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☆ China made so many solar panels that even its own grid can't support all the energy produced
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-24 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

China has made a lot of solar panels, dramatically lowering prices and helping the country's clean-energy transition. The problem is that Chinese manufacturers seem to have made too many solar panels, according to the US, the European Union, and their allies. China's facing its own overproduction problem at home following a breakneck pace of growth in solar energy — one key pillar of the country's "new three" economic drivers. Germany's energy prices are under pressure from too much solar energyIt's not just China getting hit by an excess of solar energy. Germany, too, has been producing so much solar energy that energy prices have fallen into negative territory when output peaks.

Persons: They're, Joe Biden, David Fishman Organizations: Service, European Union, Business, Reuters, Bloomberg, West, Longi Green Energy Technology, China Photovoltaic Industry Association, Lantau Group Locations: China, Beijing, overcapacity, Germany, that's

☆ Sweeping changes to America's aging power grid are on their way to help bypass NIMBY roadblocks and state infighting
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

America's power grid is old and stressed. The main problem: It takes way too long to build towering high-voltage power lines that carry electricity across state lines and to hook up new power to the grid. AdvertisementBut upgrading the power grid gets bogged down by several issues. A new rule issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission this month is aimed at tackling some of the problems. If the US doesn't invest in regional transmission lines, customers will pay the price in the form of congestion and more life-threatening outages.

Persons: Brett White, Larry Gasteiger, Allison Clements, West Virginia —, Jeffrey Shields, PJM, Shields, Manu Asthana's, Asthana, Mark Christie, Neil Chatterjee, Chatterjee, Christine Powell, Chuck Schumer, Gasteiger Organizations: Service, Business, Energy, Princeton University, Federal Energy Regulatory, Democrat, Sierra Club, Republican, Department of Energy, DOE, FERC, Earthjustice's Clean Energy, University of Chicago, wouldn't Locations: Pine, States, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Jersey, California

☆ Senate Democrats launch investigation into alleged Trump ‘quid pro quo’ with oil executives
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Kaanita Iyer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Senate Democrats have launched an inquiry into recent reports that Donald Trump offered oil executives the reversal of some of President Joe Biden’s climate policies upon the former president’s reelection in exchange for campaign contributions. The committees are seeking “descriptions of policy proposals discussed” and “materials distributed to any attendees” at the event. “Time and time again, both Mr. Trump and the U.S. oil and gas industry have proved they are willing to sell out Americans to pad their own pockets,” Sens. In his first term, Trump overturned more than 100 environmental rules and actions put in place by the Obama administration. Trump has vowed that if he’s reelected he will reverse those actions and boost fossil fuels, and oil and gas drilling.

Persons: Donald Trump, Joe Biden’s, Trump, Sens, Ron Wyden, Sheldon Whitehouse, Biden, ”, ” Trump, Karoline Leavitt, Obama, he’s, CNN’s Morgan Rimmer, Kate Sullivan, Ella Nilsen, Jeremy Herb Organizations: CNN, Democrats, Senate Finance, ExxonMobile, Chevron, Oregon, Big, The Washington Post, Trump Locations: U.S, Rhode, The, Lago

☆ House Democrats investigate if Big Oil colluded with OPEC to inflate gas prices
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Congressional Democrats are investigating whether leading US oil companies have illegally colluded with one another and with OPEC to inflate prices at the pump, CNN has learned. The Federal Trade Commission earlier this month accused Sheffield, the founder of Pioneer Natural Resources, of conspiring with OPEC and its allies to boost prices. Pallone argued that public data suggests US oil producers did not ramp up drilling during the period that Sheffield was trying to influence his rivals. Pallone sent Exxon additional document demands, including communications between Pioneer employees who were involved in developing production plans and representatives of OPEC and OPEC+. Sheffield was among the oil CEOs who testified before Pallone’s committee during an April 2022 hearing on Big Oil and gas prices.

