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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Big Oil is reaping $30 million an hour from consumers thanks only to the Iran War; Hawaii grapples with more storms and destructive flooding; Super Typhoon Sinlaku slams into U.S. Pacific island territories; PLUS: Arizona voters oust pro-fossil fuel candidates from public utility board…with the help of Turning Point USA… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!
Green News Report
with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen
4/16/2026
‘Green News Report’ – April 16, 2026 | With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen... · · · · · ‘Green News Report’ – April 16, 2026 | With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...
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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Critical Atlantic current significantly more likely to collapse than thought; Global warming is making the strongest hurricanes stronger; All of Michigan under Flood Watch as roads washed out, dams fail, people evacuated; The Forest Service reorganization is illegal. USDA’s top lawyer told them to do it anyway; Boundary Waters mining bill approved by Senate after Sen. Smith protest; IMF sees global oil shortfall this year and warns Iran war could tip world into recession … PLUS: Bessent questions the cause of climate change and its economic toll … and much, MUCH more! …
STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY’S ‘GREEN NEWS REPORT’…
- Big Oil is reaping $30 million an hour from consumers thanks to Iran War:
- $30m an hour: big oil reaping huge war windfall from consumers, analysis finds (Guardian):
The world’s top 100 oil and gas companies banked more than $30m every hour in unearned profit in the first month of the US-Israeli war in Iran, according to exclusive analysis for the Guardian. Saudi Aramco, Gazprom and ExxonMobil are among the biggest beneficiaries of the bonanza, meaning key opponents of climate action continue to prosper.
- VIDEO: Damian Carrington: How big oil is cashing in on Iran war (Guardian/The Latest)
- Big Oil to reap billions from Iran war windfall after a month of soaring energy prices (Reuters):
The situation could resemble 2022, when Big Oil broke records for profit after Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine rocked energy markets. That year, oil companies rewarded shareholders with record dividends and share repurchases. Public outrage sparked calls for windfall-profit taxes. “The first quarter is going to be phenomenal for these companies. I don’t think there’s any way around that,” said Leo Mariani, a senior research analyst at Roth Capital Partners.
- ‘Opportunistic’ Fossil Fuel Execs Cashed In on Trump’s Iran War With Record Stock Sales (Common Dreams)
- Trump pressed oil executives to give $1 billion for his campaign, people in industry say (Politico)
- Super Typhoon Sinlaku slams into US Pacific island territories:
- Category 4 Typhoon Sinlaku powers through the U.S. Northern Mariana Islands (Dr. Jeff Masters, Yale Climate Connections)
- Cat 5 Super Typhoon Sinlaku the 2nd-strongest typhoon so early in the year (Yale Climate Connections)
- How Super Typhoon Sinlaku Became a Warning Sign for a Potentially Historic El Niño (Extreme Temperature Diary)
- Hawaii slammed by more extreme rains, flooding:
- Trouble in paradise as atmospheric rivers drown Hawaii (This Is Not Cool)
- Maili farms and residents work to dry out after weekend rain, recent storms (Hawaii News Now)
- Over a month’s worth of rain has fallen on parts of Hawaii as a storm threatens flooding (CNN)
- Hawaii hit by flash flooding as third Kona low in a month drenches islands (MSN)
- FEMA affirms Major Disaster Declaration for Hawaii (Hawaii News Now)
- Hawaii issues brown water advisories across islands (Fox News)
- Hawaii braces for another deluge on the heels of record-breaking rain (Washington Post)
- Central US battered by volatile Spring storms:
- More dangerous storms loom for the central US as parts of the region also grapple with historic flooding (CNN):
A final round of widespread dangerous severe storms headed for the central US Friday could cause more destruction and bring more rain to parts of the Great Lakes already dealing with historic flooding. The regions are getting a brief pause in active storms on Thursday after more than three dozen reports of tornadoes and over 300 reports of large hail up to the size of softballs.
- Michigan, Wisconsin in Flooding Crisis (This Is Not Cool)
- FEMA funding has slowed to a trickle:
- Communities are waiting on billions in disaster funding from the Trump administration (NPR):
For three years, the county staff has been preparing to enroll more than 500 homes. But under the Trump administration, the project has been stalled for more than a year. The county needs FEMA to approve the project plan, but the agency hasn’t responded…In all, FEMA owes communities almost $10 billion, according to internal agency documents obtained by NPR. Much of that funding would reimburse local governments for what they’ve already spent repairing infrastructure after major disasters.
- Arizona voters oust pro-fossil fuel candidates from public power utility board:
- Turning Point gets its ass handed to it in the SRP elections (Phoenix New Times):
This might not be the kind of turning point they had in mind. Leadership elections for the Salt River Project are usually sleepy affairs, but this year’s races were unusually high-profile. That’s because Turning Point Action, the political arm of the Charlie Kirk-founded Turning Point USA, decided to flex its financial and organizational might in the battle to control the massive public utility, which serves 2 million customers throughout much of the East Valley…For all that effort, Turning Point’s toxic brand may have worked against it.
- Renewable energy advocates make gains in fight over future of big Arizona power utility (AP)
- SRP councilman had donated $200K to Turning Point before elections (AZ Republic)
- VIDEO: ‘Clean Energy Team’ in control at SRP (12 News-Phoenix)
‘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
- Critical Atlantic current significantly more likely to collapse than thought (Guardian)
- Global warming is making the strongest hurricanes stronger (Yale Climate Communications)
- Bessent questions the cause of climate change and its economic toll (NY Times)
- ‘Unprecedented’ fire at Australian oil refinery to affect nation’s petrol supplies (BBC)
- All of Michigan under Flood Watch as roads washed out, dams fail, people evacuated (MLive)
- The Forest Service reorganization is illegal. USDA’s top lawyer told them to do it anyway (More Than Just Parks)
- Russian oil revenues nearly doubled in March (NY Times)
- Boundary Waters mining bill approved by Senate after Sen. Smith protest (MSN)
- IMF sees global oil shortfall this year and warns Iran war could tip world into recession (CNN)
- Yes, Climate Still Matters. Here’s How It Connects to Every Other Crisis in the World Today. (Drilled)
- What Are The Biggest Climate Polluters Near You? (Yale Climate Connections)
- Climate change is accelerating, scientists find in ‘grim’ report (Yale Climate Connections)
- How Trump’s War on Climate Science impacts all Americans (Bloomberg)
- Solar Is Liberation (Rolling Stone)
- Governments legally required to address climate change, global court says (Inside Climate News)
- David Attenborough’s ‘Ocean’ is a brutal, beautiful wake-up call from the sea (AP)
- Wall Street Journal: Clean energy transition is unstoppable (This Is Not Cool blog)
- 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)
- 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)
- How To Spot 5 Of The Fossil Fuel Industry’s Biggest Disinformation Tactics (Guardian)
- The Oceans We Knew Are Already Gone (The Atlantic)
- 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)
“Is the Atlantic Overturning Circulation Approaching a Tipping Point? (The Oceanography Society)”
AMOC Or A Mock? – 7