'Green News Report' - January 27, 2022

'Green News Report' - January 27, 2022 With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...

By DESI DOYEN 

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: New report finds staggering cost to achieve net zero emissions globally, while warning the cost of climate action is far cheaper than inaction; Air pollution even more deadly than previously thought; KFC and McDonald's launch new plant-based menu options; PLUS: Biden Administration revokes two controversial mining leases in Minnesota... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Click here to listen or download MP3 (6 mins)...

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): EPA acts to curb air, water pollution in poor communities; For the first time, study links air pollution from fracking to early deaths among nearby residents; Record rainfall in South Africa triggers floods, significant crop losses; Gas stoves worse for climate than previously thought; EPA to probe whether biogas operations from hog farms violate civil rights of nearby residents;Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

DHS warns that rightwing extremists could attack power grid; CA redwood forest returned to native tribes... PLUS: Key crops face major shifts as world warms... and much, MUCH more! ...

STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY'S 'GREEN NEWS REPORT'...

• Pipeline company knew ruptured pipeline was severely corroded:
  • Pipeline spills 300,000 gallons of diesel near New Orleans (AP)
  • Pipeline spills more than 300,000 gallons of diesel fuel near New Orleans (CNN):

    The company initially reported between 200-300 BBLs (8400 -12,600 gallons), had spilled; however on December 28, the company estimated the loss of diesel to be more than 300,000 gallons.

• Air pollution even worse than previously thought:
  • Even Low Levels of Soot Can Be Deadly to Older People, Research Finds (NY Times):

    The American Petroleum Institute, which represents oil and gas companies, did not review the Health Effects Institute research but questioned the need for tighter pollution rules. In a statement the trade group said "the current scientific evidence indicates the existing standards are effectively designed to protect public health and meet statutory requirements."

  • EPA's air pollution standards are deadly for older Americans (Ars Technica):

    Small reductions in PM2.5 pollution could save over 140,000 lives.

• Study finds cost of climate inaction far greater than action:
  • McKinsey: fundamental transformation of global economy needed for net zero (Guardian UK):

    $9 trillion of annual investment required to avoid most catastrophic climate impacts, consultancy says...Bob Ward, a policy director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change at the London School of Economics, UK, said: "The McKinsey investment figures are not the net costs of reaching net zero globally, but instead the upfront annual costs without taking into account the benefits.

  • VIDEO: Dr. Michael Mann on Sky News' Daily Climate (Dr. Michael Mann/Twitter)
  • McKinsey calculates the staggering capital spending required to reach net-zero by 2050 (CNBC)
  • The net-zero transition: What it would cost, what it could bring (McKinsey):

    This McKinsey report offers a detailed look at the economic and societal impact of the transition to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

• Biden Interior Department cancels controversial mining permits in Minnesota:
  • Biden Administration Revokes Mining Leases Near Minnesota's Boundary Waters (Huffington Post):

    Opponents argue that allowing the project to move ahead could forever sully the vast network of federally protected rivers, lakes and creeks, often pointing to the hard-rock mining industry's long legacy of polluting water resources across the country. Extracting sulfide-bearing minerals like those Twin Metals is after could trigger the release of toxic sulfuric acid that can persist indefinitely.

  • Biden admin cancels mining leases near Boundary Waters (E&E news)
  • Biden administration revokes Trump-approved Minnesota mining lease (AP):

    "The Boundary Waters are a natural treasure that is simply too important to risk - and the costs for people and wildlife too steep," [Collin O'Mara, present and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation] said...Twin Metals is not connected to the proposed PolyMet Mining Corp.'s project at nearby Babbitt and Hoyt Lakes, which is currently mired in legal challenges and regulatory proceedings.

• GM to invest $7 billion in MI to ramp up EV manufacturing:
  • GM Pouring $7 Billion Into New EV Plants In Michigan (Forbes):

    GM President Mark Reuss highlighted that the company is utilizing existing facilities for the conversion rather than building greenfield sites which will save GM time and money. However, $4 billion to retool an existing plant, points to essentially an all-new factory anyway.

  • GM to spend $6.6 billion on EV plant investments in bid to dethrone Tesla in electric car sales by 2025 (CNBC)
• Fast food giants introduce plant-based menu options:
  • McDonald's McPlant burger made with Beyond Meat sold better than expected, analyst says (CNBC)
  • McDonald’s expands test of McPlant burger created with Beyond Meat (CNBC)
  • KFC’s new plant-based nuggets look and taste close to the real thing (Spokesman-Review)
  • Plant-based meat alternatives, like new nuggets from KFC, sound healthier. But are they? (Louisville Courier Journal/Yahoo News)
• Swapping out high-impact foods reduces environmental impact 40 percent:
  • Swapping just one item can make diets substantially more planet-friendly (Tulane University)
  • Food Swaps Can Radically Change a Diet’s Carbon Footprint (Environment News Service)
  • Swap shrimp for cod to cut a meal’s carbon footprint by a third, say scientists (MSN News):

    Scientists at Tulane University in the US say swapping higher carbon food for lower carbon alternatives can make a dramatic difference to the climate effect of a person’s diet.

