"House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) on Tuesday rejected the call for Democratic energy committee members to shun contributions from fossil fuel companies and other industries as too extreme."
"State lawmakers from nine states introduced bills Jan. 8 aimed at blocking oil and gas drilling off their coasts, and a group of House Democrats meanwhile unveiled measures that would ban drilling in federal waters off much of the country."
The economics of fracking may be as big a worry as its environmental impacts, finds a new book on the energy extraction industry. Our latest BookShelf reviews the volume from a seasoned business reporter, who questions conventional views about a renewed U.S. energy “dominance,” probes the financial instability of the industry’s boom and raises the politically destabilizing spectre of a future decline for the fossil fuel market.
The topic of climate change will certainly heat up in 2019. That’s not just because a Democratic House will push back against the Trump administration, but also because of pressure from a “Green New Deal” clean-energy jobs movement, not to mention ongoing legal action, and corporate and state-level moves to limit carbon emissions. This special edition TipSheet explores the fault lines on climate in the year ahead.
"President Donald Trump says he doubts humans have much of a role in climate change. His administration has downplayed the science of climate change and sought to silence scientists working for the federal government. In this hour, Reveal’s Elizabeth Shogren details the pressures one researcher faced as she worked on a project for the National Park Service."
"The partial U.S. government shutdown has docked fishing boats in Alaska, delayed public meetings on a proposed wind farm off the Massachusetts coast and blocked pharmaceutical companies from seeking approval for new drugs. But the Trump administration is working overtime to make sure the shutdown doesn’t halt oil drilling too -- in ways critics say may flout federal law."
"Democrats in Congress are demanding answers about a plan by the Trump administration to use visitor fees toward the operation of popular national parks during the partial government shutdown, claiming that the move could be illegal."
"The Sunrise Movement’s Road to a Green New Deal Tour will make stops in states like Kentucky, Michigan and Pennsylvania."
"The Green New Dealers are taking their movement on the road.
It’s been a whirlwind two months since the youth activists of the Sunrise Movement staged protests in Democratic leaders’ offices, bringing into the mainstream calls for a Green New Deal ― a sweeping federal policy that would mandate 100 percent renewable energy and provide good-paying sustainable jobs to millions of Americans.
"The Trump administration has delayed the release of $16 billion in storm protection funds, prompting complaints from officials in Puerto Rico and Texas, who say the money is vitally needed to protect coastal communities before the next hurricane season."
Many government scientists are barred from doing research or professional activities while the government is shut down.
