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Air boss has big plans for GHGs and cars
U.S. EPA’s top air regulator is quietly shaping up to be one of the most influential players on President Trump’s environmental team. Bill Wehrum, a longtime industry lawyer and Clean Air Act guru, is back for his second stint as the head of EPA’s air office after his nomination sputtered during the George W. Bush administration. He’s a low-key, shrewd lawyer with an ambitious agenda that sounds familiar to his fans and foes alike. And from his current perch, he’s poised to overhaul climate and air pollution rules in ways that could impact environmental policies for decades to come, or even longer. [ read more … ]
Minorities, poor at greater risk — EPA scientists
Blacks, Latinos and poor people are significantly more likely to be exposed to particulate matter emissions than the population as a whole, U.S. EPA researchers conclude in a new study that adds to the evidence linking race and income level to pollution hazards. The study, published online in the American Journal of Public Health late last week, finds that “non-whites and those living in poverty face a disproportionate burden from [particulate-matter]-emitting facilities.” [ read more … ]
Trump: ‘We make better solar panels than China’
President Trump boasted Monday that his tariffs on solar panels and washing machines are already helping the domestic industries for those products. But even without the tariff’s help, United States companies make better solar panels than China, Trump’s main target in imposing the worldwide tariff last month. [ read more … ]
Iowa Appeals Court rules against Fairbank wind farm
he Iowa Court of Appeals dealt a blow Wednesday to three wind turbines built just east of Fairbank. The appeals court upheld a Fayette County District Court rulingthat Mason Wind and Optimum Renewables built the wind energy towers in violation of the county zoning ordinance. [ read more … ]
Rhode Island Convention Center Authority To Invest In Renewable Energy
The Rhode Island Convention Center Authority will buy more than half of its power from a local renewable energy company by the end of this year. They made an agreement with Green Development, LLC to buy from them up to 8.3 million kilowatt hours of wind energy each year at a discounted rate. The convention center authority uses about 11 million kilowatt hours annually. [ read more … ]
Hawaiian Electric Companies reached 27 percent renewable portfolio in 2017
Hawaii’s electric companies reached a new milestone last year, gaining a percentage point toward consolidated renewable energy and drawing them up to a total of 27 percent. The driving force behind this for Hawaiian Electric, Maui Electric, and Hawaii Electric Light was the addition of new grid-scale and private rooftop solar systems. The three companies are mandated by the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), which represents the renewable energy used by customers as a percentage of total utility sales.
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Trump is attacking the Paris climate pact again. Here’s why
Speaking in front of the political equivalent of a home crowd, President Trump told a cheering room of conservatives Friday what he really felt about the Paris Agreement: It’s not about climate; it’s about winning. How Trump addressed perceived unfairness in the accord underscored how difficult it will be to keep the United States engaged in the global climate pact. That the United States gets a raw deal in trade deals and diplomacy is a central belief of the president, going back years before he ever entered public office. [ read more … ]
Trump ‘knocked it out of the park’ on Paris — Pruitt
U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said President Trump quitting the Paris climate deal is the accomplishment that he is most proud of since taking office. “His decision on Paris, knocked it out of the park. He knocked it out of the park,” Pruitt said Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference. “It took so much fortitude, so much courage to do what the president did.” [ read more … ]
Former Trump Aide Calls Paris Climate Accord ‘a Good Republican Agreement’
The White House’s senior adviser on energy and climate change stepped down last week after being denied a full security clearance for smoking marijuana about five years ago. Now he is speaking his mind about the Paris climate agreement that President Trump has disavowed. “I’m going to say something controversial,” the former adviser, George David Banks, said in an interview. “The Paris agreement is a good Republican agreement. It’s everything the Bush administration wanted.” [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.