Persons: Frank Pallone Jr, ”, Scott Sheffield, “, ” Pallone, Sheffield, Hess, Pallone Organizations: New, New York CNN, Congressional, OPEC, CNN, Committee, Energy, Commerce, ExxonMobil, BP, New Jersey Democrat, Federal Trade Commission, Sheffield, Pioneer Natural Resources, FTC, Oil, Exxon, Chevron, Shell USA, Devon Energy, Big, ” Locations: New York, Chevron, Hess, BP America, New Jersey, Texas, OPEC, Russia, colluding, United States, ”, Occidental

☆ Biden’s EPA is trying to take a huge bite out of the climate crisis. But can it survive Trump’s Supreme Court?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Ella Nilsen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Bottom row, from left, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, Associate Justice Samuel Alito, and Associate Justice Elena Kagan. Top row, from left, Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. And environmental attorneys are intrigued by Barrett, who has had some tough questions for EPA’s challengers during recent Supreme Court arguments. The Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that the EPA can use its authority to regulate greenhouse gases. That gives the agency the recent Congressional direction the Supreme Court has said it so badly needs, some experts said.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Richard Lazarus, “, Michael Regan, ” “, ” Regan, Regan’s, ” Lazarus, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Gorsuch, Alito, ” David Doniger, “ Alito –, ”, Reagan, Anne Gorsuch, Sonia Sotomayor, John Roberts, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, Ketanji Brown Jackson, J, Scott Applewhite, Amy Coney Barrett –, Roberts, Barrett, Kavanaugh, Sackett, “ He’s, he’s, doesn’t, Ann Carlson, ” Carlson, ” Doniger Organizations: CNN, Joe Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency, Harvard Law, EPA, Republican, Natural Resources Defense Council, Chevron, DC, Appeals, DC Circuit, University of California, Biden, Congress Locations: China, United, Virginia, University of California Los Angeles, West Virginia, Congress

☆ 7 quirky plans for Neom, from robot hotel clerks to swim lanes for commuters
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewSaudi Arabia has grand plans for its Neom megaproject. The city is part of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 project , which plans to revolutionize the country's oil-dependent economy for a post-fossil fuel future. Swim lanes for commutersThe megacity is also considering including swim lanes for commuters, according to a Neom "style catalog" seen by Bloomberg. Neom planners are reportedly considering including canals with swimmable water, which would allow residents to swim to work or school. A robot and AI networkNeom has grand plans to be the most high-tech city in the world.

Persons: —, It's, Prince Mohammed bin Salman's, Jan Paterson, Neom's, Neom, Nadhmi Al, Nasr, Wayne Borg, Paul Marshall Organizations: Service, Business, Planners, Bloomberg, Wired, BBC Locations: Saudi Arabia, Saudi, Neom, Aqaba, Treyam, Neom's

☆ We're in the era of heat pumps — a market that experts say is 'set to skyrocket'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

This old technology getting some fresh attention is a trend investors may not want to miss: Heat pumps. Heat pumps provide both air conditioning and heat — all in one device. Heat pumps could play a viable role in this regard," Muhedini said in a research note last week. The DOE also runs a Residential Cold Climate Heat Pump Technology Challenge , which is partnered with Trane, Carrier, and Johnson Controls, among other leading heat pump makers. In the chemicals sector, companies that produce more eco-friendly refrigerants for heat pumps could one day reap the benefits of recent legislation in the U.S. that will ban next year the production of heat pumps that use refrigerants with high levels of global warming potential.

Persons: hasn't, They're, William Thompson, Amantia, Muhedini, Thompson, Johnson, Jefferies, Stephen Volkmann, Trane, Andrew Kaplowitz, Deane Dray, Dray, Lennox, Owens, It's, they've, Nestle Organizations: UBS, McKinsey, Barclays, United Nations, UN, International Energy Agency, Johnson Controls, Carrier, Solutions, Citi, Wednesday, U.S . Department, DOE, Trane, RBC Capital, Johnson, Companies, Rockwell Automation, Honeywell International, Arkema, Unilever Locations: industrials, U.S, Paris, Trane, Monday's, Spain, Switzerland

☆ Biden and Big Oil Had a Truce. Now, It’s Collapsing.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Lisa Friedman | Rebecca Elliott | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Early in his term, President Biden seemed to have struck an uneasy truce with the oil and gas industry. Mr. Biden had imposed restrictions on drilling as part of his ambitious climate agenda, but he also approved an enormous $8 billion oil project in Alaska. The United States had become the world’s leading exporter of natural gas, and no other country in history was pumping more crude. Then, in January, Mr. Biden paused new permits for export facilities for liquefied natural gas. That decision galvanized oil and gas companies against Mr. Biden, according to industry lobbyists, and will be an undercurrent at a fund-raising lunch set for Wednesday in Houston.

