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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: U.N. warns of Iran War’s growing impacts on global food supply; Diesel fuel prices hit new record high in the U.S.; PLUS: Interior Sec. Doug Burgum struggles to defend Trump Administration’s attacks on renewable energy… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!
Green News Report
with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen
5/14/2026
‘Green News Report’ – May 14, 2026 | With Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen... · · · · · ‘Green News Report’ – May 14, 2026 | With Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen...
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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Trump has created a climate opportunity; >’Irresponsible’: backlash as Utah approves data center twice the size of Manhattan; Solar to surpass coal in Texas power generation in 2026, EIA says; A Texas city bet big on industry – now it’s running out of water; Hantavirus is a climate story … PLUS: ‘This is all a scam, a giant scam’: Trump’s assault on clean energy is costing Americans a lot … and much, MUCH more! …
STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY’S ‘GREEN NEWS REPORT’…
- VIDEO: Trump official mocked after claiming solar doesn’t work at night: ‘It’s called a battery’ (Raw Story)
- I.E.A. warns fossil energy prices will remain high through end of 2026:
- Global oil inventories falling at record pace amid Iran war; US producer price inflation hits four-year high (Guardian):
IEA warns that mounting supply losses from the Strait of Hormuz are depleting global oil inventories at a record pace
- Global oil supply to plunge below demand this year due to Iran war, IEA says (Reuters)
- VIDEO: IEA’s Bosoni says oil inventories falling at ‘record pace’ (Bloomberg News)
- ‘Demand destruction will spread’: IEA issues stark warning on Iran war’s oil impact (Seeking Alpha)
- Butterfly Effect: Hormuz closure has widespread effects (This Is Not Cool)
- Aftermath: There Is No End to the War With Iran (David Dayen, The American Prospect):
[T]oday I want to reflect on how the idea of “ending” the war is a kind of fallacy, both because the end isn’t really an end in material terms, and because it will do nothing to slow down an ongoing crisis triggered by the ridiculous decision to start bombing.
- Pakistan moves up renewable electricity target to 2040:
- Pakistan Sets Target of 95% Renewable Electricity by 2040 (AP of Pakistan)
- How Pakistan’s people-led solar boom is easing impact of Middle East energy crisis (Guardian)
- Pakistan is tapping into solar power at an ‘unprecedented’ rate. Here’s why (NPR, 8/21/2025)
- UN FAO warns of Iran War’s growing impacts on global food supply:
- Hormuz Crisis Sparks UN Warning Over Global Crop Yields and Food Supplies (DTN)
- Wholesale inflation: Grocery prices making a splash (MSN)
- Conflict in the Near East region adds pressure on fragile agrifood systems, FAO Director-General warns (UN Food & Agriculture Organization)
- Iran war is crushing Asia’s farmers, threatening global food supply (Washington Post):
In Thailand, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Australia, which are the first since the war to enter key sowing periods, farmers are choosing to skip or reduce planting, or cut fertilizer use, which will lower yield.
- Billions of meals at risk due to Iran war, says fertiliser boss (BBC)
- VIDEO: Why the Strait of Hormuz closure could trigger a global food crisis (MSNow/Youtube)
- VIDEO: Iran-US ceasefire holds as food prices surge and oil fears grow. (Al Jazeera English)
- Iran War and more spiking U.S. grocery prices:
- US grocery prices rose in April, but gas spikes weren’t the only reason (AP):
The full impact of rising energy costs on food likely has not hit retail grocery prices yet in the U.S., according to Purdue University economists Ken Foster and Bernhard Dalheimer. Higher costs to produce, process, store and transport food can take three to six months to show up on supermarket shelves, where prices typically fall slowly once increased, they said.
- Soaring gas prices aren’t the only reason Americans are paying more for groceries: Tariffs and extreme weather have also been impacting U.S. food prices (Fast Company)
- The Iran Conflict and Consumer Food Prices: A Broad but Lagged and Sticky Shock (Purdue University)
- The Iran War’s Impact on Packaging Costs (Food Processing)
- Prices for these grocery items have spiked highest since the war began (Washington Post):
Climate change has also affected tomatoes. Mexico has had an especially rainy season and dealt with crop disease. And Florida’s tomato supply was constrained following winter frosts. Climate issues also continue to push up coffee prices, which are still feeling the effect of high tariffs in place last year.
