Energy and Environment
Montana Supreme Court affirms decision in historic youth climate case
This story first appeared in the Daily Montanan. The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a district court ruling in the nation’s first constitutional climate change trial, affirming that the youth plaintiffs have a “fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment” while revoking two Montana statutes. The 70-page decision, authored by Chief Justice Mike McGrath, […]
Federal hostility could delay offshore wind projects, derailing state climate goals
Numerous East Coast states are counting on offshore wind projects to power tens of millions of homes and to help them transition to cleaner energy. But putting wind turbines at sea requires the cooperation of a powerful landlord: the federal government. Soon, that government will be led by President-elect Donald Trump, who has frequently disparaged […]
Republican AGs sue BlackRock, other investment firms over ‘woke’ climate action efforts
This story first appeared in the Kansas Reflector. Major institutional investors have artificially lowered coal production and raised energy costs for consumers in an effort to lower global carbon emissions, a federal lawsuit claims. Republican attorneys general in 11 states filed a joint lawsuit last month against BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street, claiming the organizations’ efforts […]
Blue states prepare for battle over Trump’s environmental rollbacks
President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to slash federal climate, clean air and clean water regulations during his second term — an agenda that could target rules governing everything from auto emissions to power plant pollution to drinking water standards. Trump has said that Lee Zeldin, his nominee to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will […]
Cities, states say they’ll need more help to replace millions of lead pipes
A new federal rule will require water utilities across the country to pull millions of lead drinking water pipes out of the ground and replace them, at a cost of billions of dollars. States, cities and water utilities agree that the lead pipes need to go to ensure safe water for residents. But they say […]
24 attorneys general challenge California regulation on big trucks
This story first appeared in the Nebraska Examiner. LINCOLN, Neb. — Twenty-four Republican-led states asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday to block a push by Democratic-led California to require more trucks used for transporting goods to reduce carbon emissions. Nebraska Republican Attorney General Mike Hilgers, who led the effort, argued in a letter that […]
Red and blue states have big climate plans. The election could upend them.
Pennsylvania wants to remain a manufacturing powerhouse. But state leaders also want to reduce climate change-causing emissions from steel mills and other industrial facilities, while cutting back the toxic pollutants that cause health problems in nearby neighborhoods. Thanks to a nearly $400 million investment from the federal government, the state is preparing a massive plan […]
Emergency responders struggle with burnout, budgets as disasters mount
AUSTIN, Texas — Four days after residents of coastal Houston celebrated the Fourth of July with the traditional parades, backyard barbecues and fireworks, Beryl came calling. The Category 1 hurricane, weakened from an earlier Category 5, slammed into Texas’ largest city on July 8 — an unusual midsummer arrival. Delivering one of the worst direct […]
Climate change poses health risks. But it’s hard to fight when state policy ignores it.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida is the hottest state in the contiguous United States, and its residents suffer the most heat-related illness. Older people are most susceptible to the heat, and nearly 4.7 million Floridians — 1 in 5 residents — are older than 65. The peninsula has 8,436 miles of coastline, and three-quarters of state […]
Facing natural disasters, more lawmakers look to make oil companies pay for the damage
Vermont is the first state trying a new approach to climate policy: charging fossil fuel companies money to cover the damages caused by natural disasters worsened by climate change. Other states could be close behind. New York lawmakers passed their own measure in June, though it’s unclear if Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul will sign the […]
Ice rink fumes have sent kids to the hospital. Still, few states require tests.
Last December, dozens of young hockey players were rushed to hospitals in the Buffalo, New York, area — some vomiting, lethargic and suffering from headaches. The skaters had been exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide at an indoor ice rink, a problem that is far from uncommon. Most rinks use ice resurfacing machines — […]
In long-sought change, states must consider tribal rights when crafting water rules
In the 1800s, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa joined other tribes in signing a pair of treaties with the federal government, giving up massive swaths of land in return for the creation of a reservation in eastern Minnesota. The treaties included a guarantee: Tribal members would be able to return in […]