Persons: Biden, Donald J, Trump, Mr, “, ”, Thomas J, Pyle Organizations: United, Mr, American Energy Alliance Locations: Alaska, United States, Houston

☆ Here's how to buy renewable energy from your electric utility
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

In the voluntary market, customers buy renewable energy in amounts that exceed states' minimum requirements from utility companies. Customers in these programs — also known as utility green power programs — pay their utility a "small premium" to get electricity from renewable sources, according to the U.S. Energy Department. Green power marketing programs Consumers in some states can also opt into "green power marketing programs." watch nowGreen energy programs instead rely on "renewable energy certificates," or RECs. It's a way to provide extra funding to a renewable energy project, typically sold by a broker or marketer rather than a utility, Sumner said.

Persons: Mark Felix, Jordan Vonderhaar, Jenny Sumner, It's, Joe Raedle, Loren Elliott, —, Sumner, Valerie Macon, Joydeep Mitra, Mitra Organizations: Afp, Getty, U.S . Energy Information Administration, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Environmental Protection Agency, Roadrunner, Bloomberg, U.S . Department of Energy, Getty Images, U.S . Energy Department, Yale University's, EPA, Michigan State University Locations: Dawson , Texas, U.S, McCamey , Texas, Solano County , California, California , Connecticut, Delaware , Illinois, Maine , Maryland , Massachusetts, Michigan , New Hampshire , New Jersey , New York , Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island , Texas, Virginia, California, Imperial , California

☆ Ocean water is rushing miles underneath the ‘Doomsday Glacier’ with potentially dire impacts on sea level rise
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica — nicknamed the “Doomsday Glacier” because its collapse could cause catastrophic sea level rise — is the world’s widest glacier and roughly the size of Florida. Thwaites, which already contributes 4% to global sea level rise, holds enough ice to raise sea levels by more than 2 feet. “This process of widespread, enormous seawater intrusion will increase the projections of sea level rise from Antarctica,” he added. Sea ice around Rothera Point, on Adelaide Island to the west of the Antarctic Peninsula. The researchers also used climate models to predict the potential speed of recovery from such extreme sea ice loss and found that even after two decades, not all the ice will return.

Persons: West Antarctica —, It’s, Thwaites, glaciologists —, Irvine —, ”, Eric Rignot, Finland’s, Rignot, Ted Scambos, it’s, James Smith, Noel Gourmelen, Gourmelen, Steve Gibbs, ” Louise Sime Organizations: CNN, National Academy of Sciences, Global, University of California, UC Irvine, University of Colorado, British Antarctic Survey, University of Edinburgh, BAS Locations: West Antarctica, Florida, Irvine, Antarctica, University of Colorado Boulder, Thwaites, Rothera, Adelaide

☆ World’s biggest waste-to-energy facility will power more than 100,000 homes
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Ana De Oliva | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Much of it ends up at a plant operated by the Warsan Waste Management Company. “Around 45% percent of Dubai’s total waste comes to this facility,” says Tim Clarke, the company’s CEO. Operational since March of this year, the Warsan plant will use 2 million metric tons of trash annually to produce electricity, enough to power approximately 135,000 homes, according to the company. However, since the plant produces power, replacing the burning of fossil fuels, Warsan Waste Management believes the overall result is positive. But some environmental groups, such as Zero Waste Europe, argue that burning waste to generate electricity discourages efforts to cut waste and initiatives to increase recycling.

Persons: ”, Tim Clarke, Clarke, “, Bryan Staley, Staley Organizations: Dubai CNN, CNN, Warsan Waste Management Company, “, United Nations Environment, Waste Management, Energy, Research, Education Foundation Locations: Dubai, Europe, Japan, China, UAE

☆ Scientists uncover ‘striking’ ancient arachnid that had large spiky legs
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The idea of coming face to face with a spider-like creature unexpectedly is enough to fill any arachnophobe with horror, let alone encountering one with large, spiky legs. The newly discovered long-extinct species is described as a “large spider-like arachnid” with “distinctive large spines on the legs” by the study’s authors. They were unable to place the creature within any known arachnid order due to the specimen’s lack of mouthparts, which scientists use to classify them. “You see sort of spiny legs in some arachnids, but we’ve never seen one that really has these big spines all the way along, at least the first parts of the legs. Scientists think the spiny legs were for defensive purposes.

