Scientists have spent their entire careers trying to understand why some trout no longer survive in Lake Champlain and the Great Lakes. Now, they've returned and researchers don’t know why.
Why it matters: Around the world, large lakes ecosystems, which drive the economies of cities that border them, are being threatened. “One thing [this return] demonstrates is that these lakes have enormous recuperative powers,” says Dave Fielder, fisheries research biologist at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. “If we can provide relief from some of the stressors, the lake will respond. Sometimes, very quickly.”
The publication Utility Dive is out with its big, detailed annual survey of utility employees on the state of the power industry.
Why it's useful: The survey arrives at a time of upheaval in power markets thanks to the rise of new renewables and distributed tech and changes in White House policy. Overall, the survey finds regulatory and policy uncertainty is the biggest concern (40%) of utility professionals.
ExxonMobil disclosed in a filing yesterday that it's abandoning joint ventures with Russian state oil giant Rosneft to drill in Arctic waters, Siberia and the Black Sea as a result of U.S. and European Union sanctions against the Russian firm.
Exxon said the decision led to an after-tax loss of $200 million.
Why it matters: "The move is an about-face for Exxon, which had opposed the sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Crimea and argued they unfairly penalized U.S. companies while allowing foreign energy rivals to operate in the country, the world’s largest oil producer," Reuters notes.
A new coalition of auto suppliers, emissions control industry groups and an aluminum association is launching today that will fight against potential Trump administration moves to significantly weaken vehicle mileage and emissions standards.
Why it matters now: The rollout of the Automotive Technology Leadership Group arrives as the administration is revisiting mandates for model years 2022–2025 — regulations that represent a pillar of Obama-era climate policy.
U.S. and European Union sanctions against Russia have led ExxonMobil to announce Wednesday that it will end "exploration and research joint ventures with Rosneft," an integrated oil company owned by Russia's government, Reuters reports.
Dylan Jones is a 21-year-old senior at Kansas University who supports President Trump and gun rights and opposes abortion. As of today, he also supports action on climate change as part of a new student-led coalition across U.S. college campuses.
Why it matters: Jones represents the next generation of Republicans, many of whom don’t support the position of most elected Republicans in Congress and in the Trump administration of either ignoring or rejecting outright the issue of climate change.
The U.K.'s Dyson and South Korean industrial giant Samsung — both bruised by setbacks in their efforts to master modern batteries — are members of unusually high-powered investment round in a little-known Massachusetts startup, Axios has learned.
What we're hearing: Some of the world's biggest industrial companies are part of the $65 million investment in Ionic Materials, attracted by the belief that it has solved one of the longest-unsettled problems in batteries: how to use solid state technology without fire hazards or astronomical production costs.
