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December 11, 2017
Wildfires have threatened much of Southern California, resulting in widespread damage and evacuations. Smoke plumes are visible in a satellite image, courtesy of NASA via flickr.com.
Among the various concerns with the Republican-led tax overhaul is a provision in the Senate's version of the bill pertaining to renewable energy. The Senate Finance Committee inserted the Base Erosion Anti-Abuse Tax (BEAT) provision with the intent to make it more difficult for corporations to use tax credits as a way to manipulate their tax rates. However, the way BEAT is designed would affect tax equity investment in such a way as to discourage the use of the production tax credit (PTC) used to fund wind energy projects and the investment tax credit (ITC) used for solar projects. Various trade organizations, including the American Wind Energy Association and Solar Energy Industries Association, have requested Congress insert an exception for renewable energy into the BEAT provision. During a two-year stretch from 2015-2016, tax equity financed $23 billion worth of renewable energy projects. Greg Wetstone, CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy, said, “If this bill were to be enacted exactly as written in the Senate, it would have extremely negative consequences for renewable energy investment and job creation in the United States."
For more information see:
Utility Dive, Greentech Media
On December 7, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said the agency would move ahead with a replacement for the Clean Power Plan (CPP). Pruitt made the statement during testimony before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, while also critiquing EPA's 2009 endangerment finding that obligates the agency to regulate greenhouse gases. The Obama administration's CPP would have reduced carbon emissions from the utility sector by 32 percent by 2030, relative to 2005 levels. Pruitt also shared that the agency will proceed with its "red team, blue team" effort as soon as January 2018. The initiative is designed to question mainstream climate change science, which underpins the endangerment finding and other regulatory touchstones at EPA. While Republican legislators praised Pruitt's approach, Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) said, "Rules across the agency are being undone capriciously with little regard to human impacts or the science that went into developing them." On December 6, EPA announced it would hold three additional public hearings on the CPP in San Francisco, Kansas City, MO, and Gillette, WY, following its prior hearing in Charleston, WV.
NBC News, U.S. News
The Trump administration has officially disbanded the Community Resilience Panel for Buildings and Infrastructure Systems. The cross-agency panel was established in 2015 within the Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The panel provided guidance to local officials on how to make buildings and energy, transportation, water, and communications infrastructure more resilient in order to help protect residents against extreme weather and natural disasters. A NIST spokesperson claimed the decision to end the panel was made by staff in the Institute's Community Resilience Program and that a national workshop was deemed more efficient. The group's unpaid chairman, Jesse Keenan of Harvard University, informed the panel members that December 4 would be their final meeting. Keenan said, "[The panel] was the federal government’s primary external engagement for resilience in the built environment." Among the issues the panel examined were how to improve building codes, restore cell phone service after a disaster, and how to restart disaster-affected municipal utilities.
Bloomberg
At the North American Climate Summit, a group of 51 mayors met to express solidarity in carrying out the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. On December 5, the mayors officially signed the Chicago Climate Charter, which calls upon participating cities to monitor, quantify, and report their greenhouse gas emissions, provide support for municipal climate change actions, and integrate climate considerations into emergency planning. The assembled mayors were drawn from 10 countries and represented more than 60 million urbanites. The pledges were meant to demonstrate how local-level governments would work to fill in the regulatory void created by the Trump administration on environment and climate issues. Former President Barack Obama provided remarks at the event, underscoring the importance of the United States “keeping [its] word on the world stage” when it comes to climate. Obama added that “cities, states, businesses, universities and nonprofits have emerged as the new faces of American leadership on climate change.”
Chicago Sun-Times, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Wildfires continued to cause destruction across Southern California, threatening the counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, and Ventura. As of the morning of December 8, the fires had burned more than 500 structures, forced the evacuation of 212,000 residents, and left thousands of utility customers without electricity. That same day, President Trump approved a federal disaster declaration, freeing up aid and placing federal agencies in charge of relief efforts. The Thomas Fire northwest of Los Angeles is the largest of the six active blazes and is only 10 percent contained. Officials blame the rapid growth of the fires on extremely dry conditions and powerful Santa Ana winds. While climate change is a contributing factor to the severity of California's wildfire season, John Abatzoglou of the University of Idaho explained, "These fires are not immediately emblematic of climate change. Yes, California did have the warmest summer on record. But the big anomaly here is the delay in the onset of precipitation for the southland that has kept the vegetation dry and fire-prone."
