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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: U.N. warns four key climate change indicators broke new records in 2021; Cutting air pollution from fossil fuels would save 50,000 lives a year in the U.S.; New initiative invests $242 million for clean energy in ten developing countries; PLUS: National forests forced to close as wildfires rage… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

Green News Report with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen 5/19/2022

‘Green News Report’ – May 19, 2022  |  With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...   · · · · ·   ‘Green News Report’ – May 19, 2022  |  With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): US traffic deaths soar to highest total in 16 years; Australian Greens hope election focus on climate will bring their biggest ever representation; The small, local GA election with major climate significance; Air Pollution Can Mean More, or Fewer, Hurricanes; EV sales see exponential growth curves; Environmental groups oppose extending life of CA nuke plant; Carbon Dioxide pipelines are going dangerously unregulated… PLUS: Vast swath of US at risk of summer blackouts, regulators warn… and much, MUCH more! …

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

• Wildfires force closure of national forests:
• National parkland closed as early-season fires burn in New Mexico, Colorado (NBC News)
• Three NM national forests to close Thursday due to extreme fire danger (KOAT Albuquerque)
• VIDEO: Sen. Heinrich shares concerns about national forest closures in New Mexico (KOB Albuquerque)
• Governor: Fire could destroy over 1,000 NM homes (Santa Fe New Mexican)
• Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire becomes largest in New Mexico history at nearly 300,000 acres (CNN)
• The Southwest’s Drought and Fires Are a Window to Our Climate Change Future (Talking Points Memo)
• Four key climate indicators set new records in 2021, WMO warns:
• ‘Lifeline’ of renewable energy can steer world out of climate crisis: UN chief (United Nations News)
• Critical climate indicators broke records in 2021, says UN (Guardian UK):
  The world’s oceans absorb more than 90% of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases and 2021 set a record. The increasing warmth in the ocean, which is irreversible over timescales of centuries to millennia, has been especially strong in the last 20 years. Much of the ocean experienced at least one strong marine heatwave in 2021, the WMO said.
• Four key climate change indicators broke records in 2021: UN (The Hill):
  Ocean heat levels reached record highs in 2021 and were expected to continue warming in the future – a shift that the report authors described as “+”irreversible on centennial to millennial time scales.” Ocean acidification, which threatens marine organisms and ecosystem services, also broke records in 2021, according to the report.
• Dire climate report prompts UN’s Guterres to ask rich countries to share energy tech (Straits Times):
  The climate crisis is getting worse, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday (May 18) marked the report’s release by calling on rich countries to share the intellectual property for energy technologies that can accelerate the badly needed transition away from fossil fuels. Mr Guterres admonished countries to fast-track infrastructure buildout and eliminate bureaucracy that stands in the way.
• VIDEO: UN chief says Ukraine a ‘wake-up call’ to ditch fossil fuels as WMO releases damning climate report (CNN)
• Pollution of all types responsible for 1 in 6 deaths globally:
• Pollution and health: a progress update (The Lancet)
• Global pollution kills 9 million people a year, study finds (AP):
  A new study blames pollution of all types for 9 million deaths a year globally, with the death toll attributed to dirty air from cars, trucks and industry rising 55% since 2000…The United States is the only fully industrialized country in the top 10 nations for total pollution deaths, ranking 7th with 142,883 deaths blamed on pollution in 2019, sandwiched between Bangladesh and Ethiopia.
• Pollution caused 1 in 6 deaths globally for five years, study says (Washington Post):
  In 2015, 1 in 6 deaths worldwide stemmed from poor air quality, unsafe water and toxic chemical pollution. That deadly toll – 9 million people each year – has continued unabated through 2019, killing more people than war, terrorism, road injuries, malaria, drugs and alcohol.
• Cutting fossil fuel air pollution saves lives and money:
• Nationwide and Regional PM2.5-Related Air Quality Health Benefits From the Removal of Energy-Related Emissions in the United States (American Geophysical Union)
• Cutting air pollution from fossil fuels would save 50,000 lives a year, study says (Washington Post):
  Published in the journal GeoHealth, the study reports the considerable health benefits of removing from the air harmful fine particulates, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides produced by electricity generation, transportation, industrial activities, and building functions such as heating and cooking. Highway vehicles make up the largest single share.
• Eliminating fossil fuel air pollution would save about 50,000 lives, study finds (NPR)
• 17 GOP-controlled states sue to block CA’s mileage standards:
• 17 states push EPA to revoke California’s ability to set its own vehicle emission standards (LA Times/MSN):
  The attorneys general of 17 states have asked a federal appeals court to reconsider an Environmental Protection Agency decision allowing California to set its own vehicle emission standards.
• 17 GOP attorneys general sue EPA over California vehicle emission standards (Axios):
  The suit alleges that EPA Administrator Michael Regan violated the Constitution’s doctrine of equal sovereignty by giving California an exemption from the Clean Air Act and allowing the state to impose emissions limits that are stricter than the nationwide standard.
• Michael Bloomberg initiative to deploy clean energy in 10 developing countries:
• Michael Bloomberg Plans a $242 Million Investment in Clean Energy (NY Times):
  Success in the 10 nations would demonstrate to other countries that renewable energy can help, not hinder, economic growth, Mr. Bloomberg said in an interview by email. “The alternative is to meet growing energy needs by burning more coal, which would have disastrous consequences for public health and for the battle against climate change,” he said.
• Michael Bloomberg commits $242 million to fighting climate change in developing countries (Yahoo News):
  But with the majority of the world’s population in developing nations, many of which have rapidly growing economies, the future emissions trajectory depends heavily on what happens to the power sector in the developing world.

