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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: New year, new punishing extreme weather; 2024 was the hottest year in human history; President Biden bans new offshore drilling across most U.S. coastal waters; PLUS: The legacy of Jimmy Carter, one of the greatest conservation presidents in U.S. history... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Russia's failed energy war has lessons for fossil fools everywhere; Climate change added 41 days of dangerous heat around world in 2024; Climate-driven sea level rise will overwhelm major oil ports, study shows; Restoration efforts continue following complete blackout of Puerto Rico's power grid; How Elon Musk's DOGE could end fossil fuel subsidies; Biden Admin adds exemptions into new climate rules for hydrogen energy; FWS deal to expand Okefenokee Refuge, enabling buyout of mining project... PLUS: Ex-Trump official: We need to take Greenland, because climate change... and much, MUCH more! ...

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

• 2025 kicks off with extreme winter weather across most of the U.S.:
• Winter weather live updates: Freezing conditions put 31 million under cold alerts (NBC News):
  
  At least 4 people have been killed during the first serious winter storm of the year this week, while millions remain in the grip of an icy blast that is making travel hazardous or impossible. Some 31 million people are waking up to frigid temperatures and winter weather advisories today, including Southern states, from Arizona to Florida.
• Winter storm to take unusual track through the frigid South with impactful snow and ice (CNN)
• Cold weather alerts from New Mexico to Florida, with another winter storm expected (ABC News)
• VIDEO: Meterologist Matthew Cappucci on January storms (Matthew Cappuccci/Twitter)
• Why is this cold snap so extreme? The science of Winter Storm Blair, explained. (Vox)
• 2024 was the hottest year in human history, capping decade of unprecedented heat:
• 2024 confirmed as Earth's hottest year in recorded history (Earth.com)
• World endures 'decade of deadly heat' as 2024 caps hottest years on record (Guardian)
• 2024 was Earth's hottest year, continuing the global warming trend (Phys.org/MSN)
• Earth shattered heat records in 2023 and 2024: is global warming speeding up? (Nature)
• 2023, 2024 climate change records defy scientific explanation (Axios)
• 1 big thing: Why scientists say hottest-year record shouldn't be ignored (Axios)
• Climate change intensified nearly all major extreme weather disasters globally in 2024:
• When Risks Become Reality: Extreme Weather In 2024 (World Weather Attribution):
  
  Climate change contributed to the deaths of at least 3,700 people and the displacement of millions in 26 weather events we studied in 2024. These were just a small fraction of the 219 events that met our trigger criteria.
• VIDEO: Secretary-General Antonio Guterres New Year´s 2025 message (UN TV)
• 2023 was extremely hot. Then came 2024 (NPR)
• Ukraine cut off Russia from key natural gas pipeline:
• Ukraine halts flow of Russian gas to Europe (NBC News):
  
  Just as the pipeline agreement expired, Russia launched its latest salvo of drone attacks on Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to build on his battlefield momentum by targeting Ukrainian civilians and energy infrastructure during its bitter winter.
• Ukraine ends supply of Russian gas to Europe (CNN):
  
  Analysts told CNN last month that countries receiving Russian gas through the transit deal with Ukraine are not at risk of an energy shortage and would likely fill the gap by importing more LNG or more natural gas via pipeline from other European nations. The planned move ends an era when many European countries kept warm using gas pumped by the Kremlin.
• Why Did Ukraine Halt the Flow of Russia's Natural Gas to Europe? (NY Times)
• Major global banks exit major climate initiative:
• Wall Street banks exit climate alliance as Trump 2.0 nears (Yahoo Finance):
  
  Some of the biggest lenders in the US are beating a retreat from a UN-backed bank climate group in the final weeks before a new Trump administration prepares to take office...Such affiliations are coming under political attack as the GOP prepares to take over all of Washington in 2025 and ramps up a focus on "woke" investing.
• Why Are Banking Giants Citi, etc Quitting Net Zero Alliance? (Sustainability)
• President Biden protects most U.S. coastal water from new offshore drilling:
• US: Biden bans new oil and gas drilling along most US coasts (Carbon Brief)
• Biden bans new drilling in US coastal waters weeks before Trump handover (Guardian):
  
