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February 6, 2017
A new study estimates that replacing traditional, biomass-fueled cookstoves with cleaner models could reduce the global average temperature nearly a tenth of a degree and save 10 million lives. Photo courtesy of Engineering for Change via flickr.com.
The scientific community has been deeply shaken by President Trump's executive order banning citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. Research institutions, including those specializing in the study of global climate change, depend upon access to the international scientific community to hire staff, conduct on-site research, and collaborate on studies. Many individual scientists and universities, as well as professional organizations including the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Geophysical Union, have issued strongly worded statements against the ban. The Washington Post reported that nearly one-fifth of scientists in America are immigrants. The introduction of the ban has made many feel unwelcomed, and as a result, some scientists are choosing to take jobs in Europe or Canada rather than the United States. Soumya Raychaudhuri, a professor and researcher at Harvard Medical School, expressed concern about the ban: "Immigration into the United States is tremendously important to science. There are other countries competing for this talent pool, and walking away from that jeopardizes our standing."
For more information see:
New York Times, Inside Climate News, Washington Post
Scientists at the U.S. National Laboratories have expressed concern over the future of their research under the new administration, citing communications restrictions and proposed budget cuts. Hansi Singh, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Department of Energy (DOE), says that many are worried climate change research may be the most at risk, since "this administration has not given us any indication that they take it seriously as an issue." Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL), who is a physicist and former DOE researcher, said that while political pressure will be a challenge for scientists under the Trump administration, the agency's budget may prove to be the biggest hurdle. Foster cautioned, "Building up a scientific effort in an area takes years or decades, and it can be destroyed in a single budget cycle." Although staff morale has sunk due to the looming budget threat, the nominee for DOE secretary, Rick Perry, vowed to "protect the men and women of the scientific community from anyone that would attack them, no matter what their reason may be," during his congressional hearing.
Scientific American, Greenwire
On January 31, the acting secretary for the Army placed an order to "proceed with the easement" necessary to finalize the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Don Canton, a spokesman for Sen. Jon Hoeven (R-ND), told the press that the easement, "isn't quite issued yet, but they plan to approve it," likely within days. The pipeline has been hotly contested since the beginning of its construction, with protests led by residents of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota. These protests gained enough traction to cause the Obama administration to halt construction; however, the new administration has reversed that order. It is predicted that there will continue to be staunch opposition to the project, due to concerns over grave environmental and health hazards, including the potential for oil leaks or spills that could contaminate water supplies. The tribe released a statement on January 31 in which they promised to, "vigorously pursue legal action to ensure the environmental impact statement order issued late last year is followed so the pipeline process is legal, fair and accurate."
NPR, CNN, Guardian
A slew of severe storms hit California over the past month, an event expected to strike with greater frequency due to climate change. For government officials and scientists, these damaging natural disasters have reaffirmed the need to improve the resilience of critical infrastructure across the state. California, a U.S. leader in climate mitigation and resilience, faces the significant challenge of planning and funding programs to prepare major highways, airports, and communities for these increased climate threats. "People always tell us we're ahead of the curve," said Larry Goldzband, head of a regional San Francisco Bay commission actively working on regional adaptation efforts. "I always think, 'Man, if we are ahead of the curve, I feel sorry for the rest of the country.'" According to Fraser Shilling, co-director of the Road Ecology Center at the University of California-Davis, reports that the faster than expected rate of climate change is already outpacing adaptation efforts. "This is the new normal," Shilling said. "And all of our infrastructure is not accommodating the new normal."
Washington Post, CBS News
President Trump's power to appoint federal judges is particularly impactful at present, since there are currently 114 vacant federal judge positions, in part due to an unwillingness by Republicans to hold Senate hearings for President Obama's nominees. Though Democrats may be able to slow Trump's selection for the open Supreme Court seat, they will be unable to deny all of his appointments for the lower courts. If Trump chooses to appoint judges who share his views, which include decreasing regulation surrounding climate change and environmental issues, it could cause decades of difficulty for future administrations seeking to gain approval for new environmental and energy regulations. For example, federal courts rule on lawsuits brought by states or interest groups charging companies with violating environmental laws through the construction of new pipelines and power plants. If Trump's federal judge appointees favor private-sector entities over regulations, there could be more leniency towards companies accused of violating these environmental protections.
