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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Elon Musk's DOGE Bros descend on NOAA, Trump taps disgraced 'SharpieGate' guy to run it; Iconic monarch butterfly hits new low in Western U.S.; PLUS: Study finds rat populations are increasing due to global warming... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): January surprises with a global temperature record; "We feel terrorized": What EPA employees sasy about the decision to stay or go under Trump'; E.P.A. demotes career employees overseeing science, enforcement, and more; Colombia’s president orders national oil company to cancel US venture over environmental concerns... PLUS: Trump’s reversal of climate policies risks undermining U.S. manufacturing, costing jobs... and much, MUCH more! ...

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

• Trump nominates 'Sharpiegate' guy to lead NOAA:
• Scoop: Trump nominates Neil Jacobs to head NOAA (Axios)
• Trump picks former chief entangled in 'Sharpiegate' to lead NOAA (AP)
The Commerce Department's watchdog agency blasted agency and department leaders over Sharpiegate, saying they "unnecessarily rebuked NWS forecasters for issuing a public safety message about Hurricane Dorian in response to public inquiries - that is, for doing their jobs."
• 'Sharpiegate' defined his last turn as NOAA chief. Will this time be different? (E&E News)
• Elon Musk's DOGE Bros descend on NOAA:
• DOGE staffers enter Noaa headquarters and incite reports of cuts and threats (Guardian):
  
  "They apparently just sort of walked past security and said: 'Get out of my way,' and they're looking for access for the IT systems, as they have in other agencies," said Andrew Rosenberg, a former Noaa official who is now a fellow at the University of New Hampshire. "They will have access to the entire computer system, a lot of which is confidential information."
• This DOGE Engineer Has Access to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Wired)
• DOGE searches for DEI information at U.S. climate, oceans agency (Axios)
• NOAA Employees Told to Pause Work With 'Foreign Nationals' (Wired)
• Project 2025 calls for dismantling NOAA, privatizing NWS:
• Would Trump Privatize Weather Forecasting? What To Know. (Washington Post):
  
  A conservative proposal drafted by the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 has ignited an intense debate this month by proposing that a Republican administration privatize weather forecasting now done by government agencies. The plan would break up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the parent agency for the National Weather Service, describing it as "one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry." Meanwhile, a separate Republican proposal introduced in the House last year calls for transforming NOAA into an independent agency akin to NASA, a plan critics say could expose it to political influence.
• Yes, Project 2025 recommends dismantling NOAA (Verify)
• A meteorological arms race is shaping up about privatizing the weather (NPR, 11/15/2024)
• Trump's Commerce pick pledges to protect NOAA:
• Trump nominee disavows Project 2025's plan to break up NOAA (Axios):
  
  At his confirmation hearing on Wednesday before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Lutnick responded to a direct question on whether he agrees with Project 2025's plan for NOAA with: "No."...When ranking member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) asked if he would fight an effort to break up NOAA or move some of it away from Commerce, Lutnick said: "I have no interest in separating it. That is not on my agenda."
• Trump Commerce pick vows to keep NOAA intact (E&E News)
• VIDEO: Howard Lutnick testifies at Senate confirmation hearing for commerce secretary (PBS NewsHour)
• Trump Energy Dept. halts work on all environmental justice projects:
• Trump's Other Funding Freeze Attacks Environmental Justice (Heatmap):
  
  Justice40 was Biden’s signature environmental justice initiative. Community benefit plans were often used by Biden’s DOE to strengthen the potential benefits that projects could have on surrounding local economies and were seen as a vehicle for environmental justice. When we say often, we mean it: some high profile examples of these plans include those used for the Holtec Palisades nuclear plant restart in Michigan and the agency’s battery materials processing and recycling awards.
• DOE halts diversity, equity work and funding (E&E News)
• Trump agencies stop work on renewable energy and endangered species:
• Trump Has Paralyzed Renewables Permitting, Leaked Memo Reveals (Heatmap):
  
  Chaos within the Trump administration has all but paralyzed environmental permitting decisions on solar and wind projects in crucial government offices, including sign-offs needed for projects on private lands...Trump’s Day One executive order putting a 60-day freeze on final decisions for renewable energy projects on federal lands has also ground key pre-decisional work in government offices responsible for wetlands and species protection to a halt.
• Western monarch butterfly population drops to near 30-year low:
• Dramatic drop in monarch butterfly count nears record 30-year low (AP):
  
  The number of monarch butterflies spending the winter in the western United States dropped dramatically this year even as federal officials move to extend protections for the beloved pollinator.
• Monarch butterfly numbers hit near record low in California. Here's why that matters (Salinas Californian)
• Shell Oil drops offshore wind project off coast of New Jersey:
• In Win For Trump, Shell Walks Away From Major New Jersey Offshore Wind Farm (AP):
  
  Shell co-owns the large Atlantic Shores project, which has most of its permits and would generate enough power for 1 million homes if both of two phases were completed. That’s enough for one-third of New Jersey households.
• Trump executive order forces New Jersey to cancel its first offshore wind farm (Fox News/AOL):
  
  President Donald Trump’s executive order banning offshore wind projects has brought New Jersey’s first offshore wind project to a standstill. Federal permitting uncertainty and Shell pulling back on clean energy halted negotiations, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities said. Christine Guhl-Sadovy, president of New Jersey BPU, said Monday it would "not be a responsible decision at this time" to award New Jersey’s fourth offshore wind solicitation, effectively pausing offshore wind projects in the state.
• Rat populations soaring, boosted by climate change
• Rats! More rodents are infesting cities as scientists blame warmer temperatures (AP)
• Another unwelcome consequence of climate change: an explosion of urban rats (LA Times):
  
  The warmer it gets, the faster rats multiply in cities that already struggle to contain them, according to a new study. Cold weather is one of the few things that can slow rats down, and with climate change we have less of it.
• Rat populations spike in cities due to warming temperatures, study says (Yahoo News):
  
  The frisky rodents would scamper around, and since rats' physiology is sensitive to temperature, females would reach sexual maturity earlier, get pregnant and have larger litters more frequently as it stays warmer for longer periods.

'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

• January surprises with a global temperature record (Axios)
• "We feel terrorized": What EPA employees say about the decision to stay or go under Trump (Pro Publica)
• E.P.A. demotes career employees overseeing science, enforcement, and more (NY Times)
• Colombia’s president orders national oil company to cancel US venture over environmental concerns (AP)
• Trump’s reversal of climate policies risks undermining U.S. manufacturing --- and could cost jobs (The Conversation)
• Army Corp of Engineers has stopped approving new renewables projects (Heatmap)
• Republicans move to repeal lead limits imposed by Biden-era rules (Guardian)
• New research led by James Hansen documents global warming acceleration (Inside Climate News)
• Burgum directive weakens public land protections to push fossil fuels (Inside Climate News)
• Exxon is quietly planning a new $8.6 billion plastics plant in Texas (Grist)
• Trump’s FEMA Chief Assailed The Agency With Untruths (E&E News)
• 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: California, EPA, Donald Trump, Wind energy, Solar energy, Shell Oil, Dept. of Energy, Brian Schatz, Amy Klobuchar, NOAA/National Weather Service, Dept. of Commerce, Hurricane Dorian, Elon Musk, Project 2025