- Lower-income Americans hit hardest by gas price spike, widening inequalities, study finds (AP)
- U.S. diesel prices hit new record high, with widespread consequences:
- Wisconsin gas prices continue rise as diesel hits another record high (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel/MSN)
- US households face serious pain beyond gas prices as diesel nears record highs (MarketWatch/MSN):
Yet diesel has a much wider impact than gasoline prices, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, and a rise to record-high prices would be “very ominous. Diesel is the fuel that powers the U.S. economy – from tractors, to trucks and trains. This is how goods get to where they need to go,” he said.
- As diesel prices spike, Minnesota’s trucking industry feeling the hit from war in Iran (Minnesota Public Radio)
- Trucking industry impacted by rise of diesel costs leading to higher price of goods (KVUE-Austin)
- California launches EV-truck rebate:
- VIDEO: Gov. Newsom announces $1 billion rebate program for electric trucks (ABC-Los Angeles)
- Governor Newsom announces California’s new $1 billion rebate program for electric trucks, as Trump cedes global clean vehicle market to China (CA Gov. Gavin Newsom)
- Tesla Semis are about to hit the road. That’s good news for California. (Canary Media):
This would be an important environmental accomplishment. Heavy-duty trucks emit more than half the transportation sector’s harmful air pollution, with disproportionate health impacts for lower-income areas and communities of color.
- California Launching $1 Billion Electric Truck Rebate Program (Heavy Duty Trucking Magazine)
- Nigeria and Kenya lead Africa’s push for electric vans assembled from Chinese EV kits (AP)
- Fuel shortages and high prices push adoption of EVs in Africa, led by Ethiopia (AP):
Use of electric vehicles in Africa is surging, led by Ethiopia, as soaring prices and fuel shortages compel countries to opt for cleaner and cheaper transport.
- Trump Interior Sec. Burgum denies batteries exist:
- Doug Burgum claims ‘the data is lying’ after getting busted on renewable energy prices (Raw Story)
- VIDEO: Secretary Burgum Under Fire for Anti Clean Energy Policies (This Is Not Cool)
- VIDEO:Interior Secretary Burgum testifies at House hearing [full hearing] (MSNow/Youtube)
- Burgum struggles to defend Trump’s DC vanity projects and ‘Energy Dominance’ agenda in House hearing (Center for Western Priorities):
“You know something has gone off the rails when members of Congress have to hold up a battery to explain energy technology to the Interior secretary who also heads up the National Energy Dominance Council. In today’s hearing, Doug Burgum doubled down on his defense of President Trump’s failing energy policies and his ongoing spending spree on vanity projects in D.C. By refusing to take responsibility for his part in rising energy prices, Burgum is forsaking the American people in favor of fossil fuel executives.
- ‘The data’s lying’: Doug Burgum clashes with Democrat over renewable energy numbers (MEAWW)
- Firm renewable energy costs for solar plus storage now range from $54 to $82 per megawatt-hour in most regions (Morning Overview)
- VIDEO: As War for Oil Destroys American’s Lives – the Real Threat is Wind Turbines (This Is Not Cool)
‘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
- Trump has created a climate opportunity (The American Prospect)
- ‘This is all a scam, a giant scam’: How much Trump’s assault on clean energy is costing Americans (NY Times)
- ‘Irresponsible’: backlash as Utah approves datacenter twice the size of Manhattan (Guardian)
- Exxon-backed initiative on carbon accounting sparks fears of bid to slow climate action (Reuters)
- Solar to surpass coal in Texas power generation in 2026, EIA says (Reuters)
- A Texas City Bet Big on Industry. Now It’s Running Out of Water (NY Times, no paywall)
- Hantavirus is a climate story (Heated.World)
- Heavier storms and longer dry spells are drying California and the West (LA Times)
- It’s the Age of Electricity and America isn’t ready (NY Times)
- Stop emissions, stop warming: A climate reality check (Dr. Andrew Dessler, Climate Brink)
- How to electrify your life when you rent (The Verge)
- 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)
Exxon/Koch are still financing the lieosphere (The Question Is: How Much Acceleration Is Involved In SLR? – 14).