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☆ Massachusetts takes Uber and Lyft to trial over status of gig workers
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Uber and Lyft are set to face trial on Monday in a US lawsuit by Massachusetts’ attorney general alleging the ride-share companies misclassified their drivers as independent contractors rather than more costly employees. Uber (UBER) and Lyft (LYFT) argue that they properly classified the drivers, saying they are not transportation companies that employ drivers but technology companies whose apps facilitate connections between drivers and potential riders. The lawsuit going to trial was filed in 2020 by Campbell’s predecessor, Maura Healey, now the state’s Democratic governor. Should the state prevail, it has said the companies could face large penalties for not properly classifying their drivers. By not classifying their Massachusetts drivers as employees, Uber and Lyft avoided paying $266.4 million into workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance and paid family medical leave over 10 years, according to a report by the state auditor.

Persons: Andrea Joy Campbell, Uber, Peter Krupp, Rohit Singla, Maura Healey, Lyft Organizations: Democratic, Studies, Massachusetts, Campbell’s Locations: Massachusetts, Boston, Suffolk

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has approved President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency's air pollution office just as the agency is set to finalize rules over climate-changing emissions from power plants and cars and trucks. Joe Goffman is a longtime EPA official who has headed the air and radiation office on an acting basis since Biden took office three years ago. Goffman's 2022 nomination for the air post, one of the top jobs at EPA, lapsed last year without a Senate vote. She called the Clean Power Plan “a direct shot at American energy production" and an attempt to shut down coal- and gas-fired power plants, including those in her home state. An EPA plan to curb greenhouse gas emissions from power plants is little more than the "second iteration of the Clean Power Plan,'' Capito said.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Joe Goffman, Biden, West Virginia Sen, Joe Manchin, Sen, John Barrasso, Bobbi, Michael Regan, Goffman, Joe, Regan, Tom Carper, ” Carper, Goffman “, Shelley Moore Capito, Obama, Barack Obama's, —, Capito, Mr, Goffman's, “, Fred Krupp, Krupp Organizations: WASHINGTON, —, EPA, West Virginia, Delaware Democrat, ”, Republican, Democratic, Supreme, federal, Biden, Environmental Defense Locations: Wyoming, overburdened, West Virginia

It is responsible for about one-third of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. The new methane rule will help ensure that the United States meets a goal set by more than 100 nations to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels, Regan said. The EPA rule is just one of more than 100 actions the Biden administration has taken to reduce methane emissions, Zaidi added. The plan marks the first time the U.S. government has directly imposed a fee, or tax, on greenhouse gas emissions. The oil industry has generally welcomed direct federal regulation of methane emissions, preferring a single national standard to a hodgepodge of state rules.

Persons: —, Biden, Joe Biden, Michael Regan, Ali Zaidi, Regan, ” Regan, Zaidi, Harris, Harold Wimmer, Wimmer, David Doniger, ”, Obama, I'm, Fred Krupp Organizations: WASHINGTON, Environmental Protection Agency, United Nations, United Arab Emirates, Oil, UN, United States, Biden, Harris Administration, American Lung Association, EPA, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense Fund Locations: Dubai, United Arab, U.S, Paris, Scotland, Egypt, United

Signing on to the pledge were major national oil companies such as Saudi Aramco, Brazil's Petrobras and Sonangol, from Angola, and multi-nationals like Shell, TotalEnergies and BP. The pledge is a “smokescreen to hide the reality that we need to phase out oil, gas and coal,” said a letter signed by more than 300 civil society groups. Still, Mena said that self-reporting didn't go far enough to push oil and gas companies to make changes. Earlier this year, European Union negotiators reached a deal to reduce methane emissions from the energy industry across the 27-member bloc. In his speech, al-Jaber said oil and gas companies needed to do more to research solutions to Scope 3 emissions.

