The House is set to vote next week on a Democratic bill that would bar “excessive” or “exploitative” fuel prices as gasoline over the last several days has reached new record highs. The Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act will likely die in the Senate, as Republicans are not expected to support the legislation, which would ban price increases during national energy emergencies declared by the president. (Bloomberg)
BP PLC shareholders voted in support of the supermajor’s climate strategy – which includes a 2050 net-zero emissions target for the production and sale of oil, gas and other products – with an approval of 88.5%, as oil and gas companies have increasingly faced more pressure from shareholders on emissions reduction goals. Meanwhile, a resolution filed by activist shareholder group Follow This, which would have called on BP to set “inspirational” climate targets, received roughly 15% of voter support. (Reuters)
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) plans to introduce a carbon border adjustment measure “within the next 10 days or so” as the legislation seeks to impose a fee on imports of energy-intensive goods modeled after the federal government’s social cost of carbon. The policy could win the backing of some Republicans as a way to hit polluting industries that have moved to China. (E&E News)
In a landmark first, scientists have grown plants in lunar soil using samples collected during the Apollo missions to the moon. This is the first time plants have been sprouted and grown on Earth in soil from another celestial body.
Atmos speaks with young climate visionaries working across food, tech, activism, fashion, and education about how they are reimagining their respective industries.
Since the beginning of 2021, at least 33 companies in the US and Europe have held so-called “say on climate” votes, in which the companies asked investors to give a non-binding thumbs-up to its climate plan.
Benzene is a known human carcinogen, according to the EPA. The Texas refineries were among a dozen industrial plants in the U.S. that emitted the highest levels of the chemical in 2021.
Communities near polluting sites tend to be disproportionately lower income and people of color — populations that are more likely to need abortion care in the first place.
The PJM Interconnection has developed a roadmap for handling the various changes affecting its system, including the retirement of fossil-fueled generation, growth in renewable energy and storage, and the electrification of the transportation and building sectors.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has reiterated his skepticism about hydrogen’s role in the planned shift to a more sustainable future, describing it as “the most dumb thing I could possibly imagine for energy storage.”
The volume of crude oil flowing on pipelines from the top U.S. shale field to export hubs on the U.S. Gulf Coast could surge to pre-pandemic levels by October, analysts said, signaling the end of desperate days for some Texas oil pipeline operators.
The Biden administration has scrapped planned offshore drilling auctions soon after calling for increased domestic oil production and tapping emergency reserves in a bid to ease gas prices.
Two long-term supply deals struck this week by liquefied natural gas developer Venture Global LNG put its second Louisiana LNG facility on the verge of construction and financing approval, analysts said.
South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Group is expected to announce next week that it’s building a massive electric vehicle plant near Savannah, Georgia, according to a U.S. official familiar with the anticipated announcement.
The chair of the U.S. House panel overseeing the Postal Service (USPS) asked the agency to turn over documents and answer questions on its plans to buy mostly gas-powered next-generation delivery vehicles as critics question the move over costs and the environmental impact.
Diesel costs are reaching new highs across the U.S., straining the operations of trucking companies and wrecking the transportation budgets of businesses that need to ship goods.
Both utility-scale energy storage and distributed storage resources will play a key role in helping Hawaii maintain the reliability of its grid as it prepares to shutter a 180 MW coal plant on the island of Oahu, experts said at the Hawaii Energy Conference on Tuesday.
Wildfires edged towards mountain resort towns in northern New Mexico on Thursday and engulfed an enclave of multi-million-dollar mansions in southern California.
Marcio J. Sanchez And Brian Melley, The Associated Press
Wildfires are on a furious pace early this year, from a California hilltop where mansions with multimillion-dollar Pacific Ocean views were torched to remote New Mexico mountains charred by a month-old monster blaze.
Advocates are reiterating calls for a national ban on one of the world’s most notorious carcinogens, with data showing imports for asbestos are on the rise this year despite ongoing regulatory action.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday awarded $254 million to 265 communities around the country to help them clean up contaminated areas to spur economic revitalization, part of a broader plan to lift up polluted, underserved areas.
On the list of products are carpets or rugs, cosmetics, fabric treatments, food packaging, juvenile products, oil and gas products, textiles furnishings and upholstered furniture, according to the bill.
West Virginia coal miners on Thursday launched a campaign urging Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to support a Democratic budget reconciliation bill that would extend funding for black lung patients.
Hunger caused by the Ukraine war is one more uncomfortable symptom of the world’s refusal to adopt more sustainable agriculture policies and plant-based diets.
Companies are increasingly becoming interested in regenerative agriculture to meet growing consumer demand for agricultural goods that advance environmental, climate and social justice goals, but current domestic farm land under regenerative production is minimal.
New research finds that in most states, new electric vehicles (EVs) are cheaper to own than gasoline-powered vehicles on a monthly basis from the day they are driven off the lot, even if the sticker price is higher.
