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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: GAO report finds less than half of U.S. school districts test their water for lead; Following in Scott Pruitt's swampy footsteps, coal lobbyist and acting EPA chief Andrew Wheeler weakens toxic coal ash water protections; June 2018 was the third hottest June on record globally; Climate change is coming for your Internet; PLUS: Marriott International becomes the latest major corporation to ditch plastic straws... 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): Fossil fuel industry spent nearly $2 billion to kill U.S. climate action, new study finds; Republicans move to kill carbon tax before it gains any momentum; U.S. court blocks EPA decision not to enforce 'Glider Truck' limits; Puerto Rico governor names new PREPA CEO; Pro-PG&E wildfire bill written by lawmaker whose son works at PG&E; Oil boom in Southern New Mexico ignites groundwater feud with Texas; EU-Japan trade deal first to carry Paris climate clause; Seaweed farming and its surprising benefits; Powering ships with plastic in Amsterdam... PLUS: Thirsty vineyard, Big Ag test landmark aquifer law... and much, MUCH more! ...

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

• GAO report finds less than half of US schools test for lead:
• GAO: Less than half of school districts test water for lead (AP):
  
  A 2005 memorandum signed by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Education and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides guidance to schools, including a testing protocol and suggestions for disseminating results, educating the school community about the risks and health effects of exposure and what actions should be taken to correct the problem. But there are still major information gaps, the report says, and no federal law that requires schools to test for lead.
• Millions of public school kids were exposed to potentially unsafe levels of lead in drinking water. (The New Republic):
  
  [S]chool districts serving 12 million children aren’t testing for lead at all. If 37 percent of those districts had lead contamination, that would mean 4.4 million children at risk of lead exposure.
• Lead Testing of School Drinking Water Would Benefit from Improved Federal Guidance [PDF] (Government Accountability Office)
• Acting EPA chief Andrew Wheeler weakens toxic coal ash drinking water protections:
• EPA eases rules on how coal ash waste is stored across U.S. (Washington Post):
  
  The new standards — the first major rule signed by EPA acting administrator Andrew Wheeler — will extend the life of some existing ash ponds from April 2019 until October 2020, empower states to suspend groundwater monitoring in certain cases and allow state officials to certify whether utilities’ facilities meet adequate standards. EPA officials estimate that the rule change will save the industry between $28 million and $31 million a year in compliance costs.
• EPA rolls back Obama-era coal ash regulations (CNN):
  
  According to the EPA, there are over 1,000 coal ash disposal sites across the country, many of them constructed in the 1950s and 1960s, well before any sort of regulations..."Millions of tons of industrial waste directly on the banks of major drinking water reservoirs that serve hundreds of thousands of people," he said, "that's a recipe for disaster."
• EPA's Wheeler could stay in officie without Senate confirmation until 2020:
• Temporary EPA Chief Could Keep Gig for Years Without Senate Vote (Bloomberg):
  
  [T]he former energy industry lobbyist may be able to remain in charge of rolling back regulations on climate change and auto emissions for the rest of Trump’s four-year term without Senate confirmation, thanks to exceptions in a law originally designed to prevent abuse.
• June 2018 was 3rd hottest on record globally:
• June 2018 ties for third warmest June on record (NASA)
• Earth had its third-warmest June amid sizzling global records (Axios):
  
  The planet is headed for a top 5 warmest year despite the lack of an El Niño event in the tropical Pacific Ocean, which would help boost temperatures in addition to human-caused global warming.
• The heat goes on: NASA pegs last month in a tie for third warmest June in 138 years of modern record keeping (Discover Magazine):
  
  Although NOAA’s just-released analysis differs somewhat, both show that June 2018 continued the long-term global warming trend.
• June 2018 ties for 3rd-warmest June on record (EarthSky Journal)
• Climate change is coming for your Internet:
• Lights Out: Climate Change Risk to Internet Infrastructure [PDF] (Univ. of Oregon, Univ. of Wisconsin)
• Rising Seas Are Putting The Internet At Risk, Study Finds (Huffington Post):
  
  The labyrinth of cables and hardware that supports the internet is likely to be flooded with saltwater as sea levels rise over the next 15 years, submerging thousands of miles of underground infrastructure, particularly in coastal cities.
• Rising Seas Could Cause Problems For Internet Infrastructure (NPR):
  
