A major outbreak of high-end, "violent" tornadoes and severe storms ripped through the South on Thursday, leaving behind debris and destruction.
The big picture: At least six people were killed. Severe weather in this region can be especially deadly due to the housing types that are prevalent here, including large numbers of mobile homes, Axios' Andrew Freedman writes.
President Biden has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin to join other world leaders at a virtual White House climate summit April 22-23.
Why it matters: The White House intends to showcase its climate policies and spur more ambitious actions from other nations as the world remains off course to achieve the global warming goals of the Paris climate agreement.
The BMW 330e sedan takes all the stress out of driving and keeps the fun.
The big picture: It's a plug-in hybrid that delivers the spirit of a BMW in a more eco-friendly package. And the driver-assistance technology will surprise you with all it can do.
The plates are shifting when it comes to climate policy on K Street, but whether it's enough to alter the political landscape is another question entirely.
Catch up fast: The American Petroleum Institute yesterday endorsed putting a price on carbon emissions as part of its wider new climate policy platform.
A tornado killed at least five people and injured several others in Calhoun County, Alabama, the county's coroner confirmed Thursday evening, according to NBC-affiliate WVTM13.
The big picture: A major tornado outbreak featuring high-end, "violent" tornadoes is underway across the South, with cities including Birmingham and Nashville at risk of severe weather.
Texas officials on Thursday raised the death toll from February’s winter storm to at least 111, up from their initial tally of 57, AP reports.
Why it matters: The storm caused one of the worst power outages in U.S. history as demand for heat strained the state’s electric grid. More than 4 million customers lost power. Millions also lacked access to drinkable water for days.
As countries struggle to meet ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions, financial backers and government officials are grappling with how to study ideas for engineering the Earth’s climate.
Why it matters: Once dismissed as science fiction, solar geoengineering is now viewed as a possible tool to help humans reduce the dangerous impacts of climate change on ecosystems and society. However, much remains to be learned about these schemes before they can be considered.
The American Petroleum Institute said Thursday that it supports putting a price on carbon emissions — a term that typically refers to emissions taxes or permit trading systems.
Why it matters: The new posture marks a major shift for the powerful K Street lobbying group, though signs of the endorsement emerged weeks ago.
The Energy Department is aiming to help lower solar power costs by 60% over the next decade as the Biden administration looks to greatly speed up deployment of solar and other climate-friendly sources.
Why it matters: The target, paired with new funding for development of more advanced solar tech, is among Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm's first initiatives.
The Dallas Fed is out with its latest quarterly snapshot of oil-and-gas metrics in its district, which includes the prolific but pandemic-battered shale regions in Texas and New Mexico.
Why it matters: The survey of oil-and-gas companies and contractors finds that the sector's activity "expanded strongly" in the first quarter of 2021.
An online tool from data analytics startup Watershed enables users to input various kinds of info to help gauge whether changing remote work policies will increase or decrease emissions — and by approximately how much.
How it works: Right now the public calculator from Watershed — whose clients include Shopify and Stripe — models five regions: San Francisco, New York City, Houston, London and Toronto.
Some Capitol Hill Democrats are pressing President Biden to re-instate Obama-era carbon emissions and mileage rules for passenger cars — and then go much further.
Driving the news: 10 Senate Democrats and dozens of House Democrats, in letters yesterday, call for standards through 2025 that at least match prior rules weakened under President Trump.
A skyscraper-sized container ship wedged in the Suez Canal could take weeks to unblock, wreaking further havoc on global oil markets and trade, the Financial Times reports.
Background: The 220,000-ton and quarter-mile-long Ever Given container ship, one of the largest in the world, has been stuck in the canal since it was caught in poor visibility and high winds from a sandstorm Tuesday as it was headed from China to the Netherlands.
