Latest news with #GretchenGoldman
The Independent
26-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
‘Deeply concerning': Climate scientists sound alarm over Trump plans to remove limits on power plant emissions
Climate scientists are slamming plans from Donald Trump 's administration to end limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The Environmental Protection Agency is drafting a plan to end all limits on greenhouse gases emitted by coal and gas-fired power plants, The New York Times reports. The agency argues that the greenhouse gases emitted by these plants 'do not contribute significantly to dangerous pollution,' according to a draft plan reviewed by the newspaper. However, fossil fuels are the 'single largest industrial source of climate destabilizing carbon dioxide in the U.S.,' according to Vickie Patton, general counsel for the Environmental Defense Fund. The United States is one of the world's top greenhouse gas producers —second only to China. The new rule is 'an abuse of the E.P.A.'s responsibility under the law,' Patton said. The agency sent the draft to the White House on May 2, and it's expected to be released in June, according to The Times. Climate scientists say the potential move is 'deeply concerning.' 'If true, this is a deeply concerning move from the Trump EPA,' according to Dr. Gretchen Goldman, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists. 'There is no meaningful path to reducing U.S. carbon emissions without limiting greenhouse gas emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants — the largest domestic stationary source of [ greenhouse gases ],' she wrote. 'This is an agency with 'environmental protection' in its name and it is trying to slow down phasing out of these plants and disincentivize renewables,' added environmental researcher Dr. Diren Kocakuşak. Patrick Drupp, director of climate policy at the Sierra Club, told The Washington Post the move is 'reprehensible' and designed to 'curry favor and earn some brownie points with the fossil-fuel industry.' The rule comes after a 2022 Supreme Court decision that said the EPA can't force utilities to shut down coal plants and switch to renewable energy sources. The Trump administration's new rule will also overturn rules introduced in President Joe Biden 's final year in office, which sought to limit U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. 'Many have voiced concerns that the last administration's replacement for that rule is similarly overreaching and an attempt to shut down affordable and reliable electricity generation in the United States, raising prices for American families, and increasing the country's reliance on foreign forms of energy,' an EPA spokesperson said in a statement to The Independent. The proposal will be published after an interagency review and approval from EPA chief Lee Zeldin, the spokesperson said. 'In reconsidering the Biden-Harris rule that ran afoul of Supreme Court case law, we are seeking to ensure that the agency follows the rule of law while providing all Americans with access to reliable and affordable energy,' Zeldin said in a statement. The rule will likely face legal challenges once it's official, but some say it could open the door for further deregulation. 'If the administration is going to do this, it is the strategically smartest way,' Jonathan Adler, a law professor at Case Western University, told the Times. 'If they're successful with regard to power plants, they're pretty much going to be successful with everything else,' he added.
The Guardian
15-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Green groups sue Trump administration over government climate webpage removals
Green groups have sued the Trump administration over the removal of government webpages containing federal climate and environmental justice data that they described as 'tantamount to theft'. In the first weeks of its second term, the Trump administration pulled federal websites tracking shifts in the climate, pollution and extreme weather impacts on low-income communities, and identifying pieces of infrastructure that are extremely vulnerable to climate disasters. 'The public has a right to access these taxpayer-funded datasets,' said Gretchen Goldman, president of the science advocacy non-profit Union of Concerned Scientists, which is a plaintiff in the lawsuit. 'From vital information for communities about their exposure to harmful pollution to data that help local governments build resilience to extreme weather events, the public deserves access to federal datasets.' 'Removing government datasets is tantamount to theft,' Goldman added. Filed in a Washington DC district court on Monday, the litigation was brought against federal agencies by the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Sierra Club and the Environmental Integrity Project climate groups; the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen; and the anti-pollution group California Communities Against Toxics. It identifies six crucial government-run sites that have been pulled, arguing they must be restored. They include a Biden-era screening tool created to identify disadvantaged communities that would benefit from federal climate and clean energy investments, and an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mapping tool called EJScreen which showed the disparate burdens of pollution alongside socioeconomic indicators. The lawsuit also highlights the Department of Energy's map of resources for energy affordability in low-income communities, and a Department of Transportation Equitable Transportation Community interactive map of transportation insecurity, climate risk and economic vulnerability. Another now defunct tool it spotlights: the Federal Emergency Management Agency's future risk index, meant to help cities, states and businesses prepare for worsening extreme weather, which was re-created by the Guardian last month. 'Simply put, these data and tools save lives, and efforts to delete, unpublish or in any way remove them jeopardize people's ability to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live safe and healthy lives,' said Ben Jealous, executive director of Sierra Club. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion Though publications including the Guardian, as well as advocacy groups, have published some recently pulled datasets on newly created webpages, in the absence of resources to continue gathering and publicizing new data, these datasets cannot be updated. Last month, groups also sued the Trump administration over the US Department of Agriculture's removal of climate data. The lawsuit comes as federal officials also fire swaths of federal employees working on climate, environmental and justice-related initiatives, and enact sweeping rollbacks of green policies and regulations. 'The removal of these websites and the critical data they hold is yet another direct attack on the communities already suffering under the weight of deadly air and water,' said Jealous. The EPA, one of the agencies named in the suit, declined to comment on the litigation.
