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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: President Biden doubles US targets, vows to cut emissions in half by 2030; European Union and Britain accelerate emissions cuts under the Paris Climate Agreement; PLUS: Rep. AOC and Sen. Ed Markey re-introduce the Green New Deal… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

Green News Report with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen 4/22/2021

‘Green News Report’ – April 22, 2021  |  With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...  |  IT'S EARTH DAY!   · · · · ·   ‘Green News Report’ – April 22, 2021  |  With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...  |  IT'S EARTH DAY!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Spare yourself the guilt trip this Earth Day – it’s companies that need to clean up their act; 10 things we learned about the Earth since last Earth Day; Greta Thunberg urges House panel to ‘listen to and act on the science’ at US climate hearing; White House moves to assist Western US communities hit by drought; Lead detected in 80 percent of Allegheny County, PA water systems; Sen. Collins joins Dems’ bid to undo Trump methane rollbacks; ID legislation aims to kill 90 percent of state’s wolf population… PLUS: 4 in 10 Americans live in counties with unhealthy air pollution … and much, MUCH more! …

STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY’S ‘GREEN NEWS REPORT’…

• Earth Day 2021: Man-made climate change is accelerating:
  • Find an Earth Day event near you: Growing the movement since 1970 — Earth Day Every Day (EarthDay.org)
  • Earth Day TV: Programs on the environment, climate change and nature (San Jose Mercury News)
  • ‘Relentless’ climate crisis intensified in 2020, says UN report (Guardian UK):
    There was a “relentless” intensification of the climate crisis in 2020, according to the UN’s World Meteorological Organization. Last year was ranked as the hottest on record, in a tie with 2016 and 2019, despite the cooling effect of the cyclical natural climate phenomenon, La Nià±a. Without this, 2020 would most likely have been the hottest year yet. The decade 2011-20 was the hottest on record. In 2020 the global mean temperature was up to 1.28C higher than pre-industrial conditions.
  • Annual Report State of the Global Climate 2020 (WMO-No. 1264) [PDF] (World Meteorological Organization)

• U.S. hosts virtual Leaders Summit on Climate for Earth Day:
• A guide to Biden’s climate summit (E&E News)
• VIDEO: Watch the U.S Leaders Summit on Climate (U.S. State Department)
• Biden pushes for momentum as US returns to climate fight (AP)
• Biden: This will be ‘decisive decade’ for tackling climate change (BBC/Yahoo News)
• In Biden climate show, watch for cajoling, conflict, pathos (AP):
  It won’t rival Netflix for drama, but 40 world leaders will try to save the planet from ever worsening global warming in a two-day climate summit livestreamed for binge viewing.
• The U.S. credibility chasm on climate change (Axios)
• Biden vows to cut US emissions in half by 2030:
• Fact Sheet: President Biden Sets 2030 Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Target Aimed at Creating Good-Paying Union Jobs and Securing U.S. Leadership on Clean Energy Technologies (White House)
• The U.S. Has a New Climate Goal. How Does It Stack Up Globally? (NY Times)
• Biden announces goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by half (CBS News)
• Biden plans to cut emissions at least in half by 2030 (Washington Post):
  The target, intended to reassert America’s global leadership on climate action, would require profound changes at home.
• The White House Plans Ambitious New Targets for Cutting Greenhouse Gases (NY Times)
• E.U., U.K. increase their emissions targets:
• Europe reaches major climate deal ahead of Biden summit (LA Times)
• UK toughens its carbon target before Biden climate summit (AP)
• U.S. and China agree to cooperate to “tackle the climate crisis” (AP)
• UK to speed up target to cut carbon emissions (BBC)
• Progressive Democrats re-introduce Green New Deal:
• AOC, Markey reintroduce Green New Deal proposal aimed at climate change, economic injustice (USA Today)
• Markey and Ocasio-Cortez reintroduce Green New Deal (CBS News)
• VIDEO: AOC, Markey relaunch Green New Deal (Reuters)
• VIDEO: Sen. Ed Markey introduces Green New Deal (Twitter)
• Getting to Net Zero 2050:
• New US climate pledge: Cut emissions 50% this decade, but can Biden make it happen? (The Conversation)
• What Biden’s 2030 climate target means for energy (E&E News)
• Analysis: U.S. financial regulators in hot seat as Biden ramps up climate agenda (Reuters)
• Biden administration: US must catch up to China on renewable energy to create jobs (USA Today):
  “It’s difficult to imagine the United States winning the long term strategic competition with China if we cannot lead the renewable energy revolution,” [Sec. of State Anthony Blinken] said. “But right now, we’re falling behind.

‘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

• Spare Yourself the Guilt Trip This Earth Day – It’s Companies That Need to Clean Up Their Acts (EcoWatch)
• 10 Things We Learned About Earth Since The Last Earth Day (Vox)
• Greta Thunberg urges House panel to ‘listen to and act on the science’ at US climate hearing (Guardian UK)
• White House Moves To Assist Western U.S. Communities Hit By Drought (Reuters)
• Lead Detected In 80% Of Allegheny County, Pa., Water Systems: Report (Environmental Health Network)
• Collins Joins Democrats In CRA Bid To Undo Trump Methane Emissions Rollback (The Hill)
• Four In 10 Americans Live In Counties With Unhealthy Air Pollution (Guardian UK)
• Texas On Track To Add Record Solar Power Capacity By End Of 2022 (Reuters)
• Report On Suncor Malfunctions Doesn’t Quell Calls For Refinery’s Closure (Denver Post)
• Legislation Aims To Kill 90% Of Wolves Roaming Idaho (AP)
• Investigation suppressed by Trump administration reveals obstacles to hurricane aid for Puerto Rico (Washington Post)
• EU to apply CO2 emissions trading to buildings, transport, European Commission says (Reuters)
• Solar panels on California’s canals could save water and help fight climate change (LA Times)
• Sen. Wyden proposes bill ending fossil fuel tax breaks, boosting clean energy incentives (Utility Dive)
• VIDEO, transcript: Climate Change Part 3: Is carbon neutrality an economic reality? (ABC Australia)
• A primer on lithium-ion batteries: how they work and how they are changing (David Roberts, Volts)
• Dems Push $25B For Electric School Buses, A Biden Priority (AP)
• How climate change could undo 50 years of public health gains (Grist)
• Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration (Pro Publica)
• Exxon’s Snake Oil: 100 years of deception (Columbia Journalism Review)
• What Does ’12 Years to Act on Climate Change’ (Now 11 Years) Really Mean? (Inside Climate News)
• VIDEO: A Message From the Future With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (The Intercept)
• SEJ Backgrounder: Green New Deal Proposes Sweeping Economic Transformation (Society of Environmental Journalists)
• Explainer: The ‘Green New Deal’: Mobilizing for a just, prosperous, and sustainable economy (New Consensus)
• What genuine, no-bullshit ambition on climate change would look like: How to hit the most stringent targets, with no loopholes. (David Roberts, Vox)
• A Global Shift To Sustainability Would Save Us $26 Trillion (Vox)
• Project Drawdown: 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (Drawdown.org)
• An Optimist’s Guide to Solving Climate Change and Saving the World (Vice)
• 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)
• 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.

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).