  Biden is taking the action under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953...Trump himself barred oil and gas extraction off the coasts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. However, the law does not expressly provide for presidents to unilaterally reverse a drilling ban without going through Congress.
• Biden issues ban on offshore oil and gas drilling in most federal waters. Trump vows to undo it (AP)
• 1 big thing: Biden throws wrench in Trump's fossil fuel ramp-up (Axios)
• Trump promises to 'unban' offshore drilling, reversing Biden (Washington Post)
• FACT SHEET: President Biden Protects Atlantic and Pacific Coasts from Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling (White House)
• Jimmy Carter, one of the most consequential environmental presidents:
• Jimmy Carter tried to fix the planet. The oil industry fought back (LA Times):
  
  [T]he 39th president, who left office in 1981 and died Sunday at age 100, had grander visions for a sustainable planet. If the U.S. had acted on them, we might face a less calamitous climate future than we do today.
• Jimmy Carter, the president who tried to save the planet (Washington Post, 2/21/2023:
  
  The Democrat helped protect more than 100 million acres of land in Alaska and championed renewable energy.
• FULL VIDEO: President Carter's Fireside Chat on Energy (C-SPAN)
• VIDEO CLIP: President Carter's Address on the OPEC Oil Embargo (C-SPAN)
• Transcript: Address to the Nation on Energy, April 18, 1977 (American Presidency Project)
• Golden, Colorado Remarks at the Solar Energy Research Institute on South Table Mountain. (American Presidency Project):
  
  Nobody can embargo sunlight. No cartel controls the Sun. Its energy will not run out. It will not pollute the air; it will not poison our waters. It's free from stench and smog. The Sun's power needs only to be collected, stored, and used.
• Timeline: Carter's Solar Energy Legacy (Solar House History)
• NREL at 40: It All Started With a Desire to Harness the Sun (NREL)
• Jimmy Carter was ahead of his time on energy (and craft brewing) (ABC News)

'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

• Russia's failed energy war has lessons for fossil fools everywhere (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Climate change added 41 days of dangerous heat around world in 2024 (AP)
• Trump team takes aim at crown jewel of US climate research (E&E News)
• Climate-driven sea level rise will overwhelm major oil ports, study shows (Guardian)
• Restoration efforts continue following complete blackout of Puerto Rico's power grid (Yahoo News)
• How Elon Musk could end fossil fuel subsidies (Grist)
• Ex-Trump official: We need to take Greenland, because climate change (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Border Agency Seeks Solutions With Mexico on Water, Sewage Problems (Inside Climate News)
• Trump aims to crush climate deception lawsuits, but it may not be easy (Guardian)
• Pet food pulled in 12 states after Oregon cat dies from bird flu-tainted chow (McClatchy)
• Biden signs bipartisan outdoor recreation bill into law (The Hill)
• Biden Admin adds exemptions into new climate rules for hydrogen energy (The Hill)
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service OKs expanding Okefenokee Refuge, enabling buyout of mining project (AP)
• Can we avoid the enshittification of clean-energy tech? (David Roberts, Volts)
• Stop emissions, stop warming: A climate reality check (Dr. Andrew Dessler, Climate Brink)
• The Climate Fight Will Continue (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Who Will Care for Americans Left Behind by Climate Migration? (Pro Publica)
• Is the Atlantic Overturning Circulation Approaching a Tipping Point? (The Oceanography Society)
• How Oil Companies Manipulate Journalists (Drilled)
• Abrupt reduction in shipping emission as an inadvertent geoengineering termination shock produces substantial radiative warming (Nature)
• How To Spot 5 Of The Fossil Fuel Industry's Biggest Disinformation Tactics (Guardian)
• The Oceans We Knew Are Already Gone (The Atlantic)
• Plug-in hybrids vs. electric cars: We did the math on which is better for you (Washington Post)
• How to electrify your life when you rent (The Verge)
• Complete Series: Farmers Under Attack for Supporting Clean Energy (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Feeling Overwhelmed About Going All-Electric at Home? Here's How to Get Started (Inside Climate News)
• Feeling Hopeless About the Climate? Try Our 30-Day Action Plan (The Revelator)
• Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration (Pro Publica)
• Exxon's Snake Oil: 100 years of deception (Columbia Journalism Review)
• Project Drawdown: 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (Drawdown.org)

                 

Article Categories: Alaska, Jimmy Carter, United Nations, Environment, Joe Biden, Green News, Donald Trump, Natural gas, Oil, Solar energy, Climate change, Extreme weather, Ukraine