  The Internet is particularly susceptible to flooding because data travels through underground cables buried along roadways and through tunnels. While the massive deep sea cables that carry data under the Atlantic and Pacific oceans are designed to be permanently underwater, other infrastructure such as copper wiring and power stations are not.
• California reaches its emissions reduction target four years early:
• Climate Pollutants Fall Below 1990 Levels for First Time (CA Air Resources Board)
• California meets greenhouse gas reduction goal years early (AP):
  
  California greenhouse gas emissions fell below 1990 levels, meeting an early target years ahead of schedule and putting the state well on its way toward reaching long-term goals to fight climate change, officials said Wednesday.
• California Beat Its 2020 Emissions Target Four Years Early (Yahoo Finance):
  
• Marriott Follows Starbucks In Dropping Plastic Straws (NPR)
• Why People With Disabilities Want Bans On Plastic Straws To Be More Flexible (NPR)
A spokesman for Seattle Public Utilities confirmed to NPR that the city's new plastic straw ban does include a waiver allowing restaurants to give disposable, flexible plastic straws to customers who need them for physical or medical reasons.
• McDonald’s Joins Starbucks & Closed Loop Partners to Develop a Recyclable and/or Compostable Cup (press release, McDonald's)

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

For a comprehensive roundup of daily environmental news you can trust, see the Society of Environmental Journalists' Daily Headlines page

• Fossil fuel industry spent nearly $2 billion to kill U.S. climate action, new study finds (Climate Progress)
• Republicans Move to Kill Carbon Tax Before It Gains Any Momentum (Bloomberg)
• U.S. Court Blocks EPA Decision Not To Enforce 'Glider Truck' Limits (Reuters)
• Puerto Rico governor names new PREPA CEO, board members (Utility Dive)
• Pro-PG&E wildfire bill written by lawmaker whose son works at PG&E (SF Chronicle)
• Oil Boom in Southern New Mexico Ignites Groundwater Feud With Texas (Water Deeply)
• EU-Japan trade deal first to carry Paris climate clause (Climate Change News)
• EU and China agree sweeping joint statement on climate action (Climate Change News)
• California: Thirsty vineyard, Big Ag test landmark aquifer law (E&E News)
• 130 Groups Call for Heat Wave Protections for Farm, Construction Workers (Inside Climate News)
• Flood Insurance Logjam Threatens Coverage as Storm Season Swirls (Bloomberg)
• Europe looks to Asia after attacks from Trump (Axios)
• VIDEO: Seaweed farming and its surprising benefits (60 Minutes)
• Powering Ships with Plastic in Amsterdam (Marine Link)
• South Australia's Virtual Power Plant Kicks Off With 100 Tesla Powerwalls Installed (Gizmodo)
• More than 100 Dems oppose GOP efforts to change endangered species law (The Hill)
• The great nutrient collapse: The atmosphere is literally changing the food we eat, for the worse. And almost nobody is paying attention. (Politico)
• The world's bleak climate situation, in 3 charts: We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there. (Vox)
• AUDIO: An Inconvenient 'BradCast' with Al Gore (The BRAD BLOG):
  
  Guest Host Angie Coiro's exclusive interview with the former Vice President on elections, pollution, persuasion, activism, and hope...
• The Climate Risks We Face (NY Times):
  
  To stabilize global temperature, net carbon dioxide emissions must be reduced to zero. The window of time is rapidly closing to reduce emissions and limit warming to no more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit or 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, the goal set in the Paris climate accord. The further we push the climate system beyond historical conditions, the greater the risks of potentially unforeseen and even catastrophic changes to the climate - so every reduction in emissions helps.
• The Uninhabitable Earth: When will climate change make earth too hot for humans? (New York Magazine):
  
  Famine, economic collapse, a sun that cooks us: What climate change could wreak - sooner than you think.
• A beginner's guide to the debate over 100% renewable energy (Vox):
  
  Clean-energy enthusiasts frequently claim that we can go bigger, that it's possible for the whole world to run on renewables - we merely lack the "political will." So, is it true? Do we know how get to an all-renewables system? Not yet. Not really.
• No country on Earth is taking the 2 degree climate target seriously (Vox):
  
  If we mean what we say, no more new fossil fuels, anywhere.

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

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

                 

Article Categories: California, Environment, Green News, EPA, Coal, Climate change, NASA, Oceans/Sea Level Rise, Water, Seattle, Andrew Puzder, Infrastructure