Persons: we’ve, ” Dr, Jason Dunlop, Naturkunde, “, Bob Masek, David Douglass, Paul Selden, Dunlop, you’ve, ”, ” Dunlop, Douglass Organizations: CNN, Paleontology, Field Locations: what’s, Illinois, Masek, North America, Northern Europe, Europe

☆ CNBC's Inside India newsletter: What's next for India's regulators?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

People stand in front of a Reserve Bank of India logo at the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, India, 5 September, 2023. Instead, there's been a flurry of activity this month at a number of regulators across India's financial system. That frightened bank investors and immediately knocked off more than 3% from the India Nifty PSU Bank index. "RBI has been tightening the screws," Rajeev Agrawal, hedge fund manager and managing partner at DoorDarshi India Fund, told CNBC's Inside India. We also had hedge fund manager Andrew Holland, who spoke on India's infrastructure projects and the outlook for the country's economy.

Persons: Niharika Kulkarni, there's, Nirmala Sitharaman, SEBI, Rajeev Agrawal, Agrawal, Shailendra Singh, India's, they've, Dinesh Kumar Khara, Andrew Holland, Sri Jegarajah Organizations: Reserve Bank of, Global, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Reserve Bank of India, Futures Industry Association, Bombay Stock Exchange, Reuters, India Nifty, DoorDarshi India Fund, Peak XV Partners, Sequoia Capital, CNBC, CNBC Pro, U.S ., State Bank of India, U.S . Federal Reserve, Center Locations: Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai, India, Sequoia, Sequoia Capital India, Southeast Asia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Sri, Japan, Indian, Chennai

☆ The world faces a shortage of minerals needed for the energy transition
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —The world is facing a shortage of the minerals needed to make the electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels, and other clean energy technologies essential to ending its reliance on fossil fuels. The world is on track meet only 70% of global copper demand and 50% of lithium demand by 2035, the agency added. Prices for some critical minerals have returned to their lower pre-pandemic levels, the IEA noted, with those needed to make batteries falling particularly sharply. However, “today’s well-supplied market may not be a good guide for the future, as demand for critical minerals continues to rise,” it added. Concentration risksConcentration of critical minerals production in a small number of countries increases the risk of shortages, the agency warned.

Persons: Fatih Birol, “ Organizations: London CNN, International Energy Agency, Investment, IEA, ” Locations: Paris, China

☆ Did dinosaur blood run hot or cold? Both, according to a new study
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Were dinosaurs warm-blooded like birds and mammals or cold-blooded like reptiles? Clues from dinosaur eggshells and bones have suggested that some dinosaurs were warm-blooded and others were not. These dinosaurs may have evolved endothermy, or the ability to internally generate body heat, according to the study. “Warm-blooded animals are generally more active, for example, cold-blooded animals usually don’t build nests,” said lead study author Dr. Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, Royal Society Newton International Fellow at University College London’s department of Earth sciences. Her 2022 study suggested that ornithischians were more likely cold-blooded and sauropods were warm-blooded.

Persons: Big John, Sarah Meyssonnier, ornithischians, ”, Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, Brontosaurus, ” Chiarenza, “, Jasmina, ” Wiemann, Chiarenza, Anthony Fiorillo, ” Fiorillo, wasn’t Organizations: CNN, Royal Society Newton International, University College London’s, Field, UCL, Universidade de, New, New Mexico Museum, Southern Methodist University Locations: Paris, Chicago, Spain, New Mexico, Dallas

☆ China and India still rely heavily on coal, climate targets remain 'very difficult' to achieve
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Charmaine Jacob | In Charmainemariajacob | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

China and India have not reduced coal generation for electricity, according to a new study, making it harder for Asia's largest carbon emitters to reach their climate targets. While both Asian countries have ambitious plans to cut emissions, heavy reliance on coal — the dirtiest fossil fuel — continues to be the most reliable and affordable way of meet rising electricity demand. The highest increases came from China (+319 TWh) and India (+100 TWh), the study showed. According to the IEA, coal remains the biggest energy source for electricity generation, supplying more than one-third of global electricity. "It will be very difficult to meet targets without a rapid face down in coal.

