President Trump signed a presidential permit on Friday to authorize construction of the Keystone XL pipeline across the border between Canada and the U.S. 2 years after he initially approved the project, reports the AP.
Details: The permit allows TransCanada Corporation to begin construction on the pipeline at the Montana border to import oil between the 2 countries. A federal district court judge in Montana blocked the construction of the pipeline in November 2017, and ordered an environmental review according to the Washington Post.
A new paper in the journal Nature Communications has good news if you're in a "glass half full" kind of mood, concluding that China's carbon emissions are likely to peak well before 2030 if several things break right.
Why it matters: China has a lot to say about the planet's future. It's by far the world's largest CO2 emitter and over a fourth of the world's total.
President Trump is expected to sign an executive order imminently to expedite pipeline development, according to sources familiar with the plans.
Details: White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said the executive order could come as soon as next week, while speaking at a closed-door event Wednesday hosted by conservative think tank American Council for Capital Formation, according to two sources with direct knowledge.
Following historic extreme weather in Florida and Nebraska, the U.S. Air Force is asking for $5 billion to repair two major bases in each state, reports Defense One.
Details: Officials said they will have to cut projects at the Offutt Air Base in Nebraska and Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida if they don't receive $1.2 billion for repairs by June, which could affect 18,000 pilot training hours.
Google, Facebook, Walmart and other corporate giants have launched a new trade association with hundreds of members aimed at greatly expanding direct renewable power purchases by companies large and small.
Why it matters: The Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance is a sign of both the mainstreaming of corporate procurement and a recognition that companies face market barriers, even as wind and solar costs have fallen.
New data from a Carnegie Mellon University project show that U.S. power sector carbon emissions ticked upward last year, because overall generation rose enough to outpace declines in emissions per unit of output.
Why it matters: The newly updated Power Sector Carbon Index shows the challenge of continuing — let alone accelerating — what has been a major decline in emissions from electricity over the last decade.
In the Roger Stone case, the government said it had turned over 9 terabytes of discovery — an amount so large that Stone's lawyers said if it were on paper, it would pile as high as the Washington Monument, twice, AP reports.
By the numbers: Mueller's evidence is likely massive. His "team issued more than 2,800 subpoenas, executed nearly 500 search warrants and interviewed more than 500 witnesses."
