Latest news with #GreenBank
The Hill
07-08-2025
- Business
- The Hill
EPA moves to claw back $7B ‘Solar for All' funds
Under the Biden-era program, money left the federal government and was distributed to 60 entities including states, nonprofits, tribes and local governments. Those entities were expected to use the $7 billion passed as part of the Democrats' 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to fund subgrantees who would help get the solar energy installed. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced in a post on the social platform X on Thursday that he intends to end the program, known as Solar for All, 'for good, saving US taxpayers ANOTHER $7 BILLION!' He said in a video accompanying his post that 'very little money has actually been spent.' 'Recipients are still very much in the early planning phase, not the building and construction process,' Zeldin said. This is not the first time the EPA has sought to claw back Biden-era funds. It previously sought to claw back $20 billion in 'Green Bank' funding that, like Solar for All, has already been distributed to various organizations. However, since the prior effort, Republicans passed their 'big, beautiful bill,' which repealed 'unobligated balances' from the $7 billion fund.
The Hill
07-08-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Trump EPA pushes to claw back $7B in solar power funds
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will try to claw back $7 billion doled out by the Biden administration to provide rooftop solar power in disadvantaged communities. Under the Biden-era program, money left the federal government and was distributed to 60 entities including states, nonprofits, tribes and local governments. Those entities were expected to use the $7 billion passed as part of the Democrats' 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to fund subgrantees who would help get the solar energy installed. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced in a post on the social platform X on Thursday that he intends to end the program, known as Solar for All, 'for good, saving US taxpayers ANOTHER $7 BILLION!' He said in a video accompanying his post that 'very little money has actually been spent.' 'Recipients are still very much in the early planning phase, not the building and construction process,' Zeldin said. This is not the first time the EPA has sought to claw back Biden-era funds. It previously sought to claw back $20 billion in 'Green Bank' funding that, like Solar for All, has already been distributed to various organizations. However, since the prior effort, Republicans passed their 'big, beautiful bill' which repealed 'unobligated balances' from the $7 billion fund. The law and the EPA's action could kick off a legal battle about what constitutes 'unobligated' money that is subject to repeal. Zeldin argued in his video that the agency 'no longer has the authority to administer the program or the appropriated funds to keep this boondoggle alive.' However, at least some recipients are already vowing to push back. After the EPA's plans were first reported by The New York Times this week, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) released a statement saying 'Solar for All Arizonans belongs to the people of Arizona, and I refuse to let it be ripped away without a fight.' 'President Trump ran on lowering costs and creating jobs. Gutting Solar for All will do the opposite,' Hobbs said. 'I urge the Trump administration to reverse this reckless decision that will make our air dirtier, our energy bills higher, and our economy weaker. I will continue to fight for the clean and affordable energy future Arizonans want and deserve, and will not let the federal government strip the program away from the people of Arizona.'
Yahoo
25-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Surprise Cosmic Clouds Likened to Finding Ice Cubes in a Volcano
Astronomers have found 11 unexpectedly cold hydrogen clouds hiding in the superheated turbulence of the Fermi Bubbles, in a discovery likened to finding ice cubes inside a volcano. The Fermi Bubbles are two lobes of incredibly energetic gas that extend 25,000 light-years above and below the Milky Way's disk, spanning a total height of 50,000 light-years. These still-mysterious structures were revealed in 2010 by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope, which gave them their name. They originated from an outburst of galactic proportions, likely from the Milky Way's central black hole, and are moving at millions of miles per hour. Related: Now, using the unique capabilities of the US National Science Foundation Green Bank Telescope (NSF GBT), astronomers performed the deepest-ever radio survey of the Fermi Bubbles, twice as sensitive as previous surveys, and discovered 11 relatively cool, neutral hydrogen clouds embedded within these extreme environs. The Milky Way harbors many violent environments and the Fermi Bubbles are among the most intense. The plasma here reaches a temperature around 1 million Kelvin (999,730 degrees Celsius), so it's a surprise to spot hydrogen clouds that are at least 100 times cooler, or about 10,000 Kelvin. In fact, seeing such relatively frigid hydrogen clouds within the Fermi Bubbles is akin to "finding ice cubes in a volcano," explains Andrew