Persons: Francis Johnson Organizations: Global, Stockholm Environment Institute's Asia Locations: China, India, Stockholm

☆ Summer 2023 Was the Northern Hemisphere’s Hottest in 2,000 Years, Study Finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Delger Erdenesanaa | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The summer of 2023 was exceptionally hot. Scientists have already established that it was the warmest Northern Hemisphere summer since around 1850, when people started systematically measuring and recording temperatures. Now, researchers say it was the hottest in 2,000 years, according to a new study published in the journal Nature that compares 2023 with a longer temperature record across most of the Northern Hemisphere. The study goes back before the advent of thermometers and weather stations, to the year A.D. 1, using evidence from tree rings. “That gives us the full picture of natural climate variability,” said Jan Esper, a climatologist at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany and lead author of the paper.

Persons: ”, Jan Esper, El Niño Organizations: Northern Hemisphere, Johannes Gutenberg University Locations: Mainz, Germany

☆ Fossil Catches Starfish Cousin in the Act of Cloning Itself
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Jack Tamisiea | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Some brittle stars give an arm and a leg (and still another appendage) to reproduce. This process, known as clonal fragmentation, is practiced by almost 50 species of existing brittle stars and their starfish relatives. However, scientists have found it difficult to determine when brittle stars, a gangly group of echinoderms, started reproducing this way. A recently discovered fossil from Germany pushes the origin of cloning sea stars back more than 150 million years. The specimen, he added, shows that “clonal fragmentation is actually much older than people previously thought.”

Persons: ”, Ben Thuy Organizations: Royal Society, National Museum of Locations: Germany, Luxembourg

☆ Solugen: 2024 CNBC Disruptor 50
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Cnbc.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Over the past century, major chemicals companies like BASF, Dow and LyondellBasell have maximized a global manufacturing process that is derived from fossil fuels. Sparked by a chance medical school poker game conversation in 2016, Solugen evolved from prototype to physical asset in five years, and production hit commercial scale shortly thereafter. "Solugen is the first synthetic biology company with a demonstrated ability to scale both their sales and their own manufacturing," an investor told CNBC at the time of the 2021 deal. The Bioforge, as its manufacturing platform is known, is designed to minimize the massive environmental toll of traditional chemical manufacturing, and in a perfect world, result in carbon-neutral if not carbon-negative emissions. Bioforge 1, its Houston-based site, is a zero discharge facility without air or wastewater emissions.

Persons: Solugen, Baillie Gifford Organizations: BASF, Dow, CNBC Locations: Houston

☆ A deadly heat wave worsened Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. It was fueled by climate change, new data shows
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The WWA report divided the heat waves into three areas: West Asia, the Philippines and a region spanning South and Southeast Asia. However, the impact of climate change there was greater, increasing temperatures by about 1.2 degrees. Climate change also played a pronounced role in this region, according to the analysis, making the heat 45 times more likely and 0.85 degrees Celsius hotter. “Many cities have seen extreme losses of green space,” Pereira said, increasing the impacts of extreme heat on residents. If not, she added, “extreme heat will lead to even greater suffering in Asia.”

Persons: Jehad, ” Friederike Otto, El, Idrees Mohammed, Otto said, ” Otto, Carolina Pereira Marghidan, ” Pereira, ”, Mariam Zachariah Organizations: CNN, WWA, Getty, Grantham Institute, Climate, Environment Locations: Gaza, West Asia, Philippines, South, Southeast Asia, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Rafah, Anadolu, Delhi, Manila, Asia, West, Raipur, India, AFP, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, , Bangladesh, Thailand

☆ Ancient trees unlock an alarming new insight into our warming world
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

And it’s an alarming signal as some scientists warn 2024 is on track to be be even hotter still. Under the Paris Agreement in 2015, countries agreed to restrict global warming to 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels. Using data taken from temperature instruments during this period, the scientists found the Northern Hemisphere summer in 2023 was 2.07 degrees Celsius warmer than the pre-industrial period. To do this, they used detailed sets of tree ring records from thousands of trees across nine regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including North America and Scandinavia, but excluding the Tropics which lack good tree data. While the study can place the extraordinary Northern Hemisphere heat into historical context, it cannot be applied on a global scale, Esper said.

