"Oil and gas companies have a century-old bad habit of drilling wells and ditching them. And while Congress finally has a plan to plug some abandoned wells, new proposals effectively pass the fossil fuel industry’s cleanup costs on to taxpayers and may even enable more drilling."
Twenty years after the attacks on 9/11, the war on terror has left many risks in the built environment under a cloak of secrecy. For WatchDog Opinion, keeping vital information about such preventable hazards under wraps from the public and journalists is not just wrong, but bad policy. Here’s why. Plus, a rundown for environment reporters of where exactly this secrecy reigns.
"United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said a critical meeting on climate change later this year in Scotland is at risk of failure due to mistrust between developed and developing countries and a lack of ambitious goals among some emerging economies."
"Almost 90% of the $540bn in global subsidies given to farmers every year are “harmful”, a startling UN report has found. This agricultural support damages people’s health, fuels the climate crisis, destroys nature and drives inequality by excluding smallholder farmers, many of whom are women, according to the UN agencies."
"The Energy and Commerce Committee advanced parts of its sprawling budget reconciliation bill in a marathon markup yesterday but punted until later today a fight over Democrats’ marquee climate policy."
"The statement from the Tennessee Valley Authority’s chief executive sounded straightforward. In “no instances,” Jeff Lyash assured members of Congress two years ago, had the federal power giant given a utility industry trade group the go-ahead to represent it in court challenges to stricter air pollution regulations."
During the next two weeks, expect a rush of Congressional activity as both chambers attempt to set details that will constitute what some see as possibly the most important climate legislation in years. TipSheet helps you keep track of the action, first setting the stage on two massive measures, and then providing resources to track more than half-a-dozen House committees.
"Academic researchers say the fossil fuel industry has a new tool to delay efforts to curb emissions – a social justice strategy".
"The first thing Larry McCanney fell in love with was the tree in the front yard. It cast shade on the porch of a house that, if he were honest, needed some work. But McCanney is handy, the price was right and the location was perfect, just a couple of miles from his childhood home in Burlington, N.J."
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