Fox, astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute and study co-author. The discovery provides an existential galactic conundrum: "We didn't know that cold gas can survive in these extreme outflows. This challenges our understanding of how galaxies recycle and expel matter," says Rongmon Bordoloi, astrophysicist at North Carolina State University and the study's lead researcher. The hydrogen clouds vary in mass and size. The 8 that have been more clearly resolved are up to 1,470 solar masses and range between 13 and 91 light-years in length. They're also the highest latitude-hydrogen clouds yet discovered, about 13,000 light-years above the Milky Way's center. Given their structure and energetic surroundings, astronomers estimate that the hydrogen clouds may be several million years old. This matches an independent estimate of the age of the Fermi Bubbles themselves, challenging other formation models that suggest the bubbles could be as many as tens of millions of years in age. "It wouldn't be possible for the clouds to be present at all if the Fermi bubbles were 10 million years old or older," explains Bordoloi. Their extrapolated age suggests the hydrogen clouds were carried high into the Fermi Bubbles by the nuclear wind, or outflow from the Milky Way's nucleus. This wind, which blasts out at hundreds of kilometers per second, is responsible for cycling mass and energy throughout a galaxy, circulating it from the galactic center to the galactic halo. Jay Lockman, astronomer at the Green Bank Observatory and study co-author, clarifies the importance of the clouds in revealing the nuclear wind: "Just as you can't see the motion of the wind on Earth unless there are clouds to track it, we can't see the hot wind from the Milky Way but can detect radio emission from the cold clouds it carries along." As on Earth, these clouds are ephemeral, with a projected lifespan of up to 8 million years – a snap of the fingers on galactic timescales. In fact, they've already changed much, and may have been part of a larger cloud that was fragmented by the surrounding plasma. Conversely, the hydrogen clouds may have condensed from the surrounding plasma due to thermal instability. Overall, this study has universal implications. Finding such cool hydrogen clouds within the chaos of the Fermi Bubbles isn't just relevant to the Milky Way. It also helps improve models of galactic evolution, reshaping astronomers' understanding of how matter and energy are cycled throughout galaxies across the cosmos. This research is published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Related News Is 3I/ATLAS 'Comet' an Alien Probe? These Are The Signs to Look For. Early Forms of Cells Could Form in The Lakes of Saturn's Moon Titan Blinking 'Unicorn' Discovered in Space a One-of-a-Kind Object Solve the daily Crossword
Dominion Post
22-06-2025
- General
- Dominion Post
Vicky Lynn Shears
Vicky Lynn Shears, 65, of Morgantown, passed away in her residence in Morgantown Thursday, June 19, 2025.A person's obituary is, for most people, the only time their life story is told. I thought I'd write my life story.I was born June 14, 1960, at a small country hospital in Bartow, the seventh child of Bernard Shears (born August 17, 1914 – died April 11, 1998) and Hazel Gillispie (born November 1, 1917 – died March 13, 2008). The Dr.'s wife presented my mother with a wall plaque with three babies on it and a note of congratulations. I thought that was pretty neat. After a long battle with cancer, I died June 19, siblings were always there for me. There are different relationships with each because of age differences. My siblings are Warren Shears (born 1941) and wife Elizabeth; Wallace Shears (born 1942 – died 2014); Willard Shears (born 1944); George Shears (born 1946); Randall Shears (born 1950); and Charlotte Ervine (born 1952) and husband Dewey Ervine.I have enjoyed time spent with my nieces and nephews: Ron Shears, Lynette Shears Lang; Chelsey Shears Kirby; Cressie Shears, Sarah Shears; and Joni Ervine, Clinton Ervine and Hazel Ann Ervine Helton. They are all such great people.I don't know what I would have done without my husband, Dan Doyle. I would have probably given up this cancer fight long ago. His Mom and Dad were also such good people and so accepting. I love Dan so much. We had so many wonderful times together, especially our adventures travelling throughout West Virginia, the U.S. and many other countries. If you know Dan, please support him during this tough time.I loved growing up in Pocahontas County surrounded by my family and cousins. We worked hard, but we made time to have fun as well. I loved going fishing with my Dad, but we probably ate more chocolate covered peanuts than we caught fish. My Dad and I had a sweet tooth, but my Mom did, too. My mother came across as a practical and plain-spoken woman, but when asking her about growing up in poverty her later actions made sense. She could have taught a lot of mothers about parenting. She let me make my mistakes and learn from them and kept any criticism to a minimum. I loved spending time with my grandmother, Rosa McQuain Gillispie. She was a character. She also worked hard, but loved to I was a teenager, I discovered I was decent at sports and so began summer softball, time at the tennis courts, and playing volleyball on the Gillespie farm. What fun. I had