Gas has loomed large in President Trump’s recent diplomatic dealings: In his meeting with NATO heads of state in Brussels, Trump called Germany “captive” to Russian gas, and in his Helsinki summit with Vladimir Putin, he made the unusual move of fielding regulatory proposals from the Russian president to prevent plummeting prices in the international gas markets.
Why it matters: For better or worse, U.S. foreign policy is contributing to uncertainty among the three countries with the largest gas reserves — Iran, Russia and Qatar — raising alarm among major Asian and European gas importers looking for secure supply sources.
President Trump emerged from a trade-focused meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and said Europe will become a "massive" buyer of U.S. liquefied natural gas.
Reality check: Thus far, Asian countries and Mexico have been the main buyers of U.S. LNG as the industry has emerged in recent years, but there's room for growth in Europe as exports rise and new projects come online. But while boosting gas exports to Europe is a goal that dates back years, some analysts say there's reason to doubt that the continent will ever become a huge destination for U.S. cargoes, given its closer and less expensive options.
Portland, a city known for investing in public transit and promoting alternatives to cars, has granted permits to scooter-sharing startups Skip and Bird as part of a four-month pilot program.
Why it matters: This could be a great test of whether a huge cash pile proves as much an advantage in the scooter wars as it did for Uber in the ride-hailing race. In this case, Bird is the wealthy competitor.
Shell, Total, and ConocoPhillips, three of the world's largest oil-and-gas companies, both posted a sharp increase in second-quarter profits on Thursday as big oil's earnings season got underway — but Shell's performance fell short of analysts expectations, and its stock dipped slightly in pre-market trading.
Why it matters: The earnings reflect the strengthening of oil prices, which have been on a largely upward trend over the past two years, even as many companies have sought to keep costs restrained.
New York and all six states in New England have aggressive, long-term, economy-wide CO2 emission reduction targets, with five having set a goal of reducing emissions 80% from 1990 levels by 2050. According to the most recent data, the Northeast has achieved a 16% economy-wide reduction from that benchmark.
Yes, but: Despite this progress, the current rate of reductions is insufficient to meet the 2050 goals. To do so, Northeastern states would have to triple the pace of gains made between 1990 and 2015.
The death toll from devastating wildfires in Greece rose to 80 on Wednesday after a firestorm roared through coastal villages surrounding Athens earlier in the week.
The big picture: Officials sifting through charred wreckage have found that these blazes were so swift-moving and burning so hot that many victims had virtually no chance of outrunning them. Some victims were found still hugging each other, according to news reports.
Visitors are being ordered out of Yosemite Valley to avoid unhealthy air quality and other risks posed by the Ferguson Fire that is raging nearby.
What's new: The two-week old, 38,000-acre Ferguson Fire is inching closer to Yosemite, the nation's most popular national park. The closure will stay in effect until Sunday as firefighters work to control a fire that's only 25% contained. A heat wave that is roasting California, along with much of the Southwest, shows no signs of abating, and is making firefighting efforts challenging.
More than 3,000 people are still waiting to be rescued in Laos after a dam collapse from heavy rain stranded them on Monday, Reuters reports.
By the numbers: Around 19 people were found dead, local media reported, and roughly 3,000 have already been rescued. Rescue teams from Thailand and China were heading into the area on Wednesday to help get the remaining people out. The U.N. reported that there are "34 missing, 1,494 evacuated and 11,777 people in 357 villages affected."