CBC
20-02-2025
- Politics
- CBC
American scientists say their work is under attack and ask Canadians for help
CBC News | Posted: February 20, 2025 7:00 PM | Last Updated: Just now Also: Yukon craftsman makes beautiful furniture from trees killed by wildfires Image | What on Earth logo slimmer (Sködt McNalty/CBC) Open Image in New Tab Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox every Thursday. This week: American scientists say their work is under attack and ask Canadians for help Image | Gretchen Goldman Caption: Gretchen Goldman, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, hopes the courts will protect U.S. scientific institutions and research. (Jaela Bernstien/CBC) While fielding questions at the front of a packed conference room in Boston, Gretchen Goldman checks her phone. She's waiting to find out if her husband will be fired in the latest round of layoffs of federal scientists under U.S. President Donald Trump. A month ago, Goldman voluntarily left her own government job in D.C. as climate change research and technology director at the Department of Transportation. She saw the writing on the wall. Goldman is now the president of an advocacy group, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and can speak out while many of her former colleagues cannot over fear of losing their jobs. "Science is under attack in the United States," she said in an interview after the panel. "I think we're seeing a lot of fear and people not feeling they can speak up." American and international scientists from various fields across government, academic, industry and research institutions gathered in Boston for the three-day annual conference hosted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Some of the scientists were guarded around media, afraid to say too much. Others were still processing the breakneck speed of widespread layoffs, slashing of research-funding, data purges and new restrictions imposed on U.S. scientific institutions like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). AAAS program organizers had to scramble for last-minute substitutions to replace federal scientists who dropped out because they'd suddenly been banned from travelling. Many who attended said they expected changes after the election, but not so dramatic or sudden. "We're kind of still, I think, in a bit of a state of shock. Now we have to recover from that and go into action mode," said Rémi Quirion, president of the International Network for Governmental Scientific Advice. What form that action should take depends on who you ask. Quirion, who also advises the Quebec provincial government, said Canada can help by recruiting — encouraging scientists who left for jobs and resources in the U.S. to return home. Within the U.S., there's momentum building to advocate and lobby congress. AAAS CEO Sudip Parikh told a crowd gathered for the Boston conference's opening ceremony that there will be action — both quiet and loud — in the coming weeks. He avoided specifics, but said the AAAS would be working hard because "500 years of enlightenment is something you don't throw away." "We're gathered in a moment of turmoil. And I don't want to sugarcoat that," Parikh said. "Science and engineering and medicine are sources for truth and facts and objectivity. We live in a time when that seems under threat. And we have to be able to say that." Matte Heide, director of communication strategy for the Union of Concerned Scientists, also called on the international scientific community to speak out. "If some people stand up, those who are able and willing to … it builds courage," he said. Heide is especially worried about the preservation of public access to weather and climate information. That concern is shared by Doug Wallace, the associate scientific director of the Marine Environmental Observation, Prediction and Response Network (MEOPAR). He said it would be "extremely disruptive" for Americans and Canadians if NOAA data goes offline or disappears. Wallace, based at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said he's already reached out to American counterparts at NOAA to offer help saving vulnerable datasets. At the end of the conference, CBC News asked Gretchen Goldman if she'd heard back from her husband. She told me he still has his job, for now. Goldman also said she refuses to give up hope. "A lot of it is just rhetoric at this stage. It's playing out in the courts, we're going to see what actually holds." — Jaela Bernstien Check out our podcast and radio show. In our newest episode: Sociologist Dana Fisher says disasters like the Los Angeles wildfires and Hurricane Helene can spur community action in the face of the climate crisis. The author of Saving Ourselves: From Climate Shock to Climate Action says individuals coming up with solutions for resilient communities are what give her "apocalyptic optimism." She shares how we can use the idea in our own personal fight against the climate crisis. Media Audio | What On Earth : How to become an 'apocalyptic optimist' during scary times Open Full Embed in New Tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage. What On Earth drops new podcast episodes every Wednesday and Saturday. You can find them on your favourite podcast app or on demand at CBC Listen. The radio show airs Sundays at 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m. in Newfoundland and Labrador. Reader feedback Rebecca Lamb wrote: "Hi, I am from Southern Saskatchewan near the SaskPower coal plant…. I was wondering why the heat and steam generated from the plant is not piped underground to local communities, homes and businesses. This free energy would create a secondary income for SaskPower and cleaner energy." Feeding"waste heat" into networks for heating buildings is a climate-friendly idea that's getting more and more interest these days and being used in many parts of Canada.. In fact, SaskPower says it already does this. "A great example of this would be our Shand Greenhouse, which is directly next to Shand Power Station. Waste heat from Shand is used to heat the greenhouse year-round. At our Cory Cogeneration Station, waste heat is used by Nutrien at