With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...
By Desi Doyen on 6/9/2016, 11:56am PT  


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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: San Francisco adopts a climate change adaptation tax; Alberta, Canada, home of tar sands oil, adopts a carbon tax; U.S. Congress updates toxic chemical regulations for first time in 40 years; Britain's solar crushes coal; PLUS: A breakthrough in the quest to create an artificial leaf...All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): How the Great Barrier Reef got polluted – from farms and fossil fuels to filthy propaganda; Drought Sparks Larger Wildfires Throughout California; Another Oil Company Ends Arctic Drilling Hopes; U.S. solar market to nearly double in 2016, led by utilities; Britain's Royal Navy warships are breaking down because sea is too hot; What if climate change emptied India?; Scientists Seek a New Measure for Methane...PLUS: US and India just made progress on a little-known (but potent) climate problem... and much, MUCH more! ...

STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY'S 'GREEN NEWS REPORT'...

  • San Francisco adopts a climate change adaptation tax:
    • San Francisco Bay Restoration Measure Clears Two-Thirds Hurdle (KQED):
      Sea level could rise 2 feet by midcentury and Measure AA supporters say wetlands are a key strategy in the face of rising water, since they absorb storm surges and protect important infrastructure.
    • Bay Area Voters Approve Tax to Fix Marshes As Seas Rise (Climate Central) [emphasis added]:
      Voters in the San Francisco Bay Area approved an unprecedented tax Tuesday to help fund an ambitious vision for restoring lost marshlands, handing electoral victory to shorebirds, crabs and advocates of a muddy strategy for adapting to rising seas...A recent state-led analysis recommended accelerating the work because of the looming threat of an acceleration in rates of sea level rise.

  • Alberta, Canada adopts a landmark carbon tax:
    • Alberta NDP Pass First Part Of Climate Change Plan (Huffington Post):
      The government estimates that two-thirds of Albertans - those in middle- and low-income brackets - will receive a partial or full rebate. The government says that ensures lower-income Albertans will not be penalized by the tax, but will have an incentive to go green because they get to keep the rebate money regardless. Opponents have derided the plan as a thinly veiled wealth transfer.
    • Contentious carbon tax bill passed by Alberta legislature (CBC):
      "The action by this government with respect to climate change is one that is long, long, long overdue in this province," Notley told the legislature. "Albertans told us in the last election that they were worried about climate change, that they were worried about the state of the environment, that they were worried about Alberta's reputation internationally and nationally, and that they were worried about their future as a result."

  • U.S. Congress updates toxic chemical regulations for first time in 40 years:
  • Britain's solar output crushes coal:
  • Exelon warns Illinois it will shutter nuclear plants:
    • Exelon Shutting Two Nuclear Plants After Legislation Fails (Bloomberg):
      The retirements are the latest sign of how historically low power prices, competition from wind farms and solar panels and stagnant or falling demand are threatening the viability of U.S. reactors. In more than a dozen states that deregulated their electricity markets, owners of aging nuclear and coal generators are reeling under growing competition from generators burning gas. Electricity providers in places like Ohio and New York are asking for millions of dollars to keep their units running.
    • Exelon says it will close 2 Illinois nuclear plants, affecting 1,500 jobs (Reuters) [emphasis added]:
      Exelon was hoping the Illinois Legislature would adopt legislation, known as the Next Generation Energy Plan, that would compensate nuclear reactors for the reliability, environmental and economic benefits they provide, such as round-the-clock power with no carbon emissions, and jobs and taxes for nearby towns.

  • Breakthrough in quest to invent artifical leaf:
    • VIDEO: A Big Leap for an Artificial Leaf (MIT Technology Review):
      And they’ve done it at an efficiency of 10 percent, using pure carbon dioxide—in other words, one-tenth of the energy in sunlight is captured and turned into fuel. That is much higher than natural photosynthesis, which converts about 1 percent of solar energy into the carbohydrates used by plants, and it could be a milestone in the shift away from fossil fuels.
    • Bionic Leaf Sucks Up Carbon Dioxide As It Makes Liquid Fuel (LA Times):
      A team of scientists at Harvard University says it has come up with a bionic leaf - a system that could use solar power and hydrogen-eating bacteria to generate liquid fuel. The findings, described in the journal Science, offer an alternative path to making carbon-neutral solar fuels.

'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (Stuff we didn't have time for in today's audio report)...


FOR MORE on Climate Science and Climate Change, go to our Green News Report: Essential Background Page

  • NASA Video: If we don't act, here's what to expect in the next 100 years:
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