Sen. Kamala Harris' VP selection could heighten the ticket's focus on environmental justice while prompting fresh Trump campaign political attacks on Democrats' energy plans.
Why it matters: Her introduction comes in an election year that has seen more emphasis on climate change than prior cycles. One effect of the movement ignited by the police killing of George Floyd is a new focus on environmental burdens that poor people and communities of color face.
This week is bringing new snapshots of how hard the pandemic hit the U.S. oil patch earlier this year and the difficult path ahead, even as demand is now haltingly returning and prices have recovered somewhat.
Driving the news: The U.S. Energy Information Administration yesterday offered its latest downward revision of its domestic crude oil production forecast.
Occidental Petroleum, a huge U.S.-based oil producer, posted an $8.35 billion second-quarter loss Monday afternoon as it took huge write-downs on its asset values.
Why it matters: The whole industry is under pressure, but Occidental's problems are compounded by the additional debt it assumed when it beat out Chevron to acquire Anardarko in 2019.
The electric truck startup Nikola Motors' stock surged 22% Monday and the company now has a market capitalization of $17 billion. That's pretty, pretty good considering they have basically no revenue yet.
Driving the news: The bump came after Monday's announcement that the waste management company Republic Services has ordered at least 2,500 electric garbage trucks, with deliveries slated to start in 2023.
Left-wing climate activists don't want Joe Biden getting advice from people with credentials they don't like — and they're increasingly going public with their campaign.
Why it matters: Nobody is confusing Biden with President Trump, and his climate platform goes much further than anything contemplated in the Obama years.
Lucid Motors, a Silicon Valley-based electric vehicle startup, says its upcoming Lucid Air luxury sedan is expected to achieve an unprecedented driving range of 517 miles on a single battery charge.
Why it matters: Lucid's driving range is about 115 miles farther than Tesla's longest-range Model S, but more important, the efficiency breakthrough could enable the arrival of more affordable EVs in the future.
