Climate change
Ahead of climate conference, U.S. House panel tussles over curbs on emissions
Republicans on a U.S. House panel argued Wednesday against aggressive moves to meet carbon reduction goals, saying U.S. fossil fuel companies are working to make their products cleaner. Democrats on the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on the Environment, Manufacturing and Critical Minerals countered that to achieve further reductions, federal policies should be continued […]
Climate grief and the stark choice that confronts us
If the five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, Americans can be found at all points along the continuum when it comes to global climate change and the environmental crisis that accompanies it. Like many who’ve contemplated a grim healthcare diagnosis that seems to belie of how they feel in the moment, millions […]
How an Ohio-based steel company cut greenhouse gas emissions by nearly a third
Ohio-based Cleveland-Cliffs’ success in beating its goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions from its U.S. iron and steel operations won recognition from the Department of Energy last month. The progress is part of a broader industry trend to cut pollution that drives human-caused climate change. Yet advocates say there’s lots of room for further cuts. […]
Huge, preventable greenhouse gas leaks in Ohio, group warns
Almost $100 million worth of methane is spewing into Ohio skies each year, mainly through preventable leaks, according to a new analysis. Reducing the flow would not only save money and bolster tax revenue, it would be one of the most effective steps policymakers and energy companies could take to address the growing climate crisis, […]
How efforts to restrict democracy in Ohio also make it harder to fight climate change
Ohio’s recent adoption of gerrymandered voting district maps is the latest in a series of anti-democratic measures that thwart action to address climate change, critics say. Data from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication show a majority of Ohioans believe climate change is happening and worry about it. A majority also favor regulating carbon […]
Economists: Suing energy companies for concealing climate change would correct market, help society
More than 40 years ago, internal research at Exxon led the company’s scientists to predict that burning fossil fuels would warm the environment in a way that would have “dramatic environmental effects before the year 2050,” internal company memos said. But after the energy company’s executives decided that public knowledge of the research might crimp […]
Analysis: Paying to warm the planet. Corrupt utility law forces Ohioans to make climate worse
It seems crazy that people would be forced to pay to make themselves and their planet sicker. But thanks to a crooked utility law that the Ohio General Assembly refuses to repeal, that’s just what’s happening in the Buckeye State. The notion that rising greenhouse gasses could warm the planet goes back at least to […]
Ohio utilities’ efficiency programs among the worst in wake of corrupt utility law, report says
Ohio-based AEP responded last week to questions for this story, which incorrectly said it didn’t. It’s been updated. House Bill 6 wasn’t only a bad law because it involved $61 million in bribes in exchange for a $1.3 billion utility bailout. Most of the bailout payments have been repealed, but somehow the law — the […]
Ohio higher education overhaul would chill speech and academic freedom with threats of discipline
Using remarkably clueless wording as our nation reels from rampant wildfires, including the deadliest one in over a century, state Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, recently crowed about how he started a “firestorm” with his proposed SB 83, the Ohio Higher Education Enhancement Act. As NOAA elevates its prediction for the number and strength of Atlantic […]
Looking for a US ‘climate haven’ away from heat and disaster risks? Good luck finding one
By Julie Arbit, University of Michigan; Brad Bottoms, University of Michigan, and Earl Lewis, University of Michigan Southeast Michigan seemed like the perfect “climate haven.” “My family has owned my home since the ‘60s. … Even when my dad was a kid and lived there, no floods, no floods, no floods, no floods. Until [2021],” […]
Effects of climate change on farming, federal spending explored by U.S. Senate panel
WASHINGTON — U.S. senators on the Budget Committee dug into the impacts of climate change on farming during a Wednesday hearing, raising concerns about what the next few decades hold for food production and the way of life. But Republicans and representatives of farm groups pushed back against increased government regulation. Brent Johnson, president of […]
U.S. Interior secretary unveils $125 million for local climate projects
BOISE, Idaho — The U.S. Interior Department will send $125 million from the bipartisan infrastructure law to scores of local climate resiliency and conservation projects, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland told a group of environmental reporters Friday. Speaking at the Society of Environmental Journalists annual conference, Haaland promoted several aspects of the Interior Department’s agenda, including programs […]