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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: GNR Special Coverage: President Obama's final State of the Union Address. What he said about climate and energy. What he didn't say. And the Republican (lack of) Response... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Ted Cruz Pwned by Satellite; Global Warming Could Stave Off Next Ice Age For 100,000 Years; Unprecedented: Simultaneous January Named Storms in the Atlantic and Central Pacific; Duke execs knew of coal ash violations for year; Blown Away: 2015 Hottest Year by Far; Bid To Mine More Coal On US Federal Lands Tests Obama's Green Agenda; Global Mercury Emissions Down 30 Percent As Coal Use Drops... PLUS: Watchdog finds no evidence of bias in EPA Pebble Mine study... and much, MUCH more! ...

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

• MI Gov. Rick Snyder Calls FEMA, National Guard in Flint Water Crisis:
• First seven Michigan National Guard soldiers on the ground in Flint (MLive.com) [emphasis added]:
  
  Those developments occurred while the city was being run by an emergency manager appointed by the governor.
• Michigan National Guard, FEMA help Flint amid water crisis (AP)
• Q&A: A look at the drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan (AP)
• Flint learns of Legionnaires' disease spike as water crisis continues (CNN)
• Flint filter delivery casts doubt on what Snyder said (Detroit Free Press):
  
  Gov. Rick Snyder's statement Monday that he wasn't aware of a problem with lead in Flint's drinking water until about Oct. 1 has prompted questions about his office's role in quietly delivering 1,500 water filters to the city in August. Snyder's statement also raises questions about the speed and scope of the state's response since Oct. 1 and why state officials did not immediately instruct Flint residents, on Oct. 1, not to drink the water without a filter. A 10-point plan for Flint water that Snyder released Oct. 2 said the state was making water filters and water testing available to residents, but did not include a warning not to drink the water without a filter.
• Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder Faces Calls For Resignation Amid Flint Water Crisis (NPR):
  
  '[T]this is the state where in Detroit, there are people who don't have water. This is a state where you've got people who are getting water that's poisoned. And all of those people are minorities."
• President Obama's Final State of the Union Address:
• Transcript: President Obama’s 2016 State of the Union Address (Medium)
• FULL VIDEO: Obama's last State of the Union (MSNBC):
  
  In case you missed it: Watch President Obama's final State of the Union address in full.
• VIDEO: Obama's 2016 State of the Union, in 4 minutes (Vox.com)
• State of the Union 2016: Full coverage and analysis (Vox.com)
• In State of Union, Obama seeks to frame election-year choice (McClatchy News)
• SOTU: Obama Vows to Revamp Federal Coal Leasing Program (InsideClimate News):
  
  President Obama pledged on Tuesday to push for changes in how the federal government manages fossil fuel development on public lands, an emerging battleground in the nation's climate policies.
• US Solar Industry Now Employs More Workers Than Oil & Gas, Says Report (Guardian UK):
  
  The US solar industry now employs more workers than oil and gas, a new report from the Solar Foundation claims, with most of the jobs in power panel installation.
• Republican Response to the SOTU: No Mentions of Climate Change or Energy:
• AUDIO: Transcript: Gov. Nikki Haley's Republican Address To The Nation (NPR)
• The English And Spanish Versions Of The GOP SOTU Response Were The Same, Except On Immigration (Think Progress)

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

• Ted Cruz Pwned by Satellite (Climate Crocks):
  
  Ted Cruz’s claims about satellite temperature data are dismissed by the scientist in charge of producing the data in question. I hereby make a DARING PREDICTION. I predict that Ted Cruz will completely ignore the fact that Dr. Mears thinks he is misinterpreting his data. Because Ted Cruz.
• Unprecedented: Simultaneous January Named Storms in the Atlantic and Central Pacific (Weather Underground):
  
  [S]omething that would have been unimaginable a few decades ago: simultaneous January named storms in both the Atlantic and Central Pacific.
• Watchdog finds no evidence of bias in EPA Bristol Bay mining study (Alaska Dispatch News):
  
  A watchdog has found no evidence of bias in how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted a study on the potential effects of large-scale mining [Pebble Mine] on a world-premier salmon fishery in Alaska's Bristol Bay region.
• Duke execs knew of coal ash violations for years, unsealed court documents assert (Utility Dive):
  
  A previously-sealed shareholder lawsuit alleges Duke Energy officials knew for years of problems at the company's coal ash disposal ponds, including groundwater violations at all 14 locations in North Carolina.
• Blown Away: 2015 Hottest Year by Far (Climate Crocks):
  
  There’s one especially important about fact about this group’s determination: It was set up in early 2010 as an independent fact check of other surface temperature data sets, and led by a physicist — Richard Muller — who had previously been quite skeptical of mainstream climate science findings. Instead of proving surface data from government agencies like NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) wrong, the Berkeley group has consistently reaffirmed their data.
• Bid To Mine More Coal On US Federal Lands Tests Obama's Green Agenda (Reuters):
  
  President Barack Obama's State of the Union pledge to better manage fossil fuel development will face a test within days, when federal officials rule on whether to open public lands containing more than 600 million tons of coal to more mining.
• Global Warming Could Stave Off Next Ice Age For 100,000 Years (Reuters):
  
  Global warming is likely to disrupt a natural cycle of ice ages and contribute to delaying the onset of the next big freeze until about 100,000 years from now, scientists said on Wednesday.
• Global Mercury Emissions Down 30 Percent As Coal Use Drops: USGS (Reuters):
  
  Global emissions of mercury from manmade sources fell 30 percent from 1990 to 2010, in part from decreasing use of coal, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported on Wednesday.
• State Renewable Energy Mandates Are Producing Enormous Benefits (Vox.com):
  
  Much has been made of the rapid rise of renewable energy in the US, but the policy workhorse behind it does not get nearly enough attention or credit.
• Senator Blocking FDA Nominee Over Biotech Salmon (Agri-Pulse):
  
  Sen. Lisa Murkowski is holding up President Barack Obama's nominee to run the Food and Drug Administration to force the labeling of genetically engineered salmon.
• Nevada solar industry collapses after state lets power company raise fees (Guardian UK):
  
  State public utility commission gave only power company permission to charge higher rates and fees to users, shattering industry’s business model
• Big Oil Braced for Global Warming While It Fought Regulations (LA Times):
  
  A few weeks before seminal climate change talks in Kyoto back in 1997, Mobil Oil took out a bluntly worded advertisement in the New York Times and Washington Post.

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

• Video Proof That Global Warming is a 'Hoax'!: NASA Temperature Data 1888-2011 (The BRAD BLOG):



• NASA climate change video: This is the U.S. in 2100 (NASA).

                 

Article Categories: U.S. House, Environment, U.S. Senate, Barack Obama, Democrats, Republicans, Michigan, FEMA, Green News, BP Oil Disaster, EPA, Fracking, Natural gas, Coal, Oil, Wind energy, Solar energy, Climate change, China, Water, Transportation, Nikki Haley