‘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

• ‘Deadly step backwards’: US traffic deaths soar to highest total in 16 years (Guardian UK)
• Australian Greens hope election focus on climate will bring their biggest ever representation (Guardian UK)
• The Small, Local GA Election With Potentially Major Climate Change Significance (The Hill)
• Air Pollution Can Mean More, or Fewer, Hurricanes. It Depends Where You Live. (NY Times)
• EV Sales Exponential Growth Curves (Climate Crocks)
• Vast Swath of US at Risk of Summer Blackouts, Regulator Warns (Bloomberg)
• Environmentalists Oppose More Life For California Nuke Plant (AP)
• SEC To Consider Sustainable Investing Rules (E&E News)
• Climate Change Swells Odds Of Record India, Pakistan Heatwaves (BBC)
• Here’s What We Know About The Legacy of DDT Dumping Off L.A.’s Coast (LA Times)
• Senators Announce Bipartisan Deal To Aid Veterans Exposed To Burn Pits (The Hill)
• UN Floats Plan To Boost Renewables As Climate Worries Mount (AP)
• Carbon Dioxide Pipelines Are Going Dangerously Unregulated (Earther)
• Fukushima Water Release Plan Gets Initial OK From Japan Regulator (Yahoo News)
• $230M Settlement Reached Over 2015 California Oil Spill (AP)
• Chicagoans Near Heavy-Traffic Corridors Breathing Most Polluted Air (WBEZ)
• Judge reverses Trump-era ESA sage grouse move (E&E News)
• Four solutions to mitigate climate change, from the IPCC (Dr. Michael Mann, Penn Today)
• UN warns Earth ‘firmly on track toward an unlivable world’ (AP)
• Environmental Sacrifice Zones: 8 Places We’ve Given Up-Probably Forever (Environmental Health Network)
• “Rare Earths” from Coal Waste (Climate Crocks)
• Feeling Hopeless About the Climate? Try Our 30-Day Action Plan (The Revelator)
• Green Upheaval: The New Geopolitics of Energy (Foreign Affairs)
• VIDEO: 2050: what happens if we ignore the climate crisis (Guardian UK)
• Guilt, grief and anxiety as young people fear for climate’s future (Reuters)
• 99.9 percent Of Scientists Agree Climate Emergency Caused By Humans (Guardian UK)
• An Empire of Dying Wells: Old oil and gas sites are a climate menace. Meet the company that owns more of America’s decaying wells than any other. (Bloomberg)
• Climate Fund Choices for Investors Are Multiplying (Bloomberg/Yahoo)
• 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 9 Years) Really Mean? (Inside Climate News)
• VIDEO: A Message From the Future With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (The Intercept)
• 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.