Persons: Sultan al, Jaber, ”, Jean Su, Fred Krupp, Bill Hare, Hare, Marcelo Mena, Mena, John Podesta, Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC Organizations: United Arab Emirates, Associated Press, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co, Saudi Aramco, Brazil's Petrobras, Sonangol, Shell, Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental, Environmental Defense Fund, U.S . Environmental Protection Agency, European Union, Gas, United Arab, Aramco, AP Locations: DUBAI, United Arab, United Nations, Abu Dhabi, Saudi, Angola, COP28, al, fracking, philanthropies, Chile, U.S, United States, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia

☆ Satellites are the new climate police for oil and gas polluters
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Fifty oil and gas companies pledged to zero out methane emissions by 2030 at the UN climate summit. Satellites are the next tool that will hold oil and gas companies accountable in their promise to cut methane emissions and slow global warming. Many state-owned oil companies signed on, including the UAE's Adnoc, as well as Saudi Arabia's Saudi Aramco. This, in turn, means oil and gas companies responsible for the plumes can be notified faster and potentially take action. The country's state-owned oil companies are also absent from the "decabonization charter" announced in Dubai.

Persons: Adnoc, Catherine Boudreau, Erin Snodgrass, Michael Bloomberg, Sultan Al Jaber, Peter Dejong, Fred Krupp, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Melanie Robinson, Robinson Organizations: ExxonMobil, Shell, Service, United, Saturday, Environmental Defense Fund, Bloomberg, UN, Summit, EDF, IEA, RMI, European Union, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, EU, Russia —, World Resources Institute Locations: Saudi Aramco, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Los Angeles, Saudi, Argentina, EU, Glasgow, Scotland, China, Russia

☆ US pick to lead World Bank, Ajay Banga, wins more support
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - Three Nobel laureates and dozens of civil society, climate change and philanthropic leaders on Thursday endorsed U.S. President Joe Biden's nominee to lead the World Bank, ex-Mastercard (MA.N) Chief Executive Officer Ajay Banga. "Ajay Banga possesses a rare combination of leadership; track record of building successful alliances across the public, private, and social sectors; and experience working in developing countries," they wrote. "He's the right person to lead the World Bank at this critical moment." "He understands that the World Bank must serve as a force multiplier by setting the right agenda and then catalyzing action across governments, the private sector, multilateral development banks, civil society, and philanthropies," they said. The World Bank has been headed by someone from the United States, the lender's dominant shareholder, since its founding at the end of World War Two.

☆ Michelle Obama's new book puts a spotlight on multiple sclerosis and her father's late diagnosis: Here are 5 early signs of the disease
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

With the arrival of Michelle Obama's new memoir, "The Light We Carry," readers will get a closer look at the illness that changed her father's quality of life – and inevitably her family's as well. At age four or five, Michelle Obama's dad began using a cane to maintain balance while walking, which he much later found out was as a result of multiple sclerosis (MS). Her family remained resilient by viewing her father's cane as "just a tool," similar to that of her mother's spatula and her grandfather's hammer. The fear that surrounded Michelle Obama's family about her father's health is something that many families with loved ones living with multiple sclerosis face, according to Dr. Lauren B. Krupp, the Nancy Glickenhaus Pier Professor of Pediatric Neuropsychiatry and director of the Multiple Sclerosis Comprehensive Care Center at NYU Langone Health. Here are some early signs to look out for and common symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

☆ Climate advocates win key governors races as Democrats defy 'red wave' in midterm elections
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

This year, state laws could have the greatest implications for climate action since state officials can accelerate their own climate agendas even in a divided Congress, advocates say. Joseph Prezioso | AFP | Getty ImagesClimate action could also move forward in Maryland and Minnesota after environmental victories in those two gubernatorial races. Ahmad Gharabli | AFP | Getty ImagesThe climate victories in gubernatorial races have notable implications for national and local climate policies, advocates say, especially with respect to deploying funding from Biden's climate legislation. Still, climate groups are concerned for provisions within the climate bill if Republicans do seize control of one or both chambers of Congress. Biden, who will attend the summit on Friday, said he is eager to work with congressional Republicans after the midterm elections but emphasized he would not compromise his climate agenda.

☆ The 10 most bizarre weapons of World War II
▼ + stars: | 2015-07-22 | by ( Alex Lockie | Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

World War II brought many successful innovations in technology including weapons. From explosive rats to a 155-foot-long gun, here are some of the most bizarre weapons from WWII. During World War II, the world's major powers set their sights on advancing technology, medicine, and communications in order to be efficient and fearsome in battle. PanjandrumThe Panjandrum, a rocket-propelled explosive cart, was one of the more curious weapons to have come out of World War II. Explosive ratsDogs were not the only unfortunate animal victims of experimental war weapons.

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