Weekend Reader for Sunday, Dec. 3

Weekend Reader for Sunday, Dec. 3

Top news and notes for your weekend reading

Oysters, horse-trading the environment for tax bill votes, and much more.


According to the Washington rumor mill, the long-anticipated departure of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson may be at hand. The cruel irony for environmental advocates is that they may long for the day when the ExxonMobil lifer and former CEO was in charge at state.

His potential replacement is CIA Director Mike Pompeo. Tillerson was a voice of relative moderation in the Trump cabinet, though his push to keep the U.S. in the Paris climate accord failed.

In his three-term congressional career, Pompeo earned a 4 percent rating from the League of Conservation Voters. He has close ties to enviros' worst nemeses, the Koch Brothers, and his Wichita, Kansas, district means he was literally the Kochs' congressman.

A clever piece from Angus McCrone, chief editor of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, muses "If only I were a climate and clean energy skeptic. Then I could stop wasting time worrying about the planet." Then he demolishes the most common climate denial memes.

Check out other weekend newspaper editorials on the pesticide chlorpyrifos and pipelines, among others (below).

And from our friends at Living On Earth, a new kind of divided Congress: An interview with the co-founder of the House Climate Solutions Caucus, whose 62 members are equally divided between Republicans and Democrats.

Top Weekend News

The Senate has passed its tax reform bill over criticism that most Americans will lose ground. So might the Alaskan environment: Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski was a late convert to the bill when she attached a rider clearing the way for oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. And a piece in the Atlantic mulls how native villages could thrive or suffer if drilling is increased.

Ironic, since other reports show Arctic ice off the Alaskan coast at record early winter lows.

A nice piece for Sunday brunch: Mobile Bay Magazine on oyster farmers and their need for clean, fresh water. Alabama, Georgia, and Florida have been battling for 20 years about water use.

This Week In Trump

From Mashable's Andrew Freedman: The pick for top science advisor sticks out like a sore thumb among other Trump nominees -- he thinks global warming isn't a hoax.

And EPA's program to assess chemical risks is facing the budget chopping block.

EPA dropped an Obama-era rule requiring mining companies to prove that they have the financial means to clean up after themselves.

As if to prove that a lack of self-awareness is a political asset, convicted coal baron Don Blankenship is spending money on a campaign to get elected West Virginia's next U.S. Senator.

Opinions and Editorials

Good News

Generally, we're not the place to come for good news, but we're more than happy to share it when it comes around.

We thought we'd revisit this piece from summer on the promise of satellite technology to help monitor illegal logging, mining, and poaching, as well as offering more reliable data on some wildlife populations and behavior. Richard Conniff's piece for Yale Environment 360 is hopeful, and doesn't even get into the role of satellite monitoring of pirate fishing.

Deniers' Corner

If climate denial were an Olympic event, James Delingpole would be a gold medal contender. But alas, he'll have to settle for a denial merit badge for his linking climate concern to the Nazis. Shameless.

Closeup of tailpipe on a dusty car.

Supreme Court allows fossil fuel companies to sue over California clean car rules

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that fuel producers can challenge California’s authority to set stricter emissions limits under a longstanding Clean Air Act waiver.

Adam Liptak reports for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
a large solar panel with mountains in the background.

Clean energy projects face steep tax credit cuts under Republican megabill

Hundreds of wind, solar, and battery storage projects across the U.S. could lose vital tax incentives under a Republican-led bill that threatens to reverse key provisions of Biden’s 2022 climate law.

Kelsey Tamborrino and Jessie Blaeser report for POLITICO.

Keep reading...Show less
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington DC.

Republicans in Senate clash over how fast to cut clean energy tax breaks

Senate Republicans are divided over how quickly to roll back green energy tax credits enacted under President Biden, exposing internal party tensions as they push to finalize legislation by July 4.

Rachel Frazin reports for The Hill.

Keep reading...Show less
The very top of a wind turbine poking out of a fog bank.

No going back: GOP plan to repeal Inflation Reduction Act could lock in dangerous global heating

Republicans in Congress are moving to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy incentives, a shift scientists warn would drive up emissions and make climate extremes more likely by the end of the century.

Lisa Friedman reports for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
Car parked on a flooded street.

Trump’s FEMA cuts leave flood-prone cities scrambling for aid

President Trump’s decision to cancel a major disaster mitigation grant program has left dozens of U.S. cities, from Pennsylvania to Oklahoma, without funding to protect against worsening climate-related disasters.

Thomas Frank reports for E&E News.

Keep reading...Show less
A man sitting at a table in front of a statue of Lady Justice.

Oil companies use free speech claims to challenge climate lawsuits

Oil companies are invoking the First Amendment and anti-SLAPP laws to argue that lawsuits accusing them of misleading the public about climate change violate their free speech rights.

Karen Zraick and Sachi Kitajima Mulkey report for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
People with umbrellas walking past a wall with a blue mural.

Falsehoods about climate change slow action and deepen the crisis, global report warns

Misinformation about climate change — spread by fossil fuel interests, politicians, and state actors — is delaying action and worsening environmental risks, a new analysis finds.

Damian Carrington reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.