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Coronavirus shutdowns are lowering greenhouse gas emissions; history shows they’ll roar back

by Tony Barboza, The Los Angeles Times Highlights: As the world shelters-in-place due to the pandemic of COVID-19, greenhouse gas emissions have lowered. However, this reduction in emissions is temporary and emissions will rise again once the pandemic reaches an end: Once self-isolation and quarantines end, more people will travel by car and airplane, ruining … Read more

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Why the coronavirus outbreak is terrible news for climate change

by James Temple, MIT Technology Review Highlights First and foremost, the whole point of addressing global warming is to avoid widespread suffering and death, so climate activists should keep this lens Greenhouse gas emissions rebound is likely after the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19), as history tells us for several reasons: If capital markets lock up, it’s … Read more

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Goat herd as ecosystem reclamation tool – profile in land and management

by Gregory Horner, Tomkat Ranch Highlights In Wyoming, goats were used to restore the habitat destroyed by oil well facilities. The company, Goat Green, was hired by Chevron to graze the land after herbicides and machinery failed to help restore the land to it’s previous conditions Over 1000 goats were able to eat the weeds … Read more

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Fossil fuels for power at turning point as renewables surged in 2019: data

by Aaron Sheldrick, Reuters  Highlights: Electricity generation from fossil fuels in the United States, European Union, and India fell in 2019. Renewable power generation increased at a faster rate than the overall growth in power output for the first time The decline of fossil fuels is likely to accelerate due to countries trying to commit … Read more

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Wall Street is falling out of love with natural gas

by Gerson Freitas Jr and Vanessa Dezem, Bloomberg Highlights: Investors are ditching natural gas and fossil fuels in order to invest in renewable energy such as solar and wind:  Environmentalist push-back on dirty energy investments has put fossil fuel valuations at a tipping point  For the first time in about a decade, local gas distributors indices are … Read more

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Michigan utility sets goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040, a record in U.S.

By Dan Gearino, Inside Climate News Highlights Consumers Energy in Michigan aims to reach net-zero emissions by 2040, the fastest timetable of any major utility in the country. Previously, the utility pledged to cut 90% of its emissions by 2040 Renewable energy will account for almost 72% of their portfolio, while natural gas will account … Read more

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Oil and real estate groups are dishing out money on California Democrats. Here’s where

by Hannah Wiley, Sacramento Bee Highlights The oil and real estate industry is contributing to fund campaigns for moderate Democrats in California in order to establish connections and favors in Sacramento. Examples include: Money is given through independent expenditure committees since businesses cannot coordinate directly with the candidates  In the Central Valley, an expenditure committee … Read more

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Breathing polluted air shortens people’s lives by an average of 3 years, a new study finds

by Neela Banerjee, Inside Climate News Highlights Air pollution, mainly from burning fossil fuels, reduces life expectancy worldwide by an average of 2.9 years and has led to 8.8 million premature deaths according to a new study in Cardiovascular Research. In North America, lives were shortened by 1.4 years on average due to air pollution. … Read more

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Methane releases from oil and gas far more than we knew

By Hiroko Tabuchi, The New York Times Highlights: Oil and gas production sites emitting more methane than previously accounted for: Fossil-fuel emissions from human activity — namely the production and burning of fossil fuels — were underestimated by 25 to 40 percent, per new study. Methane emissions are particularly harmful in the short term, warming … Read more