  • Subtle changes to your diet could help the environment, study finds (Consumer Affairs):

    Replacing one meat-based option with a plant-based option could lower your carbon footprint.

'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (Stuff we didn't have time for in today's audio report)...

For a comprehensive roundup of daily environmental news you can trust, see the Society of Environmental Journalists' Daily Headlines page

• EPA acts to curb air, water pollution in poor communities (AP)
• For the First Time, a Harvard Study Links Air Pollution From Fracking to Early Deaths Among Nearby Residents (Inside Climate News)
• South Africa's Heaviest Rain on Record Causes Destructive Floods (Yahoo Finance)
• Study: Gas stoves worse for climate than previously thought (Washington Post)
• Gas Stoves in the US Emit Methane Equivalent to the Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Half a Million Cars (Inside Climate News)
• EPA to Probe Whether North Carolina’s Permitting of Biogas From Swine Feeding Operations Violates Civil Rights of Nearby Neighborhoods (Inside Climate News)
• Judge Refuses To Delay Release Of Disputed DAPL Documents (Bismarck Tribune)
• PFAS Widespread In Water- And Stain-Resistant Outdoor Clothes, Home Linens (EHN)
• Key Crops Face Major Shifts As World Warms (BBC)
• Youngkin Pick Wheeler Defends EPA Record, Criticizes Media (AP)
• Redwood Forest in California Is Returned to Native Tribes (NY Times)
• DHS Warns That Right-Wing Extremists Could Attack Power Grid (Daily Beast)
• EPA Criminal Cases Against Polluters Drop By A Third [during Trump Adminstration] (E&E News)
• Canada Watchdog Says Funds For Inactive Oil Well Cleanup May Fall Short (Reuters)
• Feeling Hopeless About the Climate? Try Our 30-Day Action Plan (The Revelator)
• Green Upheaval: The New Geopolitics of Energy (Foreign Affairs)
• VIDEO: 2050: what happens if we ignore the climate crisis (Guardian UK)
• Guilt, grief and anxiety as young people fear for climate's future (Reuters)
• 99.9 percent Of Scientists Agree Climate Emergency Caused By Humans (Guardian UK)
• An Empire of Dying Wells: Old oil and gas sites are a climate menace. Meet the company that owns more of America's decaying wells than any other. (Bloomberg)
• Climate Fund Choices for Investors Are Multiplying (Bloomberg/Yahoo)
• How climate change could undo 50 years of public health gains (Grist)
• Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration (Pro Publica)
• Exxon's Snake Oil: 100 years of deception (Columbia Journalism Review)
• What Does '12 Years to Act on Climate Change' (Now 9 Years) Really Mean? (Inside Climate News)
• VIDEO: A Message From the Future With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (The Intercept)
• What genuine, no-bullshit ambition on climate change would look like: How to hit the most stringent targets, with no loopholes. (David Roberts, Vox)
• A Global Shift To Sustainability Would Save Us $26 Trillion (Vox)
• Project Drawdown: 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (Drawdown.org)
• An Optimist's Guide to Solving Climate Change and Saving the World (Vice)
• The great nutrient collapse: The atmosphere is literally changing the food we eat, for the worse. And almost nobody is paying attention. (Politico)
• The world's bleak climate situation, in 3 charts: We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there. (Vox)
• The Climate Risks We Face (NY Times):

  To stabilize global temperature, net carbon dioxide emissions must be reduced to zero. The window of time is rapidly closing to reduce emissions and limit warming to no more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit or 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, the goal set in the Paris climate accord. The further we push the climate system beyond historical conditions, the greater the risks of potentially unforeseen and even catastrophic changes to the climate - so every reduction in emissions helps.

• The Uninhabitable Earth: When will climate change make earth too hot for humans? (New York Magazine):

  Famine, economic collapse, a sun that cooks us: What climate change could wreak - sooner than you think.

• A beginner's guide to the debate over 100% renewable energy (Vox):

  Clean-energy enthusiasts frequently claim that we can go bigger, that it's possible for the whole world to run on renewables - we merely lack the "political will." So, is it true? Do we know how get to an all-renewables system? Not yet. Not really.