more than 1,000 residential customers with solar systems. Numbers are increasing year after year. Jahns adds that We Energies wants to reduce carbon emissions, preserve fuel diversity and reduce costs to customers. ‘We’re really focusing on retiring our older, less efficient, coal-fueled units, building advanced technology natural gas units and investing in cost-effective, zero-carbon, renewable generation, like utility-scale solar.’ We Energies closed the Pleasant Prairie coal-burning plant in November 2017, and in recent years converted the Valley Power Plant in Downtown Milwaukee and the Port Washington Power Plant from coal to natural gas. In 2017, We Energies produced its electricity from three sources: 26% from renewables; 53% from coal; 21% from natural gas, according to Jahns. Besides solar, its renewables include the two biggest wind farms in the state, a number of hydroelectric plants on the Michigan-Wisconsin border, as well as biomass. ‘Utility-scale solar in the past few years has increased in efficiency, and prices have dropped by 70%, making it a really cost-effective option for our customers,’ Jahns says. ‘We are very focused right now on utility-scale solar.’ By 2030, We Energies wants its energy mix to be 34% from renewables, 29% from coal and 37% from natural gas. ‘We are still continuing with our plan to reduce emissions by 80%, and we are well on our way to doing that,’ Jahns says.” [Shepherd Express, 9/25/18 (=)]