Persons: Bruna Casas, don’t, Richard A, Brooks, Jan Esper, ”, Kim Cobb, Esper, “ I’m, Laura Paddison Organizations: CNN, Northern, Central America, Getty, Johannes Gutenberg University, Brown University, Southern Hemisphere Locations: Paris, Northern, North America, Scandinavia, Europe, Central, Barcelona, Spain, Tokyo, AFP, Germany

Smarter grids, like Chattanooga's, are just part of what it will take to modernize the American grid in the coming decades. A troubled transition to renewable energyOffshore wind farms are one of the growing areas of renewable energy. And the Edwards & Sanborn project, the US's largest solar energy and energy storage project in California, came online in January. Renewable energy is not only cleaner than fossil fuels but also often less expensive. Breaking down barriersThe US grid isn't designed for fluctuating renewable energy, so much of it goes to waste because clean-energy projects can't connect to the grid.

Persons: Kevin Schneider, Harris, Joe Rand, Joshua Rhodes, barleyman, Edwards, Rand, Philip Odonkor, Seib, headwinds, Julia Bovey, Ørsted, Bovey, Paul Denholm, We'll, Denholm, There's, PATRICK T, FALLON, we're, Schneider, We've, EPB, MISO, it's Organizations: Infrastructure, Service, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Nationwide, Biden, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of Texas, Renewables, Sanborn, of Systems, Enterprises, Stevens Institute of Technology, Trump, Fork, Eversource Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Getty, Infrastructure Law Locations: Chattanooga , Tennessee, Chattanooga, EPB, Austin, Maine, North Carolina, California, United States

☆ Trump asked top oil execs for $1 billion campaign cash in exchange for environmental policy rollbacks, report says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The transactional campaign promise indicates what a second Trump presidency would mean for the White House's environmental agenda. Pornsak Na Nakorn/EyeEm/GettyWhile Biden has positioned the climate crisis as an existential threat and championed aggressive environmental regulations, Trump has dismissed it as a hoax and systematically dismantled environmental protections during his tenure. Related storiesSince taking office in 2021, Biden has swiftly reversed many of Trump's environmental actions, including blocking future oil drilling in the Alaskan Arctic. However, despite oil industry grievances over Biden's policies, the US has experienced record oil production, leading to substantial profits for major energy companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron, said The Post. As the campaign trail heats up, Trump's message to the oil industry remains clear: support him, and he'll deliver on their demands.

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Joe, Trump, Getty, Biden, BI's Benji Jones, he'll Organizations: Service, Lago Club, The Washington Post, Business, Democratic, Post, Keystone XL, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Trump, Fox News, Iowa Locations: Gulf of Mexico

☆ Opinion | What Donald Trump Would Do for $1 Billion
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Jamelle Bouie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Not to spend too much time writing about Donald Trump this week, but I was struck by this report in The Washington Post on the former president’s recent overtures to oil executives. After hearing one executive during an event last month at his Mar-a-Lago club complain about supposedly burdensome environmental regulations promulgated by the Biden administration, Trump made a proposition. You all are wealthy enough, he said, that you should raise $1 billion to return me to the White House. His hotel, located just down the street from the White House, was a clearinghouse for anyone who wanted to buy a favor. And six months after leaving the White House, Jared Kushner secured a $2 billion investment from a fund led by the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.

Persons: Donald Trump, Biden, Trump, ” Trump, I’m, Trump’s, Tweed, Roscoe Conkling, Jared Kushner Organizations: The Washington Post, White Locations: The, Gulf of Mexico, Saudi Arabia

☆ Beethoven’s hair reveals lead poisoning
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” is one of the first songs I learned to play on the violin. While his doctor’s notes were lost to time, scientists sequenced Beethoven’s genome from locks of his hair last year. Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesA new analysis of Beethoven’s hair has shown the composer experienced lead poisoning toward the end of his life. Tests revealed incredibly elevated levels of lead, as well as arsenic and mercury, in two of his locks, likely from drinking wine that was sweetened with lead. Researchers don’t believe lead poisoning would have been enough to kill him, but it could have contributed to the composer’s well-known gastrointestinal issues and deafness.

Persons: CNN — Ludwig van Beethoven’s, Joy ”, I’ll, Beethoven, Ludwig van Beethoven, don’t, ”, William Meredith, Umm Jirsan, Lady Elliot, Rebecca Wright, Kate Quigley, “ We’re, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Symphony, Hulton, “, Arabia, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Minderoo, Energy, CNN Space, Science Locations: Alabama, Saudi Arabia, Umm Jirsan, Lady, Australia

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