Climate Central
The phrase "climate change" may be contentious in many parts of the American Midwest, but it has not become so politically polarizing that people refuse to recognize the basic principles it represents. Farmers' livelihoods are directly tied to the climate, since it influences both growing seasons and crop productivity. How such issues are framed poses part of the challenge in that policy advocates often emphasize emission reductions over potential economic benefits. In the past few decades, environmentalism has become stigmatized and associated with regulations viewed as burdensome for farmers in vast stretches of the United States. However, practical agricultural approaches that benefit farmers and the environment alike present a basis for future dialogue. Miriam Horn, author of a book on conservatives and the environment, said, "It would be a huge mistake to think people voting for Trump were voting against the environment," and that if Trump continues to follow an anti-environment agenda, "there will be a big backlash in the heartland."
New York Times
Myron Ebell, who led President Trump's EPA transition process, said that he expects Trump to fulfill his campaign promise to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement. While speaking at a climate skeptic conference in London, Ebell asserted that President Trump believes climate change is "not a crisis and does not require drastic and immediate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions." This statement comes after Trump had slightly moderated his public position on climate science, as he said he now believes there is "some connectivity" between human activity and a changing climate. Despite this statement, many of Trump's cabinet choices are climate skeptics. However, newly appointed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has acknowledged that "it's important that the U.S. maintains its seat at the table about how to address the threat of climate change, which does require a global response." When asked about Tillerson's statement, Ebell responded, "If Rex Tillerson disagrees with the president, who's going to win that debate? The president was elected and Rex Tillerson wasn't."
Bloomberg, Climate Change News, Guardian
Formerly the EPA administrator under President Obama, Gina McCarthy is becoming increasingly concerned over the direction of the agency she once ran. Among her top concerns are statements coming from President Trump's EPA transition team that the agency's staff may be cut by two-thirds, as well as having political appointees potentially influence research findings. McCarthy stated, "If the science changes because of politics, that's not science." Regarding the Trump administration's approach to climate change, McCarthy said, "Climate science is more robust than the science that said cigarettes cause lung cancer. You'd laugh at me if I said cigarettes didn't cause lung cancer. It's incredibly dangerous that they don't believe it." Even if the federal government steps back in its approach to address climate change, McCarthy is optimistic that the individual states will lead the way and "continue to cut emissions and set an example for others."
Boston Globe
In meetings between President Trump and U.S. automaker executives last week, Ford CEO Mark Fields stated that up to "1 million jobs could be at risk from current emission and fuel-economy standards" if more flexibility is not afforded to manufacturers. However, industry analysts concluded such a projection lacks certainty, given the numerous auto and petroleum market factors that would have to align for the industry to experience such a loss. Fields said companies do not want to remove the current corporate average fuel-economy standards and related emission targets, but are advocating for "one national standard for fuel economy." A national standard could potentially lead to the removal of the existing EPA waiver that allows California (and other states that opt in) to adopt stricter emission standards on automobiles. EPA administrator nominee Scott Pruitt suggested that under his leadership, the EPA would review the California waiver process, but he did not commit to continuing it outright.
Green Car Reports, Bloomberg
Currently, two-fifths of the world's population uses traditional "cookstoves" - an open fire that uses fuels such as coal, wood, animal dung, and other biomass - to cook their meals. However, this method has negative effects on both the environment and human health. Burning the materials used for traditional cookstoves releases methane and carbon dioxide, both of which are greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. According to the World Health Organization, poor indoor air quality caused by cookstoves contributes to 370,000-500,000 premature adult deaths per year. A new study has shown that phasing out traditional cookstoves and replacing them with cleaner technology could reduce the global average temperature nearly a tenth of a degree, while saving 10 million lives by mid-century. Organizations like the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves seek to replace traditional units with versions that run on decentralized solar energy or cleaner-burning liquid fuels. Dr. Nick Watts of University College London said, "The barriers to deployment can be anything from encouraging individual behavioral change to large national infrastructure issues."
