"California's largest electric utility took the unprecedented step of shutting off power to millions of customers beginning last October. ... Now a renewable energy microgrid on a tiny California Native American reservation is proving to be one solution to this ongoing problem."
"The Energy Department set new efficiency standards Friday for big equipment, such as commercial boilers and portable air conditioners, after trying to block them for nearly three years."
"Federal authorities suggested the environmental impact of a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal and pipeline in southern Oregon would be minimal, saying the contentious project wouldn’t jeopardize protected species or adversely change their critical habitat."
"WildEarth Guardians and Physicians for Social Responsibility are renewing calls for a federal judge to throw out oil and gas leases issued by the Bureau of Land Management under the Obama administration."
"House Democrats outlined their vision for sweeping climate legislation Wednesday, offering a first look at a bill that would push the U.S. to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050."
"The state of Louisiana has issued a series of key air quality permits for a gargantuan proposed petrochemical complex that would roughly double toxic emissions in its local area and, according to environmentalists, become one of the largest plastics pollution-causing facilities in the world."
"Oil, natural gas and petrochemical companies could release about 30 percent more greenhouse gas pollution by 2025 than they did in 2018, according to a new report."
"America’s oil companies are trying to rebrand themselves as part of the solution to the climate crisis, launching a campaign to counter top Democrats’ proposals to rapidly cut pollution from the power plants and cars that run on the industry’s petroleum and natural gas."
"Federal judges have vacated a permit for constructing an Atlantic Coast pipeline compressor station, dealing another setback to the embattled natural gas project. The move is an environmental justice win for local opponents of the project."
From Australia to the Arctic to your neighborhood, environment and energy news is already heating up as 2020 kicks off — and the election promises to add fuel to the fire. On January 24, attendees got a head start on the year's top stories at SEJ's 8th annual "Journalists' Guide to Energy & Environment" at the National Geographic Society's auditorium in Washington, DC. Watch the video recording here.
