Climate Change

"The famed coastal dunes that inspired the shifting sand landscape of the desert planet Arrakis in Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel “Dune” are also under siege — from climate change and human development."

"The Biden administration pumped more money into clean energy projects Thursday, announcing up to $475 million in federal funding for projects in five states — including the political battleground states of Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nevada." "The administration said the clean energy projects will strengthen the country’s energy security while helping ensure mining communities continue playing a role in the energy economy."

"Once the world’s top aluminum producer, the U.S. is now making much less of it — just as cleantech industries drive up demand for the metal and advocates try to drive its emissions down."

"A new report highlights the risk 120,000 abandoned oil and gas wells pose to carbon dioxide storage in Louisiana, home to more proposals to pump the greenhouse gas underground than any other state." "With industry planning to inject tens of millions of tons annually, a looming question is whether the climate-warming gas will stay underground."

"President Biden’s new rule cutting emissions from vehicle tailpipes has deepened a partisan battle over automotive technology."

"The natural gas industry pulled off an 11th-hour victory in its campaign to strip climate-friendly rules out of the latest update to the homebuilding guidelines used in most of the United States."

"Democrats’ sweeping Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has fueled significant progress in the fight against climate change since its passage in 2022. But if former President Trump wins back the presidency in November, he’s likely to undermine those gains — or help a Republican Congress do away with the law entirely."

"The deal would place 40 percent of California’s idle wells in the hands of one operator. Campaigners warn this poses an “immense” risk to the state — which new rules could help to mitigate, depending on how regulators act."

"Alaska subsistence hunters struggling with caribou declines and lost hunting opportunities got a message at a gathering in Anchorage last week: They are not alone." "There are signs that climate change is depressing caribou numbers, and ongoing and proposed development could make recovery more difficult, experts say".