the Cory Potash Mine for their process." But what about Rebecca's suggestion of using heat from the coal plant (or other thermal power plants)? "There are a few reasons why it wouldn't be feasible," SaskPower said in an email. "The major issue is the distance the heat would need to travel and still remain hot enough to be useful. In addition, most power stations are at the edge of or well outside the closest community, so significant new infrastructure would need to be constructed and maintained by both the company and the buildings receiving this heat." Write us at whatonearth@ (And feel free to send photos, too!) The Big Picture: Haunting owl in a haunting habitat Image | The Edge of Night Caption: (Jess Findlay/Wildlife Photographer of the Year) Open Image in New Tab After spotting this dilapidated barn on a blueberry farm outside Vancouver in 2019, photographer Jess Findlay knocked on the door of a nearby home. The man who answered gave Findlay permission to explore, but warned him about the "really crazy noises coming from back there." Findlay had a good feeling about what he would find. A few nights later, the dramatic sight of a male barn owl soaring through the dark window of the barn "left a real mark on me," he recalled. He spent 10 nights trying to capture what he had seen with his camera, a flash and a sensor to time everything just right. The result is a reminder that "every little bit of habitat" for wildlife – even manmade structures such as old barns – "makes a huge difference," he said. However, even these kinds of habitats are in danger. The next time Findlay drove by a couple of years later, the barn was gone. Findlay's photo, Edge of Night, was one of , in the People's Choice Award category of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, announced by competition organizer, the Natural History Museum in London, earlier this month. – Emily Chung Yukoner makes chairs from trees killed by wildfires Image | Yukon woodworker Ulrich Trachsel Caption: Ulrich Trachsel sits beside a chair he made of local aspen. The owner of Ibex Valley Wood Products says he sources deadwood from burn areas to make furniture. (Julien Greene/CBC) Open Image in New Tab From Ulrich Trachsel's driveway, just west of Whitehorse, you can see the deep orange slash of the Takhini burn — a visible scar from a past wildfire. Stands of trees that even from a distance look like toothpicks fringe the spine of a hill. Trachsel uses trees like these to make furniture. "I just see all this wood around and I want to use it," he said. "I just started to really appreciate dead standing wood and how convenient it is — and also how pretty it is." Most lumber sold in the Yukon is trucked up from places like Alberta and British Columbia. Trachsel, the owner of Ibex Valley Wood Products, said that doesn't work for him — the costs to the environment and climate are too great. Trachsel cuts deals with local harvesters targeting dead trees mostly destined for someone's woodstove. Right now, the majority of wood commercially harvested in the Yukon is sold as firewood. By doing this, Trachsel spares live forests and avoids greenhouse gas emissions linked to transportation. The wood harvested from Yukon burn sites is also perfect for his purposes. "It is already mostly dry," he said. Peter Wright, executive director of the Yukon Wood Products Association, said he wants to see more local timber used not just as a heat source. Trees like white spruce are valuable in other ways, he said, and that could bolster local economies. "Every time that a truck brings something in, whether it's a chair, whether it's a table, whether it's a 2x4 that could have been made here, when that truck hits the road south, all of the revenue, all of the profits, all of the employment leaves with it," Wright said. There are longstanding problems, though, he said. Timber harvesting projects are getting mired in delays during the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board process. Wright wants to see more trees in burn areas felled and the environmental assessment process move far more quickly. That's something the Yukon Wood Products Association is negotiating over with the Yukon government this year. Wright said unlike places in the South, the Yukon doesn't have an industrial-sized kiln capable of quickly drying wood. That makes harvesting trees that are already dead an obvious priority. "We're not taking green trees that are still growing," he said. "We are salvaging areas. And every month that stands more of it is falling down naturally on its own. We're battling time." Hilary Cooke, a co-director with the Wildlife Conservation Society, said both dead and living trees play crucial roles in the territory's boreal forests. "There's life in these burns," Cooke said. "There's one species of black-backed woodpecker… that's where they're going to nest…. As they [forests] regenerate, it becomes habitat for moose, and a whole community of bird species that like that regenerating willow, aspen." Cooke said the ecological importance of burns is understudied in the Yukon, and she'd like to see the territory take a more measured approach when eyeing these areas for timber harvesting. "The best thing we can do, and what we have an opportunity to do, is to think in advance about what values we want on the landscape," she said. "That's a process of regional land use planning and regional forest management planning. "It's where everyone comes together." Trachsel's business is small and just getting off the ground. He's confident there's a market for what he's making, like the set of chairs he was recently crafting out of aspen — the same type of tree that surrounds his home. To Trachsel, it's pretty simple. "What we can buy in this town is not good quality," he said. "It's usually from far away, and it's cheap because it's mass-produced. "I want everyone to enjoy locally-made, locally-grown wood products." — Julien Greene Thanks for reading. If you have questions, criticisms or story tips, please send them to whatonearth@ What on Earth? comes straight to your inbox every Thursday. Editors: Emily Chung and Hannah Hoag | Logo design: Sködt McNalty