Carbon Brief
Signs of warming water temperatures are already becoming apparent off the coast of Alaska. New research released during the Alaska Marine Science Symposium found that higher water temperatures have negatively affected the eggs and larvae of the Arctic Cod, which are specially adapted to cold-water environments. The research also found that lower-fat fish, such as the Pacific cod and walleye pollock, have been moving into the warming waters and further displacing the Arctic Cod. Arctic Cod is crucial to the local ecosystem, as it is a high-fat fish eaten by seabirds, marine mammals, and people, and is a seen as a keystone species for the Arctic's food web. "It's looking bad for birds, and it's looking really bad for the fisheries as well," stated local biologist Martin Renner. Other creatures such as high-fat euphausiids and copepods, tiny organisms in the base of the food web, are much less abundant in the warming waters, driving the migration of predator species.
Alaska Dispatch News
Supreme Court Nominee Gorsuch's Stance on "Chevron" Standard Worries Environmental Advocates
Trump Signs Sweeping Executive Order to Remove Two Regulations for Any New Regulation Passed
COP 23 Will Focus on Risks to Low-Lying and Vulnerable Nations, Says Host-Nation Fiji
As the United States Retreats on Climate Action, European Union Turns to China
Largest Bank in Germany to Stop Financing Coal Projects in Fulfillment of Paris Climate Agreement
Military Veterans Group Vows to Carry on Support for Dakota Pipeline Protestors
National Electric Transmission Infrastructure Summit & Advanced Transmission Technology Expo
February 9-10
Mandarin Oriental Hotel
1330 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC
The first-ever national policy conference on the need to build out, modernize, and integrate America's high-voltage transmission infrastructure will be hosted by Americans for a Clean Energy Grid from February 9-10. The program begins with a workshop on transmission technology innovations, followed by a conference on transmission challenges, policy proposals, and the outlook for the next administration.
Congressional staffers can request a complimentary registration by emailing [email protected] before the end of January. EESI is a partnering organization for this event.
Full information is available at http://www.cleanenergytransmission.org/summit
2017 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook
Friday, February 10
12:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Gold Room 2168
Rayburn House Office Building
C Street SE and South Capitol Street
Lunch will be served
For the fifth year in a row, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) have produced the Sustainable Energy in America Factbook, which provides the latest industry information and trends from the energy efficiency, renewable energy, and natural gas sectors in the United States. EESI is a partnering organization for this event.
Join a panel of executives from BCSE member companies and analysts from BNEF to find out why the experts agree that "sustainable energy is the new normal" in America. A live webcast will be streamed at 12:30 PM EST at www.eesi.org/livecast This event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP.
The High-Voltage Grid: Its Operations, Challenges, and Benefits
Thursday, February 16 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm Room 385 Russell Senate Office Building Constitution Avenue and 1st Street, NE
WIRES, the House Grid Innovation Caucus, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute
(EESI) invite you to an important briefing on the modernization of the nation's critical network of high-voltage transmission. Designed and built well before the digital age to serve more localized customer loads, the "grid" is struggling to support active and increasingly competitive wholesale power markets that now operate regionally. It is often congested or inadequate to deliver domestic energy resources that are not close to customers. Modern transmission infrastructure is the fundamental enabler of competition, new technologies, and our high standard of living. Upgrading and expanding the system is a priority.
2:00 pm - Introductory remarks - Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA) and Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH)
2:30 pm - Transmission 101: How The Grid Works - Adriann McCoy, Smart Wires Inc
3:00 pm - The State of the Grid and the Challenges of Regional Transmission Planning with Clair Moeller, Midcontinent ISO; Mike Ross, Southwest Power Pool; and Craig Glazer, PJM Interconnection Moderator: James Hoecker, WIRES Counsel, former Chair, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
A live webcast will be streamed at 2:00 PM EST at www.eesi.org/livecast Free and open to the public. Please RSVP to expedite check-in.
Writers: Andrew Wollenberg, Emma Dietz, and Ben Topiel Editor: Brian La Shier
Advancing science-based climate solutions
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