Climate Point: Life after Scott Pruitt
Welcome to Climate Point, your weekly guide to climate change, energy and the environment. Last week I told you Scott Pruitt was gone; this week, read about how his legacy will live on at the Environmental Protection Agency, from climate change rules to the agency's use of science in policymaking (story by Ledyard King, Paste BN).
Here are some other things you might want to know, including background on the EPA's new acting chief, former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler, and President Trump's Supreme Court nominee:
MUST-READ STORIES:
Global warming could be far worse than predicted: Any time you hear a politician say climate change won't be that bad, remember there are lots of scientific studies about how it could actually be way worse than expected. The latest entry in that genre: A study conducted by 59 researchers in 17 countries — yes, that is a lot of researchers in a lot of countries — found that rising temperatures could have dramatically worse impacts than the scientific consensus currently predicts, as Doyle Rice reports for Paste BN.
Healthier soils, healthier foods and climate change: I loved this story by Carrie Blackmore Smith at the Cincinnati Enquirer and Emily Hopkins at the Indianapolis Star, about how soil degradation on American farms has made our food less nutritious than it was 70 years ago. I know that sounds wonky and vaguely depressing, but the really cool part is that some farmers are working to improve the health of their soil — and their efforts doubles as a climate change adaptation strategy, because healthier soils can help keep crops cooler. Healthier soils also release less planet-warming carbon dioxide.
ALL ABOUT CLEAN ENERGY:
California hits greenhouse gas target 4 years ahead of schedule: Going to brag about my home state here... California passed a law in 2006 requiring the state to reduce its planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, and doggone it, we Californians got there 4 years early. State officials finished crunching the numbers for 2016, and emissions that year were just below 1990 levels, as David R. Baker reports for the San Francisco Chronicle. That said, reaching our next target — 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 — will be harder. State lawmakers are debating several bills on this topic, including a controversial plan to create a regional power grid. I chatted with California's former lieutenant governor, Cruz Bustamante, about why he opposes that proposal.
Fossil fuels in the Meadowlands: Hopscotching to the other side of the country, New Jersey just approved the first handful of permits for a developer to build a huge gas-fired power plant that would send electricity to New York City, as James M. O'Neill reports for NorthJersey.com. It's a curious thing, both because the power plant would be built in the environmentally sensitive Meadowlands area, and because New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy says he wants to get the state off of fossil fuels. So this is a story to watch. In general, the rise of natural gas is quickly becoming a bigger climate story than coal.
POLITICAL CLIMATE:
Get to know Brett Kavanaugh, Trump's Supreme Court pick: If you're like me, you've probably been wondering: What's Brett Kavanaugh's track record on the environment? Fortunately, Brad Plumer tackled that question for the New York Times, writing that Kavanaugh has "made a name for himself as an influential conservative critic of sweeping environmental regulations," arguing that the Environmental Protection Agency has at times gone too far in using the Clean Air Act to limit planet-warming emissions. BuzzFeed's Dan Vergano and Zahra Hirji also wrote about Kavanaugh, and their story includes this sentence: "'I call him Lord Voldemort,' said Professor Snape."
Get to new Andrew Wheeler, the new EPA chief: The first thing you need to know about Andrew Wheeler: He's got the same deregulation agenda as Scott Pruitt. The second thing you need to know: He's a former coal lobbyist. For more detail, the New York Times' Coral Davenport wrote about the EPA's new acting administrator, including his reputation as "a consummate Washington insider who avoids the limelight and has spent years effectively navigating the rules." And here's the view from New Jersey, where, like most everywhere else, environmentalists say they expect Wheeler to be just as bad for the environment as Pruitt was, per James M. O'Neill at NorthJersey.com.
AND ANOTHER THING:
In these trying political times (understatement, I know), it can be hard to find anything for Democrats and Republicans to agree on. But at least in theory, supporting outdoor recreation should be one of those things. So I was encouraged by this story from Karen Chávez at the Asheville Citizen-Times about a new 11-state partnership — involving states as politically diverse as North Carolina, Oregon and Wyoming — to promote and support outdoor recreation, from hiking and camping to hunting and fishing.
Here's the key quote, from Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper: "Outdoor recreation, I think, is the most unifying opportunity we have right now, for Republicans and Democrats. There are so many clear benefits, and the opportunity to come together as a country."
That's all for this week. For more climate, energy and environment news, follow me on Twitter @Sammy_Roth. You can sign up to get Climate Point in your inbox here.