Voters are set to consider moves on energy, like carbon taxes and oil-and-gas drilling, in two states Tuesday — two showdowns among several important energy midterm ballot questions across the country.
Details: In Washington state, voters will decide whether to approve a fee on carbon dioxide emissions. In Colorado, a ballot question could bar oil-and-gas drilling 2,500 feet from occupied buildings.
Oil sanctions stemming from President Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal officially went into effect Sunday at midnight, triggering immediate condemnation from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who pledged to continue exporting oil in defiance of the Trump administration's "economic war," reports the AP.
The big picture: Prices this morning show Brent barely moving off prices that have tumbled sharply in recent weeks, trading at $73.11. This reflects how the reductions in Iranian exports have been ongoing and are largely priced into the market. Traders are also responding to today's announcement that the U.S will grant temporary waivers to 8 "jurisdictions" — China, India, Italy, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey — that buy Iranian oil but, according to the State Department, have moved to curb imports.
When “Axios on HBO” interviewed President Trump last week, one goal was to get him to reckon with his own government’s scientific findings, which unequivocally state that global warming is nearly entirely caused by humans. We thought it might be harder to dismiss the science if we showed him his own administration's most comprehensive report.
Why it matters: We were wrong. Trump disputed that report, said he hadn’t seen it and indicated — while doing a wave motion with his hand — that the climate goes up and down. These comments, the first on this report, are among the most extreme he’s made dismissing a scientific issue nearly all other world leaders take seriously.
