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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Damages from California’s storms to top $1 billion; No, offshore wind did not kill whales off U.S. northeast coast; Extreme weather disasters displaced 3.3 million Americans in 2022; PLUS: Hand-feeding manatees in Florida appears to be saving the species… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

Green News Report with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen 1/24/2023

‘Green News Report’ – January 24, 2023  |  With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...   · · · · ·   ‘Green News Report’ – January 24, 2023  |  With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Pakistan blackout: Cash-strapped nation cuts power to save money, then can’t turn it back on; Protest in Atlanta over state police killing of environmental activist turns violent; How Texas’ electricity plan could change the grid; EPA takes charge of Alabama landfill fire after finding carcinogens in air samples; 1st small modular nuclear reactor certified for use in US; Depleted under Trump, ‘traumatized’ EPA struggles with its mission … PLUS: New solar panels help farmers harness full lights spectrum to improve crop yields… and much, MUCH more! …

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

• Fox News’ Tucker Carlson gets weird over gas stoves
• VIDEO: Tucker Carlson loses his mind over natural gas stoves, lightbulbs, showerheads… (Twitter, Kat Abu)
• California storms to top $1 billion in damages:
• How much did deadly storms cost California? $1 billion and counting (Seattle Times)
• California begins recovery efforts as storm damage tops $1 billion (PBS NewsHour)
• VIDEO: President Biden, Gov. Newsom Deliver Remarks on California Storm Damage (PBS NewsHous)
• AUDIO: Biden tours California storm damage (NPR):
  [O]ne of our local papers, The Mercury News, pointed out that Abraham Lincoln was president the last time it was this wet – the Great Flood of 1862. That turned the Central Valley into a massive lake and killed an estimated 4,000 people, so this winter storm’s not quite as bad as that.
• Homeowners and Renters May Apply for FEMA Storm Assistance (Santa Barabara Independent)
• As in most states, few Californians have flood insurance:
• Few California homeowners have flood insurance. Here’s why FEMA maps are limited (AP):
  FEMA maps are limited and only take into account certain kinds of flooding – they don’t really predict flood risk. Flooding caused by heavy rains that back up storm drains is not counted, for example. The limitations mean flood risk is underestimated nationally.
• California’s storms are almost over. Its reckoning with flood insurance is about to begin (Salon):
  FEMA’s California maps, most of which were last updated in the 1980s and early 90s, if not before, leave out about 80 percent of the state’s rivers and streams. They also don’t account for the worsening effects of climate change.
• Extreme weather disasters displaced 3.3 million Americans in 2022:
• Millions of Americans displaced by natural disasters in 2022 (Pluribus News)
• 3.3 million people displaced by natural disasters in US last year (The Hill)
• USDA increases funding to comprehensive wildfire prevention program:
• Feds send $930 million to curb ‘crisis’ of US West wildfires (AP):
  The work is projected to cost up to $50 billion. Last year’s climate and infrastructure bills combined directed about $5 billion to the effort.
• Spate of whale deaths not caused by offshore wind industry:
• What’s killing whales off the Northeast coast? It’s not wind farm projects, experts say (CNN)
• NOAA: Offshore wind not to blame for East Coast whale deaths (AP):
  Federal environmental and energy officials moved Wednesday to quell a growing controversy over whether work done by the offshore wind power industry is killing whales in the northeastern U.S., saying there is no evidence this is happening.
• NOAA: Wind power work could not have caused whale deaths (Press of the Atlantic City)
• AUDIO: NOAA Fisheries to discuss East Coast whale strandings (NOAA)
• ‘No Evidence’ Offshore Wind Farm Prep Is Killing Whales in NJ and NY, Groups Say (NBC New York)
• VIDEO: Scientists warn seismic testing for oil and gas puts marine life at risk (NBC News)
• US Fish & Wildlife Service relaunches manatee feeding program:
• Wildlife officials bring back feeding program for Florida manatees (Axios/MSN)
• VIDEO: Hand-Feeding Manatees In Florida Appears To Be Saving The Species (Weather Channel)
• Manatees eat more than 66,000 pounds of food in first month of supplemental feeding program (PBS Gainesville)

‘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

• Pakistan blackout: Cash-strapped nation cuts power to save money, then can’t turn it back on (CBS News)
• Protest in Atlanta over state police killing of environmental activist turns violent (AP)
• How Texas’ electricity plan could change the grid (E&E News)
• EPA takes charge of Alabama landfill fire after finding carcinogens in air samples (Birmingham News)
• 1st small modular nuclear reactor certified for use in US (AP)
• Environmentalists push for tougher oil and gas restrictions to protect rare whale in Gulf of Mexico (Texas Tribune)
• New Solar Panels Help Farmers Harness Full Light Spectrum to Improve Crop Yields (EcoWatch)
• Depleted Under Trump, a ‘Traumatized’ E.P.A. Struggles With Its Mission (NY Times)
• Building Steam in Lithium Valley (The American Prospect)
• Feeling Overwhelmed About Going All-Electric at Home? Here’s How to Get Started (Inside Climate News)
• VIDEO: See what three degrees of global warming looks like (The Economist/YouTube)
• The 7 climate tipping points that could change the world forever (Grist)
• The 1977 White House climate memo that should have changed the world (Guardian UK)
• 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)
• Feeling Hopeless About the Climate? Try Our 30-Day Action Plan (The Revelator)
• VIDEO: 2050: what happens if we ignore the climate crisis (Guardian UK)
• 99.9 percent Of Scientists Agree Climate Emergency Caused By Humans (Guardian UK)
• 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)
• 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.