LA Times, The Atlantic
Environmental advocates are urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) to halt plans to incinerate debris created by Hurricanes Maria and Irma in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Opponents of the plan note that the U.S. territory's 100,000 residents are already suffering from poor air quality due to the widespread use of diesel generators currently providing more than half of the population with electricity. The Sierra Club and other groups have proposed composting to avoid additional pollution and help restore eroded soil. One ACE assessment states incineration of the 400,000 cubic yards of tree debris would cost $5.2 million, while composting would cost $7.3 million. A similar plan by ACE to incinerate debris in New York after Hurricane Sandy was halted because it would have violated clean air regulations. A group of 13 North American public health officials submitted a letter opposing incineration, writing, "Burning of brush and wood on St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John will increase air pollution and therefore the risk of associated health problems."
InsideClimate News
Despite the devastation coastal communities experienced from 2017's hurricane season, developers in South Florida have continued to build at a steady pace. Miami's core neighborhoods currently have around 20,000 condominium units in various stages of construction, fueled by a booming real estate market. Miami is among the most vulnerable locations in the country to sea level rise, but many property investors are reportedly not concerned about climate change impacts. Peter Zalweski, a consultant who caters to those investors, explained, "Chances are, they're not going to be in [Miami] long-term. Basically, they're looking to invest their money, look for a little uptick in the pricing and then dump it, take the profit and move on to the next play." Some neighborhoods already experience regular tidal flooding, though city officials cite stricter building codes and elevation requirements when discussing Miami's flood resilience. Miami voters recently approved a referendum dedicating $200 million in public funds to flood prevention and sea level rise defenses.
NPR
According to a new study, scientists are warning that global average temperatures could increase 15 percent more than expected this century. The study, appearing in the journal Nature, reviewed current climate system models and found that temperatures could increase 0.5 degrees Celsius more than previously calculated by 2100. The United Nations has stated that emission reduction goals in the Paris Agreement are already inadequate and could lead to more than 3 degrees C of global warming. Authors Patrick Brown and Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution for Science wrote, "Our results suggest that achieving any given global temperature stabilization target will require steeper greenhouse gas emissions reductions than previously calculated." The study took a novel approach in comparing the dozens of models with recent satellite observations of the planet's systems in order to determine which models performed the best. The models with the best depiction of the Earth's climate system also tended to predict greater warming in the future.
Reuters, Washington Post
Scientists have published new findings on how the Greenland ice sheet is being shaped by meltwater flows. A key takeaway is that not as much meltwater travels directly to the ocean as previously thought, but instead a portion of the water gets retained in porous sections of the ice. The study was meant to improve upon computer models that are currently used to estimate meltwater surface runoff. Field data revealed that the models were overestimating the amount of runoff by 20 to 60 percent, prompting the researchers to search for the cause of the disparity. They discovered that sunlight penetrating deeper into the ice caused subsurface melting and a porous texture capable of retaining water, an occurrence not well-accounted for by existing models. The 650,000 square mile, two-mile thick Greenland ice sheet remains the subject of intense study, as it contains enough water to raise global sea level by 24 feet if it were to melt entirely.
New York Times
Scientists warn that the effects of climate change could lead to a greater occurrence of respiratory ailments. Rising temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns could lead to longer growing seasons and higher pollen counts, making air quality worse for the 24 million Americans currently living with asthma. Plant pollen and mold can especially plague children and worsen asthma symptoms. More frequent wildfires and a spike in ozone produced by vehicle exhaust could also lead to an increase in emergency room visits for people with respiratory diseases triggered by air pollution. Kim Knowlton, a climate and health expert at Columbia University, said, "The top 25 states with the highest percentage of its residents living in areas with both unhealthy ozone days and pollen-producing ragweed, those areas [include] a lot of states in the Northeast and Washington, D.C." One pilot study found that children with respiratory issues who did not have access to medication missed twice as many school days and lost more sleep than those who received regular treatment.
WAMU
Federal Housing Administration to Stop Insuring New Home Mortgages with PACE Loans
California Lawmaker to Propose Bill Banning Registration of Fossil Fuel Vehicles by 2040
Climate Change Trends Are Altering the Character of Great Lakes Forests
India Continues to Struggle in Battle to Curtail Urban Air Pollution
New Report Ranks France as Leading Nation in Food Waste Prevention
EESI Named a Top Ten Charity by Leading Nonprofit Evaluator
EESI is proud to announce we've been named #2 on Charity Navigator’s top 10 in the "Charities Worth Watching" category! Charity Navigator, America’s foremost nonprofit evaluator, explained its decision to showcase 10 Four-Star charities operating on less than $2 million a year by stating that “many of America's most effective charities are also household names. But some well-known charities are less effective than you'd think, while a number of lesser known charities are truly exceptional.” Charity Navigator has given EESI a perfect rating and says that, as a Four-Star Charity, EESI is "exceptional" and "exceeds industry standards and outperforms most charities in its cause." EESI is a 501(c)3 charitable organization, relying on grants and contributions to bring you CCN and other services each week.
Writer and Editor: Brian La Shier
Top-Rated Climate Nonprofit – 4-Star Charity