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Coal power plant closures ramp up in spite of White House plans
The Trump administration may hope that it can reverse coal power's decline by ending the Clean Power Plan and other eco-friendly efforts, but the industry's moves suggest otherwise. Luminant has announced plans to close three major coal plants in Texas (in Freestone, Milam and Titus counties) between January and February of 2018. The shutdowns will take a combined 4,200MW of power off the grid -- enough to run over 4 million homes, as Reuters notes. The news boosts the expected capacity of 2018 power plant closures to over 13,600MW, or a whopping 79 percent more than the known closures for this year. It's not a record high (nearly 18,000MW went offline in 2015), but it's clear that the trend is toward more closures, not fewer.
EPA plans to repeal Obama-era Clean Power Plan
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, Scott Pruitt, announced today he would sign a proposed rule that would withdraw the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan (CPP). "Here's the president's message: The war on coal is over," Pruitt said today during a speech given in Hazard, Kentucky.
Trump's NASA nominee is willing to study climate change... on Mars
Good news: NASA's administrator nominee is fine with studying climate change! Just not Earth's climate change. In answers to a Senate questionnaire, Rep. Jim Bridenstine says it's important to understand why Mars changed so dramatically, losing its magnetic field and oceans to become the barren world it is today. If we know more about the Red Planet, he argues, we could "inform our understanding of Earth." There's a degree of truth to this, but history and Bridenstine's actions suggest it could be about diverting attention away from climate change issues on our homeworld.
US agriculture agency tells staff not to mention climate change
It's no secret that the Trump White House is no fan of climate change science, but that's been having more of a chilling effect than you might think. The Guardian has obtained emails showing that the US Department of Agriculture's farm conservation division, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, has been telling staff to avoid using language that directly references climate change. Instead of "climate change," workers are told to refer to "weather extremes;" instead of talking about how the country can "reduce greenhouse gases," they're asked to talk about "build[ing] soil organic matter."
California and China partner on clean energy tech
The Trump administration's decision to leave the Paris Accord has already prompted some states to forge their own pro-environment pacts, but the latest such alliance is... unusual. California and China are forming a partnership that will see the two work together on clean energy technology, including carbon capture and IT that can keep greenhouse gases in check. They'll also unite on emissions trading and additional "climate-positive" initiatives. It sounds like a contradiction to work with China when it's notorious for its pollution, but it makes more sense in light of the country's recent efforts to turn itself around.
61 US cities and three states vow to uphold Paris climate agreement
Shortly after Donald Trump told the world that the US would withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, American cities and states vowed they would abide by the international compact anyway. At least 61 mayors followed through on a previous pledge to ignore Trump's decision and released a statement vowing to uphold the Paris accords. Meanwhile, the governors of California, New York and Washington announced they would form the "United States Climate Alliance" to do the same as a multi-state coalition.
EPA pulls climate science web pages to reflect White House views
President Trump and Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt aren't exactly fans of climate science, and they're scaling back the EPA's website to reflect their views. The EPA has started implementing a site revision that will "reflect the approach of new leadership." As you might surmise, that means that mentions of climate change, regulation and Obama-era policies are on the chopping block -- the language endorsing the Clean Power Plan is "out of date," the EPA claims. And unfortunately, that means axing information that has been around for multiple administrations.
California's new car emission standards defy the White House
The Trump administration may be rethinking car efficiency regulations, but that isn't stopping California from putting its foot down. The state's Air Resources Board has finalized car emissions standards for 2022-2025 that the White House still wants to review, creating the potential for a conflict if federal officials rethink the rules. The Board's Mary Nichols even went so far as to blast car makers for turning to the feds, claiming that they were throwing themselves "on the mercy" of the new US government rather than working with California.
Emails show new EPA chief is cozy with the fossil fuel industry
There's no question that new Environmental Protection Agency leader Scott Pruitt has a conflict of interest when he previously declared himself the agency's number one enemy. However, it's now clearer just why he so fervently opposes eco-friendly regulation. The Center for Media and Democracy has used a court order to obtain emails from Pruitt's time as Oklahoma's attorney general, and they reveal an uncomfortably close relationship with the fossil fuel industry he's now supposed to regulate.
Planet Earth might be the biggest loser under President Trump
Deny it all he wants, Donald Trump did in fact tweet that global warming is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese to damage American manufacturing. But, let's give him the benefit of the doubt and say that since 2012 his opinion on the matter has evolved. Even if he no longer considers the concept of climate change to be a conspiracy cooked up by China, he still clearly doubts the science, and that will have significant consequences.