great teachers at Green Bank and Pocahontas High School. There wasn't a teacher that I didn't learn something from. I also don't remember a lot of bullying or picking on each other. I'm sure it was there, but I don't remember it being excessive. In high school Title IX was just starting to change sports for women. I started playing basketball and Mom and Dad would be there in the standswatching.I decided when I was going to college that I'd get a physical education degree. What I didn't understand was I loved playing sports, but I didn't want to teach sports or coach. I wanted to play. I don't regret any class I took and I always learned something. I took some additional business classes and they, in the long run, took me on a different career path.I graduated from Fairmont State College with a Bachelor of Arts in Education (Magna Cum Laude). While I was there, I joined the basketball team and played for one year, but then switched to volleyball for three years. During the summer I hooked up with a local softball team in Fairmont. Two of the best coaches I ever had, and I played for many summers with a great group of ladies who were just good people and lots of college I worked at the U.S. Department of Energy for 15 years. I didn't like the work because it was too specialized and discovered I liked doing a lot of tasks. I had enough classes to sit for the CPA exam and so I started interviewing for jobs, but it became obvious firms didn't want older workers. I also didn't have an accounting degree, so I started and earned a Master's degree in Professional Accounting at West Virginia University. The classes were so interesting and opened my eyes to how difficult it is to run businesses and furthered my knowledge in personal financial independence. I still had no success in job interviews except there was an office manager position with The Mountain Institute in Elkins. I had been involved with the non-profit WV Scenic Trails Association for many years doing trail work and serving in various officer positions. I love the work of non-profits and their public missions. I got the position and loved headquarters was in Washington DC and they had not had a CFO for months and were behind in getting their accounting data into the accounting software. I convinced them to let me come to DC to get them caught up, which they agreed to. It wasn't very long before I got a call from the new CFO that she was leaving, and I was asked if I could come to DC and fill in. I agreed. TMI was close to bankruptcy. I stayed in the job for a while, but the stress of finding enough cash to make payroll was too much. I went out on my own for a couple of years. I had been working at the WV legislature on my bucket list and so I did that for two sessions. After that, Friends of Cheat was looking for an accountant. They had spent enough federal funds that they needed a specialized audit. Other non-profits I've enjoyed working with as a volunteer or board member were Friends of Deckers Creek, Literacy Volunteers of Mon and Preston County, and Community Educational Outreach Service (CEOS). I also enjoyed working for Allstar Ecology before I retired.I got interested in family history in the '90s. A friend was lobbying hard for me to join DAR. Everyone should do their family history – not just names, but whatever they can find something that tells about their ancestor. What you would discover is that my story is the story of American and world history. It is fascinating. The lineage organizations I joined and served as an officer were the Hagans-Evans Chapter DAR; Monongalia Valley Chapter Daughters of American Colonists; The Daughters of 1812, Colonial Wars, and Colonial Indian I look back on what I've written here what strikes me again and again are all the good people that have touched my life, including my friends and neighbors in Morgantown. I love all the medical personnel at Mon General, thank you for your care for these past 10 lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to WV Scenic Trails Association, P.O. Box 4042, Charleston, WV 25364, or accordance with Vicky's wishes, Hastings Funeral Home/Omega Crematory will provide cremation service. Burial will follow at the St. Paul's Lutheran Church Cemetery in Chalk Hill, Pa., with her husband's family and family thanksHastings Funeral Home of Morgantown for its assistance during this difficult time. To leave condolences and to obtain information on future celebrations of Vicky's life, visit
E&E News
05-06-2025
- Business
- E&E News
House Republicans see ‘massive grift' in EPA climate grants
Republicans tore into the EPA green bank program Wednesday as part of a 'massive grift' and 'revolving door' that directs taxpayer money to Democratic causes and groups. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), a $27 billion program created by the Inflation Reduction Act, was a main focus of a hearing meant to example nonprofit organizations that get federal money. It was in the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency, the panel formed to further the causes of the Elon Musk-founded U.S. DOGE Service, also known as the 'Department of Government Efficiency.' Advertisement Musk's relationship with Republicans is now strained over his criticism of the party's tax megabill, a fact Democrats pointed out frequently in Wednesday's hearing.
